Tuesday, November 18, 2008

The day evangelicalism died

Isaiah 1:5: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.

Today marks the death of Western evangelicalism.

It's 2 years to the day since Ted Haggards fall from grace and only now he feels safe to open up about his deepest wounds

Am I condemning him? No
Am I condemning Christianity? No
I am condemning the evangelical smiley-face system that shuns true openness about sin and problems and pushes things into closets.
I am condemning the church-on-sunday suits-and-pews, pretending we have it all together that keeps people from truly sharing their struggles.

I am heart broken that it has taken Haggard this long to finally speak out about being taken advantage of sexually as a child. In all his years in churches, conferences, seminars was he unable to find anyone to confess to??? Was no one able to help him? In all the glory of the evangelical system did it ever come up? Did anyone pray for healing in this area of his life?

He was the head of the NAE!! There was no one higher in evangelicalism! But still the system would not allow him to open up about his deepest secrets. Think about it. Would you actually feel comfortable opening up about your deepest darkest secrets to those in your church? Could you see yourself requesting prayer for deep wounds you suffered as a child? Or does the evangelical system tend to sweep those issues further and further under the rug each and every Sunday?

Folks, what is the point of this whole charade if our churches are not places where we feel safe opening up and finding forgiveness?

RIP Western Evangelicalism - Rest in Pieces

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