[...] can’t get “An Evangelical Manifesto” out of my head. In some ways, that document highlights the problems with “the legacy thing” for modern [...]

Response to “An Evangelical Manifesto”…

The recently published Evangelical Manifesto has, no surprise, generated a lot of commentary. The responses I’ve read include Joe Carter’s, Dan Edelen’s, and Janice Shaw Crouse’s. Joe basically liked it and added his signature, although he doesn’t…

[...] can’t get “An Evangelical Manifesto” out of my head. In some ways, that document highlights the problems with “the legacy thing” for modern [...]

In all fairness, I’ve been in the Evangelical ranks for more than thirty years. My degree is in Christian Education, so I’ve looked deeply at all aspects of what we teach in the Church. I’ve actively studied in this area. I’d pit what I’ve learned and noted against anyone out there. Am I overstating? See my post for May 19, 2008.

Have the seminaries gotten better at ministering the practical? Yes, they have. But many of these guys getting out of seminary are finding it tough to make any impact because of entrenched leadership who are still stuck on models that came out of the 1970s and 80s.

The problem with Evangelicalism today is that it still wishes it were 1950. Deep down inside of the Evangelical soul, no matter how much new media or Emerging Church contrarianism you mix in, the longing for Leave It to Beaver is still there. Those were the halcyon days, and Evangelicals can’t seem to get a grip on today. There’s still that feeling that the suburban house with the wife and 2.5 kids, respectable job, and some level of agreed-upon conformity and acceptability are all there is to living. That’s what Evangelicalism has sold its adherents and it will be darned slow to give that up, no matter how much that lifestyle conflicts with the ultimate goal of the Kingdom of God.

You read the writings of the true saints of Evangelicalism Past and the contrast is stark. Yesteryear’s Evangelical went to the far reaches of the globe to reach one lost soul, laboring in prayer till that soul was won. Today’s Evangelical goes to the far reaches of the Internet to find instructions on how to load Casting Crowns’ latest MP3 loaded on their iPod, laboring in that exercise till no time is left for prayer.

As for the guy in the cubicle, I have to strongly disagree with you. Evangelicalism does not care one iota about the day-to-day issues of that guy’s life. Evangelicalism has almost nothing to say about that guy’s work life, the part that consumes the majority of his day and week. Evangelicalism offers that guy no help when he’s canned from that job, instead beating him up over his poor ability to provide, his lousy parenting skills, and his slap-dash approach to his marriage, even as the guy’s desparately trying to keep his head above water. Evangelicalism speaks remarkable platitudes about the way things should be, but disconnects entirely when it comes to doing anything about those things in the daily lives of the people who sit in the pews.

I know this, Mike, because I’ve been watching it get worse, not better, for more than thirty years. I say all this not to beat up on Evangelicalism but to ask why this is the best that Evangelicalism has to offer. If that’s the way it is, and I believe it is, then why aren’t Evangelical leaders proposing any real action to address these issues? How many hours went into that manifesto that could’ve gone to solving deeper issues that re afflicting our modern age?