Matt Jenson

An Apology for Staying

Try as we might to obscure the fact in increasingly subtle and beautiful theologies and liturgies, Evangelicalism is a movement of pietists who, like Wesley, take their bearings from a day when, metaphorically or literally, our hearts were “strangely warmed.” We can map that day spatio-temporally. We can remember a day in church and an […]

Dwight J. Friesen

Asking Evangelical Questions

I wonder whether anyone who asks a question such as this, or anyone who responds to a question like this, isn’t already an evangelical? Historically, to be evangelical was to be characterized not by a specific church tradition or denomination, but by a passion for sharing the story of the good news of the saving […]

Mark Russell

A Robust, Bold Maybe

Do I want to be an Evangelical? My answer is a Resounding Maybe! (Of course, That’s with Nine Qualifying Statements and Depends Somewhat on The Color of Your Terministic Screen) Most people would consider me an evangelical. After growing up in mainline Protestant churches, I made my personal decision to become a Christian while attending […]

Genevieve L. James

Schizophrenic Evangelicalism

Please excuse the schizophrenic nature of this article. The truth is, after the Lausanne Young Leader’s Gathering I could consider myself evangelical …or could I really…? Lausanne’s Younger Leaders Gathering was certainly a charming event, a sensory feast. There were good looking, healthy, zealous young leaders from across the globe in beautiful cultural costumes to look at, […]

Jonathan Chan

Beyond Evangelical Milk

The question of ‘Do I want to be an evangelical?’ is interesting. All of a sudden I seem to have a ‘choice’. I have never thought I have. But do I really have a choice since I was raised up with evangelical milk? I If being evangelical means supporting the war against Iraq, pushing conversion […]

Corey Widmer

Resisting The False Divide

After graduating from college, I moved to London to work as “study assistant” to the Rev. Dr. John Stott, one of the revered founders of the 1974 Lausanne Gathering and an architect of its development into a global movement. At that point in my life, I was not fond of the term “evangelical.” Having grown […]

Allen Yeh

Toward a Fuller Definition of Evangelical

In order to properly address the topic at hand, I believe a fuller definition of some of these key words (especially “evangelical” and “ecumenical”) is needed. Although “evangelical” has already been predefined as the so-called “Bebbington quadrilateral,” the word’s definition is as manifold as the word “liberal.” One way of defining evangelical is the basic […]

Christopher L. Heuertz

Subverting Evangelicalism

What do we mean by “evangelical”? Bishop Mortimer Arias’ work, Announcing the Reign of God: Evangelization and the Subversive Memory of Jesus has heavily influenced how I answer that question. I understand that the term evangelical (which is not an actual biblical term) is loosely derived from the Greek words, euaggelion which is translated as the “Gospel,” and the […]

Chris Keller

Intro: Do I Want To Be An Evangelical?

Last month almost 500 participants from over 110 countries gathered in Malaysia for Lausanne’s Younger Leaders Gathering (YLG). While the primary mission of the conference was somewhat effuse, conference attendees enjoyed networking with Christian believers from all over the world, were challenged with reflections on global missions from plenary speakers, learned about various facets of Christian […]