What’s the first thing that you think of when you hear the term “Evangelical”? My guess is one of two responses – first, a hard-nosed conservative political type that may frequent tea party rallies and make their kids watch Glenn Beck or second, a bible beating preacher that likes to talk about JEE-SUS and wants to make sure you’re saved from the flaming pit of hell. Am I right? Thought so. We have come so far from the original meaning of the term “evangelical” that it has become a hot button term which usually brings a negative reaction. In a pure sense, evangelical means, simply, ‘one who shares the good news’. The word gospel comes from the Greek work euangelion or ‘good news’. An evangelical is one who lives life to share the good news of Jesus Christ. How this term somehow became associated with conservative politics, I have no idea. One can be anywhere from conservative to liberal on the political scale and still have a life dedicated to Christ and to sharing His gospel. And to limit the ‘good news’ of the gospel to determining our eternal destination is to really sell short the gospel. If faith is just about what God is going to do for us after we die then we’re missing out on the abundant life that we can have right now in Christ.
As a preacher, I have always tried to be careful about how I use the term ‘evangelical’ because I don’t want to be mislabeled. But I’ve now come to the decision that I am no longer going to let others misappropriate ‘evangelical’ for their own means. So I’m reclaiming the term ‘evangelical’ and claiming it for my life and my ministry. I’m dedicating my ministry to sharing the good news and letting people know that God loves them and wants them to turn from a life of sin and live a new life, both today and for eternity. I’m going to let people know that God is concerned about their lives and wants to give them a life of abundant joy, and that this life has nothing to do with politics. (Though a life lived in Christ will have everything to do about morals.) I’m going to tell people that to accept Jesus as Savior is great, but that real life comes when we surrender to Him as Lord.
I’m Howard and I’m an evangelical and proud of it. And I can’t wait to share the good news!