The American Evangelical Movement Summary

Introduction
The American Evangelical Story, A History of the Movement written by Douglas A. Sweeney offers an outline that better defines evangelicals while the author explores the roots of the Great Awakening and the Gospel. Sweeney presents the history of theology within the evangelical movement. Currently, Douglas Sweeney serves as the associate professor of Church history and is the Director of the Carl F. H. Center for Theological Understanding at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. [1] Sweeney begins by addressing the word, meaning, and definition of “evangelicalism, Sweeney states, “I tell the story of its birth of in the transatlantic Great Awakening and its development in the United States through many challenges and cultural changes.” [2] This short book is written primarily for those who maintain an interest in the role of the evangelical movement throughout history. Defining “the evangelical movement is something the author states is quite diverse, he writes, “we are a people more remarkable for our differences than our

union.’[3] “This has led some to depict evangelicals largely in terms of diversity, explaining the movement by means of taxonomies of various evangelical species.”[4] Sweeney describes “how this came to be not by attempting to chart evangelical history everywhere in the world but by focusing on what has been its most prodigious global center.”[5] Sweeney brings are thoughts back on the evangelical movement as a whole by revisiting our historical roots and highlighting the people that
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1. bakerpublishinggroup.com. http://bakerpublishinggroup.com/books/the-american-evangelical-story/223190 (accessed May 8, 2018).
2 Douglas A Sweeney, The American Evangelical Story, 1st ed. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2014).
3 I.bid.,pg. 3
4. I.bid,pg.,13
5. I.bid., pg.42
1.
have shaped Doctrines which we readily rely on today.
Brief Summary
Sweeney begins by stating in his preface that though, “we have always been diverse and though we have never proved morally blameless, evangelicals share a
heritage that is both rich and spiritually powerful a legacy, worth passing on to future
Generations.” [6] He begins by stating that evangelicals are gospel people, “we are people of the Great Commission found in Scripture such as in Matthew 28:18-20.”[7] Sweeney further wishes to define the word evangelical which comes from the Greek word evangelion meaning. “Good news” [8] “He offers Timothy George’s definition from
Christianity Today as he states, “Evangelicals are a worldwide family of Bible-believing Christians committed to sharing with everyone everywhere the transforming good news of new life in Jesus Christ, an utterly free gift that comes through faith alone in the crucified and risen Savior.” [9]
Sweeney attempts to differentiate the confusion that comes with the term “evangelical” by those who offer many such different ideas. One such historian Randall Balmer prefers to refer to evangelicalism as a “patchwork quilt” a metaphor better suited to signify “folk art rather than fine art.”[10] Sweeney, states that the movement is difficult but he feels that there is frustration because of the lack of cooperative ventures within the movement. Sweeney states, “Evangelicals comprise a movement that is rooted in
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6 Douglas A Sweeney, pg. 5
7. I.bid., pg.13
8. I.bid.pg. 14
9. I.bid.,pg. 18
10. I.bid.,pg.18 2.
Classical Christian orthodoxy, shaped by a largely Protestant understanding of the gospel, “We are certainly not the only authentic Christians in the world, nor are we the only ones to whom the term evangelical applies.” [11] At the very heart of the matter we see that evangelicals “are committed to right doctrine and worship which as he writes are the defining features and characteristics.”[12] Sweeney proceeds to offer an abundance of information of the evangelical roots and his perspective on the movement in the past and the necessity for the movement in the present.
The book further moves toward the author examining the Great Awakening which provoked a new sense of gospel urgency and a new spirit of cooperation.”[13] Sweeney continues to state that the Great Awakening laid the foundation for this movement, “This was certainly not the first time the church had seen revival, but it was the first time that Protestants worked so well together, transcending their narrower, ethnic, and regional and denomination interests for the sake of the mission.”[14] Although like many movements this lost a bit of steam by many self-proclaimed Christians who neglected their spirituality and did not have the desire in their hearts.
Critical Interaction
First it is clear that Sweeney writes from the perspective of an evangelical. His interest and expertise in church History only enhances the roots of the evangelical movement with serious detail. Many of these new found religions during the
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11. I.bid.,pg.15
12. I.bid.,pg.15
13. I.bid.,pg.23
14. I.bid., pg.48 3.

Reformation disagreed with each other regarding their new faith and we can see the costs of lives that have been sacrificed especially where Sweeney cites the Protestant and Catholic infighting.

The Great Awakening for Sweeney was a great success to the advancement of Evangelicalism. “This new spiritual renewal began with people like the Wesley brothers and George Whitefield in England and crossed over to the American Colonies during the first half of the 18th Century.” [15] “Unlike the somber, largely Puritan spirituality of the early 1700s, the revivalism ushered in by the Awakening allowed people to express their emotions more overtly in order to feel a greater intimacy with God.” [16] It is in this sense the Author is conveying the movement and its spread that gives us our religious freedom that we have today. He shows the great preaching of this movement who took the responsibility of conversion to save the

lost.
Sweeney adds some bittersweet statistics to these glory days of conversions where we reach the issue of race and how these populations due to political correctness were forgotten as many were slaves. Again, Sweeney states “Evangelicals did not invent racism but they did participate in the slave trade which made their sharing of the
Gospel a bit deceptive because they condoned it.”[17] With this there was a promise because men like Whitefield would preach to both the white and black because as we know the Holy Spirit does not have boundaries. Sweeney adds, “Evangelicals played a
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15 great-awakening.com. http://www.great-awakening.com/basic-concepts-of-the-first-great-awakening/ (accessed May 7, 2018).
16. I.bid.
17. Sweeney, pg. 100 4

greater role than any other group in taking the gospel to the slaves and treating them as
spiritual equals.” [18] This movement brought forth a great many black preachers that were impacted by the preaching that further reinforced the word of God.
Conclusion
I believe the author achieved his goal by offering a brief introduction to the evangelical movement. He begins by showing the reader the roots in Pietism and brings us to the point of a global mission as he states “although we can agree to disagree, “But when we are at our best, we agree to disagree about a wide range of secondary and tertiary matters, not because they are unimportant or unworthy of expression in our separate institutions (I, for one, believe they are crucial) but because they are less important than our corporate Christian mission: to proclaim the gospel together, showing the world the love of God and doing everything we can to help the needy.” [19]
The historical nature of this book is filled with historical data that sheds light on what it was like to be living through a time when religion was flooded with many sects all with many different doctrines, opinions and practices. I believe a book like this is always worth a read because it makes you think of the distant past and the sacrifices made to give us our religious liberty.