Mark Labberton - Still Evangelical?: Insiders Reconsider Political, Social, and Theological Meaning

E vangelicalism in America has cracked, split on the shoals of the 2016 presidential election and its aftermath, leaving many wondering whether they want to be in or out of the evangelical tribe. For a movement with a high public profile and much influence in American religion, culture, and politicsperhaps providing determinative support for the election of Donald Trumpit matters when that influence itself is breaking up the evangelical camp.

Contentiousness brought to the fore by the election surrounds what it means to affirm and demonstrate evangelical Christian faith amid the messy and polarized realities gripping our country and world. Desperation, anger, pain, frustration, and fear are evident on nearly every horizon. Within the relatively broad evangelical family, the election made apparent that culture rivals the gospel in defining evangelical political vision; our sociological frame speaks louder than our theology. This is not new to American evangelicalism (nor mainline Protestantism), but it is now more blatant and more critical. For a movement that has been about the primacy of Christian faith, this is a crisis.

This collection of essays offers perspectives and reflections from a spectrum of people who could be seen as insiders to the evangelical movement. The book isnt trying to advance a single perspective or to speak for evangelicalism at large. For some, the story is about a historical movement; for others, its more about their own story. All the writers speak for themselves as they wrestle with and offer their response to Still evangelical? in light of their convictions. All of these writers are more than aware that the word evangelical is understandably being declared dead and buried by some voices who find the word hopelessly entrapped in a particular and problematic political vision. This means contributors to this volume probably have varying attitudes about whether the term evangelical or evangelicalism has any meaningful viability or necessity, and the associations it accrues daily may make that more difficult to sustain. All of these writers, however, would maintain the distinct importance of the evangel that lies at the heart of our faith and life.