The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism

by Tim Alberta

“The core truth that’s been lost, and needs to be recovered in our time, is that every human has value because they bear the image of God,”

When Jesus walked the earth, He went out of His way to minister to the broken and the shunned. He didn’t show mere mercy to the adulterer and the prostitute and the tax collector; he showed favoritism toward them because these were the people who needed him most.

He had persuaded the churchgoing class that it was better to win with vice than to lose with virtue. He had blinded believers to the means and fixed their eyes on the ends. Most significantly, he had shown evangelicals that their movement need not be led by an evangelical.

“The one thing that’s unambiguous, where we can take direct instruction from Jesus, is on the how of politics—when it comes to loving our enemy, having humility, showing mercy, pursuing truth,” Chang told French. “And those hows, while being deeply biblical and pointing people to Jesus, also happen to be really congruent with the basic values of democracy and pluralism.”

God’s plan for the ages has nothing to do with America. We need Him. He doesn’t need us.”

“Some of these guys will never take a woman seriously. And I’ve used that to my advantage,” Denhollander told me, a smile curling at the corners of her mouth. “They don’t want to feel threatened, so I try hard not to threaten them. You know: business suit, pastel colors, low ponytail, light makeup, collarbone covered, flats not heels—because you cannot be taller than any of the men in the room. They need to feel like they’re in charge. You know?”

“Define your identity,” Denhollander replied. “If you do that, you will be able to stand up against abuses of your theology and speak out against your own community. You will be okay with not having a home, with not fitting in anywhere, because your identity is not tied to anything here.” She thought for a moment. “When you lose sight of your identity, it’s easy to lust after power, and to justify the moral compromises necessary to achieve it.”

Does Jesus need the help of our broken institutions or do our broken institutions need the help of Jesus?

God, as a wise preacher once said, doesn’t bite His fingernails.

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”