What the state of theology in America reveals
By / Oct 20

Does God change? Is God the Son a created being? Is the Holy Spirit a force or a person? Is the Bible the inspired Word of God? These are some of the most important and fundamental questions in the Christian faith, questions that the church has answered definitively for most of its history. Increasingly, though, as the biennial “State of Theology” survey produced by Ligonier Ministries and LifeWay Research shows, self-professed evangelicals find their answers to these questions at odds with historic Christian belief. 

As a way of discovering what “Americans believe about God, salvation, ethics, and the Bible,” these organizations have teamed up every two years, since 2014, to “take the theological temperature of the United States” with the survey and to develop an interactive report of their findings called “The State of Theology.” With each new iteration, the report has consistently shown a pattern of dwindling theological proficiency both among the general American population and the men and women in our pews. And the 2022 report is no different.

So, what did the most recent report reveal, and what are we to make of it?

Report takeaways

In her analysis of the report, Christianity Today writer Stefani McDade highlights what she calls the “Top 5 Heresies Among American Evangelicals,” resurrecting bygone terms like Arianism and Pelagianism to describe the theological slippage occurring within American evangelicalism. Commenting on the history of the “State of Theology” report, McDade says that “Overall, adults in the US are moving away from orthodox (i.e. historic) understandings of God and his Word year after year.” Here are three major takeaways from this year’s survey results.

  1. The Doctrine of God: In the survey, the overwhelming majority of evangelical respondents (96%) declared that they strongly agree with the following statement: “There is one true God in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.” And while this would seem to indicate that these evangelicals hold to an orthodox view of God, things grow murky as the survey digs deeper into the doctrine of God. For instance, 48% of evangelical respondents believe that God “learns and adapts” (i.e., that he changes); 73% believe that “Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God” (an ancient heresy called Arianism); 43% stated that “Jesus was a great teacher, but he was not God;” and 60% declare that “the Holy Spirit is a force but is not a personal being.” Based on these numbers, McDade’s assertion that we “are moving away from orthodox understandings of God” appears exactly right.
  1. Inspiration of Scripture: Among evangelical respondents, 26% believe that “the Bible, like all sacred writings, contains helpful accounts of ancient myths but is not literally true.” And while the surveyors could have worded this statement more clearly, respondents who answered in the affirmative communicated a belief at odds with the church’s historic confession that the Bible is the divinely inspired and inerrant Word of God. Commenting on our apparent waning belief in the inspiration of Scripture, McDade pointed out that “Researchers called the rejection of the divine authorship of the Bible the ‘clearest and most consistent trend’ over the eight years of [survey] data,” both in the evangelical church and generally across the U.S. population. 
  1. Human Nature: On the topic of human nature, based on survey results, another ancient heresy—Pelagianism—is proving to be resurgent, even within the church. As Dr. Gregg Allison defines it, Pelagianism proposes “a denial of original sin” because, in the view of Pelagius (a 4th-century theologian), there is no “relationship between Adam and his sin and the human race.” According to Pelagian thinking, “people have no tendency to sin and may live without sin.” So, we learn in the survey that, in Pelagius-like fashion, 57% of evangelical respondents believe that “most people are good by nature” and 65% affirm that “Everyone is born innocent in the eyes of God,” two theological beliefs that the church has long denounced. 

Historic Christian belief

In analyzing a survey like this, we may be tempted to ridicule our fellow evangelicals and decry the collective lack of theological proficiency it reveals, or even to assume what my former pastor liked to call the role of “heresy hunter.” And while what we learn from the State of Theology survey should sober us, it should also compel us to define and teach what historic Christian belief actually is. If we want to “right the ship,” so to speak, and reverse the trend we’ve witnessed for at least a decade now, we’ll need to introduce evangelicalism once again to the church’s centuries-long confessions of the faith. And that’s what we’ll explore now. 

  1. Doctrine of God

Trinitarianism: Evangelical survey respondents confessed, nearly unanimously, their belief that God is Trinity. Yet, as we mentioned, when the survey dove deeper into some of Trinitarianism’s offshoots and implications, questions emerged regarding their “Trinitarian proficiency.” Even though Trinitarianism is a historically difficult doctrine to fully apprehend, there is no doctrine more central or more fundamental to Christian theology. Therefore, many of our errors downstream can be traced back to a faulty understanding of Trinitarianism, which is what we see in the State of Theology survey results. 

In his excellent book, Delighting in the Trinity, author Michael Reeves says, “because the Christian God is triune, the Trinity is the governing center of all Christian belief, the truth that shapes and beautifies all others. The Trinity is the cockpit of all Christian thinking.” But what does it mean that God is Trinity? How do we define “Trinitarianism”? In season nine of the Knowing Faith podcast, a season devoted to the hosts’ exploration of the doctrine of God, J.T. English offers the following definition: “God eternally exists as one essence in three distinct persons, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, each of whom is fully God, yet there is one God.” Author and professor Fred Sanders adds to the conversation, saying, “God is God in this way: God’s way of being God is to be Father, Son, and Holy Spirit simultaneously from all eternity, perfectly complete in a triune fellowship of love.” Understanding the doctrine of the Trinity is essential because it introduces us to who God is. Herman Bavinck goes so far as to say, “the confession of the trinity is the sum of the Christian religion.” Thus, before we can understand more of what God is like with any real competence, we must begin with “the cockpit of all Christian thinking.” And it’s just this: God is Trinity.

