Just to throw in a couple of cents from my thoughts on the discussion about what "evangelical" means. I don't even know anymore what specifically it means when someone uses it. It used to be a fairly defined word, as Bonnie identifies with denominations of a certain confessional bent. I think it's rarely used very specifically anymore.
"Christian" doesn't seem to be enough of a description anymore. Since the 70s, some Christians feel it necessary to distinguish themselves as "born again" Christians as opposed to "Christian." It's not used as much anymore, but it seems to indicate a Christian who had a conversion experience and takes their faith seriously. The "Jesus movement" generation felt it important to distinguish themselves from the dead, traditional Christians. As someone who was born-again without a memorable conversion experience, and who developed a deep relationship with Jesus from my childhood in a Lutheran church, I always felt this a bit unfair. Though I saw the point. "Evangelical" seems to be the latest term for a serious Christian or one who thinks it's really true.
There certainly are people who call themselves Christian who mean something very different than what I would mean when I say I'm a Christian. I think the Bible is true and God's Word. I think Jesus really rose from the dead. And I think there is a real Heaven and Hell. You can't take that for granted anymore when someone says they're a Christian. Thus the unfortunate need to qualify what "Christian" means.
I also think that the increased use of the qualifier "evangelical" is a result of our post-denominational trend. Many churches are non-denominational and many others belong to a denomination that they don't advertise very prominently. There's a move beyond denominations, which I don't think is very healthy in general because of confessions of faith have a tendency to become less specific. And Christians tend to be less well-educated in the faith. But without the specific description of a denomination that identifies a Christian's doctrinal beliefs, "evangelical" becomes a decent catch-all to provide a general sense of what a Christian believes.
I think these trends requiring qualification of "Christian" are unfortunate. And I'm always frustrated with terms that are vague, and "evangelical" is that kind of term. It narrows the field, but is often used in very different ways.
