I grew up in an Evangelical church. I am not longer a part of that church or any church. I never left God, only the church that has strayed from its path.
I have been totally disgusted with Evangelicals over the past few years.
If you are not familiar with the term "Evangelical" this mainly consists but not limited to Methodist, Presbyterian, Pentecostal and Baptist churches and all of their splinters and divisions. The term evangelical originally came from the Greek word "euangelion" which means "gospel" or "good news". In recent years it hasn't been seen as good news for most people. Evangelicals have largely become a political activist group especially in their alignment with former president Donald Trump. That alignment has led evangelicals down a slippery slope where the gospel has been made even more difficult because of their damaged public relations.
I recently took an informal poll of people who have not been associated with any evangelical denomination and I asked them what was the first thing they thought of when they heard or read the word "evangelical". Here were their responses:
"Extreme and pushy comes to mind for me."
"Evangelicals are regular people who are worshipped."
"I've always thought they were more extreme than a normal church goer."
"Side show scammers."
"I guess I just think of them as folks who are maybe more stringent in their opinions."
Like it or not, THAT is the view people have of evangelicals now. If you think I am blaming Trump for making matters worse, consider their answers when I also asked them if the former president has made their opinions of evangelicals worse:
"Trump has made me think so much less of religious people as a whole."
"He certainly didn't make it any better."
"Trump made it worse because these idiots very quickly found something awful to latch onto which makes me want less to do with them than ever."
"Certain instances of self-proclaimed Christian conservative people that strongly follow Trump are some of the worst people I've come in contact with in regards to how they behave and treat others."
"I would say - yes - Trump has made my view worse."
In the 2020 Presidential election 75% of white evangelicals voted for Trump. A majority of the evangelical media supported him and the so-called prophets that prophesied that he would win re-election. If you have watched any of these you will have no doubt how adamant they are in their continued support of the former president.
It is sad and discouraging. It hurts me for those few good people out there who are legitimate and trying to spread the gospel while pushing against the bad publicity. It's making their job much more difficult than ever.
It seems the time is coming where evangelicals will morph into a political group or even their own political party or split from those who are true to what evangelicals should be. It is time for evangelicals to decide which side they are going to be on. They can't serve God and man. The church is no place for political rallies for ANY party or chanting reprehensible things such as "Let's Go Brandon!" Where do you think God is glorified in all of this? Where do you see the "good news" in this nonsense?
As a former evangelical it saddens, sickens and embarrasses me. This isn't the God I know. He's not a God of division or political activism. God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins and give us the promise of eternal life. That's it. Evangelicals have turned the gospel into a form of radical devotion to a man of a political party.
It's time to get back to the basics and simply be believers in Jesus Christ. In heaven there won't Republican or Democrat. There won't even an America or any other countries. There isn't a Baptist heaven or any other denomination copyright of our eternal home.
It's time to get the focus back on the good news.
