Thoughts on "Shepherds for Sale"

I have talked with dozens of [Christians who cannot find a church] over the last few years, people who have reached out to me due to my reporting on the evangelical world. They are ordinary Christians who feel confused and dismayed to see well-known pastors and ministry leaders letting the culture rather than Scripture dictate the content of their teaching. They see leaders insisting that Jesus requires them to get Covid-19 vaccinations and lobby for immigration bills, but doesn't require them to speak clearly about sexual morality. They feel, frankly, like sheep without shepherds.

Shepherds for Sale, xv

I often feel like the Christians Megan Basham describes—alone in my hunt for a church I can belong to, a place that cares about Biblical depth, is unafraid to push back against the world, and is not intimidated by apologetics or theological discussion. The first thing I took away from reading Megan Basham's Shepherds for Hire is that I am not alone. There are tens of thousands—perhaps hundreds of thousands—of Christians just like me out there.

The second is the churches these “lost Christians” are searching for are rare, perhaps to the point of completely vanishing. The author says of these Christians:

What they all want to know: What is going on? Why is this happening everywhere?

According to the author, the answer is church leaders have sold out to the world. Megan Basham draws examples of how large denominations have supported the government in spreading the alarm over climate change, accepting mass illegal immigration, COVID-19 lockdowns and vaccines, and critical theory.

While the strength of Basham's evidence varies, her overall picture is convincing.

Chapters

She begins with the strongest case—climate change. Direct quotes from presentations, emails, etc., show the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), a part of the Southern Baptist Association (SBA), was intentionally and directly compromised. Progressive groups gave large amounts of money to the ERLC, along with access to other resources, intentionally to sway the SBA towards supporting progressive climate alarmism.

These campaigns take years—leadership must be convinced to change seminary curriculum, and then an entire generation of young pastors must go out into the field. These young pastors must convince their churches to soften, then change, their position.

It might sound difficult—it took more than twenty years—but it worked. There was no serious conversation about theology and the scientific evidence for man-made climate change. Several denominations and tens of thousands of churches just fell in line.

The evidence for culture-shifting millions of Christian's views on illegal immigration through churches is also hard to refute. The chapter on abortion is weaker—but the campaign to shift American churches from pro-life to pro-abortion is young. There is clearly an effort in place, but it may take another ten or twenty years before we will know if those efforts are successful.

The fifth chapter on COVID-19 is also strong, filled with quotes and evidence. Once again, there was minimal discussion about the science behind these particular vaccines, locking down or masking. Most churches just went along to get along.

Why were churches even involved in supporting the government in these efforts?

But leaving aside debates about the safety and efficacy of various Covid policies, we have to ask: Is it clergy's job to tell church members to "trust the science?" Is it a pastor's place to slyly insult other pastors who chose to handle shutdowns differently, as Warren did when he quipped that his "ego doesn't require" him to "have a live audience to speak to."

The two weakest chapters are on #MeToo and LGBTQ issues. These chapters are filled with personal and anecdotal evidence, but they lack the kind of broad evidence presented in the first few chapters. Because these chapters deal with individual situations, they are also the most difficult to follow.  

Overall, however, Basham makes a strong case that culture influences modern churches too often.

Motivations

Most of the criticism of this book has focused on two things:

• Weak evidence and lines of argument in some chapters

• The imputation of motivation based on actions

The first criticism might be valid, but it would be a shame if the weaker chapters convinced the reader they should ignore the stronger ones. You could skip the weaker chapters entirely and still find a compelling case for the author's thesis.

The second criticism is that the author wrongly imputes motivation to the leaders and organizations she names. Specifically, Basham argues Christian leaders cave to the world to gain, or hold, status. Christian leaders, in essence, enjoy the perks of having large followings, being invited to dinners and meetings with government leaders, and being asked to appear on popular media.

Responding to this criticism deserves a little more thought.

Motivations are Hard to Discern

Basham's arguments often take this form:

• A progressive group says they want to influence conservative Christians to change their views on a topic.

