Evangelicals challenged to present Christ credibly

|PIC1|"Far from evangelicals being an embarrassment, we should think of ourselves as integral to God's great news for our community, and tell ourselves again with a certain humility and confidence that we have a vital role to play as active Christians and active citizens in the public square."

Such were the words of the General Director of the Evangelical Alliance, Joel Edwards, at the launch of his new book "An Agenda for Change" on Thursday.

The book, published by Zondervan, is Mr Edwards' contribution to an ongoing discussion among Evangelicals worldwide on how to present Christ credibly and "rehabilitate" the term 'evangelical' to mean 'good news' again.

Earlier on Thursday, Mr Edwards announced that he will step down as General Director of the Evangelical Alliance, after 11 years as the organisation's head.

In a forward-looking address, he said the heart of the matter was not about advancing evangelicalism as a political or Christian system, but was instead about "how we help people understand that God is ultimately the God of Good News and is interested in people's wellbeing".

Turning to some of the challenges facing evangelicals, he pointed to the commonplace view that evangelicals are a US export more interested in homosexuality than poverty, and a mascot for the Republican Party.

"Evangelicalism has a serious PR problem and it's not hard to grasp why," he said.

Referring to some of the recent angry protests from evangelical circles over Jerry Springer the Opera and the Sexual Orientation Regulations, Mr Edwards said that Evangelicals had gained a reputation as the "angry brigade". "We are known more for our anger than our anguish," he noted.

Mr Edwards said that the responsibility to reverse evangelicalism's bad reputation lay with evangelicals themselves.

"If people are going to think differently about evangelicals, the only people who can change their minds are evangelicals," he said.

"If they wanted it to happen, if they put their minds to it, the word 'evangelical' could mean good news."

The backlash against the Archbishop of Canterbury's recent controversial Sharia lecture, meanwhile, was evidence of a society with "a serious vendetta against the idea of God", contended Mr Edwards.

It is within this society that evangelicals are challenged to present Christ credibly and uphold His uniqueness, according to the EA chief.

"We are in a very challenging landscape. It is a landscape in which Christ is one among a constellation of gods. We are allowed to have a Christ who is different, who is good for Christians, who may even be superior for Christians, but in popular discourse He is not allowed to be superior over anyone else's god," he said.

"In a liberal democracy, Christians have a right if not a responsibility under God to be able to say in any multicultural context Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

"Christ cannot be credible unless we tell people who he really is."

Mr Edwards concluded with a reminder to evangelicals that their highest call lay in serving others.

"Central to our understanding of Christian citizenship is a radical commitment to serve other people. But our greatest calling is not to change legislation. Our greatest calling is to serve the people. The Government and local authorities are desperate for help. Will we be ready and equipped to respond?"

Mr Edwards will embark on a 20-city tour to promote his book and start a conversation on the role for evangelicals in society today and into the future. For more information visit www.anagendaforchange.org.uk

Tour dates and venues confirmed so far:

23 April - Kings Church, Eastbourne
27 April - Emmanuel Christian Centre, London
06 May - All Nations Centre, Leicester
07 May - The King's Centre, Kings Community Church, Norwich
08 May - Great St Mary's, Cambridge
18 May - Vineyard Church, Sutton, Surrey
21 May - Cornerstone Church, Swansea
22 May - Glenwood Church, Cardiff
25 May - New Community Church, Southampton
29 May - Barnabas Community Church, Shrewsbury
2 June - Oxford Community Church, Oxford
3 June - Trinity Church, Cheltenham
24 June - St James, Carlisle
25 June - Kirkintilloch Baptist Church, Glasgow
26 June - St Paul's and St Georges, Edinburgh
30 June - St George's, Leeds
1 July - St Thomas Church, Philadelphia, Sheffield
2 July - Kings Church, Manchester
3 July - Frontline Church, Liverpool