Who or What is an Evangelical?

Here is an interesting article in the New York Times about the debate among Christians over what the word "evangelical" means and who it includes. Here is one part from the piece:

Today, with the term, "evangelical," often equated with "fundamentalist," many in the movement are even discussing whether the label evangelical should be jettisoned completely, said David Neff, editor of Christianity Today, an evangelical magazine.

"I did sit in a room with a number of key leaders, some Christian college presidents, some representatives of major college ministries," he said. "They were seriously discussing whether the word evangelical should be used anymore, or should we call ourselves classic Christians or historic orthodox Christians."

This is an important discussion. We must be careful what words we use and how we use them. And we must especially be careful what words we use to describe ourselves, so that we do not miscommunicate who we are or what we believe.