A long expose into the depraved mind of a Christian leadership expert...

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For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough. -- 2Corinthians 11:2-4 (ESV)

https://careynieuwhof.com/some-thoughts-on-the-wave-of-deconversions-and-the-state-of-preaching-today/

Let me apologize up front for the length of this devotional. The points were important and needed to be made. So, pack a lunch and let's delve back into the mind of Carey Nieuwhof, self-professed Christian leadership expert, as he turns to atheists to figure out why so many Christian leaders are leaving the church.

"It's the hope of almost every preacher I've ever met that people will embrace Jesus. That's been my hope every time I preach. And yet the opposite seems to be happening: more people than ever before seem to be walking away from Christ. It's not that they haven't been to church, they have. And they've left. The wave of de-conversions among Christians seems to be growing every day. While the stories of high profile Christian leaders walking away from their Christianity and others who are questioning their faith abound, the headlines are symptomatic of a deeper trend: atheism and spirituality not connected to any orthodox understanding of Christianity are on the rise. In fact, as the Barna Group reported, atheism has doubled in Generation Z compared to other generations." -- Carey Nieuwhof

Atheism has doubled. Questioning of the faith thickening. High profile Christian leaders walking away from Christ. Waves of deconversion growing every day. You have correctly identified the problem Carey. Now what to do with it? Why is this happening? What has occurred over the past several decades that would lead to this kind of exodus from organized Christianity? More importantly, what role did you play in the exodus Carey? You still have time to get on the right side of this and recognize that your zeal was not for Christ but for the carnal niche you have staked out within the purpose driven industrial complex. It has allowed you to play expert, give grand speeches and most importantly make money but what about the cause of Christ? What about the Gospel? You see Carey, you are so hopeful that your listeners will embrace Christ that you did not care what christ you introduced them to. What are you saying preacher? Is there more than one christ? Of course! Read the bible. The key verses spell this out beautifully. The people at Corinth were easily led astray and Paul writes to them about it in the 11^th chapter of the second letter to the Corinthians. In quickly exegeting these verses we see that God wants and expects a pure church. A pure bride is the imagery used. While in carnal terms purity is related to sexual matters in spiritual terms it is related to worshiping other gods before or instead of the real God. Even atheists worship something, they just do not realize it. Maybe it is money, power, fame, or just their own desire to rebel but believe me they are worshiping something. So, what does Paul offer up as leading the Corinthians astray from the real Christ? A false christ! A false spirit! A false gospel! The problem Mr. Nieuwhof is not that not enough people embraced your false christ but that too many did. You are part of a system that presents the world with a false gospel that has created the apostate church the bible prophesies about. The leadership principles you have been selling have no grounding in scripture and instead are based solely on carnality. Is it any wonder that some wake up from this and realize the lie they have been living?

"I don't want to be part of any Twitter mob or comment gang that piles on leaders who share their deconversions publicly. I honestly can't see what good comes of that. Anyone who thinks judgment and hatred will win people back to the Christian faith needs to think again. Judgment is a terrible evangelism strategy. I feel some empathy for people who are deconverting. I too have gone through some deep questioning of my Christian faith. Ironically, in college, my questions didn't lead to an abandoning, but instead to an embrace of Jesus and the Christian faith. Since then, my own questions and my consideration of other viewpoints, faiths, and worldviews keep drawing me back even more deeply into the embrace of Jesus, but that doesn't mean the questions people are asking aren't legitimate or real." -- Carey Nieuwhof

Typical of someone within the industry to worry about the performers instead of the customers. I mean the leaders instead of the sheep. If Marty Sampson wants to question his faith publicly then it should be addressed publicly. If Joshua Harris wants to make millions of dollars from Christians then decide to renounce Jesus Christ in public, the discussion needs to be held in public. You see Carey it is no longer about Joshua and Marty when they decide to air their grievances. It is about the church. It is about the bride of Christ. It is about the sheep. People embraced the teachings of Joshua Harris and worshipped to the songs of Marty Sampson. Their faith was intertwined with the celebrity you sold them. I feel joy for their deconversions because they are deconverting from a false gospel and a false christ that may have never even saved them to begin with. Read Matthew 7 and see all the churched people standing before Christ saying Lord Lord. His answer is He never knew them!