Attributes of God: As mentioned, knowing what God is like and knowing his attributes flows from the confession that “God eternally exists as one essence in three distinct persons,” or that God is Trinity. Furthermore, Bavinck once again says, “It is in this holy trinity that each attribute of His Being comes into its own, so to speak, gets its fullest content, and takes on its profoundest meaning.” The doctrine of the Trinity, then, is not only a prerequisite for knowing God rightly, but it also enables us to see the beauty and glory of his attributes in full.

When we derive our knowledge of who God is and what he is like from the Bible, and with help from the creeds, councils, and confessions of church history, instead of the prevailing moods and whims of culture, for instance, we will find ourselves on firm theological footing. We will know, as the majority of evangelical respondents affirmed on the survey, that “God is perfect and cannot make a mistake.” But, contrary to 56% of survey respondents, we’ll also know that God does not “accept the worship of all religions;” and we’ll know that he does not “learn and adapt to different circumstances”—he is immutable (48% of evangelical respondents disagreed). It is these and all of God’s attributes that we can truly proclaim “only when we recognize and confess” that they belong to the one true God: Father, Son, and Spirit.

  1. Divine Inspiration

While every evangelical respondent affirmed that “The Bible is the highest authority for what [they] believe,” once again, when pressed further the survey identified several holes in evangelical bibliology. Despite confessing the Bible as their highest authority, responses were mixed on whether it “has the authority to tell us what to do,” whether it’s accurate in its teaching, and as we mentioned, whether it is “literally true.” These responses illuminate a defective view of Scripture.

“The absolute authority of the Bible,” Michael Svigel says, “is a doctrine that has been believed everywhere, always, and by all” (i.e., all Christians). But historic Christian belief in the absolute authority of the Bible lives or dies with the doctrine of divine inspiration—that Scripture has been “breathed out” by God (2 Tim. 3:16). And if Scripture has been inspired, or breathed out by God, then the Bible necessarily possesses specific characteristics. Namely, as it relates to the survey questions mentioned above, the Bible is authoritative (what the Bible says, God says) and inerrant (everything it affirms is true). Or, as Christopher Morgan puts it, “Scripture originates with God, who speaks forth his Word . . . Because this is so, Scripture is God’s Word, authoritative, inerrant, sufficient, clear, and beneficial.” To confess that the Bible is God’s inspired Word is a confession that, by definition, places us under its authority. And in that case, it has the power and the right to teach, reproof, correct, and train us in the ways of God (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

  1. Original Sin

As we’ve mentioned, research shows that evangelicals are steadily growing less doctrinally proficient year over year. But there may be no doctrine that has fallen more out of fashion in recent years than the doctrine of original sin. Pelagianism (see above), which is a denial of original sin, has become much more palatable.

The doctrine of original sin teaches that, at the fall of Adam and Eve, all of humanity rebelled against God with them, participating in what Barry Jones calls “the vandalism of shalom.” More than merely rupturing our relationship with God, which would have been bad enough, our participation in this “originating sin” has infected us in our very nature, rendering us totally depraved, or morally corrupt, and totally unable to reconcile ourselves to God. Reflecting on that “original sin,” Herman Bavinck writes that,

The first sin which man committed did not long stand alone. It was not the sort of action which, having done it, man could shake off or brush aside. After that sin, man could no longer go on as though nothing had happened. In the very moment in which man entertained sin in his thought and imagination, in his desire and will, at that moment a tremendous change took place in him.

That change, as John Calvin explained is the “hereditary corruption and depravity of our nature, extending to all the parts of the soul.” The doctrine of original sin, this historic confession of the Christian faith, uncomfortable as it may be, is the belief that “all people at birth” inherit a corrupt and depraved nature all the way down. 

Practical theology

Virtually all of our societal ills, both inside and outside the church, can be traced back to a break in our theology. Everyone is a theologian, after all, whether they’re an atheist, a Christian, or anything in between. And our theology—whether it’s good or bad—leads us to live in particular ways. In other words, our theology has practical implications. Indeed, as my former pastor once said, “theology is the most practical thing in the world.”

A.W. Tozer is famous for saying that “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” There are many reasons why Tozer’s statement is true, not least of which is that what we think about God informs what we think of ourselves, how we view the world, and, practically, how we act in the world. So, what are the practical implications of evangelical theology as represented in the State of Theology report?

  • When our doctrine of God drifts away from orthodoxy, we drift away from the God of Scripture. In his place, we either substitute a god of our imagination or idolize some lesser thing and assign it ultimacy. Our allegiances become disordered and we give ourselves to the wrong things in the wrong ways, neglecting all the while to acknowledge the God who has made us and who has made himself known to us. 
  • When our doctrine of Scripture falls out of step with church history, our ethics follow suit. If we overlook that God has breathed out his Word we undermine its authority, question its necessity, and doubt its trustworthiness. When reverence for the Scriptures wanes, following its commands becomes optional at best, or dismissed altogether. And the Bible is foundational because, in the Bible, we learn who God is, what he has said, who we are, and what it means to bear his image. The people of God are a Word-formed people; when we neglect the Word we become a de-formed people.
  • When our doctrine of human nature and original sin is traded away for what’s culturally en vogue, we “exchange the truth of God for a lie” (Rom. 1:25). We “call evil good and good evil” (Isa. 5:20), preferring to minimize the use of biblical terms like “sin,” “iniquity,” and “transgression” and celebrate what the Bible prohibits. A denial of original sin is evidence of sin’s continued influence on us. 

