Dr. Miles Smith IV, Associate professor of history at Hillsdale College, joined the King and I for a conversation about what we can learn from Ex-vangelical narratives. “Ex-vangelicals” have been deconstructing for several years, whether to leave the faith altogether or to become a different kind of Christian. In all cases, the object of critique is the particular subculture of 80s and 90s evangelical Christianity.
With historical perspective and Protestant conviction, Dr. Miles Smith IV agrees with much of the ex-vangelical critique, but with a different conclusion: Historic Protestantism was never well-represented by 80s and 90s evangelicalism. That movement was much more shaped by history, politics, and sociology than the faithful would like to admit.
As always, our conversation came back to the church, pastors, and laypeople, but with new insights about the 20th century rise of American Protestant clericalism. Enjoy this enlightening discussion with Miles Smith.
He followed up by publishing an essay, “Reading the Exvangelicals,” yesterday at Mere Orthodoxy.
By the way, Miles has just released a book addressing questions of Christianity and the pre-Civil War era of America: Religion and Republic: Christian America from the Founding to the Civil War.
Check out Miles’ X account as well: https://x.com/IVMiles.
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or watch on YouTube.
Books mentioned:
Jon Ward’s Testimony: Inside the Evangelical Movement that Failed a Generation
Mike Cosper’s Land of My Sojourn: The Landscape of a Faith Lost and Found
Andrew L. Whitehead’s American Idolatry: How Christian Nationalism Betrays the Gospel and Threatens the Church
Sarah McCammon’s The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church
Sound Bites
“What was weird about 80s and 90s American evangelicalism that's not representative of say historic Protestantism?”
"If you're my age and guess what, you don't have anything to go back to, your kind of choices are, okay, maybe the world was right and evangelicalism lied to me about the world or..."
"Evangelicals talk all the time. It's actually their sacrament, right? Like the, because of course the, the, the primacy of the preached word is so important."
"Just live the faith. They're not really checking in on what you're doing."
"Where did the professionalization of the ministry come from?"
“There’s no universal competency that comes with a collar.”
“The ‘professional Christian’ idea is a 20th century phenomenon.”
“What is the good life? Well, the good life is to love your neighbor as yourself.”
“The church is the building.”
"The church, the gospels don't have a lot to say about politics."
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Book Discussion
02:17 The Rise of Ex-Evangelical Memoirs
11:53 The Conflation of Leadership and Authority in Evangelicalism
23:16 The Role of Gurus and Celebrity Figures in Evangelicalism
27:28 The Importance of Prudence in Christian Decision-Making
30:47 The Pitfalls of Professionalizing the Ministry
32:24 The General Nature of Admonitions in the Church
33:30 The Professionalization of the Ministry in the Early 20th Century
36:14 The Influence of Scientism and the Darwinian Framework
38:10 Socioeconomics and Church Growth
52:59 Redefining the Concept of a 'Dying Church'
59:36 Exploring Christian Nationalism
01:00:07 Integrating Different Disciplines into Theological Discourse
01:01:34 The Misconception of Theology as Sociology or Politics
01:02:32 The Church's Role in Saving Souls
01:03:56 The Church's Stance on Politics
01:10:07 Evangelicalism: Politics vs. Theology
01:15:21Fostering Love and Community in the Church
The Exvangelicals Are Right About Something