• A progressive group gives a lot of money and attention to a group of conservative Christian leaders.

• The conservative Christian leaders align with the progressive group's desires.

Based on this sequence of events, you know what the progressive group wants, you know what the progressive group does, and you know what the group of Christian leaders do.

But you don't necessarily know why the Christian leaders changed their views. It could be they wanted the money and prestige the progressive group could offer. Or it could be they encountered someone among the progressives who had good arguments for a position the Christian leaders had not considered before.

When you are dealing with humans who have free will, there is no way to tell what motivated them—unless they tell you.

Does this invalidate the line of argument, however?

If this kind of sequence happens once, perhaps. If the person changing their mind repudiates the outside influence by refusing to accept the invitations and honors, perhaps.

However, the more this pattern is repeated, the more likely these things are cause and effect. While critics try to tear apart some instances and disregard others, the pattern Basham points out is important. The trees are not as important as the forest in this kind of argument.

Pay attention to the forest.

It's Easy to Rationalize

Beyond this, the person being influenced will not tell you they are being influenced. In fact, they are likely to rationalize their changed belief in the strongest possible terms. We are much too often like Eve in the Garden—we are good at rationalizing taking what we desire in quasi-religious terms.

For instance, if a Christian leader wants access to some powerful and high-status group holding to high immigration, they can justify their support by saying: "Lots of immigration just allows us to show how much we love our neighbors." If a Christian leader wants respect from an important organization like the CDC or the local government, they can say: "Wearing a mask, locking down, and getting vaccinated are ways of loving your neighbor."

It's easy to bypass any discussion about the adverse effects of mass immigration on many other people we might consider our neighbors or the adverse effects of lockdowns, masks, and vaccinations. Religious leaders' platitudes sidestep the hard discussion of what "love" means in these situations.

In a culture where religious leaders are not to be criticized or questioned because doing so will "break unity, and we are told they will know we are Christians by our love," the opportunity for abusing authority through rationalization is just too great.

Theology Plays a Role

One real weakness of this book is the lack of any theological underpinnings in the argument. Many pastors are primed to agree with government authorities and to seek secular approval because of their prior theological commitments.

If you believe the job of a church is to "build the Kingdom of God on the Earth" (post-millennialism), then you will seek out the secular authority and standing required to get the job done.

If you believe that the most significant service to God is to "convert" as many people as possible as quickly as possible, you will seek out a platform where you can influence as many people as possible. Converting thousands of people in a crusade or a "day of music in the park" is always going to be more impressive than doing the hard work of teaching individual lay people theology and the defense of their faith.

If you believe having a "unified church" is the most important objective, or the most effective way to create a large congregation, then you will eschew theological discussion and focus on doing politically popular things.

Doing what the culture wants can always be justified and rationalized in the name of doing God's work—so long as you choose the right theological foundation.

Final Thoughts

If you have not read this book, you should. Even if you disagree with some—or even all—of Megan Basham's points, you should read this book. Even if you think some of the author's evidence is weak, grasp the overall pattern and understand the whole argument.

If nothing else, this book will expose you to movements in the conservative Christian (evangelical) world that should make you pause and wonder. Basham quotes Francis Shaeffer:

Here the gospel has been reduced to a program for transforming social structures. This is the Marxist line. It does not mean that those who take this position are Communists. But it does mean they have made a complete confusion of the kingdom of God with the basic socialistic concepts. In back of this stands the Enlightenment idea of the perfectibility of man if only the cultural and economic chains are removed...

But think further what this means theologically. What has happened to the fall and sin? [Evangelicals for Social Action] seem to be saying that changing economic structures is the means of salvation for modern man since only this deals with the basic "causes of the disease." Ironically their program is not radical enough! The basic problem is that of the fall and sin and the heart of man. The basic problem is much deeper than social structures, and by not recognizing this[,] ESA ends up with an understanding of salvation which is very different from what the Scriptures teach.

If even a quarter of what the author claims is true, this is one of the most important movements in the modern church.

The bottom line: read this book.