The results of this year’s State of Theology survey revealed what’s been obvious for a long time now: our biblical literacy is weakening. Our Christian practice, or lack thereof, has long betrayed our waning theological proficiency. We see it in the way we behave online, in the way we have messianized various leaders, and in our lack of commitment to holiness. So, where do we go from here? In response to what we can rightly recognize as heresy, our instinct might be to furrow our collective brow and speak of church discipline and ex-communication. Instead, I’d argue that we should view our current theological crisis as an opportunity for discipleship.

Heresy as an opportunity for discipleship

American evangelicalism is in a theological crisis. We have lost our way, and “in order to find the way home,” Svigel says, “we must first admit we’re lost.” The State of Theology survey is our admission that we’re lost. But once we’ve confessed that we have lost our way we need a plan for returning to the “ancient paths, where the good way is” (Jer. 6:16). We must return to what J.T. English calls “deep discipleship.”

Deep discipleship is the remedy for heresy. It is about developing “the ability to connect all of reality to the Triune God,” and it is the vocation of every Christian. From the lips of Jesus, we have been called to “go and make disciples” and teach them to observe his commandments (Matt. 28:19-20). To put it provocatively, we have been called to continually teach that truth that transforms heretics into disciples of the Triune God who know him and his Word, who love him and his Word, and who follow him and his Word. While there is much to fret about from this year’s survey, the responsibility of the church remains clear: “go and make disciples.”

3 myths about marriage Americans still believe
By / Sep 9

Advice on achieving wedded bliss likely began when Adam and Eve passed their hard-won wisdom about the first marriage down to their children. But since then the quality of marital advice has varied considerably. Too often, recommendations about what is necessary to create and maintain stable and happy marriages are based more on old wives tales than on supportable evidence. 

Here, for example, are three myths about marriage that Americans continue to believe and pass on to young people.

Myth #1: Marriage is inherently unstable, and about half of marriages end in divorce.

Although this claim has been debunked for decades, the idea that close to half of all marriages end in divorce remains all too common. A related belief is that while the statistic is no longer true, it was the reality at an earlier time in American history. The truth, though, is that there has never been a time when half of marriages even came close to ending in divorce. 

The most common metric for measuring divorce is the divorce rate, a measure of the tendency for divorce to occur within a specific population. The divorce rate is calculated in any given year by dividing the number of divorces occurring within a population over the year, by the average or mid-year population for that year, expressed times 1000. For example, in 2019 there were 14.9 divorces for every thousand marriages. This was the lowest rate in nearly 50 years. 

A low divorce rate means that people are staying married longer. Census data reveals that the median duration of current marriages in the U.S. in 2019 was 19.8, which means about half of marriage lasted longer than that, and half lasted less. 

Where did the myth originate? It’s likely a result of people calculating the marriage to divorce ratio. In 2020, the rate was 2.2 marriages for every divorce. That’s almost 1 divorce per every 2 marriages—close to 50%. But as Dan Hurley of The New York Times explains:

[R]esearchers say that [using the marriage ratio] is misleading because the people who are divorcing in any given year are not the same as those who are marrying, and that the statistic is virtually useless in understanding divorce rates. In fact, they say, studies find that the divorce rate in the United States has never reached one in every two marriages, and new research suggests that, with rates now declining, it probably never will.

Myth #2: If you want to stay married, wait to get married until you are in your 30s.

A common view in America is that to have a successful marriage a person should marry later in life, presumably when they are more mature and have established some stability. That is almost always a reliable truth if the person is considering marriage in their teens. Research has shown that delaying marriage from the teens until the early 20s produces the largest declines in divorce risk.

And it also used to be true of people who waited to marry until after age 30. But that seems to have changed in the past 20 years. Recent analysis (since 2002) shows that prior to age 32 or so, each additional year of age at marriage reduces the odds of divorce by 11%. However, after age 32 the odds of divorce increase by 5% per year.

Myth #3: If you want to stay married, live together first. 

One of the most persistent myths about developing a stable marriage is the idea that a couple should live together—cohabitate—before tying the knot. A study by Barna Group found that a majority of Americans believe in cohabitation (65%) and 84% of that group  do so because they believe it provides a test of compatibility prior to marrying. 

The reality, though, is that there is almost no greater predictor of divorce than cohabitation. Living together before marriage increases the probability a couple will split up. For example, a 2018 study found that cohabitation before marriage was associated with a lower risk of divorce in the first year of marriage but a higher risk thereafter. 

One of the reasons may be that the experience of cohabitation makes people more open to divorce. A study from Europe found ​​that once people married, they were less tolerant of divorce. That was true only for those who had not lived together first. If a couple had cohabited prior to marriage, they were more tolerant of divorce than they had been when they were single. The experience of being in a less-than-committed living arrangement carried over in attitudes even after the wedding. 

Even for those who do not divorce, cohabitation can reduce marital satisfaction. One study found that almost half of people who cohabited before engagement (43.1%) reported lower marital satisfaction, dedication, and confidence as well as more negative communication with their spouse. 

Some actual good advice 

What contributes to ​a successful marriage? Here are three pieces of advice that actually help couples create a happy marriage: 

Share faith in Christ: When asked about what kinds of things are important for a successful marriage, 44% of adults surveyed by Pew Research said shared religious beliefs are “very important.” By this metric, notes Pew, shared religion is “seen as more important for a good marriage than shared political attitudes, but substantially less important than shared interests, good sex and a fair division of household labor.” Follow the Apostle Paul’s advice and “Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers” (2 Cor. 6:14)—especially in marriage. 

Share a pew: Spouses should have a shared faith in Christ and then share a pew in church. Research has found that couples are substantially more likely to report being happy in their relationship when both partners attend church regularly than when neither partner does. Couples who attend religious services together are also happier in their relationships than are their peers who don’t regularly attend church.

