Why "Orthodox" is better than "Conservative"
The word “evangelical” can be a noun or adjective. You be an “evangelical” but you can also have “evangelical preaching.”
However, sometimes “evangelical” needs its own adjective. Hence terms like “progressive evangelical,” “moderate evangelical,” or even “conservative evangelical.” Given that evangelicalism is a very broad tent, broad to the point of being almost meaningless; I mean, if Joel Osteen and John MacArthur can both describe themselves as evangelical, then does the term even mean anything?
So in the big tent of American evangelicalism, the adjectives might be helpful, but mostly they are really just coded language for insiders, or ways of describing intra-evangelical tribal factions.
One particularly strange adjective I find is “conservative.” What is a “conservative evangelical” and is that a helpful designation or even something one should aspire to?
Shock horror, I’m gonna say, “No!” If you want an adjective for “evangelical,” I’d choose “orthodox” over “conservative.”
Let me explain why!