EVANGELICAL VS. EVANGELISTIC -- Devotional for October 26, from "Good Seeds"

Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil. (Hebrews 6:1; 5:13-14)

The root of both of these words is the Greek word translated, “Gospel,” meaning “Good News.” But these two terms are not synonymous, in the strictest sense. People who are evangelical emphasize salvation by faith in the atoning death of Jesus Christ through personal conversion. They place the authority of Scripture over the authority of the Church, and the deem preaching more important than ritual. But now, what about evangelists? They believe exactly the same as the evangelicals. The only difference is, they do something about it! They don’t just sit around believing; they don’t find their greatest joy in merely gathering with one another to clarify their doctrines and reinforce their dogmas. Oh, they DO these things right along with the evangelicals, but then they get up and go out, into the world, into the mission field of their neighborhoods and schools and workplaces and social gatherings and athletic events, and they share the good news of Jesus Christ! They don’t try to preach, and they don’t judge; they just tell what Christ has done for them. They hope it shows, in their faces, in their temperaments, in their attitudes and lifestyles. They know the importance of body language, but they use mouth language, too, “always ready to give a reason for the hope that is within them” (I Peter 3:15), once others notice that hope that is written all over their joyful, confident lives! Evangelism is no more than one beggar telling another beggar where to find the food. Evangelicals have that amazing capacity for holding their blessings in check, inside and under control. They keep their gospel and their joy pretty much to themselves, or they might branch out and share it with one another, you know, down at the church on Sundays, or in little holy huddles in homes, behind closed doors. But evangelists, now – they just can’t keep it all in, so some of it just spills! And they can’t seem to stay inside the four walls of theirs homes and churches with their faith: when they’re in a restaurant, their meal prayer is too loud (probably not bothering the sinners that much, but really embarrassing the saints!) They forget to speak in hushed tones when they say, “Praise the Lord,” or “I’ll pray for you” in public places. By the way, if you had to choose, which would you rather be? An evangelical-only is an unfinished, underdeveloped Christian. An evangelist is both: he’s a Christian to the max. But if that’s true, why is it also true that brand new Christians are the better evangelists and the old saints have set aside evangelism for their more controlled and mellowed evangelicalism?