I have always associated myself with Evangelicalism as long as I can remember. Sometimes out of pride, "Hey, I'm neither a fundamentalist or a liberal," or out association, it's Evangelical Christians and Evangelical biblical scholars is the circle I have run in my whole life. In the United States, our culture is changing so fast and churches and Christian Evangelical publishers and schools and institutions are losing ground so fast that one wonders, is the term Evangelical still worth maintaining? There has been such a loss of respect for the name and identity confusion among those who claim the name.
As a label, to be Evangelical in America is quickly becoming a liability. Being Evangelical is now associated with hypocrisy, heresy hunters, whatever is fashionably hip and hot and new for people seeking relevant worship services that seem to get more irrelevant as time goes by. If Jesus would talk to Evangelicals today, what would he say and would he even look like an Evangelical? Has exclusivism, separatism, and legalism unhinged Jesus life giving gospel in too many people who identify with the name Evangelical? Are not Evangelicals known today for shooting their wounded while safely protecting their theological sacred cows of what they think it means to be an Evangelical?
So I guess I come back to the original question and say maybe it's the wrong question. Maybe saying was Jesus an Evangelical is Evangelicals own way to tame, claim, and divide over the name of Christ. Maybe the better question would be, "Are Evangelicals willing to look like Jesus?" Now that's the question!
(some thoughts and impressions inspired from the writings of Ray S. Anderson)
No comments:
Post a Comment