In reading "The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions" by Marcus Borg and NT Wright, I've started to get some clarity regarding the differences in "progressive Christianity" and "Evangelical".
One of the main difference is posed in the question::
Did Jesus think he was the messiah?
Borg believe NT Wrights would belive this::
Jesus thought he was the messiah, and he ws right. Based on what the New Testament itself says, this has been the common Christian position throughout the ages. A considerable body of scholarship also argues this.
While Borg believes::
Whether or not Jesus thought he was the messiah, he is the messiah. That is, his messianic status and the truth of the exalted metaphors do not depend upon whether Jesus thought of himself in those terms. Whether an of them go back to Jesus or not, they are the community's testimony to what Jesus had become in their life together.