"The paradox for me personally is that my questioning of Christian assumptions over the years has deepened my faith, not eroded it. But I also realize this isn't what's happening for many people. They question, explore, and then leave. So the question becomes why. While the answer is complex, I think some of it may have to do with the state of preaching today. In this post, I want to offer a few reflections on what might be contributing to the rise in atheism, agnosticism and the rather astonishing deconversions we keep seeing--namely, the way we preach. Obviously, that's not the sole cause of the deconversions happening, but at some level, it has to be a contributing factor. Preaching is one of the central features of our public worship times, and Gallup indicated that 76% of people still choose a church based on the quality of the preaching. Clearly, the way we teach and preach still has an impact, for better or worse. It's also why my friend Mark Clark and I put this together for preachers. There are at least three factors about our preaching that might be spurring deconversions. I share these out not to point fingers, but just to say that our current approach isn't working nearly as well as it should or could. I also offer them as a preacher. Preaching should help people find faith, not cause people to lose it. And it haunts me that there are tens of thousands of people who grew up in church listening to sermons who have walked away." -- Carey Nieuwhof

There is no question you are all in Carey and why wouldn't you? Take away the piety and you are just another motivational speaker. Your livelihood is tied to this identity you have created being an alleged expert on Christian leadership and church growth. But your leadership techniques are all from the world and the only church you have built is the apostate church from which people like Marty Sampson and Joshua Harris one day awaken and realize their lives have been based on lies. Your focus on preaching is a good place to start but true to your blind form, you miss the mark by examining HOW we preach. The true issue is WHAT we preach. Let's hear now the three reasons Carey has identified regarding how we preach:

"1. OUR PREACHING CAN SEEM SHALLOW AND UNRESEARCHED BECAUSE OFTEN IT IS. The Christian faith is hardly simplistic or trivial. But sometimes our sermons are. People today have access to ideas, insights, arguments, and data most didn't have access to even a decade ago. Why? Well, in a single word: the internet. Think back to the early 2000s. The average person listening to a message didn't have easy, instant access to information about whatever subject was being covered on a given Sunday. Perhaps they went to college. Some, of course, were well-read. But the average person mostly only had access to what they saw, heard and read in the mainstream media and what they might here at church. Today, virtually everyone you're speaking to has a phone with them, and not only are some of them fact-checking you when you speak, but many (especially the unchurched and curious) have also already Googled and more deeply researched what you're talking about. Many have read books and even more have listened to podcasts that debate the very subject you're covering. While you might say that's not true of Christians in your church (maybe they only listen to Christian media), I promise it's 100% true of any unchurched people exploring faith and Christians who are questioning their faith. And please hear me. I am not saying Google is the most reliable or scholarly way to get great information or that the information they're accessing online is unbiased, research-based or even helpful. But I am saying it's real. And compared to the intellectual depth of a lot of preaching today, the other sources people are reading and accessing, it's not that hard to preachers to come off as shallow or unresearched." -- Carey Nieuwhof

Sigh. So, your first observation is that preachers preach messages that they have not researched correctly and thus come off as shallow? While I agree that we should always make sure that our messages are accurate, the true issue is in not presenting scriptural accuracy. Your first error is in directing your attention to the lost at all. This is the fundamental underpinning of your false theology. You believe the church should be directed toward and marketed to the goats. The sheep are expected to fall in line or be blessedly subtracted as per the purpose driven church teachings. The bible assures us however that the things of God are foolishness to the unsaved so marketing to them means you must present carnal preaching, not scriptural. Romans promises us that only the Gospel has the power of God unto the salvation of man, meaning no one gets saved without the preaching of the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. I say true because you do not present that Gospel Carey. You present the false gospel mentioned in the key verses that gives people a false christ and thus a false conversion. Sheep come to church to be fed and led and you propose that preachers do neither. Goats come to church because on some level they are desperate and in general because they are in need. That need is a spiritual need Carey that only the Gospel can fill. So, it is not the "how" or being sloppy in presenting facts but rather the "what" of presenting the uncompromised Gospel.

"I've found over the last decade in particular that I'm reading more, not less. Not just commentaries and theological books (which, of course, you need to), but far more widely. Truthfully, at first, I was a little nervous to get outside of my little Christian echo-chamber and school of the already-convinced. I wondered if reading alternative viewpoints would erode or destroy my faith. (It didn't.) But over the last decade as I've read leading authors as varied as Yuval Noah Harrari, Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Eckhart Tolle, Robert White, Dan Harris, Sam Harris, Mark Manson and many others (all of whom are not Christian, and some of whom are scathing in their critique of Christianity), I have a much better appreciation of the questions and objections people are carrying with them when they access a sermon, and as a result can address that. I've also listened to hundreds of podcast episodes featuring people who don't share my worldview or faith at all (like Tara Brach for example), and, while I may not agree, it's helped me understand what other people are listening to, exploring and increasingly embracing. I'm not sure today's preachers are winning the intellectual war. To simply offer advice or insight and insight and a clever line or two isn't cutting it anymore, at least if you're speaking to people who are exploring other world views, which I assume you are." -- Carey Nieuwhof

