This was the last straw:

I have two main problems with this, neither of which have to do with the main point of giving President Trump a “mulligan”:

1. Tony Perkins seems to think he is a spokesperson for American evangelicals. Perhaps he is. All I know is that he is not speaking for me. (Silly me. I’m still stuck back in the 1990’s when character counted and our President was supposed to set a moral example for our nation.)

2. It seems “evangelical” no longer means what I thought it did. Just to check, I went to the source, the National Association Of Evangelicals:

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Historian David Bebbington also provides a helpful summary of evangelical distinctives, identifying four primary characteristics of evangelicalism:

• Conversionism: the belief that lives need to be transformed through a “born-again” experience and a life long process of following Jesus
• Activism: the expression and demonstration of the gospel in missionary and social reform efforts
• Biblicism: a high regard for and obedience to the Bible as the ultimate authority
• Crucicentrism: a stress on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross as making possible the redemption of humanity

These distinctives and theological convictions define us — not political, social or cultural trends. In fact, many evangelicals rarely use the term “evangelical” to describe themselves, focusing simply on the core convictions of the triune God, the Bible, faith, Jesus, salvation, evangelism and discipleship.

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Wait — what? “These distinctives and theological convictions define us — not political, social or cultural trends.” (The same website does have a page about “Evangelicals and Politics“.)

So why is Tony Perkins speaking about evangelicals as if they are a voting bloc, a subset of the Republican Party?

Because that is what has come to define evangelicals more than anything else. Someone highjacked evangelicalism, and turned it into a political movement. And lots of people are happy to follow along.

I quit. I no longer want to be part of what seems more and more like a political/social/cultural club with semi-Christian overtones. I don’t regret my lifetime spent in evangelicalism; it shaped me in many good ways. I experienced much blessing there, and I consider many evangelicals as my dear brothers and sisters. But, as a movement — at least as how it is being defined, taught, and lived out by its spokespeople — modern evangelicalism has been heading somewhere I don’t want to go.

Until now, I thought I could have my feet in both of my worlds, and be an ecclesiastical mutt of sorts, all Charismatic-Evangelical-Anglo-Cathodox. But I can’t. If I’ve gained anything these past couple years, it’s a far deeper and richer understanding of just how good the Good News — the evangel — is. That’s what draws me and feeds my soul these days.

That Good News has nothing to do with a political party.

Nothing.

It doesn’t matter what political party it is, whether I’m registered or affiliated with it or not, or whether I like the current evangelical in crowd or not…none of that is the Gospel. But I keep hearing more and more spokespeople telling me that I’m wrong, that what defines evangelicalism is not really the evangel… or following Jesus…or our commitment to the Bible…or the emphasis on a lifelong and ongoing conversion of becoming more like Christ — what defines evangelicalism is our political views and our favored candidates.

It’s not just Tony Perkins. He’s merely yet another in a sad series of last straws. Most evangelical spokespeople stopped speaking for me quite some time back, on a growing number of issues. It’s made me feel quite unwelcome at times.

So this is it. I’m officially out. It’s kind of a sad thing. No, actually it’s heartbreaking. I once had such high hopes for the evangelical church…but not any more.

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After I finished writing this post, I read this analysis of the latest unbiblical (or is it anti-Biblical?) statements from yet another prominent evangelical spokesperson. It seems more and more evangelicals no longer read or take to heart the Bible they are, by definition, supposed to obey. It seems they no longer hold the Bible in such high esteem as the very Word of God.