Meet The Evangelical Untouchables

Michael Patton is the director of Reclaiming the Mind Ministries and is one of the teachers on The Theology Program.

Tony Kummer is on staff at a Southern Baptist Church in the midwest and blogs at SBC Voices.

Ryan Couch is a Calvary Chapel pastor in Oregon, and blogs at Small Town Preacher.

Kirk Cowell pastors a Church of Christ in North Carolina.

Lindsey Williams is planting a PCA Church in North Carolina, and blogs at From Acorns to Oaks.

Matt Edwards is a small groups pastor in an independent church in Washington, and blogs at Awaiting Redemption.

Darrell Young pastors a Christian and Missionary Alliance Church near Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Riffs: 03:15:09: How the Left Perceives Evangelicals: Change? Really?

debcarI rarely write about politics, but this “Riff” is a bit of an intersection between evangelicalism and the left-leaning media.

Pam Chamberlain’s piece on young Evangelicals shifting leftward first appeared in the proudly left journal, The Public Eye. It’s reproduced here on AlterNet.

The first thing I want to say is that, until recently, I’ve purposely not listened to the left-leaning internet commenting community because it seems to be dominated by extreme voices. The comments to this piece will verify that. The levels of ignorance, vitriol and vengeance fantasies are amazing.

But at the same time, I’ve also avoided the extreme political right. I find both to be unproductive, ignorant and unrelated to my own political views.

Pam Chamberlain has discovered that some evangelicals don’t fit the caricature she’s always believed. She calls it change, and some of what she sees is change, and I predict it will continue and intensify. But guess what lefty folk? The diversity of evangelical political beliefs has always been there.Continue reading “Riffs: 03:15:09: How the Left Perceives Evangelicals: Change? Really?”

The Limbaughization of Evangelicals

(I usually don’t cross post with the podcast, but this is an exception. If I’ve missed a great source on Rush’s spiritual views, I welcome correction.)

For several years, I was a devoted Rush Limbaugh listener. I rarely missed a day. I haven’t listened to him much since Clinton left the White House, but I logged some serious dittohead time in the 90’s.

I think Rush is a very smart fellow. I think he’s right at times, and wrong at other times. He’s certainly influenced millions of people to rethink their political beliefs and he’s been a formidable opponent to liberals on a number of fronts.

When I first starting listening to Rush, I wanted to know more about his spiritual beliefs. He did an interview in the old Wittenburg Door magazine, and after consulting it, I recognized Rush as a rather interesting irony: a conservative whose theological beliefs were far closer to liberals than to conservatives.Continue reading “The Limbaughization of Evangelicals”

Postcards From My Spring Break

Yes, this past week was my spring break. That’s why I had the time to do interviews, moderate comments, answer emails, etc. If all this had happened any other time, I’d have been at work or preparing sermons, etc. So “Thank You, Lord!” for the time to enjoy my 15 minutes.

Here are some of the thoughts, impressions and memories from the week. (Every paragraph is a separate thought. No continuity.)

What if Jeremiah had written “The Coming Judean Collapse?” I think he would have heard “That will never happen. We’ve got the temple….the temple….the temple….” Then they would have thrown him in a well.Continue reading “Postcards From My Spring Break”

Internet Monk Radio Podcast #130

podcast_logo.gifThis week: Summary of the “Evangelical Collapse” story; Why all the hostility over the same post 7 years later?; The “Limbaughization” of Evangelicals.

Our sponsors are: 60 Ways to Leave Your Mother…Alone. A comic by Michael Buckley.

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The Coming Evangelical Collapse: A Statistical Review by Michael Bell

The Eclectic Christian, Michael Bell, is a long-time IM reader and commenter. He can also count all his digits, which puts him way past me when it comes to the statistical evaluation of the ARIS data and the Evangelical Collapse posts. Welcome Michael as an IM guest blogger and take note of his conclusions.

Michael Spencer has published a series of articles about a coming Evangelical collapse in the United States. One, published in the Christian Science Monitor, has stirred up a great deal of debate, both inside and outside the Christian community. As a person who is greatly interested in statistics, I was very interested in seeing if Michael’s claims could be borne out by statistical analysis. Let’s look at some of his statements and see if these ideas can be statistically supported.

1. “Between 25 and 35 percent of Americans today are Evangelicals.”Continue reading “The Coming Evangelical Collapse: A Statistical Review by Michael Bell”

iMonk 101: Why Do They Hate Us?

One of the first big splashes this blog made was when this post (2002!) made it into the atheist blogosphere. I got about a hundred notes from atheists saying “Thanks.” I’ve always agreed with what I wrote here, and I’ve always felt it was important. I also know that many culture-warring Christians will say this is a surrender document and I should join in the hatred of those who sometimes hate us. Check with Jesus on that one.

Here’s “Why Do They Hate Us?” from this blog, 2002 version.

I don’t really know why someone thought it was necessary to do a poll to see just who were the most disliked groups in society, but the results are in. While serial killers and IRS agents still come in last, hot on their heels are evangelical Christians. Not Christians in general. Not Roman Catholics. Not all Christians, but evangelical Christians.Continue reading “iMonk 101: Why Do They Hate Us?”

iMonk 101: One Stock That Needs To Drop

UPDATE: Associated Baptist Press took out the numbers that apply to Baptists and confirmed by warnings about the impending generational horizon.

So let’s move on….back to some of the predecessors of this little furor.

From October of ’08, this was a shorter piece on evangelicalism called “One Stock That Needs To Drop.”

If you enjoyed “Collapse,” this is a shorter bit, with a twist at the end. Don’t let the economic metaphor depress you.

Couple of notes from today’s discussion:Continue reading “iMonk 101: One Stock That Needs To Drop”

The Original Coming Evangelical Collapse Posts

UPDATE: I’ve been linked at Out of Ur, GetReligion and all over today. I want to say two things to all of them: 1) The CSM piece was on the commentary page. It is commentary, not news or research. 2) I did not say that evangelicalism is dying. I said it is going to decline quickly to a smaller, more chastened, more diverse, less influential form.

For all my new readers, here are the original, longer and more detailed “Coming Evangelical Collapse” posts.

The Coming Evangelical Collapse: Part 1
The Coming Evangelical Collapse: Part 2
The Coming Evangelical Collapse: Part 3

Couple of notes on the original posts that may clear up some commenter feedback:Continue reading “The Original Coming Evangelical Collapse Posts”