I may be one of those who "misunderstood" him, but I don't think so. His weekly T.V. broadcasts always had ten minutes of gospel and 50 minutes of politics. He had a great mind for theology, but in my opinion, he put it on the back burner in order to promote "Christian" politics. Thankfully, he was sufficiently learned in Reform Theology to not fall into the "Christian Zionist" flavor of "Christian" politics, but having participated for a while in "Evangelism Explosion" (his brainchild) I can say that it involved more proselytizing, patriotism, and pew pilfering than evangelizing. I know he believed that his heart was in the right place, but like many others he seemed driven to create a return to a Christian America that never existed and never will. Besides, I can assure you that any church that strictly limits itself to preaching the Gospel, without stroking the egos of the well healed, and providing for the perceived felt emotional needs of the congregation will NEVER accumulate 10000 members! |