Evango-Meter
Interesting post at Calacirian, regarding labels. It really got me thinking about the term “evangelical”–the good, the bad and the ugly–so I’ve decided to post a “Top Ten” of why I like the term evangelical…and why I don’t.
Top Ten Reasons I might refer to myself as an evangelical
10. It’s better than “born-again”.
9. It’s better than “saved”.
8. Tony Camplo just recently wrote a book “Letters To A Young Evangelical”. I’m not young, so I better be Evangelical because I want to read this book.
7. Evangelicals have historically been good at mission work.
6. I’ve never been to anything but a church that would categorize itself as Evangelical, so I don’t really have a choice.
5. Most of my friends would consider themselves Evangelical and I like them.
4. It puts me in good company. Luther, Wesley, Edwards, and Graham, to name a few.
3. There seem to be lots of us.
2. Because the dictionary defines it as “pertaining to or in keeping with the gospel and its teachings.”
1. Because it comes from Greek the greek word euangelion, good news, from euangelos, bringing good news : eu-, eu- + angelos, messenger, and I would like to be a messenger of Good News.
Top Ten Reasons I might NOT refer to myself as evangelical.
10. It can automatically be associated with the “religious right”, which can be associated with the Christian Coalition.
9. Because I found this picture on the internet. 
8. Because evangelical is often associated with fundamentalist which is often associated with Televangelists, Gay-bashing and soldiers participating in Islamic Jihad. I do not need that kind of company, thank you very much.
7. Because people make assumptions about my political leanings.
6. Because evangelical can be confused with religious, which tends to get turned into legalism, which Jesus spoke against.
5. Alot of people don’t like evangelicals and I want some friends.
4. Most people don’t even know what evangelical means.
3. Why do I have to put any label in front of Christian?
2. Evangelicals have all the answers to the worlds problems, and I don’t.
1. Most people associate evangelical with 2 things–anti-abortion and anti-homosexual. I want to be known as pro-Jesus.
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Jamie, did you see this quote over on Blind Beggar?
http://blindbeggar.org/?p=393
Isn’t it so ironic that evangelicals define the gospel as exclusively the substitutionary death of Christ for us on the cross. However, Jesus the ultimate preacher of the gospel never publicly preached about his death/resurrection (and didn’t even mention it privately until Matthew 16.21). Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom.
find out about the gospel of the kingdom
This post says exactly what I am thinking. I really don’t know what it means to be an evangelical anymore. So I decided not to be one. Why try to be something if you don’t know what the something is. Guess I’ll just have to be a Christian.
Sojna,
Great quote by Tozier. Thanks-I hadn’t seen it.
Sean, Yes, I agree-Jesus talked alot more about the Kingdom than we do. I popped over to your website, can you tell me about your church?
Don- Me either. Even the label “Christian” has been loaded down with junk that doesn’t belong because of our tendancy to turn it into a religion, instead of a lifestyle.