Ep. 30: Does the Evangelical Church Need to Die? w/ The New Evangelicals (Tim Whitaker)

Show Notes

Episode Summary

Is the American Evangelical Church worth saving? Or is it beyond repair? Many ex-vangelicals are ready to let it die and build something new in its place, but in this episode, we chat with Tim Whitaker, creator of The New Evangelicals, about how he’s fighting to rebuild the American Evangelical Church in a more loving, Christ-like image, despite great pushback from within the Church itself.

Bio

Tim Whitaker is the creator of the New Evangelicals, which aims to create conversation and to help push the Christian faith forward. Follow Tim on Instagram (@TheNewEvangelicals) and Twitter (@NewVangelicals), and check out his podcast.

Quotables

• “I wanted to get back to the heart of what it means to be evangelical, which is someone who tells good news to people, and we are not doing that anymore.” (tweet this)

• “I came to find out that evangelicalism was one small piece of the Christian pie, and the waters are deep, wide, and complex.” (tweet this)

• “I find that there is unity among diversity, but a lot of churches want unity in conformity.” (tweet this)

• “People who grew up in an evangelical bubble have questions that they don’t feel like they can talk about in their church.” (tweet this)

• “The rigid fundamentalism that has overtaken evangelicalism did not stick like they think it did.” (tweet this)

• “If I’ve left fundamentalism of the right, I don’t want to become a fundamentalist of the left.” (tweet this)

• “We don’t have to dehumanize each other over different perspectives.” (tweet this)

• “The modern Church has traded the value of community for institution, for system, and for event.” (tweet this)

• “Most pastors think that they’re the ones who are discipling their churches, but the reality is that right-wing media is discipling their churches.” (tweet this)

• “Right-wing media loves to talk about cancel culture and how they’re being censored, but statistically they dominate on social media.” (tweet this)

• “The Christian faith in America has been hijacked by far-right political commentators and rhetoric. It is not ‘liberal’ to love your neighbor.” (tweet this)

Timestamps and References

• [02:35]—Why Tim named his account “The New Evangelicals” and what he hopes to accomplish through his account

• [05:11]—What “evangelical” really means

• [07:35]—What started Tim’s questioning of the evangelical church and its teachings, and where he is in his faith right now

• [12:36]—How Tim’s church responded to his deconstruction

• [19:46]—What the tipping point was

• [21:39]—How all of this impacted Tim’s wife

• [24:40]—How Tim responded to his pastor

• [27:53]—How Tim thinks he’s grown as a result of this experience

• [33:03]—How Tim responds to people who come at him with accusations of being “unbiblical”

• [34:30]—Tim Mackie of The Bible Project

• [34:45]—Dr. John Walton

• [38:04]—What Tim hopes to rebuild in place of the things we were taught that don’t work

• [38:47]—The Lost World of Genesis 1 by Dr. John H. Walton

• [41:58]—Thoughts on the statistically verified fruit of the evangelical church, how it’s tied to right-wing media, and why reading the Gospel is what makes so many people want nothing to do with the evangelical church

• [58:40]—Wrestling with whether the American Evangelical Church is worth reforming

• [01:04:05]—What gives Tim hope for the future of faith

• [01:06:06]—Fun Rapid Fire questions

Please follow us on social media (use the buttons below) and help us get the word out! (Also, please don’t hesitate to use any of these channels or email to contact us with any questions, concerns, or feedback.)

Support Us on Patreon

And get access to every episode 5 days early! In addition, your financial support gives us the time we need to be able to create and produce amazing content, including Patreon-exclusive content. Please consider joining our team of patrons by clicking the button below. Thank you!

Credits

This episode was produced by The Sophia Society. Music is by Faith in Foxholes, and sound engineering is by Joshua Mudge (currently accepting new clients: josh.mudge09@gmail.com).