Real Clear Politics Real Clear Religion How a Christian Movement Is Growing Rapidly in the Midst of Religious Decline
By _Brad Christerson_ (http://www.realclearreligion.org/authors/brad_christerson/) & _Richard Flory_ (http://www.realclearreligion.org/authors/richard_flory/) March 17, 2017 In August of 2011, more than 30,000 people cheered wildly as the then U.S. presidential candidate and Texas Governor Rick Perry – now secretary of energy in the Trump administration – came to the center stage at _“The Response: A Call to Prayer for a Nation in Crisis”_ (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/07/us/politics/07prayer.html) at Reliant Stadium in Houston. Perry quoted from the Bible and preached about the need for salvation that comes from Jesus. He_concluded with a prayer_ (http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/politics/2011-08-06-rick-perry-prayer-rally_n.htm) for a country he believed to be overwhelmed by problems: “We see discord at home. We see fear in the marketplace. We see anger in the halls of government.” He then proceeded to ask God for forgiveness for forgetting “who made us, who protects us, and who blesses us.” In response, the crowd exploded into cheers and praise to God. Five years later, on April 9, 2016, and 1,500 miles away at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, tens of thousands of people _gathered to pray_ (http://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2016/april/thousands-to-gather-in-l-a-to-pray-for-u nity-revival) for the supernatural transformation of America. The event consisted of more than 16 hours of healing sessions, worship music and prophecy from some of the most popular Charismatic Christian leaders in the world. While not directly affiliated, these two events and the leaders who organized them are central players in a movement that we call “Independent Network Charismatic,” or INC, Christianity in our recently released book, _“The Rise of Network Christianity_ (https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-rise-of-network-christianity-9780190635671?cc=us&lang=en&;) .” Based on our research, we believe that INC Christianity is significantly changing the religious landscape in America – and its politics. Here is what we found about INC INC Christianity is led by a _network of popular independent religious entrepreneurs_ (http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/11/10/meet-evangelicals-prophesied-trump-win/93575144/) , often referred to as “ apostles.” They have close ties, we found, to conservative U.S. politicians, including Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Bobby Jindal, Rick Perry and more recently President Donald Trump. Charismatic Christians emphasize supernatural miracles and divine interventions, but INC Christianity is different from other charismatics – and other Christian denominations in general – in the following ways: * It is not focused primarily on building congregations but rather on spreading beliefs and practices through media, conferences and ministry schools. * It is not so much about proselytizing to unbelievers as it is about transforming society through placing Christian believers in powerful positions in all sectors of society. * It is organized as a network of independent leaders rather than as formally organized denominations. INC Christianity is the fastest-growing Christian group in America and possibly around the world. Over the 40 years from 1970 to 2010, the number of regular attenders of Protestant churches as a whole shrunk by an average of _.05 percent per year_ (http://www.worldchristiandatabase.org/wcd/default.asp) , while independent neo-charismatic congregations (a category in which INC groups reside) _grew_ (https://books.google.com/books?id=uUpIvgAACAAJ&q=world+christian+database#v=snippet&q=world%20christian%20database&f=false) by an average of 3.24 percent per year. Its impact, however, is much greater than can be measured in church attendance. This is because INC Christianity is not centrally concerned with building congregations, but spreading beliefs and practices. The _influence of INC Christianity_ (https://books.google.com/books?id=O9c-DgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=google+pages+the+rise+of+network+Christianit y&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwju0f6HrdbSAhWLjVQKHZBNAAMQ6AEIHDAA#v=onepage&q=Table %205.1&f=false) can be seen in the millions of hits on _many_ (http://www.gloryofzion.org/) _of their_ (http://wagnerleadership.org/) _web-based_ (http://www.ihopkc.org/) _media_ (http://bethelredding.com/) _sites_ (http://www.gloryofzion.org/) , large turnouts at stadium rallies and conferences, and millions of dollars in media sales. In our interviews with leaders, we found that Bethel, an INC ministry based in Redding, California, for example, in 2013 had an income of US$8.4 million in media sales (music, books, DVDs, web-based content) and $7 million in tuition to their _Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry_ (http://bssm.net/) . According to the director of media services at the Kansas City-based International House of Prayer (IHOP), their _website receives_ (https://books.google.com/books?id=O9c-DgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=google+pages+the+rise+ of+network+Christianity&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwju0f6HrdbSAhWLjVQKHZBNAAMQ6AEI HDAA#v=snippet&q=A%20number%20of%20IHOP%20leaders%20we%20interviewed&f=false ) over 25 million hits every year from all over the world and is one of the top 50 websites in the world in terms of viewed video content (a million hours of watched video content per month). Appeal of INC As part of our research we conducted in-depth interviews with senior leaders, staff and current and former participants in INC Christian ministries. We also conducted supplementary interviews with Christian leaders and scholars with knowledge of the changing religious landscape and attended conferences, numerous church services, ministry school sessions, healing sessions and exorcisms. In all, we conducted 41 in-depth interviews. Our primary conclusion is that the growth of these groups is largely the result of their network governance structure. When compared to the oversight and accountability of formal congregations and denominations, these structures allow for more experimentation. This includes “extreme” experiences of the supernatural, unorthodox beliefs and practices, and financing as well as marketing techniques that leverage the power of the internet. In our research, we witnessed the appeal of INC Christianity, particularly among young people. We saw the thrill of holding impromptu supernatural healing sessions in the emergency room of a large public hospital, the intrigue of ministry school class sessions devoted to the techniques of casting out demonic spirits and the adventure of teams of young people going out into public places, seeking direct guidance from God as to whom to heal or to relay specific divine messages. ‘Seven mountains of culture’ In addition to the growth numbers, the importance of INC Christianity lies in the fact that its proponents have a fundamentally different view of the relationship between the Christian faith and society than most Christian groups throughout American history. _Most Christian groups_ (https://www.harpercollins.com/9780060630560/the-religious-history-of-america) in America have seen the role of the church as connecting individuals to God through the saving grace of Jesus and building congregations that provide communities of meaning and belonging through worship services. They also believe in serving and providing for the needs their local communities. Such traditional Christian groups believe that although the world can be improved, it will not be restored to God’s original plan (until Jesus comes back again to rule the Earth). INC beliefs, however, are different – their leaders are not content simply to connect individuals to God and grow congregations. Most INC Christian groups we studied seek to bring heaven or God’s intended perfect society to Earth by placing “kingdom-minded people” in powerful positions at the top of all sectors of society. INC leaders have labeled them the _“seven mountains of culture.”_ (https://books.google.com/books/about/Invading_Babylon.html?id=GbqaZQS52gcC) These include business, government, media, arts and entertainment, education, family and religion. In this form of “trickle-down Christianity,” they believe if Christians rise to the top of all seven “mountains,” society will be completely transformed. One INC leader we interviewed summed it up this way: “The goal of this new movement is transforming social units like cities, ethnic groups, nations rather than individuals…if Christians permeate each mountain and rise to the top of all seven mountains…society would have biblical morality, people would live in harmony, there would be peace and not war, there would be no poverty.” We heard _these ideas_ (https://books.google.com/books?id=yZ3MCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT4&lpg=PT4&dq=The+Seven+Mountain+Prophecy:+Unveiling+the+Coming+Elijah+Revo lution+creation+house&source=bl&ots=gbaQ4lJKwj&sig=ty55USPoxz7n02hQ6b3frjUcG 88&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwju-qGHqtbSAhWE3YMKHaX3DoAQ6AEIRjAI#v=onepage&q=The% 20Seven%20Mountain%20Prophecy:%20Unveiling%20the%20Coming%20Elijah%20Revolut ion%20creation%20house&f=false) repeatedly in most of our interviews, at events we attended and in INC media materials. Most significantly, since the 2016 presidential election, some INC leaders have_released public statements_ (http://elijahlist.com/words/display_word.html?ID=17420) claiming that the Trump presidency is part of fulfilling God’s plan to “bring heaven to Earth” by placing believers in top posts, including Rick Perry, who is currently heading the Energy Department; Betsy DeVos directing the Department of Education; and Ben Carson leading the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Changing the landscape INC Christianity is a movement to watch because we think it will continue to draw adherents in large numbers in the future. It will produce a growing number of Christians who see their goal not just as saving souls but as transforming society by taking control over its institutions. We see the likelihood of INC Christians taking over the “seven mountains of culture” as slim. However, we also believe that this movement is sure to shake up the religious and political landscape for generations to come. -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
