Evangelism

What part of me and my identity as a Christian is evangelical? And Progressive? The Greek verb Jesus uses is evangel from which the word evangelism is derived. I am called to preach the good news as an evangelical. I am also called to be an advocate for that which I preach. More than words, I am called to live the gospel. As a Presbyterian (reformed) Church pastor, I believe the gospel motivates our living what we believe. This makes me a progressive. Can a progressive also be an evangelical?

While I see myself as a progressive evangelical, I can in no way align myself with all evangelicals….especially the conservative right.

DIGGING DEEPER: I have invested over forty years preaching the “good news” of the Gospel. I continue to believe God’s ancient, unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ—words of scripture that speak to and live in the lives of people with hearts open to hear what ancient scriptures say. I search for what Christ says to me within the context I now live! As an ordained Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church, I continue to open my mind and heart to what inspired words of scripture can teach me.

As a preacher and pastor, I have always believed myself to be a quiet progressive—if that is possible. Maybe it’s more accurate to call myself an introvert progressive. I like the image used by a colleague—couch progressive. Perhaps I am a covert, couch progressive who tries not to wear ‘progressive’ as a badge? As a couch, covert progressive I try not letting my personal views interfere with my being an effective minister.

Scripture has long informed who I am and what I preach grounded in this text:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me

to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to let the oppressed go free. Luke 4:18 (also Isaiah 61)

Doesn’t this sound progressive? And Evangelical? While I rarely (if ever) use this term “evangelical” to identify myself as a Christian, I have found myself aligned with much of what I believe true evangelicals represent. Back to the question: Can a progressive also be an evangelical?

Jim Wallis, founder and editor of Sojourners (www.sojo.net) has this to say:

What it means to be ‘evangelical’ is changing — it’s reverting back to its original meaning.

The new evangelical statement attempts to clarify who evangelicals are and how they should be defined: not as a people beholden to any political party, but as a people who proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ that always seeks to lift up those on the margins of society — not deport them, or scam them, or attack their professionalism because of their ethnicity or gender. These evangelicals are Americans of African and European descent, Latino/a, Asian American, and Native American. They are women and men, as well as younger and older evangelical Christians from a wide range of denominational and political backgrounds. (www.Sojo.net, March 6, 2016, ‘Evangelicals:’ You Keep using that Word.)

WHAT I BELIEVE:

Now for these thoughts in an attempt to answer the question: Can a progressive also be an evangelical? Yes, if one lives his or her life grounded / centered in the love of God. God is more than words or ideas found in the pages of ancient scripture. Love binds us together and builds us up. Love lives in and between us relationally and in our experiences. We learn about this love of God through many people, past and present, including a famous man believed by Christians to be Lord and Savior—Jesus Christ. I believe Christ lives in and between us sharing with us the love of God that binds us together and builds us up. More at another time on this subject of the ‘living Christ’.

This is why I created this blog. God lives in and between us. Love exists in and between us. Love connects us. Love builds us up. WE ARE BOUND AND NURTURED IN GOD’S LOVE!

The scripture that teaches us this concept informs who I am as an evangelical and progressive:

Hear O Israel…. ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ …. ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these. Mark 12:29ff

We cannot separate what we know of God from how we live with God!

It is from my perspective, perhaps as both an evangelical progressive, that I can preach the good news to the poor; proclaiming release to captives living in a broken world and recovery of sight/vision to those who are blinded by brokenness and sin.

Yes, I believe I can be both an evangelical and progressive — if I work at both! If I let God’s love speak and live through me.

Does this make sense?

I could not, for the life of me, remember his name! I could picture him. His name was on the tip of my tongue. I couldn’t remember his name. Has this ever happened to you?

It was on Sunday while watching the Bronco’s and Colts playoff game that I spent more than a few agonizing moments trying to remember the name of the great football player and former quarterback of the Denver Broncos. This isn’t supposed to happen! This is ridiculous! What’s his name?

Suddenly, my wife after doing a quick Google search (she also could not come up with the name), declared: “His name is John Elway.” Embarrassed! As a former Coloradoan, I can’t believe I couldn’t remember this name! When we hear the name John Elway, I think immediately of his wonderful sixteen season football career as a Bronco quarterback. He is now working as the vice-President of operations for the Broncos…as well as numerous lucrative business ventures around Denver. I knew this stuff. I couldn’t remember his name! Unfortunately and sometimes embarrassed, I experience some challenges in remembering names. I just couldn’t come up with his name.

Why share this embarrassing story? While John Elway is a name that has a tremendous amount of value in the football world, we each have tens of thousands of names that point to the stories of the people behind these valuable names. Just in the books we read — think about all the names behind the stories!

I learned years ago the value of paying attention to the names of people who assist me in cashing my check or serving my meal in a resturant. Referencing a person’s name in conversations gives this person and his or her story value. I promise, calling a waiter or bank teller by name will almost always guarantee better service! If nothing else the “valuing of a person” by the use of his or her name is a way of saying: “I appreciate you and what you are doing for me”.

For those in the clergy community, the world in which I live, I point you toward a blog written by Becca Messman — “Three Habits of Highly Effective Pastors”[1]. She point out this truism: There is nothing worse than calling a person by the wrong name!

And in forgetting names we may use the excuse: “I’m not good with names”. This is disastrous for pastors. Pastor’s need to remember names! While in daily life it’s important to remember the names of people around us, for clergy it’s an important part of our “valuing” the relationship we have with others as baptized members of the body of Christ.

In my last parish I took pride in knowing the name of every church member. I always tried to call on people with the use of their name. I am sure it helped that this was a smaller parish and we didn’t have that many visitors.

I also learned that when we had a visitor the value of learning of his or her name as soon as possible….in then using that name the next time I saw that visitor. With a church in an urban setting, this was vitally important when it came to learning the names of people who would come to the church asking for assisance. The first door I could open for a visitor was the use of his or he name.

This is also true with children. We as clergy persons need to value these children by using their names. Children are amazed that the pastor remembers his or her name!

So are you having a hard time remembering names? I learned early in my ministry that there is no shame in pulling out a piece of paper and writing down a name. The use of name tags in worship is a valuable asset in helping a larger congregation become a “community” of people — each with a name! And this important point: The first step in recalling the story of the person behind the name is the name itself.

Just some thoughts in thinking about John Elway and another man named “Rod” who just helped me get my car serviced.

[1] http://pres-outlook.org/2015/01/three-habits-highly-effective-pastors/