When evangelicals make a mess, who cleans it up?

Many today are discarding the evangelical label, even if they still hold to the historic tenets of evangelicalism. But evangelicalism is a space, not just a brand, and livingin that space is complicated.

As a lifelong evangelical who happens to be a biracial Asian/White millennial, Dan Stringer has felt both included and alienated by the evangelical community and has wrestled with whether to stay or go. He sits as an uneasy evangelical insider with ties to many of evangelicalism's historic organizations and institutions. Neither "everything's fine" nor "burn it all down," Stringer offers a thoughtful appreciation of evangelicalism's history, identity, and strengths, but also lament for its blind spots, toxic brokenness, and complicity with injustice. From this complicated space, we can move forward with informed vision rather than resignation and with hope for our future together.



Dan Stringer grew up as a third culture kid in five countries on three continents. He is a graduate of Wheaton College and Fuller Theological Seminary, ordained in the Evangelical Covenant Church, and serves as team leader for InterVarsity's Graduate and Faculty Ministries in Hawai'i. He is pastor of theological formation at Wellspring Covenant Church in Hālawa, Hawai'i. He previously was a social worker helping people obtain housing and employment. He has written for Missio Alliance, Inheritance, and Level Ground, and is a contributor to Father Factor.



Richard J. Mouw (PhD, University of Chicago) is a senior research fellow at the Henry Institute for the Study of Religion and Politics at Calvin University. He previously served as the president of Fuller Theological Seminary (1993–2013) and directed their Institute of Faith and Public Life (2013–2020). In 2007, Princeton Theological Seminary awarded him the Abraham Kuyper Prize for Excellence in Reformed Theology and Public Life. He is the author of over twenty books, including UncommonDecency, Adventures in Evangelical Civility, Restless Faith, and All That God Cares About.



Foreword by Richard Mouw



Introduction: When Evangelicalism Is Your Mother



1 Struggling with Evangelicalism

Part I: Awareness



2 Defining Evangelicalism: Understanding Our History



3 Faith Stream Awareness: Knowing Your Location

Part II: Appreciation



4 Why Appreciation Matters



5 Strengthening Our Strengths

Part III: Repentance



6 Evil Cloaked in Spiritual Language



7 Learningto Repent Communally

Part IV: Renewal



8 Is Evangelicalism Worth Renewing?



9 Better Than We Found It



Epilogue: Hope for Your Struggle



Acknowledgements



Discussion Questions



Notes



"Sometimes it seems evangelicalism has been battered and sullied beyond repair. Dan Stringer shows us why we shouldn't give up on it. A wise and humble guide, he takes us on a compelling tour of the evangelical landscape and models the values of awareness, appreciation, repentance, and renewal that he prescribes as antidotes to our present myopia, dissension, toxicity, and despair. The goal, Pastor Stringer argues, is not to salvage evangelicalism as a brand but to be faithful disciples of Jesus in this particular space where he has called us. The struggle to stay focused on that goal is real, but this excellent book offers hope for the journey."



"Part memoir, part sociological study, and part theological reflection, this honest and winsome book is for any Christian who uneasily identifies with historical evangelicalism. Reframing it beyond the brand that has become increasingly problematic, Dan Stringer uses his own life experience, which has stretched beyond North American contexts and assumptions, to both call and equip those of us who inhabit evangelicalism to the shared task of attending to—and renewing—our own space. As one whohas been uneasy with the evangelical moniker, even while being firmly part of its institutions and community, I am grateful for perspective he brings in this timely book. I believe many others will be too."



"Stringer disentangles evangelicalism's current politically tainted brand in the United States from its historical roots and diverse global embodiment. His nuanced discussion offers something to think about for those on both sides of the debate."



"Dan Stringer was once my student, but now he has become my teacher. I learned a lot from this book, about both the brokenness and beauty of the movement that I love. He also offers many wise, practical lessons about how to go about the necessary repair work. May it happen!"