What is an Evangelical Christian? Am I an Evangelical Christian?
I grew up in an American Baptist church with 150 years of history and a building to match. The structure embodied the quintessential New England meeting house: white clapboard, a steeple with a bell that rang to call folks to Sunday worship, a stained glass Good Shepherd window, a pipe organ, wooden pews. As a young child, I particularly enjoyed the dangerously steep “secret” back staircase leading from the Sunday school rooms to the choir. Growing up in such a church, words like “baptistry” and “narthex” were in my early vocabulary.
When I was nine years old, the whole building burned to the ground.
Looking back now, I still feel a sense of communal loss. But I also see a formative lesson. During the following year and a half of construction, and in the decades since, my childhood church has been a living illustration of the adage that church is not a building, but a group of people. And the group of people involved in that church over the years has been both demographically varied and, while holding a few central doctrines in common, open to those with differing faith experiences and viewpoints.
You may be wondering why I would begin a post about evangelical Christianity with my origins in mainline Protestantism, a group of people typically defined as standing separate from our evangelical peers. While my early faith formation was under the wing of a mainline Protestant denomination, the churches I have attended as an adult all identify as evangelical. That shift in attendance had more to do with geography and community than any substantive change in my faith beliefs or practices. I do not see myself as having exited one group to join the other. If anything, I feel like I often sit on the fence between these two groups of people, wondering why there is a fence in the first place.
1. Why the label “evangelical” feels complicated
My peers raised in evangelical church settings sometimes assume that I, like they, grew up with all the associated cultural trappings. Is an affinity with Focus on the Family, a nostalgia for Ronald Reagan, or a taste for Christian pop music a defining characteristic of an evangelical? Perhaps the dividing line for evangelicalism is agreement with a particular set of conservative beliefs on contemporary social and political issues. Not identifying with any of these cultural or political markers, I can feel pushed outside the fenced-off circle of evangelicals before we even begin discussing doctrine.
I have watched some of those same peers go through a process of faith deconstruction and reconstruction in an attempt to untangle the cultural parts of evangelicalism from the doctrinal. Resources like Kristin DuMez’s book, Jesus and John Wayne and her Theology Lab conversation with Walter Kim have helped me understand the complex enmeshing of faith, culture, and politics that my friends lived. They also helped me further understand why I feel awkward claiming the label of “evangelical” as my own. Although I may agree with the published doctrinal statements made by theologians or evangelical churches, I don’t want the cultural and political baggage that comes with the label.
2. Core evangelical beliefs
And yet I find myself worshipping alongside these peers and friends at a church with “evangelical” in the name of its denomination. Discovering what that means inside our church context requires only a few clicks into the church’s website, where it states:
Our association with the term is a historic one. Historically, evangelicalism was characterized by four things:
The belief that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ brings about God’s renewal of our world.
The belief that lives need to be transformed through a life-long process of following Jesus.
The belief that the Bible is central to informing our relationship with God and others.
The belief that the teachings of Jesus are rightly expressed through social justice and community engagement.
These beliefs are consistent with my own. Interestingly, they are also very similar to the stated beliefs of my childhood church! I would guess that most mainline Protestant churches probably include the ideas expressed in these four points in their statements of belief, though they may use different wording or intertwine them with their particular traditions and practices. Maybe the fence I perceive around evangelicals doesn’t have to do with doctrine at all. But in that case, are all mainline Protestants evangelicals, at least in a doctrinal sense? As it turns out, this is a much more complicated question than it seems, and it depends on your view of church history.
3. A brief history of evangelical Christianity
I am not a historian, but I do read. And in trying to get to the bottom of the question, “What is an evangelical Christian?” I did some reading.
In “Evangelical and Unevangelical: The Contested History of a Word,” historian Linford Fisher traces the word “evangelical” through the ages. Here is a very abbreviated summary of his findings:
At its root, the word “evangelical” comes from the Greek word euangelion, meaning “good news.” The Latin form, evangelica, was in widespread use in ancient and medieval Christianity.
Fast forward to the 1520s, and the Reformers claimed the term “evangelical” to describe their “true Christian" approach, in contrast to the beliefs and practices of the medieval Catholic church. Through the centuries following, as Protestant groups proliterated and differentiated, they continued to use the descriptor “evangelical,” and “evangelical” became almost synonymous with “Protestant.”
Throughout the 19th century, Protestant subgroups self-identified as “evangelical” in order to intentionally exclude other groups that they saw as less true to Biblical principles. But the label “evangelical” was still seen as positive, so the excluded groups continued to claim the word for themselves, too.
In the early 20th century, the Fundamentalist movement in the U.S. created a more narrow, conservative definition of “evangelical,” and for the first time, other Protestant groups began to disown the label to avoid association with that movement. The definition was later reworked by various groups and individuals such as the National Association for Evangelicals, Billy Graham’s preaching crusades, the Moral Majority, and historian David Bebbington. But the precedent was set for “evangelical” to be seen as a narrow term, applicable to only a subset of Protestant Christians.
4. Who gets to claim the title “evangelical” (and does it matter)?
Given this complicated and contentious history of the word “evangelical”, along with the many connotations it has accrued in recent years, writing a comprehensive definition is perhaps an impossible task.
Instead of adding to that debate among historians, theologians, and pundits, I would rather ask a more practical question: Even if we could find a perfect definition, would that help us be better bringers of “good news”? All this moving of fence posts, attempting to determine who’s in and who’s out, strikes me as akin to the disciples arguing about which of them was the best after they have heard Jesus deliver the Sermon on the Mount and seen him perform miracles like feeding the 5,000.