This is a nice tidy summary of everything wrong with the advice Nieuwhof has provided for pastors and churches over the years. Eckhart Tolle is an Oprah endorsed spiritualist. Christopher Hitchens was a violently anti-Christian activist before he was called to stand before Christ. Tara Brach teaches Buddhist meditation. Preachers are not called to win the intellectual war Carey! They are called to win the spiritual war! Intellectualism has never saved a single soul. You cannot convince someone into salvation. It is a wholly supernatural act of God accomplished through the preaching of the true Gospel and the draw of the Holy Spirit. This worldly advice sounds just like where Andy Stanley has been living for a few years now. He noticed his kids who went off to college were coming back atheists once they were confronted by science. Looking at it solely through the carnal lens of Carey Nieuwhof, Stanley decided to stop preaching the inerrancy of scripture and instead rely on convincing youth the Gospel accounts were true using "fact based" arguments. What Stanley needed to do was look at the problem spiritually and realize he was sending youth off to college unsaved because he had stopped preaching the Gospel. The answer to stopping the flow of people leaving the church is not found in the writings of atheist Richard Dawkins. It is found in properly preaching the Gospel.

"And to use the line "just preach the Word and trust God" is a denial of responsibility. There is a power in the text and a power in the Holy Spirit that is undeniable and for which I am deeply grateful and rely on greatly in my preaching. But that doesn't mean you just fail to prepare and hope it all works out. But perhaps one of the reasons God used the Apostle Paul so powerfully is that he was deeply schooled not just in Judaism, but because he understood the mind of the Epicureans, Stoics and Greek philosophers. He understood differing world views and used that knowledge to draw people into the embrace of Jesus as Lord. If God created the mind, then thinking isn't inherently an enemy of faith. In fact, good thinking can just as easily lead back to Christ as it does away from him. I would, of course, argue even more so does good thinking lead to Christ than it leads away from him. Thinking more deeply and praying more deeply are both needed in preaching today." -- Carey Nieuwhof

Preach the word and trust God is not a denial of responsibility -- it is what God has commanded! I know that you want to believe you are God Carey but you are not. It is not man's job, any man, to grow the church. Read the Book of Acts and learn that it is God's job alone. Your presuppositions regarding why God called Paul are not only unsupported by scripture but absurd as well. God uses the simple to confound the wise. Paul's previous life as Saul only served as a reminder to where God found him. It is so sad that you think true faith is an abandonment of the mind. What it is Carey, is an abandonment of yourself. This is not a learned thing to do- to relinquish all to a new Master. To admit you are nothing without Him. There is no good carnal thinking Carey. No matter how much you try to will it into existence. No one searches after God. None are good. Thinking about God and His word on a deeper level is required but I don't think that is what you are advocating for here. Expounding on the collective works of the greatest carnal minds is irrelevant to preaching the Gospel.

"2. KNOCKING DOWN STRAW MEN DOESN'T IMPRESS ANYONE. SHOOT FOR STEEL. It's a classic debating tactic to set up the opposing point of view as a straw argument or straw man (a bad argument), and then knock it/him down to show how compelling your point of view is. A slight variation is to reduce and ridicule the other side until it seems only fools could believe that. Atheists, skeptics and people who embrace alternate spiritualities are not stupid people. Many of them are incredibly intelligent. All of them are made in the image of God. Taking opposing views seriously is one of the best ways to respect people who think differently than you and perhaps gain a hearing. I haven't always done this well, but fast forward to a more recent example of where I tried to engage the opposing view more seriously. Below is the description I wrote for a message I preached earlier this year in a series I called Undrink the KoolAid. The message is about science and faith: Religion is basically how ancients understood the world, but science has taken us so far beyond that. Between what we know about evolution, astronomy, genetics, biology, and so many other sciences, we've explained what we used to attribute to God. If science explains or will explain everything, why do we really need God? I wrote the summary of the message not from a Christian viewpoint, but from an opposing viewpoint because that's exactly how I've heard many atheists and skeptics talk about religion and science. When they read that, they are far more likely to be surprised and say to themselves A church actually understands what I think? Further, a growing number of Christians in your congregation are thinking the same thing. They just haven't said it out loud. Of course, during the message I argue that a deep understanding of science can just as easily lead toward faith as away from it, and quote not only scripture but a number of scientists and then explore the thinking of the 17th-century physicist, mathematician, and philosopher Blaise Pascal. Taking the counter-argument seriously and presenting some of its strongest points makes your argument stronger. And, of course, if you can't counter the counter-argument with strong points, well, that's a whole other issue. Taking the opposing view seriously makes people who hold the opposing view take you more seriously. Ridiculing your opponent makes you less persuasive, not more persuasive. And it makes your viewpoint seem like a far more plausible alternative to theirs. Ridiculing someone rarely makes them want to embrace you or what you stand for. For bonus points, think about how this principle could change the current political discourse. It's really what we all long for, but no one seems to be leading the way. So lead." -- Carey Nieuwhof

