Evangelical-ish

The latest United Church Observer contains an interview with Kevin Flatt, the author of a new book called After Evangelicalism: The Sixties and the United Church of Canada. He argues that the UCC became a different denomination in the 60's, choosing liberal theology over the evangelical character of the church formed in 1925. http://www.ucobserver.org/interviews/2013/10/interview_kevin_flatt/

While I'm not entirely persuaded by his premise, I would agree that one of the most successful initiatives  of the United Church has been the quiet but persistent choice not to form our young people as faithful Christians. At some point we seemed to lose our general conviction that persuasively teaching and preaching the gospel of Christ, crucified and risen, really mattered. Whether we are speaking of what we do internally with our own flock, or in our invitation to those outside our community of faith, we have become woefully inept at making Christians. It's what Malcolm Muggeridge described as the liberal death wish. That's part of why we are hearing the grim news of so many United Church closures.

So often we sniff at our evangelical brothers and sisters and point out the various ways we don't want to be like them. Yet we have no real strategy for sharing our Good News in Christ, which is, after all, what evangelical means.

Of course, it could be argued that this is an outrageous generalization on my part. Over the last six years in my previous congregation two child and youth workers did an excellent job creating a spiritual environment in which kids were encouraged to grow in faith. They managed to be evangelical alongside being fairly liberal in their theological perspective. They "kept their eyes on the prize" of faith in Jesus Christ. The same commitment can be found in other congregations across the country. But it is probably the exception rather than the rule.

What Flatt doesn't acknowledge is that many evangelical churches are now fretting about the disappearance of their young people once they leave the shelter of their protective congregations. How do I know this? Evangelical pastors and school principals have told me so. There is no magic Christian formula for deepening the faith of our young folk in an increasingly secular society. Many of those conservative young people balk at the "don'ts" of their faith upbringing.

My hope is that we can renew our evangelical commitment because we love Jesus and want others to hear the Good News of new life and justice for all. I think we can be liberal in our outlook, as long as we realize that Christ is at the core. At the least we can be "evangelical-ish."

What are your thoughts folks? Can an evangelical heart and a liberal brain go together?