The Evangelical Crisis
Or “When your bus leaves you stranded at the side of the road.”
My Dad had an old Ford Van. Well, he had a series of vehicles, which, each one, left him on the side of the road at one time or another. It was inevitable. And whenever his truck would break down I would find him along the road, on his back under the vehicle, and I’d have to bring him a part or push his car to a nearby garage. My father installed u-joints along the road, fixed his brakes and even replaced a transmission (in my driveway). As inconvenient as it was, at least he was able to do the work and was not afraid to get it done — wherever the vehicle broke down.
And this brings me to the most recent high-profile evangelical apostate. Marty Sampson, a successful worship leader and composer with the top-selling Hillsong Church movement announced that he is leaving the Faith. It’s tragic, but I am not at all surprised. Nearly twenty years ago I was saying that Evangelicalism (and Protestantism) was like a car that broke down, or ran out of gas along the side of the road. It’s simply taken this long for folks to realize that the bus is not going anywhere.
Of course, it is not only Marty Sampson. There has been a steady flow of evangelicals - leaders and regular church-goers - abandoning the Christian faith these days. Just two short weeks ago…
