Next mini thread on @kkdumez's book, "Jesus and John Wayne." A Tale in Two Quotes, both near the end of the book, and both said privately. One is descriptive of evangelicalism, and one is heart-breaking. 1/

The first comes from James McDonald, the now disgraced former Chicago megachurch pastor. He is describing Christianity Today, and why they would be critical of them. 2/

"Anglican, pseudo-dignity, high-church, symphony-adoring, pipe-organ protecting, musty, mild smell of urine, blue hair Methodist loving, mainline dying, women preacher championing, emerging church adoring, almost good with all gays & closet Palestine promoting Christianity." 3/

What a quote! Again, he said this privately, and yes McDonald was an outlier. But here is my point. That IS the way many evangelicals think about other forms of Christianity. Despite their claims, it's NOT about doctrine, it's about CULTURE. We don't like their culture. 4/

Mainlines are DYING. They are WEAK. They are EFFEMINATE. But we are WINNING. We are INNOVATIVE and GROWING.

If we are honest, our driving force is not that we preach a crucified Christ, dying in weakness, but that we are WINNERS. We SUCCEED and GROW and are just BETTER. 4/

And that is what @kkdumez's book is about. About how that way of evangelical thinking - rooted way back in the Fundamentalist movement and early 20th cent. Americanism - has characterized much of evangelicalism. And we can admit it. It's OK. Again, Luke 14:11.

And McDonald's quote exemplifies this way of thinking. Some of us thought he was always outlandish and off (remember the gambling thing?) But he was also accepted into the mainline of evangelicalism. So, that's on us (see next tweet). 6/

As an example, here is a TGC discussion between him, Driscoll & Mark Dever. (I have used the first minute with students to show how *not* to listen.) Dever is a gentleman. But he also welcomed these two to the table. @kkdumez if you have not seen this. 7/

The second quote from the book is why all this matters. Also from the end of @kkdumez book:

"One man with a physical disability recalls feeling that there was no place for him in the evangelicalism of the 2000s. If you weren't a 'sports or hunting fanatic... " 8/

"... in an evangelical church,' your position was marginal, as he put it. Another man, too, recounted that those who weren't particularly athletic, who weren't looking to 'jump ravines and climb rock walls' could feel like inauthentic men and second-class Christians.'" 9/

And THIS is why all this matters (not to mention its effect on women, and members of minority groups subject to more societal challenges). This is why this book is resonating with so many. Because we don't like seeing people hurt, of the cause of Christ maligned. 10/

We want to lift up the CROSS. We want to remind our churches that winning comes by a Savior who became WEAK for them. That's the Christian Gospel. That's what we preach. And when we adopt cultural strategies of power, manliness and fleshly strength, we obscure that message. 11/

Whatever your view on the history of all this, let us remember:

"God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast" 12/12