I am not a Protestant
For most of my Christian life, I considered myself a Protestant., I followed Christ, I was not Roman Catholic. I was not Orthodox. Therefore, I must be Protestant. As I learned more about the church, I realized I was in the part which believed you must be born again and that the Bible was true. I thought of myself as an Evangelical. Today, I realize I am not a Protestant and I am not what most people believe is an Evangelical.
Protestants trace their heritage to the Reformation
Protestants trace their heritage to the Reformation. It was a time in church history where sincere followers of Jesus Christ protested the unbiblical practices of the Roman Catholic Church. Men like Martin Luther challenged the Church on its sin. As a result, the Church often expelled them. This created a schism in Western European Christianity. It birthed many of the denominations we call mainline today. Lutherans, Presbyterians, the Episcopalians, and the denominations derived from them like the Methodists and Baptists are Protestant. Much of their theology reflects their roots as a challenge or protest to the Catholic faith.
Evangelicals insisted the biblical miracles were not myths
Evangelicals are a protest against the departure of the Protestant church from its faithfulness to the Bible and the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith. They gained prominence in the early twentieth century as true believers refused to embrace post-modern secularism with its anti-supernatural biases. Evangelicals insisted the biblical miracles were not myths. They actually happened. The Red Sea was parted. The bush in Exodus burned but did not burn up. Jesus walked on the water. The dead were raised. The prophets knew things God revealed to them and more.
The movement is more of a political movement than a theological one
As the twentieth century closed, these people in America had adopted a conservative political stance which also included American exceptionalism and American nationalism. Today, the movement is more of a political movement than a theological one. It derives its title from the euangelion, the continuing proclamation of the good news of Christ’ birth, death, and resurrection. However, it is mostly a movement of white Southern and suburban people pining for an America the way they imagine things used to be.
They have crafted a practice of faith that is truer to the Biblical record
Today there is a new church movement which focuses on making disciples and ministering outside of the walls of the church. It is called the missional church movement. Its leaders are appalled at the growing institutionalization of the Evangelical church. In protest against what they call the Christian Industrial Complex, they seek to recover the essence of the church. By prioritizing discipleship and mission, they have crafted a practice of faith that is truer to the Biblical record than most prominent Evangelical churches and denominations. I commend their objectives. However, while applauding the passion for recovering the euangelion, the movement’s roots in opposition to negative practices in the Evangelical Church, leaves me cold.
Their primary identity is in opposition to problems with what their contemporary churches do
Reflecting on the protesting church movement, I believe there is a fundamental flaw in each of their approaches. Their primary identity is in opposition to problems with what their contemporary churches do. What God needs to do in his church today should not to be expressed by a negative definition. It is not a protest against the Catholic Church; it is not a protest against the Protestant Church; it is not a protest against the Evangelical Church. God needs to create new wineskins for his Gospel. God wants to create a people who while loving his Word, seek his face for how to best allow him to build congregations in and through them today. He wants leaders who have ears to hear and a commitment to not be mere hearers of the word but doers also. God wants people who have the law written on their hearts and want to walk in obedience to him as they abide in his presence. God wants people who eschew discovering and implementing systems for doing church for the joy of obeying him as he builds the church. He wants people who are not protesting but hearing and obeying.
The Black Church and the Evangelical Church have strayed from their core missions.
My faith tradition is not that of the Evangelical Church. It is the Black Church. While the Evangelical Church and the Black Church claim to proclaim the euangelion, they do it in different ways with different emphases. The Black Church and the Evangelical Church have strayed from their core missions. They both need revival but the place to which they have strayed is different.
God wants people who are not protesting but hearing and obeying.
Reflecting on the protesting church movement, I believe there is a fundamental flaw in each of their approaches. Their primary identity is in opposition to problems with what their contemporary churches do. What God needs to do in his church today should not to be expressed by a negative definition. It is not a protest against the Catholic Church; it is not a protest against the Protestant Church; it is not a protest against the Evangelical Church. God needs to create new wineskins for his Gospel. God wants to create a people who while loving his Word, seek his face for how to best allow him to build congregations in and through them today. He wants leaders who have ears to hear and a commitment to not be mere hearers of the word but doers also. God wants people who have the law written on their hearts and want to walk in obedience to him as they abide in his presence. God wants people who eschew discovering and implementing systems for doing church for the joy of obeying him as he builds the church. He wants people who are not protesting but hearing and obeying.
