When I was in college, I had a conversation with a friend that became centered on the label "evangelical" among Christians. I vaguely remember his expression as being somewhat cynical, perhaps a little amused, over some shortcoming of this group of people with whom he did not seem to identify closely, though we were also both believers. Having little context and almost no sense of the baggage that was associated with the term (I don't really remember hearing it much before college), I readily claimed "evangelical" as applying to myself. The word "evangelical", I argued, was a descriptive label, intended to connote what Christians were supposed to be doing any way - spreading the good news that in Jesus, God made a way for everyone who would come to Him to be saved. Matthew 28:19-20 of the New Testament records a direct command to all of His followers to go and tell everyone, everywhere about Him. A Christian, I argued, was supposed to be inherently evangelical. He ceded my point, seemed to admire it, even, and I felt that I had carried the day.
I still believe that these things are all true, but I also believe that in this instance (as well as a few others) I might have been overly reliant on grammar and my understanding of English diction. What I interpreted as an adjective had, and continues to have, pretty strong connotations for various streams of Protestant theology, and over the last many years, has morphed even further into a cultural label that carries a lot of weight in both religious and political circles.
I was raised in the church and became a Christian at a young age. Through God's grace, there has been a legacy of faithful, praying believers in my family. I grew up in an area where belief in God was usually assumed and a baseline level of respect for God and clergy was pretty universal. My views were formed by both a high view of Scripture and a lot of Christian media (books, tapes, CDs, TV, DVDs, music, preaching, news shows, movies, church, - all of it) in daily life, due to my parents and much of my extended family. There was also an emphasis and an encouragement for me and my siblings to read, memorize, understand, and apply Scripture for ourselves. These things were coupled with a strong view of education and learning, and encouragement to read widely. If God's word was true, then it was the basis for everything good in life, and there would be underlying themes of consistency, reason, reconciliation and truth throughout all things, mystery notwithstanding.
As a result, my biblical views (my views on the Bible as God's word and the basis for life and action) were pretty soundly based in Scripture, but did not conflict with most of my views of culture or with my academic studies. When my views were challenged, they were usually challenged in fairly controlled circumstances. We were "nondenominational" with some Baptist and CoCDoC family history and apostolic and pentecostal leanings, and had attended a few different churches by the time of my adolescence, so (perhaps in conjunction with my youth) I didn't have a lot of language for things like catechisms, denominations, systematic theologies etc. So while this gave some room for inquiry and resilience or openness, my views were also sometimes sheltered, often idealistic, and carefully held.
My friend was from a rather different set of church traditions. He had experienced different family circumstances within those traditions, which had shaped his views. As a young adult, he had strong interests in ministry training and theology. Some of our other discussions, which would occasionally refer to topics like predestination and soteriology and his wrestlings with the implications of those teachings, remind me now that these were also the days of the Neo-Calvinist "young and restless", when the debates between various Christian groups reformed and otherwise and even secular apologists were probably as lively and plentiful as they are today. Regardless of his background, as someone who aspired toward pastoral ministry, he was probably involved in many of those debates.
My friend, who was a conservative, orthodox, Christian believer, and a sincere student of scripture, was also black. Without drawing too many conclusions in hindsight, or painting with too broad a brush, I suspect that in that world of argument he had already begun to see at the ripe old age of 20 that instead of being used to name the human heralds of what is literally the best news the world has ever heard, the word "evangelical" now brings connotations less about orthodoxy and more about struggles for power involving politics, class, and racial constructs with and within Western Christianity. The term "evangelical" has often been folded into a set of ideologies that have little to do with Scripture and seems to be increasingly claimed by people who don't even hold to historic biblical Christianity2. I believe that the resulting ambiguity has been detrimental to the reputation of believers in the US. The Bible speaks of Satan being the author of confusion, and it certainly seems as though the adversary uses it to advantage.
Because of the circumstances of my upbringing, I don't have a strong sense of identity wrapped up in the specific word evangelical, but I have a very strong sense of identity wrapped up in the way that people who claim the name of Christ represent him in the public sphere. So when people make claims against the "evangelicals", and sufficient confusion as to who evangelicals actually are results in damage to the Christian witness, I am now involved. And I believe that there are time when true believers are called upon to correct the record of what God has actually said.
So. I don't have to go around calling myself an Evangelical, but I am evangelical, and abandoning the term seems unlikely to accomplish anything useful in the end. Perhaps by persisting in the use of the word in its original context and standing firm in our convictions, I and other believers can add a tiny modicum of balance to the ongoing conflicting narratives in these ending days.
I don't think I have to be the one to speak about everything on every topic. Plenty of people already have plenty of good things to say, and often times there is plenty of publicity without my wading in. But occasionally, if the Lord so leads, it might be time for me to say something or amplify the voice of others.
In the introduction to Evidence That Demands a Verdict", author Sean McDowell argues that one of the reasons that apologetics is important today is that the practice of apologetics helps shape culture1. So many times, we hear of apologetics as debates and arguments between "science and faith", or between Christianity and athiesm or other religions. I would argue that if we are really interested in the shaping of culture, the category of apologetics is broader than people realize. Any time Christianity confronts some unredeemed focus of the human heart - an idol - it is functionally similar to a religion, and apologetics can come into play as an argument for and defense of the Christian viewpoint on that topic. In this sense, I would argue that the work of some abolitionists (Frederick Douglas, for example) and civil rights leaders (some of the work of MLK Jr), and even of some cultural, class, and economic commentators will fall into this category. I would also argue that it is not sufficient to ignore or discount real-world implications of the Bible on topics of leadership, decision-making, and cultural norms, and how those decisions and norms affect people who live under them.
So. It looks like however we describe ourselves, if we are in Christ, we are called upon to give a defense for the hope that lies within us, in whatever context, and at such a time as this. And in doing so, we are carrying out the evangelical mission to spread the good news and baptize people in the name of the Father, His Son, and the Holy Spirit who lives within us.
I once posted a question on social media whom I found to be a thoughtful Christian leader how he found his voice despite a personal inclination to remain in the background. A few days later, I saw a tweet that I believe to be his response:
I decided that it was much easier to be myself and if people didn't like me, then I trusted God to bring people into my life who did.
D.S.
