Coming Evangelical Collapse

I have not been in the blogging mood for some time. I have had several things that have been on my mind, but I just have not had the energy to put anything into the ether about my pet topics. I mean, gee whiz, I never talked about Rush Limbaugh and his tirade(s) and whether or not he is the de facto leader of the Republican party. Granted, if he is throwing the party I am not going, but I would likely not be invited anyway, so . . . hmm.

A couple of weeks ago, an old friend brought this article about the coming evangelical collapse to my attention. There are a lot of interesting thoughts and predictions about ministries ending, churches closing, and political clout evaporating. The main reasons Michael Spencer gives are as follows:

1. Evangelicals have identified their movement with the culture war and with political conservatism. This will prove to be a very costly mistake. Evangelicals will increasingly be seen as a threat to cultural progress. Public leaders will consider us bad for America, bad for education, bad for children, and bad for society.

2. We Evangelicals have failed to pass on to our young people an orthodox form of faith that can take root and survive the secular onslaught. Ironically, the billions of dollars we've spent on youth ministers, Christian music, publishing, and media has produced a culture of young Christians who know next to nothing about their own faith except how they feel about it.

3. There are three kinds of evangelical churches today: consumer-driven megachurches, dying churches, and new churches whose future is fragile. Denominations will shrink, even vanish, while fewer and fewer evangelical churches will survive and thrive.

4. Despite some very successful developments in the past 25 years, Christian education has not produced a product that can withstand the rising tide of secularism. Evangelicalism has used its educational system primarily to staff its own needs and talk to itself.

5. The confrontation between cultural secularism and the faith at the core of evangelical efforts to "do good" is rapidly approaching. We will soon see that the good Evangelicals want to do will be viewed as bad by so many, and much of that work will not be done. Look for ministries to take on a less and less distinctively Christian face in order to survive.

6. Even in areas where Evangelicals imagine themselves strong (like the Bible Belt), we will find a great inability to pass on to our children a vital evangelical confidence in the Bible and the importance of the faith.

7. The money will dry up.

I think these are some significant questions that many of us have been asking for quite some time, but again, it is good to see these things in print. You can also check out Spencer's blog "Internet Monk" here.

In other personal news:

1. I decided to register for classes this summer, so it looks like I am really going to go back to school. Thankfully, I have several avenues for funding. So, at the very most I will only have to pay for half of my tuition. And, I decided to change to a Master of Divinity program. I should be shot, but I think I will be able to transfer in enough graduate credits to make the MDiv within striking distance of a regular MA (TS) degree. And, I have chosen to start with courses that will work toward my ordination, which means by the end of the year, I may be a provisional deacon. So, hold on, it's gonna be a bumpy ride.

2. Out little Elizabeth was student of the quarter for her Kindergarten class this past 9 weeks. We were a little surprised since Liz is not much for the book learnin.' She was so pleased. It was nice for her to win a big award since she lives with Marcia Brady.

3. I am in the final stages of preparing for my big concert this weekend. I have come to realize that the performance side of me is drying up. The music (Vaughan Williams' 5 Mystical Songs) is wonderful, but I would rather not be the one singing them. This is difficult for those around me to understand because they think that music should be the most fun job ever (and it is, or can be). But I am thinking long and hard about what role music will play in the next chapter of my life, my ordained life.

Now, how's that for opening a kettle of fish?