Calling yourself an evangelical today means about as much as calling yourself a protestant or a theist – the category is simply too broad to have any functional utility. As such many younger Christians; if they continue to use the word at all – use it alongside of a modifying adjective. They refer to themselves as “post-evangelical”, “progressive evangelical”, “conservative evangelical” or “reformed evangelical”.
While there is a part of me that misses the old evangelical consensus, the realist in me appreciates the clarity that these terms can bring to the on-going conversation. I like to know where people stand – and I think that ambiguity and equivocation hinder the growth of authentic friendship and community.