I’m afraid a look into popular Christianity in America reveals teachings of a religion far from what the early church would have recognized. This Christianity worships a god who wants us to achieve worldly happiness, make our dreams prosper, and reach our fullest potential. We have largely set aside dated “prosperity gospel” preachers in fancy suits and gaudy television studio sets, yelling into a camera with a phone number to call at the bottom of the screen to receive a special blessing or prayer cloth. This kind of instant health-and-wealth teaching is now a fringe movement, more broadly mocked than followed. But in its place is a new prosperity gospel carried into the mainstream by trendy, attractive, compelling speakers.
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Excerpted from Getting Over Yourself: Trading Believe-In-Yourself Religion for Christ-Centered Christianity Dean Inserra (© 2021). Published by Moody Publishers. Used by permission.
DEAN INSERRA holds a M.A. in Theological Studies from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is pursuing a D. Min. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and is the founding pastor of City Church in Tallahassee, FL.