Share prayer and Christian friends: Evidence shows that couples who attend church together enjoy significantly happier relationships, in large part, says ​​family researcher W. Bradford Wilcox, because they socialize with friends who share their faith and especially because they pray with one another. “In other words,” adds Wilcox, “those couples who pray together are happiest together.”

How the church should respond to the rise of anti-Semitism in America
By / May 19

Simmering beneath the surface of so much of our unhelpful national rhetoric is a deep-seated suspicion of those we view as “other” than us. When that suspicion goes uncorrected, it seethes and grows until, eventually, it morphs into hate. Unchecked, hate finally lashes out in the form of nasty words or, as we’re seeing, violent actions. And in many cases, religious and ethnic minorities are the ones who bear the brunt of it.

A documented rise in anti-Semitism

Though we could point to a number of groups experiencing a rise in harmful mistreatment, a report recently published by the Anti-Defamation League revealed that in 2021 Jewish Americans were subjected to a shocking amount of antisemitic “incidents,” a term the report uses to capture a combination of harassment, vandalism, and/or assault. According to the report, “antisemitic incidents in the U.S. reached an all-time high in 2021.”

The report outlines, “In 2021, [the] ADL tabulated 2,717 antisemitic incidents across the United States,” which “represents a 34% increase from the 2,026 incidents recorded in 2020 and is the highest number on record since ADL began tracking antisemitic incidents in 1979.” Some additional findings from the report include:

  • Of the 2,717 incidents, 1,776 were categorized as harassment (up 43% from 2020), 853 were categorized as vandalism (up 14% for 2020), and 88 were categorized as assault (up 167% from 2020). 
  • Attacks against Jewish institutions, including synagogues, increased 61%. Incidents at K-12 schools jumped 106% and incidents on college campuses rose 21%.
  • Incidents occurred in all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia. The states with the highest number of incidents were New York (416), New Jersey (370), California (367), Florida (190), Michigan (112) and Texas (112). Combined, these states account for 58% of the total incidents.

Furthermore, corroborating the findings of the ADL, a report produced by the American Jewish Committee and published in November 2021 “found that about 25% of Jewish people in America have experienced some form of antisemitism.” To put that number into perspective, that’s almost two million Jewish Americans (a conservative estimate) who have encountered discrimination and/or cruelty due to their religious or ethnic identity. 

The Jewish community, both here and abroad, is no stranger to injustice. For centuries they have endured some of the most abominable and inhumane treatment on record. And these statistics—what The New York Times has called “an outbreak of antisemitism“—indicate that Jewish Americans face life in a culture that is increasingly antagonistic toward them. So, what ought Christians to do for our Jewish neighbors?

Blessed are the peacemakers

In the first several lines of Jesus’s well-known Sermon on the Mount, it opens with a series of pithy statements known as the “Beatitudes” (Matthew 5:1-12). After ascending a mountain, Jesus sat down with a crowd of his followers and began his teaching, pronouncing a series of blessings upon some unlikely recipients. “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (v. 3), he says, and “Blessed are those who mourn” (v. 4). These Beatitudes make plain what living as a citizen of God’s kingdom looks like here and now. 

And Jesus goes on, eventually uttering a statement that, for Christians in America, is pertinent for our response to the rising antisemitism in our country: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (v. 9). An ethic of peacemaking, Jesus says, is central to belonging to the family of God. So, I ask again: what ought Christians to do for our Jewish neighbors? We are called by Jesus to make peace.

What does it mean to be a peacemaker? It means to be an active agent in bringing the peace of God to bear in the context where we live; actively looking for opportunities to introduce God’s shalom to the people and places that we encounter every day. Making peace is a way that we love our neighbors, a way that we “seek the welfare of [our cities]” (Jer. 29:7), and a way that we mimic our Father in heaven, who is the Lord of peace (2 Thess. 3:16; Rom. 15:33). 

Making peace practically

According to the statistics above, we are surrounded by Jewish Americans who have personally experienced antisemitism, regardless of what state we reside in. So, there are ample opportunities for the church to act as peacemakers to our neighbors. Here are a few ideas:

  • Take the initiative to build friendships with your Jewish American neighbors. 
  • If you encounter hate speech among peers aimed toward Jewish Americans, speak up on their behalf. Seek to respond winsomely and charitably, but truthfully, insisting that Jewish people be treated and spoken of with dignity.  
  • When you see injustice perpetrated against Jewish Americans, speak up about it. One constructive use of your social media platform is to call attention to those who receive unfair treatment and to advocate for them, as SBC pastor Griffin Gulledge did on behalf of the Uyghur people.
  • Get to know your local elected officials. Use those relationships to advocate on behalf of your Jewish American neighbors and others. 

As Christians, we recognize that our mission is to see “God and sinners reconciled,” as the old Christmas hymn says. We are called to be agents of divine reconciliation, establishing peace between God and sinners through the person and work of Christ and by the power of his Spirit. But we might never gain the audience of our Jewish American neighbors to share that good news until we take seriously Jesus’ call in the Beatitudes to take up our post as peacemakers. Until Jewish Americans see us working to undo the injustice perpetrated against them, they may never lend us their ears and, therefore, never receive the “gospel of peace” (Eph. 6:15). 

So, let us practice the work of making peace on behalf of our Jewish American neighbors. “After all,” as Drew Griffin has written, “if one Jew was willing to give his life to save humanity, surely those of us who claim his name can stand up for the people to whom he came, and through whom the gospel came to us.”

