s/o What exactly does it mean to be evangelical?

[Nakia]

I must be ignorant, but I really don't know what it means. I am a Christian and we attend a non-denominational church. I know our church spends a lot of time out serving the community through homeless ministry, prison ministry, etc, but I'm not sure about evangelizing. Can someone explain what that means?

[Gooblink]

:) I wonder the same thing! I think it means different things to different people. Same as the "fundamentalist" label.

[Nakia]

Nobody wanna help me and Goodlink out?

[Heather in Neverland]

from Theopedia.com:

 

Not a formally organized movement, modern evangelicals usually represent conservative elements from within numerous mainline protestant denominations as well as independant Baptist churches and Bible churches. While there is no established set of beliefs which define one as an evangelical, in general, evangelicals hold to:

 

an orthodox Christology and emphasis on Christ's atoning work and bodily Resurrection;

the belief that salvation is the result of God's grace through Christ rather than any human works;

the authority and inspiration of Scripture, usually holding to the inerrancy of the original autographs;

an emphasis on biblical preaching and teaching;

an emphasis on the conversion experience, typically referred to as being "born again" or experiencing a "new birth";

and an emphasis on evangelism and the importance of mission work.

 

Evangelicals who are part of various traditions of Christian thought (Calvinism, Methodism, Lutheranism, Baptists, etc.) may also emphasize other doctrinal stances important to their own traditions, but all typically agree with the above listed items.

[Nakia]

from Theopedia.com:

 

Not a formally organized movement, modern evangelicals usually represent conservative elements from within numerous mainline protestant denominations as well as independant Baptist churches and Bible churches. While there is no established set of beliefs which define one as an evangelical, in general, evangelicals hold to:

 

an orthodox Christology and emphasis on Christ's atoning work and bodily Resurrection;

the belief that salvation is the result of God's grace through Christ rather than any human works;

the authority and inspiration of Scripture, usually holding to the inerrancy of the original autographs;

an emphasis on biblical preaching and teaching;

an emphasis on the conversion experience, typically referred to as being "born again" or experiencing a "new birth";

and an emphasis on evangelism and the importance of mission work.

 

Evangelicals who are part of various traditions of Christian thought (Calvinism, Methodism, Lutheranism, Baptists, etc.) may also emphasize other doctrinal stances important to their own traditions, but all typically agree with the above listed items.

 

Great, but what does it mean in practice?

[Chris in VA]

I think it means telling others about Jesus Christ, thru actions AND words. Some folks lean more towards one than the other. There's a very wide range of evangelical.

[Barry Goldwater]

It means following the command by Jesus found in Mark 16:15-16 - "And he said unto them, 'Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be ****ed.'"

 

And from the words of Paul in I Peter 3:15, "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear."

 

The idea being that only the acceptance of Christ's death on the cross as substitutional punishment for our sins, and belief in His resurrection, leads to salvation. It is the obligation of the Christian to share this with the unsaved. That is what is meant by "evangelical."

 

BTW, to be shared 'in love,' not with a haughty or superior attitude, recognizing, again, that not one of us is free from sin or deserving of salvation. And, the Gospel can be shared verbally but also through one's actions, by practicing the examples Jesus gave us...serving others, putting others' needs before our own, returning hate with love, and other fruits of the spirit.

 

It is to be distinguished from the 'I'm OK, you're OK' type of christianity that is fairly popular nowadays...

 

Hope that helps...if you want more, PM me...

[Nakia]

I kinda like this quote, but not sure if it fits.

 

"Preach the gospel everyday; if necessary, use words." - Francis of Assisi

[Jyniffrec]

I ran into a lot of people in South and Central America that called themselves evangelical before anyone knew what the word meant here. I was always confused by what they meant by that, but looking back on it now, I think they meant that they weren't Roman Catholic and that they didn't belong to a denomination. I'm not saying that is the essential meaning at all, but that is how they understood it and I think it is interesting, given the fact that it is how many Christians in the U.S. identify themselves now.

[Mrs Mungo]

To me, Evangelical Christian means "born again Christian."

 

I kinda like this quote, but not sure if it fits.

 

"Preach the gospel everyday; if necessary, use words." - Francis of Assisi

 

:iagree:

[Melinda in VT]

I usually associate "evangelical" with an emphasis on two things: 1) being "saved" and 2) spreading their religion through words. (Not to say that evangelicals don't preach through their actions as well, but it's the use of words that makes them evangelical in my mind.)

[Laurie4b]

from Theopedia.com:

 

Not a formally organized movement, modern evangelicals usually represent conservative elements from within numerous mainline protestant denominations as well as independant Baptist churches and Bible churches. While there is no established set of beliefs which define one as an evangelical, in general, evangelicals hold to:

 

an orthodox Christology and emphasis on Christ's atoning work and bodily Resurrection;

the belief that salvation is the result of God's grace through Christ rather than any human works;

the authority and inspiration of Scripture, usually holding to the inerrancy of the original autographs;

an emphasis on biblical preaching and teaching;

an emphasis on the conversion experience, typically referred to as being "born again" or experiencing a "new birth";

and an emphasis on evangelism and the importance of mission work.

 

Evangelicals who are part of various traditions of Christian thought (Calvinism, Methodism, Lutheranism, Baptists, etc.) may also emphasize other doctrinal stances important to their own traditions, but all typically agree with the above listed items.

 

:iagree: I think this is a nice summation. I would add that one distinctive of evangelicals is a willingness to integrate faith and thinking. It's not "blind faith"; it's not faith that ignores science; it's not faith that compartmentalizes science from faith. Not that other denominations don't do some of that, but that that also is common among people who believe as listed above.