Letter to Jon and Abigail — A Reflection on the Evangelical Stream (see Richard Foster)

My dear friend Jon and my dear daughter Abigail: I know that in your nuanced, advanced thinking on our state of affairs, you are not fond of the word ‘evangelicals’. Unfortunately, in our fallen nature, this word has been reduced to reflect less of life-giving gospel and more of a sectoral affiliation, representing sectoral interests instead of agape love, humility, ecumenism. Perhaps irrevocably scarred by the last elections, where we got to a state of ‘let’s get what we want’, regardless of how we get there, perhaps indicating an underlying issue of not being transformed into Christlikeness, reminding me of my own conversion as an adult many years ago, when I was wondering why I was behaving/thinking the same way as before conversion, fully expecting, waiting for God to push the transformation button.

Here is a perspective so that we do not throw the baby with the bath water, that we taste the sweetness of the watermelon while spitting out its seeds. The evangelical stream is:

Invitation to live in the kingdom of God here and now as beloved disciples and citizens: it is a call back to reclaim our citizenship, to live in this kingdom under the loving, protective wings of God, as his friends and disciples, as beloved image bearers and ambassadors.

Citizenship and Transformation are by grace alone, by faith alone and by Christ alone: this citizenship is obtained only by our faith on Christ as savior and God, and by his grace alone. We cannot buy our way into this, and transformation is a slow and long process.

Scripture is a Thin Place between God and Us: Scripture is the living, breathing thin place between God and us through which the presence of God breaks through to us (see Chris Webb, The Fire of the Word), speaking and teaching how to live, love and receive joy and peace. God modeled this through his son Jesus in this story book. Scripture is God-breathed and hence has utmost primacy and teaches us the upside-down living where the master is the servant, the humble are ones who are able to love, where our needs are met by meeting the needs of others.

Being with Others, Being a Witness: Being able to love others comes to us by God’s grace and by studying, learning how the Master was with people in the Gospels. Other models include Mother Theresa with the poor of Calcutta, Frank Laubach with the Filipino people, Billy Graham who called back the people to God in the middle of social upheaval, confusion. We too are called to be a witness by living the kingdom life, learning the art of being with others, inviting them to journey together.

Lastly, as an aside, my own heart warms and glows and I am eternally grateful to the evangelical witnesses to India such as Amy Carmichael, C.T.E. Rhenius, Robert Caldwell, Sarah Tucker, E. Stanley Jones, Mother Theresa, Apostle Thomas, whose memorial exists in my home away from home, Chennai, exemplarily modeling our Master.