Stocks are dropping. Have you noticed?
I’ll tell you a stock whose value really needs to go down. While we’re devaluing and dumping the worthless, I’d like to add something to the pile.
The stock of evangelicalism is way over-valued. It’s worth less than half of what we’re paying for it, because about half of evangelical religion is worthless.
Evangelicalism is overvalued because its politically useful. (If I read another email telling me Sarah Palin is Esther I’m going to put a drumstick through my eye.)
Evangelicalism is overvalued because it has mastered self-presentation via slick media.
Evangelicalism is overvalued because Hollywood has discovered we exist and can be lured into a theater.
Evangelicalism is overvalued because it believes its own press clippings, writes its own promos and does all its own publicity. If an objective voice starts to tell the truth about us, well that’s an attack of the enemy or an example of bias.
Evangelicalism is overvalued because it has too much music and too little Bible.
Evangelicalism is overvalued because it’s created a Christianity that’s perfectly comfortable for the un-Christian. (Not the non-Christian, but the nominal Christian with no intention of doing anything beyond asking Jesus to clear up the mess.)
Evangelicalism is overvalued because it boldly claims miracles, transformations, healings and impact that’s mostly bogus, but at least half of evangelicals could care less.
Evangelicalism is overvalued because it refuses to define itself so that Benny Hinn and the rest of his prosperity Gospel contagion are excluded.
Evangelicalism is overvalued because it worships at the altar of entertainment and has created an entertainment obsessed youth culture that it passes off as youth and student ministry.
Evangelicalism is overvalued because it talks to itself incessantly and almost completely avoids listening to those it claims it wants to reach with the Gospel.
Evangelicalism is overvalued because it’s villanized gays and lesbians, kids with taboos and piercings, and anyone not prepared to be a one issue voter.
Evangelicalism is overvalued because it has mastered the art of advertising its churches as warm, accepting communities when, often, they are far from it.
Evangelicalism is overvalued because it constantly claims evidence that God is working through it to change the world, but the evidence in those places dominated by evangelicalism isn’t very convincing.
Evangelicalism’s stock needs to drop by at least half. It needs to drop to where the political types, the money grubbers, the celebrity wannabes and the influence peddlers will go away.
Evangelicalism’s stock needs to drop so that it won’t wonder why the Chinese church- with no bookstores, conferences, CCM or megachurches- has thrived under persecution through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Evangelicalism’s stock needs to drop so that we can begin to tell the truth about what it means to be a Christian.
In today’s evangelicalism, if you tell the truth, you’re quite likely going to be fired, or at the least, given a gift certificate for luggage and a plane ticket.
At least half of evangelicalism is nothing more than an embarassing religious scam- and I use the word “religion” purposefully- that says we’re happier, healthier, wealthier, with better marriages, better kids, and wonderful churches. If you walk into the room and start telling the truth about that scam by telling your story in a voice others can hear, you’re going to be declared the enemy or mentally unstable.
Now you may think that I’m being hard, extreme, out in left field, but I want you to think of something for a moment.
When a good stock drops its excess, inflated price….what happens?
People buy it.
I’d love to buy into evangelicalism again. But not at today’s prices.
