Evan-jelly-whatie?

Sorry it's been so long since my last post...life's busy.

I had a lady call the office a couple of days ago--not a church member, but someone who watches our TV ministry--who wanted to know if I could explain to her what the word "Evangelical" means. She'd heard the word so much in the news in connection with the current presidential election that she figured she needed to know what the media were talking about.

I thought there might be others who share her confusion.

The short answer to the question “What is an Evangelical?” is “a more socially conservative born-again Christian.” But since I’m not prone to give short answers, here’s more information—

“Evangelical” is a term that describes a sub-category of Christianity. The word “Christian” doesn’t mean the same thing to everybody who uses the term. What Catholics believe differs considerably from what Protestants believe. But the beliefs of an Episcopalian differ considerably from the beliefs of a Baptist.

We sometimes distinguish between “Christians” and “born-again Christians” because not everyone who calls himself/herself a Christian believes in the necessity of conversion for salvation. Catholics and Lutherans, for instance, believe in more of a “community of faith” than a “conversion of faith.” In other words, you’re Christian if you belong to their faith community.

“Evangelical” actually describes the smaller, more socially conservative subset of born again Christians. Evangelicals represent about one-fifth of all born again Christians, according to George Barna. He defines “Evangelical” in this way:

“Born-again Christians,” for the sake of clarification, are Christians who say they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their lives today and who believe they’re going to heaven when they die because they have confessed their sins and have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior. “Evangelical Christians” are Christians who are born again plus seven other conditions. Those include:

1. saying their faith is very important in their life today;


2. believing they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs about Christ with non-Christians;


3. believing that Satan exists;


4. believing that eternal salvation is possible only through grace, not works;


5. believing that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth;


6. asserting that the Bible is accurate in all that it teaches;


7. and describing God as the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect deity who created the universe and still rules it today.

Naturally, there are some people who call themselves “Evangelicals” who are not and some Evangelicals who reject the label.

And just so we're still on the same page, "Evangelical" doesn't mean the same thing as "evangelistic." "Evangelistic," "evangel," "evangelist," and "evangelism" are English words that come from the Greek word for gospel, "euangelion," which literally means "good news."

I hope this helps...and, by the way, the TIME Magazine cover image that I used is from the February 7, 2005, issue.

Stephen King, Starbucks, and American Christianity (Part 4 of 4)

[This is an article that I've chosen to break up into several days due to its length.]
We demonstrate genuineness in our faith by loving God and loving people. Stop right there and think about that statement. Loving God and loving people. It’s the Great Commandment (see Mark 12:30-31). Jesus gave it when asked, “What’s the greatest commandment of all?” In other words, the man was asking “What’s the most important thing I can do with my life?” Jesus told him, “Love God and love people.” Do we somehow think Jesus was merely making a suggestion? Do we think He was kidding? Why are loving God and loving people not guiding principles for our lives and our churches? I assure you, they’re not for many of us…not when we treat one another the way that we do. I often say (and I’m ashamed to repeat it here) that the meanest people I’ve ever met in my life have been church folk. I’m serious.

We’re authentic when our lives line up with our lips. Regardless of what we might hear these days, truth matters. And truth matters because truth and experience are related. Some would argue against that premise, saying that our experiences exist independent of truth. But in the end, truth and experience always intersect. A guy falls from the twentieth floor of a building. All the way down, he shouts to people through open windows, “I’m okay!” He can say that…He might even—in some strange delusion—believe it…but in the end, the truth intersects with his experience.

So, since the truth—specifically the truth of God’s Word—will have ultimate bearing on our experience, then it is more than important—it’s imperative—that we come to terms with the truth. And that truth must be fleshed out in our daily lives…in our church ministries…in our interaction with the culture in which we live.

Starbucks did the right thing…refocused on their purpose and passion as a coffee shop. American Christianity (and all expressions of the Christian faith, for that matter) must return to its roots if we’re going to connect with our culture for the cause of Christ. How long will we wander in the wilderness of our worldliness while convincing ourselves that there’s ease in Zion!?!

When Americans are watching more than four and a half hours of television per day, we must ask ourselves whether our lives as believers are being shaped by culture more than by Christ. Think about it…most of us spend—what?—five hours a week in church activities, if we’re “there every time the doors are open”? Throw in our personal devotion lives. How much time each week are we talking about? I’m guessing it wouldn’t be as much as the 32+ hours per week we spend in front of the TV! And if our lives look and sound more like the world than our Savior, why does it surprise us when the influence of our lives for Christ is negligible?

We are the key to spiritual awakening in America. God said, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14). Like the old saying goes, “If the gold rusts, what shall happen to the iron?”

I've got to tell you...when the church stops living out the demonstrable difference of knowing Christ, “organized religion gives me the creeps.”