I am an evangelical, I am

An evangelical is meant to be be a person of good news, who knows what it means to be embraced by God and longs to do the same to all, without hesitation.

An evangelical is someone who wrestles with the Scriptures, seeking to understand them in their own context and interpret them afresh for today. This wrestling is done with companions for others.

An evangelical is someone who looks at society and re-imagines what they might become if each person lived to their potential as someone fashioned in the image of God, who weeps when people turn their backs on God and any divine involvement in the world.

An evangelical is called to follow the pattern of Christ, the way of the Cross, and before that drape the towel around oneself and wash feet of those who might be considered unlovely, acknowledging that humanity itself becomes lovely because of Christ.

An evangelical defends the creeds not for the words themselves or for the generation that framed them, but as a reminder of the constancy of Christ throughout generations.

An evangelical is someone who listens to God, hoping to hear the divine voice afresh provoking us to follow Christ afresh in different contexts day by day.

And because I am an evangelical, I realise that I fall short of such aspirations, but God picks me up to follow afresh again.

And is also beginning to recognise that the above traits are found in other traditions, and is no longer surprised.