Revangelical: Becoming the Good News People We're Meant to Be

by Lance Ford, Dan Kimball (Foreword)

When you hear the word evangelical , do you think “good news”? That’s what the word means, and it’s what we are meant to be. Yet the surrounding culture often views us as exactly the opposite. Calling yourself an evangelical too often means you are seen through a negative stereotype; people are apprehensive when they hear that an evangelical family has moved into the neighborhood. But is this the way it has to be? What would it look like if evangelical Christians were joyfully living out the gospel in such a way that the culture had no choice but to recognize us as Good News people?

Revangelical is a call to realign your heart with the things that most concerned Jesus―a bold message to get the Good News of the gospel of Jesus back into our heads, hearts, mouths, and feet. Full of stories of evangelicals who are living out the Good News and changing the world, Revangelical will inspire and equip us to relearn the heart of the gospel and to become the people God has called us to be.

Genres: Christianity

256 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2014

Reviews

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this book and intend to read it again sometime in the future.

I have read criticisms that it attacks conservative values or it is too political. But I clear eyed reading of the gospel demands that those institutions be attacked, that our conflation of faith and politics has grossly distorted the good news message of Christ's life, death, and resurrection. The book does not champion liberalism so in that regard it is not political.

But it is a convicting book in that it forced me to examine my own habits, judgements and perceptions and it demanded that I find ways to live differently.

It demands that if you claim faith in Christ that you act in ways that make evident the Kingdom in the here in now, instead of living for it in the here after.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book with a friend and appreciated the opportunity to have a dialogue using the questions at the end of each chapter as a guide. Lance Ford shares the importance of bringing the teachings of the Bible to the world. A key message is to live a life with Jesus as an example and to interact with others with kindness and mercy. What a wonderful world it would be if our lives gave others a taste of the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth.

[Ethan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A call for Evangelical Christians to reconsider the traditions and cultural baggage of some of their heritage, becoming "revangelical," people who have stopped to be again "gospeled" by the NT.

The author uses his own story as a catalyst for the book: raised in an Evangelical church, strayed, came back, entered ministry, did his thing, but started to recognize how judgmental and non-loving and not like Jesus he was. Such defines the posture of the book: Evangelicals are now the butt of jokes because they seem like clueless cultural fossils and don't look much like Jesus. Hence the need for "revangelicals."

The chapters are conveniently alliterative: recalibrate, repent, recommit, reconcile, represent, renew, restore, reunite, reposition. As mentioned he describes his own story and how he needed to change the way he looked at the Gospel, himself, and especially those with whom he disagreed. He encourages Evangelicals to shift perspective and stop assuming they are the majority/the majority will agree with them. He encourages Evangelicals to have friends and relationships outside of Evangelical circles. They should reflect Jesus in their life. Then he gets into critiques of many of the "conservative" Evangelical positions from a more "progressive" bent: challenging capitalism's excess and thus a wholesale embrace of it, rebuking denigration and stereotyping of the poor and the denial of inequality in society, and a call for examination of the heart in terms of acceptance of and even advancement of war, violence, etc. in contrast to the more pacifistic position of Christ.

The reviewer would not call himself Evangelical since he has many critiques of many of the "planks" of Evangelical theology but would likely be lumped into the "Evangelical" category by most in society. The reviewer also has seen many such tendencies among his own people; he tends to agree with the author but is not the best at putting many of the principles into practice.

As the substance goes the work is good and has things worth considering. The idea of being "revangelical" is fully explained and makes sense in that context but in general seems like a declaration of victory in the midst of defeat, as if one has to move past being "evangelical" to take the Gospel seriously (which the reviewer agrees with but for entirely different reasons). What does it say about modern American Evangelicalism if a good chunk of its constituency needs to actually hear the Gospel message for what it is?

You'll either love this book or hate it; where one falls on partisan and sectarian divides will decide which it will be. It's a good reminder of why it's important to be "gospeled" by the true unvarnished Gospel of Christ in the first place, and why Christians do well to be vigilant against compromising the Gospel to advance socio-political or economic agendas or philosophies, even those that seem somewhat aligned with God's purposes (Colossians 2:1-10).

**--book received as part of early review program

[Steven Hinkle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I picked up and began reading Lance Ford’s Revangelical. The back cover calls upon Christians to be re-evangelized and suggests that they rediscover “what it means to live the Good News.”

This book is way more than just a cute title; in fact, after reading the book in its entirety, I’ll gladly join the ranks and would love to be called a Revangelical. Part primer on what the Gospel really is and part scolding to those who have made it something different, Lance Ford calls us to a hope-filled existence of taking back the “Good News” and living it.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes and bold statements from the book (quotes I wanted to shout Amen! after reading):

“Maybe it’s time to replace the ‘sinner’s prayer’ with a ‘follower’s prayer’ . . . not merely turning around, but also moving in the right direction.” Amen!