5 facts about pastors in America
By / Oct 22

October is Pastor Appreciation Month. The observance originally began in 1992 as Pastor Appreciation Day, (the second Sunday in October) led by Jerry Frear, Jr., founder of Under His Wing Ministries. The name of the unofficial observance was later changed to Clergy Appreciation Day and expanded to include all of October as Clergy Appreciation Month.

In honor of ​​this observance, here are five facts you should know about American pastors.

1. There are no reliable figures on the number of pastors in America. In 2012 the Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches reported that there were 600,000 clergy serving in various denominations in the U.S. But that figure included retired clergy, chaplains in hospitals, prisons and the military, denominational executives, and ordained faculty at divinity schools and seminaries and did not include independent churches that are not connected with a denomination. The Bureau of Labor Statistics​​ underestimates the number of pastors, claiming that only 53,180 Americans are employed as clergy. (There are currently 47,000 Baptist churches in the United States and its territories.)

2. The median age of an American pastor is 57 years old, according to a 2020 survey by Faith Communities Today. Although most pastors surveyed by Barna first felt a calling to ministry in their teen or early adult years, more than half (55%) had another career before going into ministry. Roughly one-quarter (26%) remains bivocational, currently holding some other kind of (paid or unpaid) role in addition to pastoring, usually for non-financial motivations like personal fulfillment or having other outlets for their gifts.

3. Most pastors seem to value the education they received at seminary. More than three-fourths (76%) of pastors surveyed by Barna say that their seminary education was a good fit for their role. Seminaries in America are also continuing to grow. According to the Association of Theological Schools, seven seminaries—including two SBC seminaries—have generated enrollment growth consecutively over at least the past five years. The schools are Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky; Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri; Northern Seminary in Lisle, Illinois; Shepherds Theological Seminary in Cary, North Carolina; Sioux Falls Seminary in South Dakota; Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky; and Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa. Southern’s graduate enrollment in 2015 was 2,754 and increased to 3,390 by 2020. Midwestern’s 2015 enrollment was 1,196 and more than doubled to 2,397 by last year. In the 2018–2019 academic year, SBC seminaries trained 23,818 ministers and Christian workers. 

4. A 2018 study by Lifeway Research and Guidestone found that the average compensation for a full-time senior pastor was $65,793 and the average pay compensation (salary, housing allowance, retirement benefits, etc.) was $77,979. The average compensation for a part-time senior pastor was $19,790 and the average pay compensation was $22,084. The average compensation for a bivocational senior pastor was $14,482 and the average pay compensation was $15,200. Another study of church leaders from various denominations found that about 14% of all pastors work without pay. 

5. Relatively few pastors give up on pastoral ministry. A survey of pastors of evangelical and historically black churches found an estimated 13% of senior pastors in 2005 had left the pastorate ten years later for reasons other than death or retirement. Two percent shifted to non-ministry jobs, and 5% stayed in ministry 1% one percent a year.

4 ways ​​the 9/11 attacks changed life in America
By / Sep 10

A recent poll of registered voters conducted by USA Today/Suffolk University finds that 60% of Americans say 9/11 changed their lives forever. While there are innumerable ways the terror attacks affected individuals, here are four ways 9/11 changed life for almost all Americans. 

1. Launched the global war on terror

The terrorist actions on 9/11 were the largest attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor. In reaction, America launched a “global war on terror” that has continued until today. Within a month, American troops were fighting a war in Afghanistan, the longest military conflict in American history. Two years later, the United States invaded Iraq and deposed President Saddam Hussein, partly based on the rationale that he “harbored and supported terrorists.”

Over the next decade, nearly 2 million U.S. service members were deployed to Afghanistan or Iran. Numerous others were deployed to other regions of the globe, such as Northern Africa and the Philippines. The efforts of the U.S. military arguably made the U.S. safer. Yet ​the men and women of the armed services, as well as their families, have had to endure the most in the aftermath. Over the past 20 years, more than 7,000 service members have been killed and over 50,000 have been wounded. 

2. Led to increases in both immigration and deportation

In the five years prior to 9/11, an average of 770,00 foreign nationals a year were granted lawful permanent residence (i.e., immigrants who receive a “green card”), admitted as temporary nonimmigrants, granted asylum or refugee status, or were naturalized. In ​​five years after the attacks, immigration increased to more than 850,000. Since 2005, immigration has ranged from a low of 990,553 in 2015 to a high of 1,266,129 in 2006. 

In the five years prior to 2001, there were roughly 180,000 annual forced deportations a year. While that number dropped slightly in 2002, it began to steadily climb until 2009–2010, when  deportations hit a record high of nearly 400,000 annually. 

Two significant changes led to the increase in deportations. In 2002, almost two dozen government agencies were merged into the Department of Homeland Security. The Immigration and Naturalization Service and the U.S. Customs Service, which were previously part of the Department of Justice, were consolidated into the newly formed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 

From 2008 to 2014, the Secure Communities program allowed local law enforcement to check the immigration status of every person booked in a county or local jail by comparing fingerprints against federal immigration records. By 2014, when President Obama announced plans to phase out the program, ICE had established Secure Communities partnerships with all 3,181 law enforcement jurisdictions in the nation. Currently, about half of persons deported have a criminal status. 

3. Ended airline hijacking in the U.S. 

The attacks that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001, began when four commercial airliners were hijacked. Since then, no U.S. airliner has been hijacked. But prior to 2001 they occurred with alarming regularity.

For example, between May 1961 and the end of 1972, there were 159 hijackings in American airspace. The majority of those occurred in a five-year stretch from 1968 and 1972. Hijackings in the U.S. sometimes ​​happened at a rate of one per week, and it was not uncommon for multiple hijackings to occur in the same day.

