Issue No. 579 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting features John’s video review with two friends, Jerry Butler and David Schmidt, on the book, Losing Our Religion, by Christianity Today’s editor-in-chief. And this reminder: click here to download free resources from the 20 management buckets (core competencies), click here for over 575 book reviews, and click here for the review of How Trust Works: The Science of How Relationships Are Built, Broken, and Repaired.
View this bonus VIDEO REVIEW of the book, Losing Our Religion, with guest reviewers Jerry Butler (left) and David Schmidt (right). Apparently, John Pearson (center) needed their wisdom to sort out Russell Moore's take on "An Altar Call for Evangelical America."
“It’s Always Election Day, and Never Easter”
NOTE: This issue’s video review, with guest reviewers Jerry Butler and David Schmidt, was recorded on Oct. 4, 2023—four days before the war began between Hamas and Israel. In the video, we obviously do not discuss the fears we have today of a broader regional conflict igniting. Yet you will find our comments relevant to the larger picture and context of the divisive worldviews we face nationally and internationally. How does our faith speak to issues both inside and outside our churches? Are we “losing our religion?”
When the editor-in-chief of Christianity Today wrote a book about “Losing Our Religion,” I figured I should read it. But after reading it, I had too many questions (and some angst)—and so I asked two friends to also read it and weigh in. I wanted to know if they agreed with the author’s very strong views in:
An Altar Call for Evangelical America
by Russell Moore
Russell Moore writes, “When a member of Congress told me about the books on narcissistic personality disorder he was reading in order to better deal with President Trump, I realized that I had read all those same books in order to deal with some Southern Baptist leaders.”
Moore had previously served as president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. Back in 2016, he declared Trump “morally unfit for office” after hearing the leaked audio from the Access Hollywood TV show. He wrote that the “fury with which my fellow evangelical Christians responded to my comments” changed his life.
Moore eventually stepped down from the Commission (and the fury of his former colleagues) and is no longer a member of a Southern Baptist Church. He writes of his concern about evangelicalism today. “We see now young evangelicals walking away from evangelicalism not because they do not believe what the church teaches, but because they believe the church itself does not believe what the church teaches. And, more than that, many have concluded that the church itself is a moral problem.”
Really? Do you agree? I’m not so sure, so I prevailed upon my friendship with Jerry Butler and David Schmidt and invited them to add their color commentary in a video review of Moore’s book. Losing Our Religion was published on July 25, 2023. CLICK HERE to listen to their insights.
JERRY BUTLER (left) is the head coach at Perissos Coaching and has over 40 years of experience as a life coach, spiritual guide, pastor, consultant to churches and faith-based compassion organizations. He is also the author of Wine & Spirit: A Christian's Guide to Enjoying Wine. And listen to why Jerry says "You don't pour new wine into old wineskins."
DAVID SCHMIDT (right) consults with nonprofit organizations in Strategic Thinking, Organizational Development, Research and Assessment, and Knowledge Stewardship. Visit his Wise Planning website to learn more. He is the author of numerous white papers and books, including The Prospering Parachurch. This is David’s third video book review for us (click here and here). Thanks, David!
Russell Moore summarizes his five key points in the introduction, “This book is a word of testimony—testimony of what one fellow wayfarer has learned about how to survive when the evangel and the evangelicalism seem to be saying two different things. That requires naming what we have lost—our credibility, our authority, our identity, our integrity, our stability, and in many cases, our sanity.” He addresses the first five themes with what will save us from deconstruction, tribalism, culture wars, hypocrisy, and nostalgia.
On evangelicalism’s unhealthy tilt towards nostalgia, he offers hope, but with warnings. Moore quotes the poet David Whyte who “argues that nostalgia is not always delusion or indulgence.” Whyte writes, “Nostalgia is not an immersion in the past, nostalgia is the first annunciation that the past as we know it is coming to an end.” (Listen to David’s Schmidt’s comments in the video about the book, Necessary Endings, my 2011 book-of-the year.)
If you fear the topic, “Losing Our Religion”—especially from the editor of CT—might promise too many footnotes and rabbit holes down dusty theological country roads, you’d be half right. But, along with his well-researched point of view, Moore occasionally dips into relevant lyrics of country western music and other musical genres. Chapter 1, “Losing Our Credibility: How Disillusion Can Save Us from Deconstruction,” begins with his reference to the book’s title, R.E.M’s “Losing My Religion.” (Click here to listen to the first four minutes of the chapter.)
