The Fracturing of Evangelicalism & Bethlehem Baptist

The Roys Report

Julie Roys

Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Society & Culture, Christianity

4.6 • 714 Ratings

🗓️ 9 September 2021

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Guest Bios Show Transcript When Jason Meyer, John Piper’s successor at Bethlehem Baptist Church, recently resigned, he claimed that a “neo-fundamentalism” had crept into the church. Others throughout evangelicalism have cited similar opposing factions in the church—white nationalists, “woke” Christians, and ex-evangelicals, for example. But what are these factions? And why is the evangelical movement—once united by firm theological convictions—now splitting apart? On this edition of The Roys Report, we explore the answers with Michael Graham and Skyler Flowers, two pastors who have authored a groundbreaking article entitled, “The Six-Way Fracturing of Evangelicalism.” Julie also presents new evidence, including leaked emails, revealing the deep divisions over racial and cultural issues at Bethlehem Baptist, which have led to major upheaval at the church.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Recently, John Piper's successor at Bethlehem Baptist Church stepped down, citing numerous issues,
0:10.1	including a neo-fundamentalism that had crept into the church.
0:14.4	But what is neo-fundamentalism, and why is the evangelical movement, once united by firm theological
0:20.5	convictions, now splitting apart.
0:23.3	Welcome to the Roy's report, a podcast dedicated to reporting the truth and restoring the church.
0:28.6	I'm Julie Roy's. If you've been following my reporting, you know that three pastors, including
0:33.6	Jason Meyer, the successor to John Piper, recently resigned from Bethlehem Baptist Church,
0:39.5	and a main issue cited by the pastors was spiritual abuse. But also prominent in Pastor Meyer's
0:45.5	resignation letter was a complaint that the church had become neo-fundamentalist. And today, I'm going
0:51.6	to present new evidence revealing more about this neo-fundamentalism at Bethlehem and the deep divisions over racial and cultural issues that led to Pastor Myers' resignation.
1:02.5	But beyond that, I'm going to explore how what's happening at Bethlehem is just a microcosm of a much larger fracturing across evangelicalism. There are now, not just
1:12.6	neo-fundamentalists, but neo-evangelicals, post-evangelicals, and even de-churched evangelicals.
1:19.5	If you've been scratching your head wondering how Christians subscribing to the same movement
1:23.7	could believe and behave so differently, I think you're really going to appreciate this
1:28.9	podcast. Joining me are Michael Graham and Skyler Flowers, two pastors who have authored a
1:34.7	groundbreaking article entitled The Six-Way Fracturing of Evangelicalism. Their insights on this topic
1:41.0	are profound, and I'm so looking forward to our conversation. But first,
1:45.4	I want to thank the sponsors of this podcast, Judson University and Marquart of Barrington. Judson is a
1:52.0	top-ranked Christian University providing a caring community and an excellent college experience.
1:58.0	Plus, the school offers more than 60 majors, great leadership opportunities,
2:02.2	and strong financial aid. Judson University is shaping lives that shape the world. For more
2:08.2	information, just go to judsonu.edu. Also, if you're looking for a quality new or used car,
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Julie Roys, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Julie Roys and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.