Are we still ‘evangelical’? If so, why?

What does it mean to be an ‘evangelical’? In some ways this is a perennial question but recent developments in Evangelicalism, especially in America, mean that the question needs to be addressed again.

What recent developments, you say? Well, the most recent is the book Shepherds For Sale (which I have not yet read, and so upon which I cannot comment), but also the increasing tendency for the word ‘evangelical’ in popular discourse to equate with certain political opinions.

What does it really mean to be an evangelical? Is the word still useful, or should we find a different or better word? Writing in a newspaper called Evangelicals Now probably suggests that I am likely to conclude that the word is still useful. But reputable people – names mentioned to me in personal conversations I won’t pass along – of great significance in the evangelical international movement have wondered out loud whether the word is passing its usefulness.