Let’s consider a practical example. My childhood church runs a “Food and Friends” meal each week, a free dinner for anyone who wishes to attend. Most folks come because they are experiencing food insecurity, but often there are also curious church members, elderly folks, or those who are just lonely. Several local churches partner to take turns preparing the meal, and my mom, who is in her early 80s, directs the efforts each week.
It’s far from an idyllic ministry—they have dealt with their share of issues ranging from having to throw away large quantities of spoiled raw meat that somehow went unrefrigerated, to personality clashes between volunteers and/or attendees. (But even the disciples had their share of logistical troubles. Somebody had to collect those twelve baskets of leftovers, and what in the world did they do with them afterwards?) Yet each week the volunteers create enough nutritious meals to feed their guests, typically with enough leftovers to send anyone who wants one home with a “to-go” container with a second meal for later.
To the extent that these volunteers, who come from a wide variety of church traditions, are all modeling their efforts after Jesus and bringing the “good news” of hot food to hungry people, I would call their work “evangelical.” But putting a label on it doesn’t make their efforts more effective at feeding people physically or spiritually.
I’m not saying that historical analysis, theological discussions, or even doctrinal creeds are worthless. In fact, I think understanding history is essential for seeing our origins, our past accomplishments, and our failures. And theological statements of belief are critical for giving us direction and a shared vision.
But understanding and direction are not the same as movement. Yes, we can affirm that Jesus’ death and resurrection take away the sins of the world. But using that belief to define the word “evangelical” and then pointing to ourselves doesn’t bring “good news” to anyone any more than defining the word “disciple” makes more disciples. Before he died, Jesus also spent three years in ministry bringing the good news. His life is the model for how we go about being evangelical.
5. Curiosity and bringing the “good news”
The gospels record Jesus asking other people hundreds of questions. Arguably, since he is God, he already knew the answers to all of them. He was not searching for information. He was reaching for a shared understanding. He was inviting the other person into a relationship and making them feel seen. After all, he is the “God who sees me.” Jesus could have proclaimed scriptural interpretations to the scribes, silently healed the paralyzed man and bleeding woman, and told his disciples exactly who he was. Instead, he led with questions:
“How do you read it?”
“Do you want to be healed?”
“Who touched my robe?”
“Who do you say I am?”
I am not generally good at asking people questions. I illogically assume that others will share anything they think is important while simultaneously keeping my own thoughts to myself unless directly asked. But I am grateful to be part of a church community where faith conversations are encouraged and curiosity is a core value. I’m trying to learn from Jesus’s example that the first step in bringing the “good news” is good listening. And good listening involves asking good questions.
6. Conclusion
While the label “evangelical” has served as a descriptor for Christian life for hundreds of years, its common usage today feels narrow, scattered, and divisive. I can appreciate efforts made by historians and theologians to widen that descriptor and bring it closer to the roots of euangelion, the “good news.” But ultimately, just as the church is not a building, it’s also not a dictionary. God’s church is his people, and Jesus’s own approach to the people around him gives us a way forward as bringers of “good news.” Being an evangelical—practicing evangelism—looks less like setting up fences and more like listening to our neighbors.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is an evangelical Christian?
People define this in different ways, drawing from various historical, theological, cultural, and social lenses. Part of this article looks at the evangelical idea of good news, and key beliefs, like the resurrection of Jesus, the authority of Scripture, and social justice.
2. What does the word "evangelical" mean?
The word comes from the Greek euangelion, meaning "good news" or "gospel."
3. Is "evangelical" the same as "Protestant"?
Not today, at least in North American contexts. Historically, the terms often overlapped, but modern usage often refers to a particular movement within Protestant Christianity, although the term applies more broadly.
4. Why is the label "evangelical" controversial?
Over time, the term has become associated with certain cultural and political identities as well as theological beliefs, making its meaning more contested.
5. Can someone be evangelical without identifying with evangelical culture?
Yes. Some Christians affirm historic evangelical beliefs while feeling disconnected from modern evangelical culture or politics.
6. Has the meaning of "evangelical" changed over time?
Yes. The word has been used in different ways throughout church history, from the early biblical idea of “good news” (which still applies today) to its new or adapted meanings in events like the Protestant Reformation and more recent occurrences that followed the mainline Christianity and fundamentalist split of the early twentieth century.
7. What are the historic hallmarks of evangelical Christianity?
It’s hard to say concisely. People often cite the Bebbington Quadrilateral, which focuses on key beliefs, like the authority of the Bible, the centrality of Jesus' death and resurrection, personal conversion, and a concern for justice.
8. Is evangelism only about preaching?
No. Evangelism also includes serving others, building relationships, listening well, and living out the good news of Jesus.
9. What does euangelion mean?
Euangelion is the Greek word for "good news," from which we get the English words evangelical and evangelism.
10. What's a main message of this article?
Rather than arguing over labels, Christians ought to consider words like evangelicalism in light of the call to embody the good news of Jesus by following his example of love, service, curiosity, and faithful discipleship.
If you enjoyed this article, you might be interested in these Theology Lab episodes:
Kristin Kobes Du Mez (Jesus and John Wayne) and Walter Kim (NAE) on evangelicalism and gender. Check out the episode page here.
Russell Moore talks evangelicalism, Christian Nationalism, and more. Check out the episode page here.