From the Desk of James Pothen
New York, NY 10007
May 14, 2077
My dear sister in the faith,
Don’t freak out. It’s really me, Josiah James Pothen, writing to you from 54 years in your future. The science of my time has found a way for me to write to you. This letter has been vetted by timeline specialists. They assure me that you reading this won’t erase me from the future or create an alternate timeline. The only limit here is cost. Time-traveling messages are new technology so I only get this one chance. Ah, I wish I myself could come back in time to say these things to you now!
Keep Calm
You don’t need to panic. That’s why I wanted to write to you. If my notes are right, then last week (your time) I predicted that evangelicals would go extinct by now (my time). And yes, they’re gone. Long gone.
Here in the year 2077 all the big evangelical leaders have been dead for decades. James Dobson, Tim Keller, D.A. Carson, C. J. Mahaney, Rick Warren, Franklin Graham, John Piper, John McArthur and Wayne Grudem are all history.
Most evangelical organizations have shut down. There’s no more Christianity Today or Gospel Coalition or InterVarsity or Navigators. Focus on the Family closed its doors decades ago. All the Boomer donors died off and the megachurches got turned into affordable housing and indoor gardens.
There have been a lot of books, articles, documentaries and video games about the rise and fall of evangelicals in America. Heck, Katelyn Beaty won a Pulitzer for her take on the whole thing. They’re even planning memorials and museums in Colorado Springs and Wheaton.
Here at the end of evangelicals’ existence — and my own — I wanted to tell you that you needn’t worry.
What Was the Chief End of Evangelicals?
Don’t worry, dear friend. Now that the whole evangelical thing is over I can tell you what it was all about.
Evangelicalism was never a church. There was no bishop or pope or ruling council. Power came from building a following. Who could put the most butts in the pews? Who could sell the most books? Who could get the most views? Whose church had the biggest budget?
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