One year ago, I unveiled the Evangelical Dark Web in a post I wrote articulating the mission of this site and ministry as a whole. Over the last year, the site has grown tremendously, thank to the faithful readers and because of the strategy employed. And so I feel it fitting on this celebratory occasion to reset the mission for those who are new supporters.
Three Pronged Approach
The Evangelical Dark Web exists to fight three specific heresies that have polluted churches in America and the world at large. The well known Prosperity Gospel Still remains prevalent in the evangelical church today and works greatly to subvert the saving work of Jesus Christ on the cross with material ambitions. Despite how well known this heresy is, these are the most populous churches in America, perhaps the world also. And many people don’t quite know how to pick up on the signs of this false gospel because it can be a subtle ratio. In the last year we have done great work at exposing Prosperity preachers, like Mike Todd where very little ground work was done elsewhere on the internet.
The Social Justice Gospel is perhaps the dangerous of the false gospels we face today. Unlike the Prosperity Gospel which subverts churches with material focuses, the Social Justice Gospel has enjoyed a long march through the institutions, and has renewed its attack on the church. And the amount of institutions that have succumbed and the amount of people who have caved is shocking. The Evangelical Dark Web attempts to break down these Marxist terms to make them palatable. We have gone through some of its canon, White Fragility. We have broken down their articles and exposed some of their false teachers who infiltrate trusted institutions like Beth Moore, Matt Chandler, Rachel Gilson, and Grant Hartley.
The Popularity Gospel is the hardest false gospel to articulate. It subverts the true gospel by dumbing it down for mass consumption. It does not aim to offend with an offensive and divisive gospel. It does not disciple. Instead it believes that putting butts in seats is the mission of the church. This false gospel serves to entertain and provide childcare in order to build the celebrity of lead pastors through carnal means. A few examples of teachers of this kind are Andy Stanley, Steven Furtick, and David Hughes.
Video Content Expansion
Over this past summer, Evangelical Dark Web has integrated this site with its YouTube Channel that has been churning out content on a consistent basis. We see a great potential for growth there to get engage the culture by being theologically sound.
Constructive Goals
Though we are combatants in this spiritual war, we fully acknowledge the need to have a definition of victory in mind. A war without an endgame is a boondoggle, ie Vietnam. And while Resurrection Sunday has already numbered Satan’s days, there are still measurable progress to be made on the ground until Christ returns. The Great Commission is the prime directive. The Evangelical Dark Web would like to see these outcomes in Evangelical society:
- Decentralization of influence – This means returning to biblical ecclesiastical governance which many churches have forsaken. This means getting rid of the cult that surrounds celebrity Christians, and lifting up many smaller voices instead of few large ones. In this orthodoxy and orthopraxy will be better maintained.
- Increased Theological Literacy – At Evangelical Dark Web, we believe that every Christian should seek to understand their faith. We also believe that having a better understanding of theology can better help you spread the Gospel. Informed laity are the best defenses against false teachers in churches.
- Creation of an orthodox network – There needs to be a better way to help believers find churches that are not bending to the three aforementioned heresies. Whether it be a website/database/ or something entirely different, the need exists.
Conclusion
It’s been a great year, and we hope to see greater growth and have greater impact in year two of operating as Evangelical Dark Web under the banner of Christ our Lord.
One Response
The majority of your effort should be against the social justice gospel, as it explicitly points people AWAY from Christ. That His finished work is not enough and we need something else besides Him to forgive past sins based on skin color. Thanks Ray. Always in our prayers Brother.