Am I an Evangelical?

Ed Stetzer placed a link to a letter written by Dr. Ergun Caner, President and Dean of Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary and Graduate School. The article in question is regarding Caner's dislike for the newest attempt to muddy the philosophical waters of evangelicalism.

The new strands of this rope called "evangelicalism" cause me to ask if I am still an evangelical. Those strands include everything from being a "green evangelical" to people who call themselves evangelical, but no longer believe salvation through Jesus is a unique thing. I am so tired of the green machine dribbling out its poisonous lies, I may well write a separate blog about that. For now, let's talk about Jesus and this tent called "evangelicalism."

First, the stakes that hold the tent of evangelicalism are fixed and easy to spot; consider this description from Barna:

"'Evangelicals' meet the born again criteria plus seven other conditions. Those include saying their faith is very important in their life today; believing they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs about Christ with non-Christians; believing that Satan exists; believing that eternal salvation is possible only through grace, not works; believing that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; asserting that the Bible is accurate in all that it teaches; and describing God as the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect deity who created the universe and still rules it today."

Second, to be sure, the fabric of the evangelical tent is multi-faceted. No one denomination has a monopoly on evangelicalism. That being said, however, it does not mean the tent is so broad as to accept anything that comes along. Does that sound offensive? Consider it carefully; if your church were to accept just any old preacher that came along, could you trust him? What if he changed the meaning of familiar words, such as "born again?"

That is what is happening. There are those who call themselves born-again evangelicals, but who do not believe that Jesus is the only way to be saved. When asked if Muslims would be in heaven, one prominent so-called evangelical preacher recently quoted Jesus' statement that he has other sheep in the fold that his hearers did not know about (John 10:16). As is true with too many others, this man does not believe in the unique nature of salvation through Jesus Christ. He is a false evangelical--a false prophet, if you will.

What is the fear that is generating the attempted change in evangelicalism? Why are we now afraid that we will be offensive? The truth is simple: the gospel is offensive to some. To soft-pedal it is mighty close to being ashamed of it (a·shamed adj.
1. Feeling shame or guilt
2. Feeling inferior, inadequate, or embarrassed
3. Reluctant through fear of humiliation or shame).

I am an evangelical. I am not ashamed to say it. Unless the apostates take over the evangelical family. Then I will call myself something else.

Don't Check Your Theology at the Door!

If you had the privilege or responsibility of giving one piece of advice to a new missionary or new pastor, what would it be?

One website I read said, “Be sure your belt fits, especially if you are large.” It was the first website that was listed for advice to ministers.

Another site said to write a business plan.

Then I found some more sage advice, such as, “Love God’s people.” That one was for pastors.
Adoniram Judson, that renown Baptist missionary of the 19th Century, said, “First, then, let it be a missionary life; that is, come out for life, and not for a limited term. Do not fancy that you have a true missionary spirit, while you are intending all along to leave the heathen soon after acquiring their language. Leave them! For what? To spend the rest of your days in enjoying the ease and plenty of your native land?” (Advice to Missionary Candidates, June 1832)

One of my daughters said to me, “To a pastor, I would say, ‘don’t be afraid of stepping on toes; preach the truth, no matter what.’ To new missionaries I would say, ‘Don’t go in assuming you know everything. Your expectations will get blown out of the water.’”

Someone else said, “To a missionary, ‘don’t lose hope; hang in there.’”

Here is my piece of advice, which applies to both missionaries and pastors: Don’t check your theology at the door. I am increasingly disappointed in the post-modern uncertainty that has begun to characterize our interaction with one another. In the name of tolerance, I fear, we are reluctant to have a strong and evident theology.

If you disciple men and women, but weaken your gospel to accommodate any given world view or culture, you have made weak disciples. And weak disciples equal a weak church.

Yes, there are areas of theology that are non-essential to the Christian faith; no, I am not referring to those areas. Yes, you will think some things to be non-essential that someone else will presume are essential; no, I don’t want to debate you on which are the essentials. I presume you are smart enough and have a walk with Christ that will allow you to develop a good theology.

Just don’t leave it at the door.

Now, what would your advice be?