“Some may argue that evangelical doctrine is stable, given that it is rooted in the Solas of the Reformation. This is true, but the emphasis of the past fifty years has been on outward aesthetics and novel ways to do church. More traditional forms of Protestantism, including fundamentalism, that have kept their liturgies and doctrine, are well positioned to benefit from renewed interest in older forms of religion.”
(Jon Harris) Recently it has occurred to me that neo-evangelicals are still by and large repeating the contextualization mistakes that ensnared Bill Hybels and Rick Warren in previous generations. They remain drawn to the pursuit of certain demographics they believe will grant them a cultural advantage, and in the short term it appears as if this strategy is correct. Yet the end result is always the same. The church becomes marginalized as the superficial glow that once made it appear bright dims with changing social conditions.
To understand this problem requires some background on what neo-evangelicalism is and what it attempts to accomplish. I have written about this at greater length in my book Social Justice Goes to Church, but it is enough to say that since the 1950s neo-evangelicals have been an identifiable group of Christians who have attempted to preserve orthodox theology, similar to the fundamentalists, while also seeking to regain the cultural influence that the rise of modernity and theological liberalism helped destroy. Their methods for reclaiming social relevance revolve around pursuing dominance in fields that modern people, who have discounted the Bible’s authority, consider important.
Related
Who are the Emergent Church leaders? Where are they now?
CRN has compiled a list of false teachers and several other professing Christians we’ve warned you about over the years. The list also contains those we must keep an eye on plus movements, organizations and “frauds, phonies and money-grubbing religious quacks” to mark and avoid as per Romans 16:17-18 such as those mentioned in the article.