An interpretation of the Evangelical tradition

What kind of a Christian are you? This is a question that is commonly asked of me. My typical response is, “Do you have time to talk about it?”

Many Christians find their identity in creeds and confessions. I am a Baptist, and historically Baptists have been non-creedal and have avoided confessions of faith as binding standards of belief. Other Christians use terms such as liberal, conservative and progressive. I choose not to embrace any of these terms. They are too limiting and stifle good theological discussions and debates. I identify myself as a Baptist, but quickly add that Baptists at their best are theologically diverse. I do not avoid the Baptist label and cherish my Baptist roots. I found a nourishing and meaningful Christian faith in the Baptist tradition, so I am not quick to abandon the Baptist label.

I also choose to call myself an evangelical. I do so with some reluctance. In the past half century, Evangelicalism has become associated with right-wing politics, a demand for doctrinal purity, opposition to evolution, resistance to gay inclusion and passing judgment on those who disagree. I do not accept any of these perspectives and then insist that evangelical is a word that accurately describes me.

Words do not have meanings. They have valuable uses. Definitions are open to change and debate. At the conclusion of the debate about evangelicals, I choose to keep evangelical as my identity for reasons that are valid for me. Allow me to explain.

First, the word evangelical comes from a Greek word that means good news. The good news that Jesus preached is about bringing the justice of the kingdom of God to our earth. I am all for that! The justice that Christ preached and taught called for the needs of everyone to be met. I am all for that. Jesus was a good-news person to all those in need. That is the kind of Christian I want to be. I want to be a good-news person to everyone I meet. I am an evangelical. It is a good label and I want to keep it.

Evangelicalism has deep roots in the Protestant Reformation. In the Protestant Reformation, the Bible, preaching and music were set free among believers in a way that had not been true for centuries. I associate all three with being an evangelical. Focus of worship was turned away from the mass controlled by priests to experiences centered on the believer and his/her relationship to God.

The forces set free in the Reformation made the Bible a book of the people rather than the book of an institution. Giving the Bible a key place in the lives of believers does not commit me to being a literalist nor does it turn the Bible into a book of infallible holy writ. It does connect this believer to my earliest Christian brothers and sisters and puts me in touch with a lot of the wisdom of the ages. This important place for the Bible writings is a firmly established part of the evangelical experience. Evangelical Christians are constantly encouraged to read the Bible. I am an Evangelical.

Music is the elixir of Evangelicalism. Much of the Bible is written in poetic verse. When the grace and love of God is put into verse and then set to music, the possibility of personal experience of the Holy comes within the reach of the believer. I cannot imagine evangelical worship without music. The music that has been created by evangelicals is phenomenal. I am an evangelical.

Preaching is the centerpiece of Evangelicalism. Preaching is best understood as an art form. There is a lot of bad preaching in evangelical churches. It is not necessarily bad in content. Rather, few preachers master the art form. I never cease to be amazed that preachers can preach hundreds of sermons over a career and never become skilled in the art form. The artful preacher may use humor, storytelling, poetry and punch lines. The preacher masters timing, voice moderation and body movement. However, the tools of the preacher are always servants of the message. Good preachers at their best are effective truth tellers. The Gospel they preach has no forbidden territory.

Preachers can talk about personal morality, politics, economics, abortion, the sacredness of life, murder, war, the ways of peace, minimum wages, immigration policies, poverty, wealth, ecology, marriage, divorce and artificial conception. They hook up the message of God’s good news with the lives of their parishioners. In the evangelical tradition, the preacher assumes that life can become better for everyone and that the kingdom of God can become a reality on earth. The power of God’s Spirit is always actively waiting for a human being to facilitate change through decision-making.

Good preaching always asks something of the listener, either directly or by implication. Evangelical preaching tells the truth and then asks, “What are you going to do about it?”

From my own perspective, in our own day Evangelicalism is being corrupted by poor understandings of the Bible, hair-brained schemes of the “end-times,” harsh judgments and anti-intellectual pronouncements.

Grace, peace and mercy to all. For now I remain an evangelical Christian.

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister, who lives in Palmer, Alaska. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.

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