[Sleeping in EQ]

Just a little sketch of common usage. I'm not going to wade into the theological and practical stuff in this short post:

The term "evangelical" is kind of a slush term today, as it is highly connotative and is being used by different Christians in different ways.

Generally, it's used by moderate and moderately conservative Christians who don't want to be mistaken for "mainline Protestants" as that phrase now suggests more liberal leanings. Evangelical Lutherans, Free Methodists, some Baptists, your typical "bible churches" and other groups that don't think of themselves either as liberals or as fundamentalists use evangelical this way.

Fundamentalists sometimes call themselves evangelicals because they don't like the negative connotation of "fundamentalist." More moderate Christians are frustrated by this usage as they don't care for the association, exactly.

Also, the term is trans-denominational and trans-non-denominational (!) as it's trying to emphasize an approach to Christianity over the distinctiveness of a particular Church or sect. For example, an Evangelical might say that she's an "Evangelical who attends Rock Canyon Assembly of God church."

Of course, there are different varieties of evangelical as well, with orientation to the charismatic movement being a major point of distinction.