Merry Christmas. As most of you know, my wife, son, and I are Evangelical (from the Greek “Euangelion”) Christians. Given the season, my frequent use of the expression and the fact there is so much in the political (k)news about Evangelicals currently, I thought I would make mention of it, ‘here’. Evangelicalism is a trans-denominational Protestant movement centered upon the primary belief that the ‘essence of the Gospel’ is the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We believe it our call to speak of, preach and discuss the gospel of Jesus Christ until the whole world hears. We share a common ‘burden on our hearts’ that everyone hear and know. About one in four (4) Christians world-wide … or about 619,000,000 in round numbers … considers themselves ‘Evangelical’.
The main Evangelical movements are: Baptist Churches; Pentacostalism; Charismatic Evangelicalism; Neo-Charismatic Evangelicalism; and Non-denominational Evangelicalism. My wife, son, and I are the latter. Despite what you hear on the news … it is not a monolithic movement and, candidly, I often find myself in agreement with my secular friends that some of the people generally associated with it behave oddly while claiming they're Godly. But, like every movement, the exception shouldn’t be claimed to be the rule.
I appreciate the interest of other types of believer friends, and the respectful tolerance of my non-believer friends. I think that each of us innately seeks truth … and that we are all each in a different place on the road to Damascus. So, wherever you are on that road … know that Jesus loves you … and so do I.
Merry Christmas.
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