European vs. American Evangelicals

Plus, building trust, He Gets Us, remembering Robert Sloan

 EDITOR’S NOTE: “Signs and Wonders” is a column that shares thoughts on news items that either do not rise to the level of a news story for MinistryWatch or are slightly (even significantly) outside of our normal charity and philanthropy “beat.” My goal is to be punchy, opinionated, and not to worry much about being slightly off brand. If that is not for you, no hard feelings. But if it is…read on.

Phil Cooke Speaks. One of my “must reads” is Phil Cooke. His observations about media and leadership and lots of other topics are always short, sharp, and wise. I recommend his latest, “When the Wheels Come Off: Why Leaders Fail in a Crisis.”

He says a crisis reveals a leader’s true character.

He advises leaders in crisis to “protect trust more than reputation.” He says, “Too many leaders try to preserve appearances. Strong leaders preserve credibility. Sometimes that means admitting mistakes publicly. The moment you stop communicating is the moment you start losing trust. Here’s the hard truth: People rarely remember the crisis itself. They remember how the leader behaved. In normal seasons, leadership is strategy. In a crisis, leadership becomes character under pressure.”

What is an Evangelical? Being an evangelical in Europe is a bit different than in the United States. For one thing, evangelicals in Europe are relatively small in number. The European Evangelical Alliance claims to represent some 23 million evangelical Christians on the continent with more than 450 million people. The U.S., by comparison, has about 40 million evangelicals in a country of about 350 million people. Perhaps because European evangelicals are so much smaller in number, their aspirations for political power are more measured and modest. The EEA recently attempted, in a new document, to clarify the ‘identity and role’ of evangelicals in public life.

Among other features of the document is an explicit attempt by European evangelicals to distance themselves from American evangelicals. “We oppose any political movement that undermines democratic accountability or treats any group of people as less than fully human,” the EEA says. “Evangelicals in Europe do not seek political privilege or dominance, do support a pluralistic and civil public square, do respect democratic institutions, rule of law, and human rights.” Further, they “reject coercion, manipulation, and the misuse of religion in politics.”

NDAs in the Federal Government. The federal government is considering a really bad idea. According to WORLD, “Public comment closed last Friday for a proposed Trump administration policy to combat government information leaks. The proposal would require all federal employees — in agencies ranging from the CIA to the Education Department — to sign a nondisclosure agreement.”

WORLD’s balanced report on this topic goes on: “According to the Office of Personnel Management, the government-wide NDA wouldn’t create new secrecy rules or increase penalties, but it would keep sensitive information secure. Violating the NDA could result in dismissal or legal penalties, the draft reads, and the agreement extends five years after federal employment ends.”

Free speech advocates and libertarian groups are up in arms about this proposed rule. The conservative/libertarian Cato Institute has spoken out against the new rule. A coalition of roughly two dozen organizations — including journalism, transparency, and civil liberties groups — sent a joint letter arguing the rule would “silence public employees” and infringe First Amendment rights.

Here at MinistryWatch, we oppose non-disclosure agreements in general, but this one is a particularly bad idea — overbroad and a direct threat to transparency and limited government initiatives.

By the way, the new proposal attracted some 30,000 comments, which you can search and read here.

“He Gets Us” Doesn’t Seem to Get it. Christianity Today’s Bonnie Kristian recently did a penetrating interview with Tyler Johnson, a former pastor who now serves as chief impact officer at Come Near, the organization now responsible for He Gets Us. I’ve never been a fan of the He Gets Us campaigns and approach, but the organizations and the philanthropists behind the campaign — including the Green Family of Hobby Lobby fame — have spent so much money in Christian media that criticism of the campaign in major Christian outlets has been muted. No one wants to derail the gravy train. That is why I give CT some credit for this interview, which asks challenging questions and does not accept cliches for answers.

Remembering Robert Sloan. I first met Robert B. Sloan at a meeting of conservative activists in 2006, right about the time he took over as president of Houston Baptist University. A few years later, I helped organize an event at HBU featuring Dr. Sloan, Marvin Olasky, and Ted Cruz. I had deep admiration for him, and this news that he has died is a bit of a gut punch. He made a huge contribution to Christian higher education and has left many proteges who will carry on his work. That said, there are a few people I have known in my life who I think were uniquely gifted and called for their cultural moment. Chuck Colson was one. Bill Armstrong was another. Robert Sloan was one of those men. He will be missed by me and many others. You can read more about him here.

Remembering Henry Hazlitt. Henry Hazlitt died on this date (July 9) in 1993. His book “Economics in One Lesson” was for many years the book I would recommend to anyone who wanted to read just ONE book on economics.

MinistryWatch on YouTube. If you have not discovered our YouTube channel, check it out here. We now have 200 videos, and they have attracted tens of thousands of views. Subscribe, like, and share to spread the word about our work.

Readers in New Mexico. I am in Albuquerque next month. If you live in the Land of Enchantment, one of my favorite states, reach out to me. I would love to share a meal or a cup of coffee with you. My email is [email protected].