Prior to 9/11, airport security was primarily overseen by private companies. But on Nov. 19, 2001, Congress passed the Aviation and Transportation Security Act. The act created the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to oversee security in all modes of transportation. The act also expanded the Federal Air Marshal Service, required reinforced cockpit doors on all large aircraft, and implemented 100% checked baggage screening by federal officials. 

4. Expanded law enforcement tools in the fight against terrorism 

After 9/11, Congress passed two major laws intended to protect national security against foreign terrorists. The primary provisions of those laws increased penalties for terror-related crimes; expanded the list of activities that would qualify as terrorism; eased interagency communication to allow federal agencies to more effectively use all available resources in counterterrorism efforts; and expanded surveillance abilities of law enforcement, including by tapping domestic and international phones. 

A month after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Congress passed a 320-page law known as the USA Patriot Act of 2001. The act was intended to “deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world, to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools, and for other purposes.” Beginning on Dec. 31, 2005, many provisions of the act were set to expire unless Congress reauthorized them. Out of the 16 sections, 13 were allowed to expire while three were reauthorized. After approval by Congress, President Bush signed an extension in 2006, and President Obama signed an extension in 2011. On June 1, 2015, the last three sections expired. 

In 2015, Congress passed the USA Freedom Act. The purpose of the law is to “reform the authorities of the Federal Government to require the production of certain business records, conduct electronic surveillance, use pen registers and trap and trace devices, and use other forms of information gathering for foreign intelligence, counterterrorism, and criminal purposes, and for other purposes.”

The law ended the bulk collection of metadata by agencies such as the National Security Agency (NSA), ended the secret laws created by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court, and introduced a “Special Advocate” to represent public and privacy matters. The bill also re-extend to areas of the Patriot Act: the roving wiretap provision, which allows roving surveillance of people being investigated for involvement in terrorist activities, and the the “lone wolf” provision, which permits surveillance of non-U.S. persons engaged in international terrorism without requiring evidence linking those persons to an identifiable foreign power or terrorist organization. 

Explainer: What you should know about the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan
By / Sep 3

Earlier this week, the military completed its mission to evacuate American citizens, third-country nationals, and vulnerable Afghans from Afghanistan. Over the previous few weeks, more than 123,000 civilians were extracted in what was the largest noncombatant evacuation in the U.S. military’s history. Here is what you should know about the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Why was the withdrawal and evacuation from Afghanistan conducted so suddenly? 

In February 2020, the Trump administration signed an agreement with the Taliban to withdraw the U.S. military presence by May 29, 2021. President Biden renegotiated that agreement to complete withdrawal from Afghanistan to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. That deadline was moved up by the Biden administration to Aug. 31. 

The military withdrawal was completed on Aug. 30 at 3:20 p.m. EDT, officially ending the 20-year war in Afghanistan. 

How many Americans remain in Afghanistan, and what happens to them now?

In the weeks since the Taliban took control of major cities and the capital of Kabul, roughly 5,500 U.S. citizens were airlifted out of the country. There are between 100 to 200 Americans remaining in the country. President Biden has said that most of those remaining are dual citizens who did not want to leave because of family ties.

Biden has promised to help get out any Americans who still want to be extracted from the country. “For those remaining Americans, there is no deadline,” said Biden. “We remain committed to get them out if they want to come out.” But getting those Americans out will now require diplomatic negotiation with the Taliban.

How many Afghan allies were extracted from the country?

From Aug. 14 to Aug. 31, U.S. military aircraft have evacuated more than 73,500 third-country nationals and Afghan civilians from Hamid Karzai International Airport in the capital city of Kabul. That category includes those with special immigrant visas, consular staff, and at-risk Afghans as well as their families. Regarding those left behind, the ERLC joined other organizations in an Evangelical Immigration Table letter to President Biden and requested that the administration “keep our commitment to those at risk for their service to the United States and to others fleeing a credible fear of persecution globally.”

How many Afghan refugees will be coming to the U.S.?

The U.S. government is currently declining to say how many Afghan refugees have arrived in the U.S. since the evacuation from Kabul began last month. 

How many translators, interpreters, and other workers were extracted from the country?

Afghan nationals who worked for the U.S. government in such roles as translators and interpreters and who feared reprisal from the Taliban were allowed to apply for a special humanitarian visa.

In July 2021, the Emergency Security Supplemental Appropriations Act authorized 8,000 additional Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) for Afghan principal applicants, for a total of 34,500 visas allocated since Dec. 19, 2014. These visas were available to Afghan nationals who meet certain requirements and who were employed in Afghanistan by or on behalf of the U.S. government or by the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), or a successor mission, in a capacity that required the applicant to serve as an interpreter or translator for U.S. military personnel while traveling off-base with U.S. military personnel stationed at ISAF or to perform activities for the U.S. military personnel stationed at ISAF. Afghans seeking SIVs must complete a 14-step application process that includes a visa interview and security screening.

An estimated 5,000 SIV applicants have already been evacuated from Afghanistan, according to a report released by the Association of Wartime Allies, a group advocating for SIV applicants in Afghanistan and Iraq.

There is also a SIV program available to persons who worked with the U.S. Armed Forces or under Chief of Mission authority as a translator or interpreter in Iran and Afghanistan. This program offered visas to up to fifty persons a year (plus spouse and children).

The Association of Wartime Allies estimates there are around 65,000 SIV applicants remaining in Afghanistan.

How much military equipment was left behind in Afghanistan?