I do not advocate strawman arguments because this has nothing to do with debating. It has nothing to do with ridiculing disagreeing points of view. It is important that when Carey whitewashes a lack of faith in Christ as "alternate spiritualities" that he is really in dangerous territory. There is only one way to heaven Carey. There are no alternatives and while you are wasting time trying to win the respect of people who think your beliefs are utter folly, people are going to hell without hearing the only thing that might save them and that is the Gospel. Your assertion that your carnal god of science has explained away what we attributed to God leads me to further doubt if you ever knew God at all. It is not leadership within the church to lead people away from the Savior. It is not a time to discuss Blaise Pascal, debating techniques or wax philosophically about the need for God. It is not your job to convince people to believe in Christ and His Gospel, just to preach it and let the Holy Spirit do His job.

"3. BEING CLOSED TO QUESTIONS AND CONVERSATION CLOSES DOORS. Sometimes I wonder how many times people would have stuck around if Christians had been better with questions and conversations. But we seem more interested in making a point, defending what we believe or winning arguments. Sure, whenever you speak from any point of view, you're making an argument (hence my first two points). But ultimately, the point isn't to win an argument; it's to win the person. There's no point in winning an argument and losing people. Yes, logic matters." -- Carey Nieuwhof

Here we see how wrong Carey's approach is. It is not his job, nor any minister, to win people. That is the role of God through His Holy Spirit. Our job is to preach the Gospel, period. The point we make is that we are wretched sinners in need of a Savior and guess what? We know of just the Savior we need! Tell me what He said -- not that you respect my warped carnal views of life and the world that are sending me to hell and ruining my life as we speak.

"Yes, truth and being firm in your convictions matter, a lot. But people matter even more. And you don't have to sacrifice one to keep the other. If you win arguments and lose people, have you really won?" -- Carey Nieuwhof

I have a better question for you Carey. If you win the person by sacrificing the truth of your argument -- what have you "won" them to? Hint -- it's in the key verses!

"The reality is everyone has questions. You do, I do. Everybody who's ever listened to a sermon has questions. The issue is: where can you bring those questions? And too often in the church, the answer is nowhere. You asked about evolution, science, reincarnation or sexuality and got a pat answer. Or no answer. Or worse, you got judged for asking the question. I don't know about you, sometimes when I'm asking a question, I'm not really even looking for an answer nearly as much as I'm looking for a conversation or simply for someone to listen. In my personal conversations with atheists, agnostics and others who don't share my faith perspective, I'm trying much harder to hold my tongue, listen, not rush in with pat answers, honor their questions (or at least the intent behind them) and show respect. Do you know what happens a remarkable number of times? They talk themselves out of their question or make the point I would have made anyway. They just needed someone to listen long enough." -- Carey Nieuwhof

Did Jesus say He came to bring respect to everyone? No. He said He brought a sword. Carey Nieuwhof's puppies and pancakes gospel is a result of the seeker friendly theories that create this sloppy agape lovey dovey Christianity. Beloved, I am not suggesting the preacher needs to be rude but they need to be honest and if that honesty is taken rudely, so be it. The Gospel is equal parts "I do not condemn you" and "go and sin no more." The bible says narrow is the way and few are those who find it. Preaching the Gospel is the best way to honor their questions. The Gospel will eviscerate their questions if they are open to the drawing of the Holy Spirit.

