The best sense of the word

For quite some time now, I've talked about Urban Village being a church that's "evangelical in the best sense of the word." In my own head, I've known what that meant (kind of), but I haven't been called on it until yesterday. I'm surprised it's taken that long.

I wasn't really called on it, but was nicely asked about it. On the first Sunday of the month, we offer "Urban Village 101" (formerly Coffee with the Pastors) after worship that's basically a summary of what we want to be about, how we started, what our mission is, etc. as well as answering any questions that people have.

Sample questions/concerns from yesterday: You say you're inclusive, but what does that really mean? Just how tied are you to the United Methodist Church? I can't get over the violent God in the Bible...what's up with that? And, of course, what do you mean when you say you're evangelical in the best sense of the word? No softballs in that group.

Evangelical, of course, has lots of many meanings in our society today and I'm guessing many people equate it with a particular political stance on particular issues (e.g. abortion, homosexuality). Some also use it to denote a particular theological stance. For example, George Barna, who's an evangelical pollster and researcher, defines an evangelical as one who meets these criteria:

1. Makes a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today; and believes that after they die they will go to Heaven because they have confessed their sins and have accepted Jesus Christ as their savior.

2. Believes that God is the all-powerful, all-knowing, perfect creator of the universe who rules the world today.

3. Strongly agrees that their religious faith is very important in their life.

4. Strongly agrees that the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches.

5. Strongly disagrees that when He lived on earth, Jesus Christ was human and committed sins, like other people.

6. Strongly agrees that they, personally, have a responsibility to tell other people their religious beliefs.

7. Strongly disagrees that if a person is generally good, or does enough good things for others during their life, they will earn a place in Heaven.

8. Strongly disagrees that the devil, or Satan, is not a living being but is a symbol of evil.

The root of evangelical, though, is the Greek word, evangelion, which means gospel or good news. That's it. Good news. What that good news, of course, is open to interpretation. For me (in short), it means changed hearts and changed lives so we can change the world. For others, it has to do with many other issues. When I say, then, that we're evangelical in the best sense of the word, I should probably say that we're evangelical in the root sense of the word. We're bearers of good news and that's going to be different for different people. It's good news that God loves them. It's good news that forgiveness and grace are readily available to all. It's good news that when we look at the life of Jesus, we see the ushering in of the kingdom of God, which means that the doors are wide open, particularly to those who were on the outskirts of society. Others certainly will have a different take on what that good news is. But I don't think anyone can have the final say on what that good news is. The book of Mark opens his gospel by saying "The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God..." There's a lot that follows, of course. That Jesus is the Son of God, that's a good place to start.