The problem with Evangelicals

So, I was talking to my neighbor the other day. I've had great discussions with her in the past about all things Christian, and discovered she's very knowledgeable about Christianity. I haven't seen her in a while as her new job has kept her busy, so it was great that I was able to have a brief chat with her before heading off to church. I was telling her about our upcoming church plant, and the first question she asked was "Is it evangelical?" It was asked not in a positive frame, but one of guarded interest. I answered that we would be a reformed baptist church (yes, I avoided the question). When talking with another neighbor friend of mine, she asked if we would be "Baptist" (again, not in a positive "Oh, I hope it IS!" kind of way). I told her we would be affiliated with the Canadian National Baptist Convention. I didn't feel ashamed, but at the same time I felt...discouraged. Why all the negative vibes?

It reminded me of my last conversation with my mother. She believes herself to be a Christian, yet she hasn't opened her bible in 45 years (her own admission). There is a belief in many corners of Canada today (and maybe elsewhere) that being an evangelical is something to be sneered at. My mother calls us "hoity-toities". (I think she means we think our poop doesn't stink...but I'm not sure). My beloved Grandmother has no use for evangelicals, and neither does the rest of my extended family. I thought this was simply a family issue, but upon further study, I've realized that with the founding religions of Canada being primarily Catholic and ecclesiastical Protestants (United Church of Canada among other liberal churches), to be an evangelical is to be an 'annoying Bible-thu

mper'. This leads me to two issues we as evangelicals need to deal with. 1)We need to educate people about what Christianity is, and use the bible to do so. This may lead to the 'annoying Bible-thumper' title, but if we do it in such a manner that isn't so...arrogant, maybe people would be more likely to listen. Maybe. 2)Stop giving non-evangelicals ammunition to rightly call us nasty names. There are some that feel unless you're dancing in the aisles, you're not born of the Spirit. Therefore, anyone who sits quietly in their seat, sings quietly, or does anything quietly, is spiritually dead. We're also known to be quite forward in our proclamation. Don't get me wrong, I'm not in favour of the notion that religion is something we keep to ourselves, we are commanded to share the gospel, I'm just saying we can be more discerning about the manner in which we do it.

We cannot help that the gospel is going to offend people, Jesus told us that would happen, but we can help the manner in which we

conduct ourselves in relation to others. Maybe we can try loving our neighbors instead of trying to convert them every time we see them. Maybe we can listen instead of talking. Maybe we can let the Spirit guide our actions instead of taking charge ourselves.