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

by Tim Alberta

There is nothing here to reclaim. This country—a drop in the bucket, like all the nations—was never God’s to begin with, because “God does not show favoritism,” as Peter said, “but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.”

“President Trump is joining some of the most incredible people in history, being arrested today,” Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene declared on Right Side Broadcasting, live from New York, on the morning of Trump’s arraignment. After mentioning Nelson Mandela, she cried out: “Jesus! Jesus was arrested and murdered by the Roman government.”

More than any figure in American history, the forty-fifth president transformed evangelical from spiritual signifier into political punch line, exposing the selective morality and ethical inconsistency and rank hypocrisy that had for so long lurked in the subconscious of the movement. To be fair, this slow-motion reputational collapse predated Trump; he did not author the cultural insecurities of the Church. But he did identify them, and prey upon them, in ways that have accelerated the unraveling of institutional Christianity in the United States.

The Presbyterian Church of America (PCA), one of the nation’s largest denominations, voted recently to leave the National Association of Evangelicals. My home denomination, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church—further to the right, theologically and otherwise, than the PCA—has begun discussing whether to jettison Evangelical from its title.

The findings helped to quantify what was already apparent: Evangelicals are the most disliked group. This does not reflect some sweeping anti-Christian bias. The perception of Catholics and mainline Protestants was, among secular respondents, still a net positive, while those same respondents registered overwhelmingly negative feelings toward evangelicals.

“We dare not think that we know who the right and wrong people are,” the pastor said, his voice stern. “The gospel goes out to everyone.”

Their message stayed the same—and to be clear, Winans emphasized, our message always stays the same—but their methods were constantly evolving. If Christians are to make disciples in a changing world, we must be willing to break from the strictures that have stifled the Church’s outreach to the unknown players.

Because of this, the objective of the Church is infinite: to shed our earthly selves, to become sanctified, to transform more into the likeness of Christ. “We don’t win at holiness,” Winans said. Instead, “We strive to become more mature and become better than ourselves.”

“Lord, I pray that we would not fall into the trap of thinking we know who the right or the wrong people are; that we would extend the mercy and grace, the forgiveness and the message of Jesus, to everyone,” Winans said, bowing his head. “And, Lord, may we be on mission to be a faithful presence, to communicate the gospel, that all who hear may turn and be healed.”

“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.”