This week I highlight three diverse stories from the American continent, which in different ways indicate the growing confusion besetting the evangelical movement.
Politics?
First, there is the story running in the Colorado Springs Gazette, published on January 7 2007, concerning the new situation for evangelicals in Colorado Springs. For years, the city has been dubbed ‘the evangelical Mecca’ or ‘the evangelical Vatican’, host to the massively influential ‘Focus on the Family’ ministry of Dobson, and the, until his recent moral demise, charismatic ministry of mega-church leader, Ted Haggard. Last summer, Ted Haggard sat in his book-lined office at New Life Church, smiled, and said: ‘It’s happened. My whole vision has happened.’ But now, as reported in EN, Haggard has been discredited, and the political connections of the evangelical elite with the Republican Party have suffered a trouncing at the polls. Dobson travelled far and wide in support of Republican candidates, but the Democrats took control of Congress. Dobson blamed the party; pundits blamed social conservatives like Dobson. But the real story is that the evangelical-Republican alliance looks shaky.
Evangelism?
Second, a study, put together for Facts & Trends magazine by Ellison Research of Phoenix of 811 Protestant senior pastors nationwide, has been released by LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Participants were asked about the activities their church held over the last year specifically relating to evangelism, as well as what types of community outreach the church offered. At first blush, the statistics look rosy, with 97% of all churches saying they are doing something specifically for the purpose of evangelism. But in fact only three types of outreach are offered by a majority of US Protestant churches in a typical year: food pantry, food collection or other food-oriented donations (73%), Vacation Bible School [= Holiday Bible Club] (68%), and holiday food programmes such as Christmas or Thanks-giving baskets for poor families (65%). The traditional divide between evangelical and mainline churches persists, with the former doing more evangelism and the latter more community programmes that don’t necessarily involve evangelism. Plus ca change…
