[Episcopal News Service -- Anaheim, California] "Evangelism" is not a dirty word, said author, activist and evangelist Brian McLaren in his sermon at the daily convention Eucharist on July 16.

"We live in a strange time in reference to the 'e' word," he said. "For many of us, the word 'evangelism' evokes ugly and morally tainted associations with colonialism, religious supremacy, with shabby televangelism, and as a result many Episcopalians would say that evangelism may be a Southern Baptist thing or a Pentecostal thing, but it is not an Episcopal thing, thank you very much."

McLaren, who 20 years ago decided not to pursue the discernment process in the Episcopal Church because he thought it would put him at odds with his call to evangelism, was invited to preach to the day's theme of Ubuntu and Evangelism: Expanding Community.

McLaren suggested Episcopalians begin to see "Episcopal" and "evangelistic" as "a holy union joined together by God which no one should put asunder."

Unless Christian moderates and progressives begin to share their faith with love and enthusiasm, American's religious landscape will be populated by fundamentalists, he said.

"To rediscover the true and good essence of evangelism," McLaren said, evangelism should be looked at from a biblical perspective, beginning with the day's reading from II Corinthians 5:17-20, where evangelism is expressed as a call to "live and invite others into a radically new way of life … we see evangelism as a way of recruiting early adopters to be part of a radical new beginning for the human race."

Paul would say that this world and its empires are living by an old script: politics of domination, economies of consumption, sociologies of exclusion, psychologies of shame and self-justification all flowing from an old and destructive narrative that is passing away, McLaren said.

"The crucifixion and resurrection of Christ mean for Paul, among many other things, that it is time for a new politics of service in the common good, for new economies of sustainability and regeneration, for new sociologies of reconciliation and ubuntu and for new psychologies rooted in faith and grace and love – in short, in Christ all things are made new," he said. "Evangelism means recruiting people and training people to defect from the old order … We are God's peace ambassadors, insiders that intentionally move outside."

Approached in this context, all the "ugly things that scare Episcopalians away from evangelism" are removed, he said. In practical terms, this means "pleading with people to stop being part of the problem," he said, adding that, in asking people what they are seeking in life, adventure may unfold. "In this life, evangelism is a really good thing. I think Episcopalians could get excited about evangelism if it is presented in this way."

And, McLaren said, he sees evidence of this happening. But distractions and obstacles need to be removed, he said.

McLaren referred to the Episcopal Church's head-on confrontation of the issue of human sexuality as both a service to the church and the world, but he warned that the church must not lose its identity to the debate.

"What good would it be for your side – whatever that is – to win the debate if in the process you lost your balance and lost your identity as God's evangelistic agents of reconciliation? " he asked. "Your challenge, it seems to me, is to reaffirm at this very moment of institutional conflict your deeper incarnational identity as ministers of reconciliation."

McLaren also urged Episcopalians not to lodge their identity "in the saving of a beloved institution."

"What if the point isn't saving the institution but rather leveraging the institution in the saving of ... the world, the world God so loves, according to John 3:16? In your simultaneous commitment to the Millennium Development Goals and to true and deep evangelism, you are in the process of choosing this outward, 'missional' focus … leveraging your institution for God's mission in today's world. So much depends on this," he said.

And lastly, the Episcopal Church must rid itself of "institutional rigidity," McLaren said.

"From my outsider's perspective, your most urgent issue of institutional rigidity is related to the complex ways candidates are accepted and trained into ordained ministry. To put it bluntly: For all your system does well, it is perfectly designed to scare away from Episcopal leadership almost everyone with the spiritual gift of evangelism," he said.

In the future, McLaren said, he hopes the Episcopal Church will not make potential postulates choose between the church and their call to evangelism.

"The good news is that this would be a relatively simple thing to change ... and the Episcopal structure itself, I believe, has remarkable inherent powers of self-renewal," he said. "And that's why, I believe, this moment of Episcopal crisis is also a moment of Episcopal opportunity."