Notable Christians

The 25 Who Should Be Most Influential on Modern Evangelicalism

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I was thinking after my post on who is truly influencing modern-day American Evangelicals, perhaps I should post on who I believe SHOULD be the most influential. All the men listed here (sorry ladies, there were a few I thought of, but I had only twenty-five spots and felt these twenty-five were essential—they just happened to all be men) lived since the founding of our country because I felt they best informed American Christianity. Not all are Americans, but all should be influences on us, no matter the countries of origin.

The Pastors

A.W. Tozer—Tozer is “my C.S. Lewis,” the one I go to whenever I need to be uplifted, provoked, or stirred in any way. I believe him to be the greatest of 20th century preachers and teachers, but always with a pastor’s heart. He loved the Church like few others and his habit of spending the first five hours of his day in prayer is an example few can match. Everything he wrote is a gem—each prophetic, challenging, and Spirit-filled.

Andrew Murray—Few writers of the 19th century had the beautiful loving heart that Murray did. His ability to gently lay out truth is unmatched. Every book of his is a classic.

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones—The bastion of England during the WWII years and beyond, Lloyd-Jones’s words cut to the soul with their wisdom and insight. His bridges the Reformed tradition and charismatic, penning one of the only good books on the discerning of spirits that exists today.

Jonathan Edwards—Still a powerhouse force and a voice to complacent Evangelicalism. We need s serious dose of Edwards in the American Church today.

Jack Hayford—I have a lot of respect for Hayford and it is sad that he does not get more credit for his no-nonsense approach to Christian living. He may be the only sane voice for the charismatic branch of Evangelicalism that exists today (with the possible exception of Wayne Grudem.)

The Revivalists

Leonard Ravenhill—I think that no man in the 20th century did more to stir up Christians to deeper faith and more compelling service than did Ravenhill. “When are we going to get serious about getting serious?” and “One of these days someone’s going open the Bible, believe it, and then we are all going to be ashamed.” Ravenhill’s fiery wisdom is essential reading and listening for today’s complacent Evangelicals.

C.H. Spurgeon—The “Prince of Preachers,” Spurgeon wrote extensively on revival and oversaw some great ones. His no-nonsense approach to fanning the flames in the hearts of sleepy believers is desperately needed in the American Church

George Whitefield—I believe it was Jonathan Edwards that said of Whitefield, “They go not to see a preacher, but a man aflame.” Whitefield’s preaching almost singlehandedly undergirded faith in early America, even though the great revivalist himself was not from here.

The Intelligentsia

Francis Schaeffer—Francis Schaeffer was not only a man of great wisdom, but his prophetic words about postmodern man are startling as we see the fruit of that worldview come to ripen. Schaeffer addressed the whole man, body, soul, spirit and mind. In an age when Evangelicals are eschewing things of the mind, Schaeffer is needed more than ever.

Alistair McGrath—An apologist and Bible teacher of the highest order, McGrath is sadly overlooked by most Evangelicals, though he certainly will carry the mantle of J.I. Packer some day.

J.I. Packer—The grand old man of modern Evangelical thought. He was on Time’s list and belongs here, too.

Ravi Zacharias—An apologist supreme and with a Third World perspective, too, Zacharias is a powerful speaker every Evangelical should know and follow.

C.S. Lewis—No list would be complete without Lewis. His writings inform more Evangelicals in America than possibly any other figure.

The Examples

E.M. Bounds—Prayer, prayer, and more prayer. Evangelicals would be wise to follow his admonitions that it all starts with prayer.

John Hyde—”Praying Hyde” of India. If a case is made for modern apostleship, Hyde would be at the top of the list. A life wholly surrendered—and powerful as a result.

George Mueller—Another great man of prayer who lived only by what God gave him through prayer. Also saw great needs and met them—again through prayer.

Hudson Taylor—The great missionary to China. Tragedy never overcame triumph in Taylor’s life and the modern Chinese church owes everything to this man who heard the call of Jesus and surrendered all.

Jim Elliot—Cut down before thirty, but his journals should be required reading for all young Evangelicals. The fruit of his work in South America continues to prosper and grow. “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

David Brainerd—Again, cut down young, but what a life! Wholly given to the Lord; every thought taken captive. Saw the need to preach to the native peoples of America and met that need, pouring his life out so that they might know Christ.

Richard Wurmbrand—A modern day martyr who spent years locked away in Communist prisons. No one this century did more (with possibly the exception of Alexander Solzhenitsyn) to promote the plight of the persecuted church worldwide. He has much to teach Evangelicals today about the plight of our brethren worldwide.

The Challengers

Watchman Nee—Brings a uniquely Asian worldview to the Church. His mysticism is needed in an Evangelicalism too rooted in the practical and mundane.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer—Hard-hitting and uncompromising. His book The Cost of Discipleship is the antidote to the crossless preaching of modern Evangelical megachurchianity.

Keith Green—Who has taken up the gantlet that this fiery young prophet threw down to Christians via songs that convict and yet bring joy? It’s been almost twenty-five years since his death, and still we wait for a successor to Green. One song by Green carries more punch than an entire day’s listening on most Christian radio stations today.

