What happens when you follow Jesus and He leads you out of evangelicalism?

I remember when the iPhone 5 came out and there were several noticeable glitches with its map app - the most noticeable was that it would give you very clear turn by turn directions to the wrong place – all the while telling you that you’d reached your correct destination.   So at the risk of showing my colors as a guy who is not an exclusive apple devotee, I have almost exclusively used (and been pleased with) the google maps app.  Notice how I said "almost exclusively"?  Well, I was in a hurry one afternoon and just tapped the address stored in the contact info on my phone which then immediately brought up my apple maps app. I hesitated...but then just had it map the way for me to get to this home (a place I’d been to once before, but coming from a different direction).  The short conclusion to the story is that I ended up in the right town, and even on the right street as where I wanted to be, but in reality I was nowhere near where I intended to be.  The problem wasn’t that I followed the directions incorrectly – it’s that the guide I listened gave me very wrong directions.

What happens when you follow Jesus and He leads you out of evangelicalism?  The same thing that happened when I used my maps app on my iphone…you get lost.

The map was fine.   The information was there. But the guide I listened to gave me bad directions. 

So much about the article I just read is so unremarkable.  But that in itself is noteworthy.  The reason that this is noteworthily unremarkable is that the thoughts expressed are so much a part of the common refrain of post-evangelicals today.  Also, like many critiques of pop-evangelicalism, if you can see through the cloud of smoke rising from burning straw men, this woman raises a few points of concern that we would do well in noting.  One of these that she raises is the identification of evangelicals with republicans or, probably more to the point, equating republicans with evangelicals.  Evangelicals should be known for the gospel and not for political associations.  Go ahead and vote republican if you want (or if you can), but be careful to not merge the two into one. 

But the broadside fired against evangelicals as a-contextual and a-historical interpreters of the Bible was quite bold.  I suppose this attack could have lost some of its force if it hadn't came from someone whose view on LGBT issues and so-called marriage equality were changed by deeply contextual, deeply historical and a serious study of the Scriptures.  I mean, how bad would it have been if she would have accused evangelicals as she did and her opinions on this subject were swayed merely by something as a-contextual to the Bible as…well, I don’t know, the opportunity to be around and interact more with the queer community.  Oh, wait….

From the limited amount of information that I have (so my conclusion could be incorrect), it seems to be the case with this author that, like many current and former evangelicals, her former commitment to evangelicalism was primarily one of preference or convenience instead of conviction. 

Harsh?  Maybe

True?  Well…we’ll see. 

A person who was formerly convinced to the point of conviction about specific theological conclusions would have come up with thoughtful and thorough biblical reasons for these conclusions.  Even more so, a leader (as this woman claims to be/have been) in churches and ministries should have had distinctly evangelical convictions nailed down and able to defend them in an evangelical (read biblical) way. 

Foolish ignorance (intentional or not) of what the Bible actually says is not an excuse.  It didn’t work for the people in Jesus’ day, and it won’t work for you today.  And a self-professed theological humility, which is actually great theological hubris, when it comes to the gospel will no more diffuse the judgment of Christ than rigid and non-biblical legalism worked for the Pharisees (I wonder of some Pharisee wannabees had religion minors in college?).  

If you claim to follow Jesus and you’re led away from the evangel, then you’ve lost your way and have taken a wrong turn.  The way of Jesus is the way of the gospel of saving grace. On this path, one of the primary ways that we show love and compassion for those around us – whoever that maybe – is to proclaim the word of God and the gospel of the saving grace of Christ to first help that person see their sin and run to our great savior.