The Other Side of Evangelicalism

White Evangelicalism in America is experiencing a fairly massive rift, mostly along political lines, especially with regards to what’s commonly referred to as “social justice.” The election of Donald trump added to the schism, with many of us beffuddled at the overwhelming support of our current president that came directly from our camp.

Now, as America seems to be navigating it’s next racial justice moment, the most vocial, in-your-face representation of Evangelicalism is the side that has come to believe, for example, that BLM is a terrorist organization, that Colin Kaepernick disrespected our flag for no good reason, that Donald Trump is making America great again, etc.

It’s easy in this moment to characterize all of Evangelicalism as utterly resistant to the good changes that are coming about. That’s some of us to be sure, but there’s more.

For your consideration, I’d like to offer two perspectives from highly influential Evangelical leaders, speaking and reflecting about what it means to be an American, Bible believing follower of Jesus.

First is a sermon from Evangelical pastor Rich Nathan, who preached in June about the death of George Floyd and what he believes to be the proper response from American Christianity. He is the senior pastor of Vineyard Columbus, a position that he has been serving in since 1987. Prior to becoming the church’s first Senior Pastor, Rich taught business law at The Ohio State University for five years.

He has also been a major force for immigration reform, highlighting the issue in both sermons and op-eds. He advocates for a different plan than those traditionally offered for America’s illegal immigrants, “a pathway to citizenship governed by a system of checks and balances.” He has led Vineyard Columbus to embrace racial and ethnic diversity, now pastoring one of America’s most diverse churches, having attendees from over 125 nations.

Next are some thoughts on contemporary Evangelicalism from pastor and author John Pavlovitz:

Dear White Evangelicals,

I need to tell you something: People have had it with you.

They’re done.

They want nothing to do with you any longer, and here’s why:

They see your hypocrisy, your inconsistency, your incredibly selective mercy, and your thinly veiled supremacy.

For eight years they watched you relentlessly demonize a black President; a man faithfully married for 26 years; a doting father and husband without a hint of moral scandal or the slightest whiff of infidelity.

They watched you deny his personal faith convictions, argue his birthplace, and assail his character—all without cause or evidence. They saw you brandish Scriptures to malign him and use the laziest of racial stereotypes in criticizing him.

And through it all, White Evangelicals—you never once suggested that God placed him where he was,
you never publicly offered prayers for him and his family,
you never welcomed him to your Christian Universities,
you never gave him the benefit of the doubt in any instance,
you never spoke of offering him forgiveness or mercy,
your evangelists never publicly thanked God for his leadership,
your pastors never took to the pulpit to offer solidarity with him,
you never made any effort to affirm his humanity or show the love of Jesus to him in any quantifiable measure.

You violently opposed him at every single turn—without offering a single ounce of the grace you claim as the heart of your faith tradition. You jettisoned Jesus as you dispensed damnation on him.

And yet you give carte blanche to a white Republican man so riddled with depravity, so littered with extramarital affairs, so unapologetically vile, with such a vast resume of moral filth—that the mind boggles.

And the change in you is unmistakable. It has been an astonishing conversion to behold: a being born again.

With him, you suddenly find religion.
With him, you’re now willing to offer full absolution.
With him, all is forgiven without repentance or admission.
With him you’re suddenly able to see some invisible, deeply buried heart.
With him, sin has become unimportant, compassion no longer a requirement.
With him, you see only Providence.

And White Evangelicals, all those people who have had it with you—they see it all clearly.

They recognize the toxic source of your inconsistency.

They see that pigmentation and party are your sole deities.
They see that you aren’t interested in perpetuating the love of God or emulating the heart of Jesus.
They see that you aren’t burdened to love the least, or to be agents of compassion, or to care for your Muslim, gay, African, female, or poor neighbors as yourself.
They see that all you’re really interested in doing, is making a God in your own ivory image and demanding that the world bow down to it.
They recognize this all about white, Republican Jesus—not dark-skinned Jesus of Nazareth.

And I know you don’t realize it, but you’re digging your own grave in these days; the grave of your very faith tradition.

Your willingness to align yourself with cruelty is a costly marriage. Yes, you’ve gained a Supreme Court seat, a few months with the Presidency as a mouthpiece, and the cheap high of temporary power—but you’ve lost a whole lot more.

You’ve lost an audience with millions of wise, decent, good-hearted, faithful people with eyes to see this ugliness.
You’ve lost any moral high ground or spiritual authority with a generation.
You’ve lost any semblance of Christlikeness.
You’ve lost the plot.
And most of all you’ve lost your soul.

I know it’s likely you’ll dismiss these words. The fact that you’ve even made your bed with such malevolence, shows how far gone you are and how insulated you are from the reality in front of you.

But I had to at least try to reach you. It’s what Jesus would do.

Maybe you need to read what he said again—if he still matters to you.

Again, there’s more; more voices reflecting sentiments akin to what’s above, more people mobilizing in response to the brokenness of our world, more asking “what does it truly mean to be a follower of Jesus?” I’m saddened by the rift in my camp, and by the fact that it’s growing exponentially as of late.

I’m saddened that the word “Evangelical” has come to represent bigotry, insensitivity, hypocrisy, and all of the bad politics that follow.

Can our rift be mended? The views espoused on either side are nearly polar opposites. I don’t have much faith for it. Church history in America – the world for that matter – is full of stories where God moved his church in a particular direction and a percentage of His people simply couldn’t get on board. The Bible itself, that book that talks ad-nauseum about Christian unity, has it’s own stories of people resisting the almighty’s trajectories, and things moving forward regardless of the division that followed.

But I’m compelled to move forward as someone who’s made God the boss of my life, someone who sees the face of God in everyone, no matter what their political view. I don’t always succeed, but it’s important to act, think, and write as someone who believes that unity between us, miraculous as it would be, is a possibility.