I started writing parody book release blog posts on each April Fool’s day to have a laugh and maybe sell a few copies of my book Coffeehouse Theology: Reflecting on God in Everyday Life.
Back then, The Shack was the big thing. We didn’t know how simple and easy those days were! I didn’t want to make fun of the book, but I did want to parody the phenomenon of The Shack’s clash of a female representation of God with the toxic masculinity that runs rampant in many conservative churches.
I may have had a certain masculine reformed pastor in mind.
So I slapped it together, got some laughs, sold a few books, and received a warm note from the author of The Shack. It could have been worse.
Over a decade later, things are now so much worse than we could have ever imagined for American evangelical Christianity and for America in general.
Just to give a sample of what’s been going on in the American evangelical tribe…
We had a worship leader pulling publicity stunts during a deadly global pandemic.
Christians are complaining that sermons on the Beatitudes are woke.
“Thought-pieces” question whether we can have too much empathy.
Even the leader of the “New Evangelical” brand is mired in accusations of behavior that sounds a lot like the old evangelicals.
And the can of gasoline on top of this raging dumpster fire is that far too many evangelical Christians continue to support a lawless, authoritarian bully who has been credibly accused of everything evangelical leaders told us an honorable man should NOT do to a woman.
For all of the good that American evangelicals can do and continue to do in the world, we also dramatically undermine our witness for the Good News that Jesus is King by enabling someone who is as anti-Christ as anyone that Tim Lahaye could cook up.
I can’t parody evangelical Christianity in a spirit of love, fun, or even humor right now—perhaps never again. Who can?
After a year of observing trends and news, what is there to laugh about in a movement that is so tragically polluted by political entanglements and enabling some of the worst lawless bullies in modern politics?
If there is nothing left to parody in this profoundly unhealthy movement, I also lack any incentive to spend time parodying it. In the wake of the 2016 election, I had an identity crisis as an evangelical involved in Christian publishing while a massive chunk of my tribe was enthralled with someone who supports everything I reject as a follower of Jesus.
Who could I write for?
I know I’m not alone in my views, but it felt like our Christian family was being torn apart.
As I withdrew from the evangelical movement to attend a welcoming and loving Episcopal Church, I also pulled back from the Christian publishing world. I still believe in everything I wrote, but I couldn’t find a place for myself in the niche of Christian publishing.
I’m proud that Flee, Be Silent, Pray: Ancient Prayers for Anxious Christians continues to help readers find space to pray each day. I’m sad that I struggled to promote Reconnect: Spiritual Restoration from Digital Distraction during the pandemic because it’s a book that speaks to the challenges of the social media ecosystem that rewards bad behavior and divisiveness.
As I wrapped up my promotion of those projects, I couldn’t conceive a message to share with such a fragmented audience of American evangelicals. I also felt an urgent need to disconnect from the platform-obsessed publishing model that required more engagement on social media than my mental health could handle.
I have found peace in a day job that uses my researching and writing skills, while woodworking and oil pastels have become my creative outlets. I still edit and write here and there on the side.
I also wonder what we could draw from the desert fathers and mothers in this time of digital and political turmoil.
How can we remain apart from the madness of the times while still speaking prophetically and advocating for others with empathy?
Making a parody of American evangelical Christianity sure won’t help me do that. So, for now, I’m trying to figure out what will.
I’m reminded of the words of Abba Anthony: “A time is coming when men will go mad, and when they see someone who is not mad, they will attack him saying, ‘You are mad; you are not like us.’”
The madness has come. May God mercifully give us eyes to see our neighbors so that we can love and serve them well.