"Further, when you listen, give them credit and tell them they're really thinking (which in most cases, they really are) and you appreciate the questions, they are shocked to find an open-minded Christian. And usually what they want is another conversation. Preaching works that way too. Let people know their questions are important. If you don't know the answer, don't make one up. That does a disservice to God and to them. And if the answer is unknowable (as sometimes it is, tell them that while we can't be certain of issue X, here's what we're thinking about issue Y.) If they have a good point, tell them. And of course, in the process, share the hope that's in you too. Being open to dialogue makes people open to you. And being open to questions ultimately helps people be open to different answers. Embracing peoples' questions makes them far more open to embracing different answers. So what happens if you can't handle questions, conversations and dialogue? Easy. People leave. They'll take their questions elsewhere. Someone else will listen, empathize and over time, perhaps even persuade them of a new way to think and believe. And you won't. In fact, that may be exactly what's happening. And then you're left with your absolutist friends believing you're right and everyone else is wrong." -- Carey Nieuwhof

I am sorry folks, but the carnal thinking here is just staggering. Proper Christian thinking is that everyone else is wrong! That is why the world hates us! That is why Jesus said the world would hate us! Jesus did not say I am the way the truth and the life but I understand if you have a different perspective. No! None come to the Father except through me! None! There is a place for the work of apologetics within the church but it is not the pulpit! The Pulpit is the place for the Gospel. If you preach the Gospel two things are guaranteed to happen according the scripture. First, the believers will be fed and grow in Christlikeness. Secondly, the Holy Spirit will draw the unbelievers. I am an educated man and was so when I gave my life to Christ. I had the questions Carey Nieuwhof is telling us about. That morning in church I heard the Gospel and was drawn by the spirit. My questions did not mean anything to me at that point. My doubt and intellect meant nothing. My self-made fiefdom meant nothing. The only thing that mattered was the weight of my sin, which the Holy Spirit showed me through the preaching of the Gospel. There was going to be plenty of time later to address whatever useless questions I had been weighing myself down with. The only thing that mattered was crawling to that altar. That is the Gospel at work Carey.

"3 THINGS YOU CAN DO. Before I let you go"let me reiterate that I am firmly convinced that Jesus is the Way the Truth and the Life and that I hold an orthodox view of the Christian faith.

I just think we're losing people like crazy in our new, post-modern reality. If you want to grow in this area further, try this. They're easy to understand, really hard to do, but so worth it.

Read, study and understand opposing points of view. Some of the authors/podcasters mentioned in this article are great places to start. You can't address a different point of view if you don't understand it.

Become friends with a thoughtful atheist, agnostic or someone entirely different than you. I have a few atheists and agnostics in my life I hang out with regularly. They're smart, well-read and push me to new levels of my faith and ability to articulate it that would never happen if I didn't have those relationships. I am learning loads. So, they tell me, are they.

Embrace questions. When you embrace a question, you embrace the questioner. Similarly, when you're open to hearing people, they're far more open to hearing you. Preaching isn't easy. Just ask anyone who's done it." -- Carey Nieuwhof

Interesting that Carey feels the need to make sure we understand that he does believe in Jesus as the only way. Without the indwelt Holy Spirit, I can only assume that his intellect realized that he did not sound as if he believed this. His closing three points are at odds with the belief he claims. It is just him doubling down on all of the nonsensical ideas he has given us in this article. Preacher, I give you the opposite advice. Read study and understand the Gospel. It alone is your job, strategy, and concern. Become friends with other Gospel preachers so you can support each other in these end times when the apostate church through Carey Nieuwhof will be swearing to you the opposite is true. Embrace questions from a perspective of the Gospel, not that everyone's way of thinking is equal. It is not. Some are correct, and others are not.

"That's why my good friend Mark Clark and I put the best of what we know about preaching into our online, on-demand course, The Art of Better Preaching. And for just a few more days, it's available at current, low pricing. Every week, Mark and I preach to thousands of churched and unchurched people, Mark at Village Church in Vancouver BC, and me at Connexus Church north of Toronto. We have very different styles, which means this course is not a preach-just-like-me approach to preaching. And both churches are reaching many unchurched people in a thoroughly post-modern context. You can customize it to help you preach better messages, and it draws from the rich tradition of different approaches that actually connect with unchurched people. Plus, we share our best secrets on how to craft the best messages we know how to create.

We're so excited to help you become the best communicator you can be." -- Carey Nieuwhof

That low price beloved? Only $300 to learn all of the carnal secrets for drawing and keeping as many goats as possible. Carey and his friend Mark are reaching untold numbers of people with a false gospel that has a false christ that will lead to false conversions. This is how people stand before the real Christ in Matthew 7 and say Lord Lord. This is how the apostate church continues to grow, antithetical to the bible. Just like he started by confusing the how and the why of preaching, he finishes by becoming a better communicator instead of worrying about what you are trying to communicate. Delivery and speech-craft are irrelevant and empty the cross of its power. Only the true Gospel matters. I just pray that someone preaches it to Carey Nieuwhof before Jesus comes again and demands the answers to questions Carey clearly does not understand are coming his way.

Reverend Anthony Wade -- August 28, 2019

Authors Bio:
Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.