The U.S. Central Command says that about 170 pieces of equipment were left in Kabul during the evacuation. The equipment left behind included 70 light tactical vehicles, 27 Humvees, and 73 aircraft. All of this equipment was demilitarized (i.e., rendered unusable for military purposes). The only equipment left operable were a couple of fire trucks and forklifts that could be used at the Kabul airport. 

Explainer: U.S. faces an “outbreak” of antisemitism
By / May 28

Antisemitic activity has been on the rise over the past few weeks. As The New York Times reports, there has been “an outbreak of anti-Semitic threats and violence across the United States, stoking fear among Jews in small towns and major cities. During the two weeks of clashes in Israel and Gaza this month, the Anti-Defamation League collected 222 reports of anti-Semitic harassment, vandalism and violence in the United States, compared with 127 over the previous two weeks.”

Incidents are “literally happening from coast to coast, and spreading like wildfire,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, the A.D.L.’s chief executive. “The sheer audacity of these attacks feels very different.” The Times notes that, “The recent spike is occurring on top of a longer-term trend of high-profile incidents of anti-Semitism in the United States.”

While Jews make up only about 2% of the U.S. population, they are the target of 13% of the hate crimes perpetrated each year. In 2019, the FBI identified 7,314 hate crimes, of which 953 were against Jews.

What is antisemitism?

Antisemitism is hatred of and hostility toward the Jews as a religious or ethnic group, which often includes the belief that Jews pose a threat to society and should be eliminated.

The term was coined in 1879 by German journalist Wilhelm Marr, founder of the Antisemiten-Liga (Anti-Semitic League) in an 1879 pamphlet opposing the influence of Jews on German culture. (Later in life, Marr published another pamphlet, Testament of an Antisemite, renouncing his own hatred of the Jewish people, and expressing concern that antisemitism in Germany was becoming entangled with mysticism and nationalism.)

 Should it be spelled anti-Semitism or antisemitism?

Both ways are grammatically correct, though many Jewish groups prefer the non-hyphenated spelling. In 2015, a group of scholars issued a statement explaining why the term should be spelled without the hyphen:

[T]he hyphenated spelling allows for the possibility of something called “Semitism,” which not only legitimizes a form of pseudo- scientific racial classification that was thoroughly discredited by association with Nazi ideology, but also divides the term, stripping it from its meaning of opposition and hatred toward Jews.

The philological term “Semitic” referred to a family of languages originating in the Middle East whose descendant languages today are spoken by millions of people mostly across Western Asia and North Africa. Following this semantic logic, the conjunction of the prefix “anti” with “Semitism” indicates antisemitism as referring to all people who speak Semitic languages or to all those classified as “Semites.” The term has, however, since its inception referred to prejudice against Jews alone.

What constitutes antisemitism?

There is no universal agreement on what constitutes antisemitism. But the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, which has been adopted by 31 countries, defines it in terms of 11 key areas:

  • Calling for, aiding, or justifying the killing or harming of Jews in the name of a radical ideology or an extremist view of religion.
  • Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective — such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government, or other societal institutions.
  • Accusing Jews as a people of being responsible for real or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Jewish person or group, or even for acts committed by non-Jews.
  • Denying the fact, scope, mechanisms (e.g., gas chambers), or intentionality of the genocide of the Jewish people at the hands of National Socialist Germany and its supporters and accomplices during World War II (the Holocaust).
  • Accusing the Jews as a people, or Israel as a state, of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust.
  • Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel, or to the alleged priorities of Jews worldwide, than to the interests of their own nations.
  • Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.
  • Applying double standards by requiring of it a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.
  • Using the symbols and images associated with classic antisemitism (e.g., claims of Jews killing Jesus or blood libel) to characterize Israel or Israelis.
  • Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.
  • Holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel.

What is “Christian antisemitism”?

Christian antisemitism is antisemitic attitudes that are supposedly derived from or based on theological reasons. In actual practice, such antisemitism is often due more to cultural, ethnic, or nationalistic reasons than theology. ERLC president Russell Moore has said,

As Christians, we should have a clear message of rejection of every kind of bigotry and hatred, but we should especially note what anti-Semitism means for people who are followers of Jesus Christ. We should say clearly to anyone who would claim the name “Christian” the following truth: If you hate Jews, you hate Jesus.

Anti-Semitism is, by definition, a repudiation of Christianity as well as of Judaism. This ought to be obvious, but world history, even church history, shows us this is not the case. Christians reject anti-Semitism because we love Jesus.

What is the Southern Baptist position on antisemitism?

The Southern Baptist Convention has renounced antisemitism in resolutions in 1873, 1948, 1971, 1972, 1981, 2003, and 2008.

In the 2003 resolution titled, “On Anti-semitism,” the messengers of the SBC denounced all forms of anti-Semitism as “contrary to the teachings of our Messiah and an assault on the revelation of Holy Scripture”; affirmed to “Jewish people around the world that we stand with them against any harassment that violates our historic commitments to religious liberty and human dignity”; and called on “governmental and religious leaders across the world to stand against all forms of bigotry, hatred, or persecution.”

10 political resolutions for 2021 and beyond
By / Mar 29

Nearly 300 years ago, Jonathan Edwards penned his now-famous Resolutions. According to Stephen Nichols, these 70 resolutions were recorded by Edwards at a moment when he was nearing the end of his ministerial training, taking “advantage of the opportunity to pause and reflect on the type of person he wanted to be and the way in which he wanted to live his life.” In effect, with his Resolutions, Edwards wrote a “system of checks and balances he would use to chart out his life–his relationships, his conversations, his desires, his activities.” Informed by the Word of God like few others, Edwards, with this “advice to himself,” set guardrails to keep his feet on the way of faithfulness. 

