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

by Tim Alberta

That work was on display all throughout the exhibition hall. This was not the Road to Majority Conference or the ReAwaken America Tour; there were no kiosks selling miracle cures or militaristic slogans. Instead, sprawled out over some ten thousand square feet, the SBC exhibitors showcased causes more readily identifiable with Christ. One booth promoted the Prison Fellowship ministry, soliciting donations for an initiative that delivers gifts to the children of incarcerated persons at Christmastime. Another booth, sponsored by Voice of the Martyrs, offered education on the underground church in parts of Africa and the Middle East, and raised funds to support the frontline workers who were risking their lives to support Christians in hostile locations. Some organizations fought childhood poverty with their meal-packing operations; others battled online porn addiction with free software downloads. Talk of stopping human trafficking—the real thing, not those Reddit rumors targeting Tom Hanks and Oprah Winfrey—was everywhere. At one point, a crowd swarmed around the stall where SBC disaster relief officials signed up volunteers who would, at indeterminate times over the years to come, drop everything and rush to sites of devastation in the United States and abroad.