ما تغییر هستیم! (Dari) We are the change!
Part 1: Introduction
Russell Moore in Losing OurReligion: An Altar Call in Evangelical America [1] has sparked active discussion in our class. Pastors from different denominations have waded in and grabbed Moore’s book to evaluate and critique themselves and the churches in this highly politicized presidential year.
Part 2: What my peers are saying.
DLGP02, Tim Clark, the lead pastor of vision and voice at the The Church On the Way in Los Angeles, wrote, “ I want to say up front that I agreed with much of his thesis. It’s the tension I’ve been living in for the last few years: In my estimation, too many American Evangelical Christians have become far too enmeshed with politics and culture wars. They (we) have become so aligned with political and cultural power, it’s watered down our commitment to, and witness of, the values, mission and aim of the gospel.
DLGP02, Kally Elliot, PC (USA) pastor, shares an example of change, “Recently our PC(USA) congregation worked together with an Evangelical congregation in our community to host a “Guns to Gardens” event in which we invited people to surrender their unwanted guns. A trained volunteer would make several cuts into the gun rendering them no longer a weapon and then a blacksmith would melt them down and turn them into garden tools. This was a BIG DEAL. An Evangelical church and a Presbyterian Church (USA) congregation working together to turn guns into garden tools in Central Oregon. This partnership demonstrates how individuals and congregations can move beyond the fear-based rhetoric that Moore critiques. Instead of allowing secondary theological divisions or social media algorithms to drive us apart, our churches chose to focus on a shared goal rooted in Gospel values.”
DLGPO2,Kim Sanford, missionary in France, wrote, “When I feel the dissonance between who I am and the culture around me, I need this reminder of my heavenly citizenship. It reminds me that the feeling of dissonance, of disorientation, is a good thing. It is to be expected because of our Kingdom allegiance to Jesus, a King who is not of this world.
Ahh…John 17:14-16, “I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
Part 3. Some academic critiques and What Moore taught me.
Social scientists, such as Haidt (2023)[2] and Smith (2024)[3], explore the implications of Moore’s critique of evangelical “outrage culture.” These scholars note that Moore’s call for a less confrontational culture may overlook the psychological roots of group behavior within religious communities. They draw on social identity theory to examine how group dynamics contribute to polarization.
Losing Our Religion (Guest: Dr. Russell Moore) with Joe Watkins talks with Dr. Moore who he describes as being cancelled by Christians, Aug 18, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZOgBVMkhaI,
Moore quoted poet and novelist Wendell Berry when he spoke to a group of concerned environmental activists as saying, “The great problems call for many small solutions.”[4]
I love that. It reminds me of Cascades: How to Create a Movement that Drives Transformational Change[5], by Greg Sartell. If the church needs changing, the seeds for the changes are within us.
Part 4. Epilogue
While visiting in Texas, I was surrounded by those who believe in the “orange Jesus = Donald Trump.” There were t-shirts saying, “I am voting for the felon.”
Wow, Fast thinking overcoming slow critical thinking?
But then, I hearkened back to the political tensions I have with my GoodSports Hungary and Slovakia staff. Most have bought in on Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s (and Slovakia’s Robert Fico) stand on Christian morals/values PLUS their pro Putin and Anti Ukrainian stance.
Sigh… the Christian platform has been hijacked by charismatic politicians. Propaganda abounds and so many that I love (in Hungary, Slovakia and Texas) have fallen for it hook, line and sinker. Satan must be giggling somewhere. Christianity equals crazy talk.
Trying to end on an upbeat note, At the advance someone asked, “where does the change come from?” and I answered it comes from us. WE are the changers, we will cause the ripples via our NPOs that are intended to change the church and the world.
Shalom
[1] Moore, Russell. Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America. New York, New York: Sentinel, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2023.
[2] Haidt, J. (2023). The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion. New York: Vintage Books.
[3] Smith, C. (2024). Group Dynamics and Social Identity in American Evangelicalism. Sociology of Religion, 86(1), 55-70.
[4] Ibid., 19
[5] Greg Satell, Cascades: How to Create a Movement That Drives Transformational Change, 1 Edition (New York: McGraw-Hill Education, 2019).
About the Author
Russell Chun
interlinkt.org is now ready for your Refugee Resettlement needs. 15 tasks, languages ESL plans coming5 responses to “ما تغییر هستیم! (Dari) We are the change!”
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You noted Haidt and Smith’s exploration of Moore’s critique of evangelicalism’s “outrage culture.” First, I just added those two books to my research. Second, regarding their take on “Moore’s call for a less confrontational culture (that) may overlook the psychological roots of group behavior within religious communities…” This is what I’d love to examine if I do have time to review those two books before I finish my project. Having not read them, I would add that because people are made in the image of God, they want to belong to groups [I think Haidt says that humans are tribal or groupish by nature (or something like that), and I believe Haidt talks about this in the Foreword of Lukianoff’s and Schlott’s book – The Canceling of the American Mind)]. And because of the fall, humanity’s desire to belong to groups turns into in-group – out-group, us vs. them ways of thinking. Thank you for referencing Haidt and Smith! Had you already read the books, or did you incorporate these into your project?
Hi Travis,
Short answer…no to an in-depth reading of those books. My NPO morphed into a different direction and I left the “root causes for anti-immigration” for another day. Instead I created a (hopefully) useful tool for churches to respond to US immigration interlinkt.org
Shalom
Hi Russell….yes…when we look at the state of evangelicalism in the US it can be a bit discouraging and tough to end a post on a high note! But you rightfully point out that the only thing that will change the current reality is people seeing and naming the dysfunction for what it is and then seeking to embody and demonstrate a different (Kingdom) way of being. You’re right: that is us! In my view, we’ve done that well in this cohort in the midst of our different stories and diversity of beliefs…and if each one of us can influence a church, a workplace, and NGO or an Army unit with this kind of humble hospitality and gracious dialogue and mutual respect and love, then the cascading outcome of this cohort–and even more so the other two behind us and those already complete–is a hopeful voice into the mess.
God help us change the narrative!
Russell,
Thank you for these words of encouragement, “WE are the changers, we will cause the ripples via our NPOs that are intended to change the church and the world.”
And thank you for highlighting this observation by Haidt and Smith, “These scholars note that Moore’s call for a less confrontational culture may overlook the psychological roots of group behavior within religious communities.” I wondered about that as well. I hear some interesting things in my counseling sessions that have made me wonder what was going on in my clients religious community that was negatively impacting their mental health. Now I’m really curious as to how group dynamics, social identity, mental health, and religion play a role in all that is happening in our culture. So complex and impossible to separate. I need to read those two books!
I like how you ended your posts, looking at it all can be overwhelming, one might even say it is a WICKED problem which means those of us who have the courage will wade into the mess and find the strand that we can work on, which is exactly what we are doing! Galatians 6:9: “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up”. Keep it up my friend!!