“When evangelicals allow their politics and policies to be shaped by talking heads and talk show hosts, the gospel train runs off the rails.” Amen!

“I find no evidence there has been ever been a legitimately Christian nation, and I find it hard to imagine God ever expected there to be one.” Amen!

“Our identity as Americans must bow to our identity as citizens of a higher realm.” Amen!

“How can evangelicals be so vocal, energized, and stirred up on issues and yet take positions so feebly informed by the gospel of Jesus?” Amen!

On the impact of Jesus’ friendships with unchurchy people: “We don’t really believe Jesus was an actual friend to ‘those people’ . . . surely he didn’t really like them and enjoy their company. From our twenty-first-century evangelical perspective, we figure Jesus was probably just nice to them so he could get them to come to church.” Ouch! and Amen!

‘The principle of incarnation means that Christ followers must draw close to those whom God desires to redeem.” Amen!

“Biblical justice for the poor and for immigrants is not communism or socialism. Biblical justice is the righteousness of Jesus.” Amen!

So if you haven’t figured it out yet, I loved this book! I hope that many pastors will thoroughly read each page and walk away boldly proclaiming the kingdom Gospel. Thank you Lance Ford for not cowering and for publishing the “Good News” the way it should be proclaimed. Tyndale House Publishers provided me a free copy of this book in exchange for my review of which I freely give.

[A.C. Cuddy · Rating 2 out of 5]

“When you hear the word evangelical, do you think “good news”? That’s what the word means, and it’s what we are meant to be. Yet the surrounding culture often views us as exactly the opposite. Calling yourself an evangelical too often means you are seen through a negative stereotype; people are apprehensive when they hear that an evangelical family has moved into the neighborhood. But is this the way it has to be?

What would it look like if evangelical Christians were joyfully living out the gospel in such a way that the culture had no choice but to recognize us as Good News people? Revangelical is a call to realign your heart with the things that most concerned Jesus—a bold message to get the Good News of the gospel of Jesus back into our heads, hearts, mouths, and feet. Full of stories of evangelicals who are living out the Good News and changing the world, Revangelical will inspire and equip us to relearn the heart of the gospel and to become the people God has called us to be.”

Revangelical – Becoming the Good News People We’re Meant to Be by Lance Ford. The title sounds intriguing. After all… isn’t that what we all strive for - To be people of the Gospel – The Good News? I very much looked forward to reading this book. I was mistaken. Sadly, in my opinion only, this 228-page book appears to me to be an on-going literary assault by the author towards what I would consider conservative Christians. Again, in my opinion, it appears that the author – though not concretely stated – has little respect for conservative Radio Show or Television Show hosts.

While I whole-heartedly agree that as Christian – followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to spread the Good News, I cannot agree with this author.

*Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Tyndale House Publisher, in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own, and no monetary compensation was received for this review.

*Reviews of this book were posted at the following locations:
Amazon, Christian Book, Deeper Shopping, Goodreads, and to be featured on my blog at http://titus3.wordpress.com

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lance Ford, in Revangelical, calls Christians to be re-evangelized. To get back to how Jesus called us to live the Good News. He has pointed out that “Evangelical Christians” have not been the Good News the World should be seeing. When people look at Evangelicals, are they seeing Jesus? This book will show you, in his opinion, how that should come to pass.

My toes were stepped on, that’s for sure; maybe not so much in a good, critical learning way, but sometimes in an offended way. Ford, you can tell, doesn't like conservative radio show hosts, TV hosts or I believe conservatives in general. Most of the conservatives that he talks about don’t publicly profess Christianity. I was disappointed in this aspect of the book. I agree with him that we, as Christians, should be taking care of the poor and those looked down upon, like the homeless.

He wrote often of people that he knew that had started communities or moved into communities to help the underprivileged. These “revangelicals” are living the gospel of Jesus.

His politics and mine may be different but when it all boils down we agree, we should have a heart like Jesus.

Should you become a Revangelical? Absolutely!

Tyndale House Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book on a good subject; I wish I'd come across it a bit earlier in my life. As it is, I'd come to believe most everything in here before reading it: we, as American Christians, are often too focused on our rights, too mixed up in politics, too concerned with policing the sins of others instead of loving them.

Even though the case didn't have to be made to me, the book was still useful in that it solidified a lot of these concepts. It does so gently and lovingly, yet determined conviction. Worth picking up, in my opinion, if you're an evangelical Christian.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book intended to help in the re-evangelization on Evangelicals. It contains some of the best stuff on the Kingdom of God that I've come across. The chapter on Kingdom economics alone (Renew) is worth the price of the book. Very readable with many great stories. Highly recommended.

[Hanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting look at how to be Evangelical without falling into that stereotype that people seem to think of. I could a lot of useful information.