"The 6-Way Fracturing of Evangelicalism"
Mapping the Cultural Landscape for the Next Several Years
Even if living under a proverbial rock were literally possible, you still couldn’t avoid the seismic changes sweeping through Western society. We’ve known this was coming for a while, foreshocks began in the mid-2010’s with noticeable tremors building in frequency for a decade prior to that. But few of our imaginations were wild enough to fathom how quickly and thoroughly their fissures would atomize the white American evangelical church along the same tribal lines reconfiguring American politics.
Tragically, we have a long way to go before the picture above could be taken in a church foyer before or after worship. Few visuals more painfully illustrate the way cultural affinity has come to preclude spiritual unity these days.
In our most recent episode (LINK), we wrap up our 3rd season with a robust discussion of Michael Graham’s truly landmark article from Mere Orthodoxy last spring, The 6-Way Fracturing of Evangelicalism. It’s explanatory power of the last 18 months alone makes it essential reading for any fan of our podcast (and pairs very well with my article re: social media as a “counterfeit institution”), but it also maps out what I’m convinced will be the rough landscape for ministry in a post-Christian culture for the next several years.
And yes, you read that right: understanding the fault lines within evangelicalism are essential for understanding post-Christian culture, because evangelicalism has both become infected by and uncritically contributed to its own decline.
Also: We want to hear (more) from you!
At the end of this episode we discuss how your feedback is shifting our focus and approach to Everything Just Changed. Namely, we’ve come to realize that we’re a podcast about envisioning a post-Culture War Church for Christians and leaders who just can’t even anymore. To do that well, we’d love to hear your thoughts on the following questions during the break over the next few weeks to even further dial in that vision. We look forward to the comments and discussion below!
What episode has most “changed everything” about how you see/understand what it means to “follow Jesus in a post-Christian and post-pandemic world,” and why?
What topic, challenge, or cultural dynamics would you find most helpful for us to tackle? Any specific guests you’d want to hear us engage with?
We’re planning to do a lot more writing and engagement here on our Substack. What kinds of articles, resources, and/or perspectives would you most want to see explored here?
Please comment/discuss below!
It has been fascinating/sad to watch from the outside how American Christianity is ripping itself apart. As a 'global evangelical' we aren't immune to some of the influences coming out of the US as a church. But we are already in that post-Christian world and have been for a long time. My big concern though will be the generational divides that could happen over the next decade in the church. There is a great irony in all of it that the younger generations (I am xennial) will protest the older generations lack of desire to embrace 'diversity' then exclude those older generations because of it. This will be helpful to acknowledge as we seek to maintain gospel unity despite some diversity of expression.
This episode resonates with me for a number of reasons. Probably the most important reason is that I've recently given a talk on politics (how to engage politically while maintaining your witness) to a scholar community that's also intended for an apologetics group where these fault lines have been most evident. An associate scholar who identified himself as an African American said he really appreciated the video because his brothers and sisters in the white conservative evangelical community just don't get it. I said that if we don't have a Christian view of politics that resonates with Christians in China, Africa, Latin American and across ethnic divides here at home, then we have more cultural than Christ. Appreciate your work; this is my second one and am excited to hear more!