The changing "Christian" agenda

I noticed this today on the web--

New Evangelists Buck the Christian Right

The article explores the growing number of young folks who make up of the constituency of the NAE (National Association of Evangelicals) that are moving away from the tradition platform to a nuanced understanding of the evangelical agenda that would include issues such as poverty, environment, war, and foreign health crises.

Churches of Christ do not overtly identify themselves as evangelicals. However, we do fit the literal definition of evangelical, we do tend to function as constituents to the NAE, and we are certainly identified by others, who are viewing religious affiliations from a broader perspective, as evangelicals. [Feel free to argue this point if you think I'm off-base.]

Personally, I identify with this group of Christians who have difficulty going along with the standard platform. I see many folks in my CofC circles who are also sharing such sentiments. Therefore, I do not think it an overstatement to say that the trend being discussed regarding the broad category of Evangelicals is also happening within the narrower category of CofC's.

Here is some snippets from the article:

"My generation cares more about the fact that 30,000 kids died today of hunger, poverty, preventable disease than about gay marriage amendments in California," he told ABCNews.com. "We are pro life, but for us that definition is far broader than abortion. It includes poverty, AIDS, human trafficking and the war in Iraq."

"What we are seeing is a religious right that is scared, period,"

"We have become so absorbed in the question of gay rights and the rest that we fail to understand the challenges and threats to marriage itself, heterosexual marriage," Cizik said. "Maybe we need to reevaluate this and look at it a little differently."

"There are yesterday and tomorrow evangelicals and Rich captured the sentiment of many of tomorrow's evangelicals," he said of Cizik's resignation. "Rich may not be the cause of it, but NAE is going to look at lot more like Richard's view or it will be 10 percent of the size it is today."

Only one in five evangelicals said an agenda focused primarily on abortion and same-sex marriage best reflects their values.

"What's happened is that many of us have gotten to the point where we don't want to call ourselves evangelicals anymore if it means anti-women, anti gay, anti-environment and pro-war," Campolo told ABCNews.com. "That's not who we are."

***Click the article title above to read it for yourself***