Moore also highlights the Johnny Cash song, “The Preacher Said, ‘Jesus Said.’” He notes that historians surmised, a generation ago, that conservative churches grew faster than mainline churches “because they provide a kind of certainty that human beings need.” He adds, “’Thus saith the Lord’ is just more definitive than ‘The Episcopal Church welcomes you.’”
He notes that Johnny Cash could record this tune with recordings of Billy Graham sermons interspersed throughout the song—but that wouldn’t have worked as well titled “The Theologian Said ‘The Ground of All Being,’” with Paul Tillich lectures.”
Bottom Line: If you’re an evangelical and concerned about Christian nationalism (“a kind of Great Commission in reverse”) and the growth of “pretend” Christians, then Butler, Schmidt, and I encourage you to read this book. Russell Moore quotes political scientist Daniel K. Williams: “If ‘lapsed evangelical Protestant’ were a denomination, it would be by far the largest religious body in the South.” Read more trends here.
In the last sentence of his powerful chapter, “Losing Our Identity – How Conversion Can Save Us from Culture Wars,” Moore urges evangelicals to declare independence from today’s culture where “it’s always Election Day, and never Easter.” Do you agree?
To order from Amazon, click on the title for Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America, by Russell Moore. Listen on Libro (6 hours, 46 minutes). And thanks to the publisher for sending me a review copy.
YOUR WEEKLY STAFF MEETING QUESTIONS:
1) In his book, Russell Moore conducts deep dives into numerous issues with evangelicalism and writes, “The real issue, though, was none of these matters on its own. Behind all of that was a dread deep within me that Christianity might just be southern culture of politics, with Jesus affixed as a hood ornament.” Branding time: What’s an appropriate “hood ornament” for your faith? Extra credit: What’s an appropriate “hood ornament” for your organization’s brand?
2) In the “Local Church Simplified Segmenting Chart” in The Customer Bucket, there are 12 possible segments a church could address—yet few churches can do 12 with excellence. Download the one-page worksheet and use the market segmenting principles to discern your Top-3 Customer Priorities. For more, read Chapter 2 in Mastering the Management Buckets and Mastering the Management Buckets Workbook.
Mastering 100 Must-Read Books - Part 8: Five Business Classics
Book #49 of 100: The King of Madison Avenue
For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by spotlighting Book #49 in Mastering 100 Must-Read Books.
The King of Madison Avenue:
David Ogilvy and the Making of Modern Advertising
by Kenneth Roman
Books #46 through #50 spotlight five memorable books I’ve labeled “Five Business Classics.” The author of this week’s book writes that on the importance of research, David Ogilvy insisted, “The most important word in the vocabulary of advertising is TEST.”
• Read my review.
• Order from Amazon: The King of Madison Avenue
• Download the 100 Must-Read Books list (from John and Jason Pearson).
“You can’t save souls in an empty church,” preached David Ogilvy. So what’s the fine line between advertising and manipulation? If you’ve never read an “Advertising 101” book, enjoy this one.
Finishing Well
Oh, my. Don’t let the brevity of this book camouflage its critical content. You’ll likely read this 76-page powerhouse in one sitting, but you’ll talk incessantly about it to others. (Ask my wife and son!) Have you ever read a book on finishing well? Thought about…finishing well? Prayed about…finishing well? Read my review of Finishing Well, by Ron Cline. And for more book reviews, visit the Pails in Comparison Blog.
The 4 Big Mistakes Board Seminar
Oct. 12: Irvine, Calif.
The Barnabas Group in Orange County, Calif., is hosting a half-day seminar for nonprofit CEOs and board members. On Oct. 12, John Pearson and Mike Pate will present “The 4 Big Mistakes to Avoid With Your Nonprofit Board: How Leaders Enrich Their Ministry Results Through God-Honoring Governance.” Contact TBG/OC for more info about this free seminar. Can’t attend? Order the 107-page workbook from Amazon.
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PEARPOD | TELLING YOUR STORY. Does the branding for your organization, company, denomination, or local church—communicate what it did 20 years ago? What do your current, former, and future customers think about you? We can help you craft your brand and your story—for today’s customer. Read more here. Contact Jason Pearson at Pearpod (Design, Digital, Marketing, Social).
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