Has Your Church Been Steeplejacked?
Yesterday’s post was extremely long, and I know it had a tremendous amount of information to take in. I wanted to provide you with two things: 1) information about the incoming Alaska Governer and his Dominionist affiliation; and 2) an example of the depth of the research we do on each facet of this journey to uncover what is really going on in this movement. I won’t do that to you again!
Today seems like a perfect time to introduce a new word into our growing lexicon. Steeplejacking…
A reader left a comment that I thought required my answer in the form of a short post this morning and my answer will define steeplejacking. Here is her comment and question:
“Leah, this is really scary stuff! If I wanted to go to church I certainly want it to look like a church! Which leads me to ask…what is a person to do? A family moves into town and wants to attend church, how do they not get sucked into one of these Dominionist churches? Is it just not safe to go to any church nowadays?”
There are recognizable indicators that tip off what is a Dominionist evangelical church. I started my response with, “There are a few characteristics that ‘thread’ through dominionist churches. Watch for the following: non-denominational, born-again, charismatic, emphasis on evangelizing and proselytizing, and speaking in tongues (or the bopping on the head/holy laughter weirdness). They also tend to be mega-churches (2,000 or more), unless in a small town. For example I am surrounded by 3 in a 3 mile radius from my home with names like, Dakota Christian Center, Community Baptist and Christ the King Church. They aren’t mega because the population is too small for huge, but you get the idea…
Let me now explain “steeplejacking”. This is what happens when mainstream denominational churches lose their congregational members to a nearby evangelical church. In very simple terms this is where members are wooed away from their churches by members of evangelical extremists, and/or their churches are literally taken over in place. There is a great book available on Steeplejacking written by two ministers, Sheldon Culver and John C. Dorhauer of the United Church of Christ – Steeplejacking: How the Christian Right is Hijacking Mainstream Religion.
“An insider account by two ministers on the front lines of mainstream religions longtime shadow war against the religious right, Steeplejacking reveals how conservative renewal groups, backed by a right-wing organization called the Institute on Religion and Democracy, use social wedge issues like homosexuality to infiltrate mainline churches and stir up dissent among members of the congregation, with the goal of taking over the leadership of the church, and ultimately, the denomination.”
With that being said – the answer is – there are indeed many churches out there that have nothing to do with this extreme minority. This is one of the components of this whole movement that frustrates me the most – that because they are so…well, evil really…it has cast a shadow over Christianity as a whole leaving an unsavory image. And that is truly unfortunate…
I am not suggesting that all church services have to be drone, mundane and include rote memorization of passages, verses and hymnal preamble in order to be considered mainstream. (Although that is the essence of the Lutheran services I had to attend as a kid). But these dominionist churches pretty routinely are the ones that include the HUGE flat screens and an American flag draped somewhere behind their stage (I can’t bring myself to call it their pulpit), along with a live band of some sort.
Remember the saying by Sinclair Lewis,
“When fascism comes to America it will be wearing a flag [carrying a gun] and holding the bible”.
Tags: Alaska Governor, Bible, Christian, Christians, church, Dominionists, evangelical, steeplejacking
August 3rd, 2009 at 3:08 am
Leah, Thanks for the explanation…the Flag! Yes that would be a dead giveaway! And flat screen tv.
thanks.
August 3rd, 2009 at 6:22 pm
The following is a comment by a reader who was having technical difficulties posting so I am pasting it here:
By Anne:
This is such an excellent point! And I had no idea someone wrote a whole book about it!. I have seen this happen in two different Episcopalian churches. I mean – Episcopalians! How much more mainstream can you get? I don't know if you are familiar with the Alpha Class which started in an Anglican church in London and spread to the Episcopalian churches here in the US – it is a evangelical movement under the guise of church outreach that was sold to these Episcopalian denominations as a way to improve their congregation numbers. And it has been very succesfull at that. I got sucked into one of these classes having no clue it was anything other than a history of the Bible class – and it turned out to have been run by a couple with a Pentacostal background – well, half-way through the series of classes it turned into a full-scale revivalist meeting with speaking in tongues and laying on of hands. The program was later kicked out of this particular church when the head reverend's son went public with his homosexuality and this group within the church was not tolerant of that at all.
I know of another Episcopalian church in another state that was essentially taken over from the inside by an insidious group of these dominionist evangelical style people and the old-timers ended up abandoning the church.
How to avoid these groups? Look for churches with congregations primarily of old people or stick to the UU's or the Papists
August 4th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
There was actually an article in Newsweek in April this year addressing the guesstimates on how many self-described Christians there are in the U.S. http://www.newsweek.com/id/192583
Numbers on how many evangelical extremists there are are thought to be between 50-80 million. Important to note though that out of the millions of 'sheeples' that those numbers represent, it is about 5-10% of those that truly drive the apocalyptic/End Times agenda. And isn't it a coincidence that they are the same ones benefiting mightily from all this fear and paranoia? Mainstream Christianity may be declining, but this movement has grown significantly.
And your observation is spot on, evangelical non-denominational churches are only interested in you if you sign up and take "speaking in tongues" as your second language!
August 4th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
There was actually an article in Newsweek in April this year addressing the guesstimates on how many self-described Christians there are in the U.S. http://www.newsweek.com/id/192583
Numbers on how many evangelical extremists there are are thought to be between 50-80 million. Important to note though that out of the millions of 'sheeples' that those numbers represent, it is about 5-10% of those that truly drive the apocalyptic/End Times agenda. And isn't it a coincidence that they are the same ones benefiting mightily from all this fear and paranoia? Mainstream Christianity may be declining, but this movement has grown significantly.
And your observation is spot on, evangelical non-denominational churches are only interested in you if you sign up and take "speaking in tongues" as your second language!
August 4th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
Agreed! It is extraordinarily important! And this is why I torture myself everyday researching and writing about these people and the cult they have created! I can't wait to get back to my humor writing where I sit and laugh at my own self!
Keep reading…and I will keep writing! We are making headway!
August 5th, 2009 at 4:37 am
Thanks I am Jewish but I go to a UU congregation that I like. I know some liberal Christians find it too secular. They are awfully LOUD and obnoxious for being only 10% of Christians.