Jared I love how you ended this, it made my heart sing. And as one who often arrogantly tends to put themselves in the “right kind of evangelical” camp I certainly have to remind myself of what this thing I am part of is (following Jesus not being part of the “in-group”). And that’s where I’d give some pushback. Definitions can be exclusionary, and often are, but they can also be illuminating. They can be a guiding path, not simply a purity test (one thinks of Barth’s definition of the church in confession 3 of the Barmen Declaration).
I think the problem in definition is that many people think of evangelicalism as some kind of vaguely institutional behemoth, when it’s actually a highly adaptable movement of psychological and theological dispositions.
It’s also hard to think clearly about it when you limit it to the last 50 years and one country (as many pundits do). Evangelicalism is a global movement that spans nearly 300 years, and so asking, for example, why Trump has so much of the “evangelical vote” in Iowa (which isn’t “a particularly religious state” according to Ryan Burge) is not going to get you a particularly coherent answer. Evangelicalism is simply a renewal movement within historic Protestantism, and it seeks to convert the lost through preaching the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, centers itself around biblical authority, and ministers to people in common life and language. It’s not a political key, a racially-coded wink, or a marketing ploy (although many desperately wish it were these, and treat it so), it’s just a (admittedly brash) reaction to stagnant churches and dead faith. It knows the answers to the question, “can these bones live?”
You did indeed hustle! Two are my spiritual leaders at my Episcopal church, the Dean of the Cathedral and the catechist. The other is a congregant there who is strongly MAGA, but willing to dialog with me. A graduate student in counseling. I will give you their info if I can get their permission. Jared, I have MAGA "evangelical" friends , but they wouldn't read this, because they don't read much period. And definitely nothing with footnotes or scholarly references! (Like most people.) (I hope sharing these details about them doesn't sound disparaging.) I share those details so you will have some idea of whom you are reaching. I love that your writing seems aimed at leadership. For Him, Debbie
By far my favorite Dispatch to date, despite two little typos. Excusable since this is offered with such immediacy. I have sent it around to everyone I think will read it. And ALL who profess to be Christian should read it!
Jared I love how you ended this, it made my heart sing. And as one who often arrogantly tends to put themselves in the “right kind of evangelical” camp I certainly have to remind myself of what this thing I am part of is (following Jesus not being part of the “in-group”). And that’s where I’d give some pushback. Definitions can be exclusionary, and often are, but they can also be illuminating. They can be a guiding path, not simply a purity test (one thinks of Barth’s definition of the church in confession 3 of the Barmen Declaration).
I think the problem in definition is that many people think of evangelicalism as some kind of vaguely institutional behemoth, when it’s actually a highly adaptable movement of psychological and theological dispositions.
It’s also hard to think clearly about it when you limit it to the last 50 years and one country (as many pundits do). Evangelicalism is a global movement that spans nearly 300 years, and so asking, for example, why Trump has so much of the “evangelical vote” in Iowa (which isn’t “a particularly religious state” according to Ryan Burge) is not going to get you a particularly coherent answer. Evangelicalism is simply a renewal movement within historic Protestantism, and it seeks to convert the lost through preaching the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, centers itself around biblical authority, and ministers to people in common life and language. It’s not a political key, a racially-coded wink, or a marketing ploy (although many desperately wish it were these, and treat it so), it’s just a (admittedly brash) reaction to stagnant churches and dead faith. It knows the answers to the question, “can these bones live?”
You did indeed hustle! Two are my spiritual leaders at my Episcopal church, the Dean of the Cathedral and the catechist. The other is a congregant there who is strongly MAGA, but willing to dialog with me. A graduate student in counseling. I will give you their info if I can get their permission. Jared, I have MAGA "evangelical" friends , but they wouldn't read this, because they don't read much period. And definitely nothing with footnotes or scholarly references! (Like most people.) (I hope sharing these details about them doesn't sound disparaging.) I share those details so you will have some idea of whom you are reaching. I love that your writing seems aimed at leadership. For Him, Debbie
By far my favorite Dispatch to date, despite two little typos. Excusable since this is offered with such immediacy. I have sent it around to everyone I think will read it. And ALL who profess to be Christian should read it!