On Being an Evangelical Christian
Photo by Tessa J
Upon encountering this article, I am sure each one of you had an immediate reaction to the term "evangelical" in the title. Ideas about people who call themselves evangelical are coming to mind. Some of you may have bristled at the word; others of you may have resonated with it. Some of you have left the term behind and never looked back. It is a term with much cultural and theological baggage, especially for Christians in the United States. Others have written more extensively on this, but I’d like to enter the conversation, in hopes of reclaiming some of the heritage that has been lost.
On a personal note, I grew up in the more evangelical camp of mainline United Methodism, in rural and small-town congregations in Western Pennsylvania. As a child and youth, the evangelical tradition and community influenced my faith formation in a variety of ways, many of which were positive. As a young adult, I began to think differently about the word “evangelical,” because of what it seemed to represent in our broader U.S. culture. I didn’t want to be associated with that kind of Christianity, particularly as a woman. It could be the environment of the denomination in which I was raised or a result of my generation’s proclivities, but I have tried to steer away from being pinned down or labeled, theologically or politically. However, there are times when self-identifying has value. While I didn’t “deconstruct” my faith or align myself with “exvangelicals,” there were years during which I intentionally avoided labelling myself as evangelical. Even today, I still have a number of issues with how the term is understood and (mis-)used, both by the broader culture and within many Christian communities. Yet, I want to reclaim the evangelical part of my Christian identity and encourage others to do the same. I believe there is something worth recovering in evangelicalism, a heritage to rediscover.
I am an evangelical Christian.
Now, I would like to spend some time describing what it means, to me and to many others, to be an evangelical Christian, and how this understanding differs from the dominant cultural narrative. There are many reasons people steer clear of this term, and there are many Christians with whom I align theologically who do not use it. For example, Latina scholars, Loida I. Martell-Otero, Zaida Maldonado Pérez, and Elizabeth Conde-Frazier opt to use the Spanish term “evangélica” in an effort to distance themselves from the way the English term is used and understood today (Latina Evangelicas: A Theological Survey from the Margins, 2013). However, I still believe “evangelical” is a useful and accurate way of self-identifying with a broad, diverse, and global community of Christians because of the historical heritage and missiological framework it carries.
Of course, if we could consider the word “evangelical” on its own, divorced from the cultural, social, and political milieu, I am confident that many more Christians would readily adopt it. If being an evangelical Christian referred merely to a Christian who carries the gospel and spreads the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ throughout the world, I never would have considered distancing myself from the term.
When we dig into the history of the Evangelical Movement, we see its roots in the eighteenth-century trans-Atlantic Evangelical Revivals, which swept across the Western world, the American expressions of which we call the Great Awakenings. Methodists and Wesleyans of all types owe our existence to these historical movements characterized by the preaching of the gospel to bring people to salvation. In addition to a focus on conversion to Christ, evangelicals throughout history also focused on the cross of Christ as central to their faith and necessary for salvation, and they uplifted the Bible as authoritative. I think even those who view evangelicals today largely in terms of aligning with a particular political and cultural camp would agree that evangelical Christians theologically focus on conversion, the cross, and the Bible. However, there is a fourth category that David Bebbington uplifts that has been consistent across evangelical history, at least through the twentieth century, that of activism; and not only activism in evangelism for the conversion of souls, but social activism that advocated for justice (David Bebbington, Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: a history from the 1730s to the 1980s, 1989).
We see this in eighteenth-century figures like Wesley, who, along with his extensive preaching, led Methodists in countless forms of social engagement, including education, medicine, and giving to the poor. Or like Sojourner Truth, who alongside preaching the message of the gospel, would preach against the evils of slavery and advocate for the cause of abolition. This continued into the nineteenth and twentieth centuries with figures like Louis Klopsch and Thomas Talmage of The Christian Herald, who used their evangelical newspaper to not only share the gospel by writing on religious topics but also to engage in global humanitarian aid (Heather D. Curtiss, Holy Humanitarians, 2018). Social activism has been key to historical evangelical identity. Today, however, it is my observation that our society does not seem to associate activism with evangelicalism.
This is even true in the church. The social media account for "The New Evangelicals," led by Tim Whitaker, emphasizes offering a faith-based platform for those who have negative experiences with "traditional" evangelicalism. Their "new" approach emphasizes a gospel that is socially engaged. But this is not a new approach at all. A decade ago, leading evangelical scholars and theologians published Advocating for Justice, proposing an evangelical approach to what they called “transformational advocacy,” which they define as “intentional acts of witness by the body of Christ that hold people and institutions accountable for creating, implementing, and sustaining just and good policies and practices geared toward the flourishing of society. Transformational advocacy challenges injustice and obstacles to human flourishing at whatever level it is practiced by humbly engaging with people who can address the wrong, trusting God’s Spirit to change all those involved as well as the institutions themselves,” (Offutt, et al, 2016). Theirs is a vision grounded in the gospel, with historical and biblical foundations. Evangelical activism is not the Social Gospel of the nineteenth century which seeks to build God’s Kingdom by its own human efforts, but neither does it use social activism as simply a means to an end of converting souls. Rather, it is part of a missiological framework in which we partner with God, who invites us to co-labor in the redemptive and transformational mission that will bring about his Kingdom and invite others into it.
Rather than taking an approach of defense and crying out “not all evangelicals do this or think this,” I want to simply propose that being an evangelical Christian does not mean that one must align with a particular socio-cultural or political ideology. Evangelicalism is not a monolith. Further, I want to encourage those of us who share this evangelical heritage to reclaim the fullness of this identity and the characteristics historically associated with it. The broader culture may think of evangelicals as being alt-right political conservatives or Christian nationalists who emphasize proselytizing in order to further a social, political, and religious agenda. However, the evangelical heritage and mission that I want to see reclaimed is one that is made up of gospel-centered, mission-minded, and kingdom-driven followers of Jesus. Among this kind of evangelical, political positions vary, but these positions are led by and subject to our faith commitments. This kind of evangelical believes that all people have equal worth and value in the eyes of the Lord, being created in his image and filled with His Spirit, and that God desires redemption and transformation for everyone. This kind of evangelical witnesses with a hope for all people to experience the transforming love of Christ, and we are socially engaged to further God's redemptive mission, not a political party's agenda.
My hope is to see a recovery and a reclaiming of what it has historically meant to be evangelical by Christians who,
Believe in the good news of Jesus Christ, through whom salvation is available to all people,
Are called to share that good news in our families, churches, communities, and world,
Witness to the gospel through love of God and neighbor, especially toward neighbors who are different from us,
Use our positions, roles, gifts, and life circumstances to join God in his mission in the world, in anticipation of the fullness of Christ's Kingdom, where God's love and justice reign.
So, if you resonate with this historical heritage and missiological framework of evangelicalism, don’t be afraid of a moniker that has been corrupted or co-opted, misused or misunderstood. Rather, live your life as an evangelical–carry the gospel with you and go in the power and authority of the Holy Spirit to bring the life and light of Christ into dark and dead places. Preach the good news about Jesus. Care for the poor. Advocate for the marginalized. Love your neighbor with the love of God. Partner with God in his mission for the redemption, transformation, and flourishing of all people, embodying Christ’s kingdom as you live your life as a witness to the gospel.
Rebekah Clapp is an adjunct professor at United Theological Seminary and is a member of the Firebrand Editorial Board.