Tyrannosaurus Wreck

Here’s a radical idea: What if every church in America showed the movie Jurassic Park in place of the sermon on a given Sunday?

You remember the plot, right? Scientists discover dinosaur DNA in ancient mosquitoes fossilized in amber. They find a way to re-create the powerful beasts believing they can harness them for their own purposes. But in the end, the dinosaurs get loose, causing massive destruction on the island, and in sequels, we learn the devastation spreads far beyond its borders.

It’s a great movie. But I believe Jurassic Park is also a relevant parable for the Church today, especially for those who consider themselves Evangelical.

Understanding My Tribe

I say that as an Evangelical Christian myself. All my life, we were “in the world but not of it” (John 17:14–16). We were citizens of another kingdom (Philippians 3:20). Yes, we voted, we valued democracy, we were patriotic, and we loved our country. But as Evangelicals, we always knew our highest priority was to "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness" (Matthew 6:33).

But lately I’ve begun to wonder if our “otherworldliness” masked a hidden insecurity—an Evangelical inferiority complex. If under the surface we were nursing a growing frustration, anger and longing for cultural influence and power.

Complicating matters is that in recent decades my Evangelical tribe has developed subsets: Conservative Evangelicals like Franklin Graham and the late James Dobson, Progressive Evangelicals like the late Ron Sider and Jim Wallis, and Centrist Evangelicals like Russell Moore and Rick Warren.

Then along came Donald Trump.

Pearl or Peril?

For the past decade, Progressive and Centrist Evangelicals have been hestitant or ambivalent in their support for Donald Trump, while Conservative Evangelicals have strongly supported him. Pollsters don't often understand the subsets so they struggle to explain this, but I believe it boils down to two basic reasons, especially for the conservative core. First, they were tired of being marginalized and discriminated against. Mr. Trump seemed willing to fight on their behalf, and that just felt good. Second, he promised to appoint Supreme Court justices who would turn their moral concerns into law. Those two things became a political pearl of great price.

Many would admit “he‘s no Boy Scout,” and even that it was risky to endorse someone with a track record like his. Even so, they believed his political power could be harnessed for good ends. So, Conservative Evangelicals lined up for MAGA World.

I respect people who voted for President Trump out of frustration or deep conviction. But shouldn’t we take a plain reading of what’s happened since he was elected? Here’s what I see: increasing division, decreasing civility, disrespecting women, excusing lifelong immorality, mounting national debt, rejecting Allies, disregarding the Constitution, starting wars, disrupting the global economy, inviting generations of revenge. Is that the pearl many bargained for, or does it feel like the tyrannosaurus has gotten loose?

The Greatest Danger

But there’s something else I’ve noticed about my tribe, and it may be the greatest danger of all—a mainstreaming of pride—the sin C.S. Lewis called the “essential vice,” the one at the root of all other sins.[1] President Trump has spent a lifetime cultivating and promoting a proud, arrogant identity—it’s his global brand—and he’s been able to amplify it exponentially since being elected. Sadly, some of my Evangelical brothers and sisters seem to have embraced his mocking style and, in the process, come under the influence of that same spirit (Proverbs 16:18; Proverbs 18:12).

Let Us Reason Together

I know there are good people--good friends--who will disagree with my analogy here. Fair enough. I understand and respect where they’re coming from. But regardless of our political identity, I want to invite us all to prayerfully consider our more important, common identity, using these questions:

• Have we as Evangelicals become so starved for respect, influence and power that we’ve lost our taste for the fruit of the Spirit? Why or why not?

• How do Conservative, Progressive and Centrist Evangelicals see the situation we face in America and the world today, and what can we learn from each other?

• What happens to the church or the country when a significant number of its people support leaders who embody “the essential vice”?

• Is there any connection between the decline of the church, the rise of the “nones,”[2] and the growing number of Evangelicals who seem to have combined partisan politics (right or left) and the gospel.[3] If so, what is it and what can we do about it?

• Is it still true that, “They’ll know we are Christians by our love…”? Why?

Back to Jurassic Park. At what point did the well-intentioned creators of the island paradise realize they had lost control, that the safeguards were gone, and the dinosaurs were destroying "the work of their own hands"? That question is why I believe this movie may be the best 2 hour and 7 minute sermon you'll ever hear.

[1] I expand on this theme in my article, The Dictatorship of Pride. Here’s a link: https://bit.ly/3NI5ZeG

[2] “Nones” refers to the category of people in America claim no religious affiliation: http://bit.ly/4ryYSD6

[3] Galatians 1:6-9

Image by Andrew Martin from Pixabay