Olof Edsinger seeks Christian leadership in anti-authoritarian Sweden
Olof Edsinger during the interview. Photo CNE
Christian Life
His Christian faith is the foundation of his life. Olof Edsinger is a Swedish writer who has written about 20 books. He is known for writing on controversial topics and being an apologetic. As a teenager, he had a profound encounter with God that changed his life in many ways.
What does your faith mean to you?
“It is the foundation of my life. God is the only one worthy of my love and obedience. To me, He is both holy and personal. When I centre my life around Him, all the other pieces come to the right place. It affects both my life and values so much. I want to invite God in all decisions and parts of my life. It brings joy and blessings when you do so. Also, striving to have Christ as the model for everything I do.”
What is the event that shaped you most in life?
“At 16, while I was an exchange student in Australia, I had a profound encounter with God that changed my life in many ways. I had a personal encounter with the Holy Spirit that involved several things. One was that I received the gift of tongues, speaking in tongues, which has meant a lot to me in my prayer life. But it also renewed my relationship with the Bible. From that moment, I would say that God started speaking to me through His Word. My calling as a Bible teacher and writer emanates from that encounter.”
“I have found a strong confidence in the Word of God by daring to wrestle with these texts.”
Why is writing important to you?
“Writing is how I process my walk with God, different areas of life and Scriptures. Besides contemporary issues, I also write more in-depth, looking into the Biblical narrative. That would include topics like violence in the Old Testament and judgment texts in both the Old and New Testament. I have found a strong confidence in the Word of God by daring to wrestle with these texts. I have also written a book on leadership, and my upcoming book is about the call to purity.”
This is the first article of a rubric in which CNE publishes personal interviews with Christian leaders from Europe.
What are the main topics you write on?
“I would say the Bible and the character of God. I have also written several books on sexuality and identity, including LGBTQ. I consider myself one of the experts on this in the Nordic countries, which is why this is a substantial part of what I teach about.
Many churches wrestle with these issues, so I am asked to speak on those. This is an area where the church is very much under attack; secular society is pressuring the church to change its views on gender and sexuality. So, with an apologetic calling, you cannot escape these topics. We need to defend it and allow Scripture to speak into our lives in this area as well.”
What do you hope to accomplish with your work?
“To create boldness and joy in your faith, to dare to rely on Scripture and on God having a good plan for all of us. Also, to encourage the church to be bold in its identity. Not as a mirror of society, but as a church founded on the Word of God and a relationship with Christ.”
About Olof Edsinger
Olof was born on May 22nd 1976. He has been married to his wife Mona for almost 25 years. They met in their church youth group and now have three children together. They live in Uppsala, Sweden, where they also go to church. They attend the Lutheran revival movement and sometimes also the Word of Life church. Olof grew up in a Christian home where he and his parents attended a big Lutheran church.
How do you stay married for 25 years?
“We are very aligned in our values. From the start, we had a very similar desire to live for God and honour Him with our lives, marriage and family. So, even though we are different in many ways, these things unite us. It has been the foundation of our marriage.”
What is it like being a father?
“Being a father felt very natural from the start. No one is prepared to become a parent, but you get prepared by getting into it. God has designed us to be somehow able to take care of these small children, and then we follow along in their development. We have core values in our families, but we also allow each other to be free in our personalities and roads through life. So that keeps it together well.”
What motivates you?
“My deep love for the Word of God. I believe that the truth will set us free, as Jesus says. Some issues may be controversial and some people are even afraid to engage with them. I have written several books on these kinds of issues. One of my early books was on the wars of the Old Testament, a topic that many people wrestle with. But I found that you are rewarded when you dare to go deeper into those topics.
Defending Scripture and seeing that there is something God wants to tell us really strengthens your faith. We should dare to allow Scripture to speak into all parts of our lives. When the church instead turns its back on God and truth, that will inevitably have a negative effect on who we are and the vitality of the church.”
You are the General Secretary of the Swedish Evangelical Alliance (SEA); what is that?
“The Swedish Evangelical Alliance is a member organisation of the World and European Evangelical Alliance, formed in 2001. The historical roots also go to the Lausanne movement. Both these strands have been important in our work. We have a strong focus on apologetics and functioning like a think tank, working with contemporary issues both within the church and society.
The SEA consists of many individuals, missions, organisations and local congregations. We want to be a public voice for the gospel and the Christian faith. We do a lot of research, digging deep into different topics, writing and producing material. We try to build relationships between Christians from other parts of Christianity, organising gatherings, seminars and conferences. So I spend a lot of time writing, speaking and networking.”
What made you want to do this work?
“Working with the Church has been on my heart for a long time. I have a calling to work with issues that are sometimes controversial and cause friction between church and society. I have been working and writing a lot about that. Since that is also a big part of the calling of the EA, it has become a natural thing for me to engage in.”
“When the church instead turns its back on God and truth, that will inevitably have a negative effect on who we are and the vitality of the church.”
How would you describe your style of leadership?
“Because Sweden is very anti-authoritarian, we tend to think too lowly of leadership. I personally think quite highly of leadership, although I am also very much a team person. My leadership style would be that I am a bit of a pioneer, taking many new initiatives but still working relationally.
I believe that leadership in Christianity is relational. That honouring others for their contribution and gifts is essential for your own leadership as well, to have that kind of relationship with others.”
How do you see the future as a Christian in your country?
“Positive as well as negative. Many migrant churches are being planted, and we need to honour what they are doing in this secularised country. We also see young people outside of church interested in Christianity and Jesus. I believe these two things will shape the future a lot.
However, societal pressure also presents significant challenges to the church's identity. And when the church allows the pressure to define it, it will do something to the spiritual vitality of the church. So I think that is a serious point.”
Six dilemmas
Blazer or jumper? “Jumper.”
Evening person or early bird? “Well, I am neither. I suppose evening person if I had to choose. I would choose the middle if I can, I am an afternoon person.”
Tea or coffee? “Tea.”
Public transport or taxi? “Public transport.”
Would you rather read a book or watch TV? “Even though I am a writer, I will choose television. Especially in the evening, when I am tired.”
Listening to music or doing sports? “Listening to music. I listen a lot to music.”
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