We need a resolution

Undoubtedly, countless of us have benefited from Edwards’ advice. It is in that vein that I propose a set of resolutions for the day in which we live, specifically in our American cultural-political context. 

What kind of people are we becoming? What kind of life do we want to live? These were the sorts of questions that Edwards paused and asked himself, and these are the very questions that we must pause and, with Christlike humility, ask of ourselves. In a political culture rife with disrespect, slander, and self-serving theatrics, behaviors that the church is regularly seen participating in, we find ourselves in dire need of our own Godward guardrails.

So, as we go forward, may the following resolutions serve as a system of checks and balances meant to stay our feet on the way of Christ and engage others with the heart of Christ. 

10 political resolutions for 2021 and beyond

I want to begin with Edwards’ own words: “Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God’s help, I do humbly entreat him by his grace to enable me to keep these resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ’s sake.”

  1. Resolved, to view others, regardless of religious or political affiliation, as persons made in the image of God, and to treat them as such. 
  2. Resolved, in politics, as in life, “to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with my God” (Micah 6:8).
  3. Resolved, to be devoted to the truth, most especially God’s Word, but, likewise, truth generally, taking care not to purport that which is untrustworthy and/or false. 
  4. Resolved, to act instinctively toward others not with skepticism or cynicism but, regardless of one’s religious or political affiliation, to assume the best and give the benefit of the doubt unless proven otherwise. 
  5. Resolved, to always speak and act with charity. 
  6. Resolved, where appropriate, to exercise the courage required to participate in local, state, and/or federal civil service, whether as an official or simply an engaged citizen, for “the peace and prosperity of the city” where God has placed me (Jer. 29:7).
  7. Resolved, as far as it depends on me, to never allow political affiliation to dissolve my fellowship with a brother or sister in Christ, a family member, a friend, or a neighbor.
  8. Resolved, to hold elected officials accountable to the standards of the office to which they’ve been appointed, and to do so with charity and respect, for their good, for the good of those they represent or govern, and for the public witness of the church.
  9. Resolved, to be a good church member, family member, friend, neighbor, and citizen. 
  10. Resolved, to reserve my first and strongest allegiance to Christ and his kingdom, recognizing that “to love my country best I must love Christ first.”

For Christ and the common good

As Americans, we have the pleasure and the privilege of engaging directly in the politics that govern our country. As Christians, we have the responsibility to do so in a way that is pleasing to the God who made us and “determined our appointed times and the boundaries of where we live” (Acts 17:26). It is a privilege and responsibility that should be exercised with integrity, great care, and sobriety. May these resolutions serve as guardrails for faithful Christian civic engagement, for the glory of God and the good of our society. And, like Edwards, may these resolutions signal and enact our “utmost determination to bring every area of our life under subjection of the Lordship of Christ.” 

A prayer during national chaos and confusion
By / Jan 9

The events that we witnessed at the Capitol this week are disturbing and almost unbelievable. And above all the things they reveal is that we are fallen human beings who are in need of a perfect, righteous, and holy Savior. When we don’t know what to do—and even when we do—the most important thing we can do is go to our God in prayer. Below is a prayer you can use personally, as a family, or in your church community.

Great God of the nations. Father, Son, and Spirit. We worship you. From the peak of Mt. Everest to the floor of the Indian ocean, you alone are worthy to be praised. We thank you for the privilege of being heard in prayer, which was purchased by the blood of your Son. 

And as we pray, we consider that majestic holiness that Isaiah peered upon. And as we do, we are quickly mindful, as he was, of our own sin. Oh Lord, how often we have fallen short of your glory. This past week, we have been greedy, prideful, and prejudiced—spending, speaking, and strolling past neighbors who were made in your image, thinking ourselves better than them. 

We are too often like the priest that walks by the wounded Samaritan. As our neighbors have been beaten, broken, and bemoaned, we have walked by with little regard for them and, at the same time, great regard for ourselves. Have mercy on us, oh God.

Forgive us for the ways in which we, the church of Jesus Christ, have contributed to the unrest that pervades our nation. Forgive us for our pettiness, our selfishness, and our gracelessness. Forgive us for the ways we have neglected your Word and prayer. Forgive us for using the church instead of serving the church. Forgive us for greater allegiances to party politics, patriotism, or preferences than to Christ, his Kingdom, his people, and his purposes in the world. 

In these days, we have had to learn, yet again Lord, that we ought not to hope in princes. We have learned to hope in you. 

As we do, Lord, we lament the present circumstances. We mourn the division that is rampant within our nation, our cities, and our churches. How much longer must we see people praising your name while at the same time blaspheming people made in your image? How much longer must we walk through the valleys of racism, murder, and pandemic fears? How much longer must we languish for our sons and daughters? How much longer until we are home, with you, in heaven? 

We wait, O blessed Lord. And as we wait, we pray that you would rend the heavens with blessings innumerable. In particular, we pray for a breaking forth of repentance among this land. People great and small. Black and white. Men and women. Boy and girl. Democrat and Republican. Baptist and Episcopalian. Bless our nation with a deluge of repentance so that we might walk in the newness of life—not alone, but together, as your people, in order that we might be the light you’ve called us to be—the light that so much of our nation is looking for now. 

Thank you, Father, for hearing us. It is only because of the sufficiency of the work and worth of your Son that we can not only be heard, but be loved and known by you. We love you Lord. May we learn to love you and one another more.

We ask, in Jesus’ magnificent name,

Amen.