George Barna—He holds the mirror up to the face of modern Christianity better than anyone. We truly need to see how we are and Barna is the only one doing it religiously.

Folks, these people are the ones we should be listening to and modeling. I encourage you to find out more about all of them. Seek out their books and teachings. Some links are to the right. Please think about what these men say and let them be influential your life, too.

Most of the Truly Influential Are Dead

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I'm late to this debate and it has raged better elsewhere, but Time published their list of Most Influential Evangelicals this last week. Now I am not one to let secular magazines do my thinking for me, so because it's Time I have to take anything they say with a grain of salt. But upon perusing the list I noticed a curious mix of what denotes influence. There were cases were the folks listed clearly had the ears of kingmakers and there were others that actually had the ears of real, down-to-earth Christians. Time did not make this distinction, but it is certainly worth making.

I would contend that the folks who have the ears of the the kingmakers don't wield all that much influence. There were some high-falutin' politicos and financial honchos in the list, but since the average person in the pew is not directly impacted by them, do they really have "Evangelical" influence?

Who truly does influence Evangelicals? Let me proffer a few names of folks whose impact still rings throughout Evangelical churches in America. Most of them are dead, but their thinking profoundly affects how Evangelicals live and breathe:

Clive Staples Lewis—It is possible that Lewis is still the most widely read person in Evangelical ranks (all considerations given to LaHaye/Jenkins and Warren.) I know that almost every Christian I know has read one of his books. Most refer to his books when trying to make points, so obviously Lewis mined some academic standard for Christians today if we continue to use his arguments and illustrations.

Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, et al.—The Reformers created Protestantism. There is no Evangelicalism in America without their influence and Evangelicals still refer to their writings.

Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield—Overwhelmingly influenced American Christianity in all streams through the First Great Awakening.

Jacobus Arminius, John Wesley, and Charles Finney—Call them what you will, but they are the precursors of modern Evangelicalism.

John Darby, Hal Lindsey, and Tim LaHaye—Dispensationalism rules in Evangelical ranks, sweeping aside almost every other eschatological view. I believe that Lindsey's The Late Great Planet Earth is only eclipsed by the Bible in total sales since it was released in the early 1970s, popularizing the Rapture and focus on the Middle East. LaHaye (on Time's list) pushed the envelope even further with the astonishing success of the Left Behind series. He may have indoctrinated more Americans in Dispensationalism than even Lindsey.

Eugene Peterson—The effect of The Message cannot be underestimated in Evangelicalism. I may be the only person I know that doesn't have a copy of this (outlandish) paraphrase. It has supplanted the traditional translations for more people than I can count. Given some of the theological issues with this work, its ultimate legacy cannot be underestimated.

Charles Darwin—Not a Christian, but certainly his theories have torn Evangelicalism in a number of directions, all of them disheartening. That most Christians operate solely from a naturalistic worldview is damaging to the cause of Christ.

James Dobson—He's on the Time list. I will reserve comments at this time, but his influence cannot be underestimated. When he teamed with Bill Bennett, they almost singlehandedly created the homeschooling movement that has become enormous to Evangelicals.

Norman Vincent Peale—The Power of Positive Thinking author's offspring can be seen in almost every Evangelical megachurch today. Schuller, Warren, and Hybels all owe their ministries to Peale. He singlehandedly made psychology palatable to Evangelicals. We will be undoing his damage for years to come.

George Barna—A current figure and oddly not on Time's list. I've heard enough pastors quote him in the last fifteen years to know that our church leaders are reading Barna religiously. However, his actual influence through his demographic studies is debatable since he's been publishing disturbing facts for years without many taking them to heart. On the other hand, Barna is a big proponent of running churches like businesses, and we've all witnessed how much this has influenced church leaders—so he's got to stay, but for the wrong reason.

Henry Ward Beecher—The well-known abolitionist voiced radical thoughts far beyond just attacking slavery. His was a soft, almost effeminate Christianity and his ideas have been co-opted for much of the weepy-eyed Evangelicalism we see on display today. He was Bill Hybels and John Wimber rolled into one and his idea of what constitutes Evangelicalism predominates in Praise & Worship-oriented churches.

Dwight Moody—His influence is lessening even as Beecher's increases, but Moody is the rock upon which many of the more vocal opponents of Evangelical concessions to worldly living build.

Oral Roberts—For the portion of Evangelicalism that considers itself charismatic, Roberts singlehandedly made charismatic theology popular. His influence is so far reaching that almost all 21st century charismatic streams must pass through Tulsa, OK at some point. He spawned Hagin, Copeland, and enough well-known imitators to fill a stadium.

Martin Luther King, Jr.—The social justice branch of Evangelicalism (as represented by Jim Wallis and Sojourners) still worship at the church Dr. King founded. It is not possible to engage this group of Evangelicals without ultimately tracing their theology and methodologies back to King.

As you well notice, most of the people on this list (save for Barna, Peterson, LaHaye, Lindsey, and Dobson) are deceased, but their views live on, continuing to influence Evangelicalism for better or for worse. If we want to talk about real influence, they cannot be ignored, since most people in the seats in Evangelical churches are making decisions based on what these men said or did, whether those pew-dwellers know it or not.

Your take? Do you think I'm right or nuts? Let me know and tell me who you think I left out.