The Coming Evangelical Collapse

Is there a evangelical collapse on the horizon? According to Michael Spencer, there is, and it just might be a good thing. I must admit, my initial reaction to the title was anything but complimentary, but after reading the article, I will say this: Mr. Spencer has some valid points that all of us should ponder.

Mr. Spencer writes,

"We are on the verge – within 10 years – of a major collapse of evangelical Christianity. This breakdown will follow the deterioration of the mainline Protestant world and it will fundamentally alter the religious and cultural environment in the West."

He goes on to write,

"Millions of Evangelicals will quit. Thousands of ministries will end. Christian media will be reduced, if not eliminated. Many Christian schools will go into rapid decline. I'm convinced the grace and mission of God will reach to the ends of the earth. But the end of evangelicalism as we know it is close."

Why does Mr. Spencer believe this will happen? He gives many reasons, but, in a nutshell, it is this: we have not passed on a solid foundational faith to our children. Instead, we have passed on the warm fuzzes. Mr. Spencer writes,

"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. Our young people have deep beliefs about the culture war, but do not know why they should obey scripture, the essentials of theology, or the experience of spiritual discipline and community. Coming generations of Christians are going to be monumentally ignorant and unprepared for culture-wide pressures."

He also has some hard things to say to parents and educators alike.

"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."

I agree, in principal, that many Christian schools have done a poor job of educating children in preparation of standing for Christ in a world hostile to Christ. Instead, Christians have built schools or ministries to serve their own needs... all the while staying out of the way of the world. But, there are many fine examples of schools and ministries that have done the opposite or are doing the opposite. Our school is one of those examples as we seek to be part of Huntsville and engage our community in order to be that city on the hill.

Mr. Spencer closes with several points:

"Will the coming collapse get Evangelicals past the pragmatism and shallowness that has brought about the loss of substance and power? Probably not. The purveyors of the evangelical circus will be in fine form, selling their wares as the promised solution to every church's problems."

"The loss of their political clout may impel many Evangelicals to reconsider the wisdom of trying to create a "godly society." That doesn't mean they'll focus solely on saving souls, but the increasing concern will be how to keep secularism out of church, not stop it altogether. The integrity of the church as a countercultural movement with a message of "empire subversion" will increasingly replace a message of cultural and political entitlement."

"We can rejoice that in the ruins, new forms of Christian vitality and ministry will be born. I expect to see a vital and growing house church movement. This cannot help but be good for an evangelicalism that has made buildings, numbers, and paid staff its drugs for half a century."

"We need new evangelicalism that learns from the past and listens more carefully to what God says about being His people in the midst of a powerful, idolatrous culture."

"I'm not a prophet. My view of evangelicalism is not authoritative or infallible. I am certainly wrong in some of these predictions. But is there anyone who is observing evangelicalism in these times who does not sense that the future of our movement holds many dangers and much potential?"

I would encourage everyone to read this article twice. You may not agree with everything written, but the words that are written will make you think deeply about some issues that may have been buried for a while. Blessings to all!