By Jim Baumgaertel
http://procinwarn.com/
Two Different
Conversions
When I became a follower of Jesus Christ I
underwent two different conversions, although I didn't
realize it at the time. First, I was converted from my
old life into the Body of Christ by reconciliation with
God through Jesus. Hallelujah! At about the same time I
bought into the Evangelical Subculture under the false
impression that it WAS the Body of Christ. It took me
years to realize the difference between the two.
I had been aware of "Christendom": that worldly
religious structure consisting of political and economic
empires and bureaucracies, both Protestant and Catholic,
that had fought religious wars and undertaken crusades
to retake the "Holy Land", that had burned people at the
stake, that continued to preach false Christ's and false
gospels of works, and that continues to talk about the
counterfeit unity called Ecumenicalism.
But I had not understood the nature of the
Evangelical Subculture, that is a part of the worldly
structure of "Christendom". This subculture has its own
organizations and institutions, denominations, para-church
organizations; its own magazines and radio stations and
TV networks; its own schools and colleges and
universities; its own celebrities; its own music
industry and book stores; its own marketing and
advertising worlds.
Like Joining a Club
The tragedy of the Evangelical Subculture is that
people who have a sincere desire to follow Jesus get
side tracked into a zeal for being a part of this
worldly system. It is like joining a club. The club
member begins to wear the clothes and trinkets bought at
the "Christian" book stores; watch "Christian" TV and
listen to "Christian" radio; buy the latest fad books
that sweep the "Christian media"; subscribe to the
"Christian" magazines; worship the "Christian"
celebrities; use all the latest jargon promoted in the
latest books by the celebrity authors.
A cult-like mentality develops among people who
see this Evangelical system as identical to the Body of
Christ. Their zeal is for the trappings of the
subculture. It is its own religion. If someone tries to
point out the unbiblical nature of some aspect of this
subculture people will take offense because you are
criticizing their religion. The subculture becomes the
message. The "gospel" that people preach is for
conversion to the system, not really to Jesus Christ.
The Subculture,
Institutionalism, and Deception
The pop culture of Evangelicalism feeds on
institutionalism, denominationalism,
"non-denominational" institutional church organizations,
and the professional clergy system. The professional
clergy and their church organizations, in turn, find an
indoctrinated constituency to fill their pews and
programs. Both the subculture and the institutional
churches turn a relationship with Jesus and his people
into a participation in a religion and a lifestyle.
This Evangelical Subculture has played a major
role in setting professing Christians up for deception.
It seduces people to think and act like the subculture
instead of reading the Bible for themselves and deriving
their understanding from the Bible. It has been this
subculture that has infected the Evangelicals with
psychology, self-esteem, political action and social
activism, unity at the expense of sound doctrine,
mysticism, and cult attachments to gurus, movements, and
organizations. Ultimately, the end of this deception is
a merging of the Evangelical Subculture with the global
counterfeit religious vision.
We ought to be content with the simplicity of
following Jesus and being the Body of Christ together
with those the Lord provides for fellowship, according
to the teachings of the Apostles in the New Testament.
Jim Baumgaertel
Proclamation, Invitation,
and Warning
http://procinwarn.com/
jimbaum@procinwarn.com