Fascism

The Führerprinzip

February 24, 2014 By ELLIOTT NESCH

Fascist ideology has made its way into Church Growth and evangelicalism. Previously to cover this topic has been Chris Rosebrough of Fighting For the Faith in his audio presentation Resistance is Futile, You will be Assimilated into the Community.

In this article, I wanted to elaborate on the Führerprinzip, a key mechanism under the Gleichschaltung of Nazi Fascism. As churches have embraced the Führerprinzip or the Führer Principle of fascism, the pastor becomes a führer with absolutely no accountability to the congregation they lead. This makes church organization operate like a military unit rather than a ministry. Many have changed the definition of the pastor in order to destroy barriers to church growth and have absolute authority over their organizations. For example, Rick Warren says:

You must change the primary goal of the pastor from minister to leader.¹

When asked, “Should we stop talking about pastors as ‘shepherds’?” Andy Stanley responded:

Absolutely. That word needs to go away. . . It was culturally relevant in the time of Jesus, but it’s not culturally relevant any more. Nothing works in our culture with that model except this sense of the gentle, pastoral care. Obviously that is a face of church ministry, but that’s not leadership.²

“Vision-casting” becomes the common practice of the pastor to lead the church and the congregation becomes fully accountable and completely loyal to the leader to fulfill his vision. With fascism and church growth, the Führerprinzip always works down so that those under the authority of the leader make the leader’s vision happen. Dissenters are excommunicated and often escorted from church premises by security or police officers. Mark Driscoll says in this sermon,

You cast vision for your mission and if people don’t sign up, you move on. . . There is a pile of dead bodies behind the Mars Hill bus, and by God’s grace it will be a mountain by the time we’re done. You either get on the bus or you get run over by the bus. Those are the options. But the bus ain’t gonna stop. . . There’s people who get in the way of the bus, they gotta get run over. There are people who want to take turns driving the bus, they gotta get thrown off.³

In Fascist Trends of Passion 2014, I have previously demonstrated how fascism is of necessity and by design a youth movement similar to that of the Passion 2014 event. Also surfacing last week is a children’s coloring book that Elevation Church reportedly uses in its Sunday school classes. One page on “Unity” features a smiling Führer Steven Furtick with the caption: “Elevation Church is built on the vision God gave Pastor Steven. We will protect our unity in supporting his vision.” [Read more...]

Filed Under: Andy Stanley, Church Growth, Fascism, Hitler, Mark Driscoll, Perry Noble, Rick Warren, Steven Furtick, Vision Casting

Fascist Trends of Passion 2014

January 20, 2014 By ELLIOTT NESCH

I cannot unpack all of the complexities of ideological fascism in this blog post and how it has revived under the name of postmodernism in our day and popular culture. 2 years in the works at HBP is an upcoming film on Fascism and the Postmodern church. See our full-length interview with Dr. Gene Edward Veith, Postmodernism, Fascism and the Church.

When people think of fascism today they think of Hitler, anti-semitism, the Holocaust, genocide, racism, militarism and the Nazis. Today, the word “Fascist” has been deduced to an insulting label for vilifying political enemies, but its true nature is greatly misunderstood. While Hitler and the Axis powers were defeated militarily in WWII, fascist ideology remains alive and well today under a new name.

Popular contemporary Christianity also appears to be emerging into something new. Much like the mainstream of European prefascist theology, many mainline church denominations have been turning away from transcendence and the Scriptures in favor of a spirituality based upon immanence, cultural activism, and existentialism. Many churches that were once committed to a high view of the teachings of Jesus and His apostles are now shifting their focus toward experience, emotionalism and communalism. In many ways, Christianity may be the strongest defense against fascism, but it may also be its point of entry. (See Veith’s book Modern Fascism: The Threat to the Judeo Christian Worldview and Chris Rosebrough’s lecture Resistance is Futile: You Will Be Assimilated into the Community)

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Emergent Church, Fascism, Francis Chan, Hillsong, Hitler, John Piper, Judah Smith, Lou Giglio, Postmodernity

Megachurch Plays with Violence

December 17, 2013 By ELLIOTT NESCH

Elevation Megachurch recently released a new commercial in which UFC Fighter Vitor Belfort beats up distracted churchgoers. For those who cannot or wish not to view the video below, there is the following summary from the Christian Post. “Vitor Belfort: The Values Enforcer” is narrated by Larry Hubatka, the megachurch’s “Creative Pastor,” which, by the way, is a perfect example of church government and spiritual gifts being redefined. The whole idea of a “creative pastor” is non-sensical and does not exist in the New Testament. CP continues:

The commercial begins with Hubatka explaining that his team has decided to take a creative approach to communicating the Gospel each week, but they have run into small problems in the process, mainly churchgoers who remain unfocused during the Sunday sermons.

As a solution, Hubatka tells the camera that the creative team at Elevation Church is “rolling out a new program, something that’s going to help us with a distraction-free environment. We’ve been beta-testing it for just a few months now, and I think you’re really going to like it.”

The commercial then proceeds to show several churchgoers attending a sermon at Elevation Church’s Blakeney location in North Carolina and exhibiting classic apathetic tendencies, such as dosing off, playing on their cell phones, checking their watches, or sneaking out of the service early. One by one, each unruly churchgoer is plucked from their seat by a burly looking bodyguard and blindfolded before being thrown into an unmarked white van.

After the van speeds away from the church’s curb, the three captured men are shown standing in a caged UFC ring. The startled men remove their blindfolds to find UFC fighter Vitor Belfort staring back at them. “Welcome to Vitor’s house, I crush men’s bones,” the UFC fighter dauntingly tells the men while slamming his fist into his hand. Then, Vitor proceeds to physically punish each man so he no longer can be distracted in church: the secret cell phone checker has his hands twisted, the sleeper is put in a choke hold, and the churchgoer who tried to leave early is put in a headlock.

“No phones at church, no leave early church,” Vitor tells the men, putting one in a sleeper hold while saying “you like the sleep at church, no? Okay, you’re about to sleep now.”

“Some people would say we’re being a little overly aggressive, we would just say we’re being creative,” Hubatka tells the camera. “You see, we had a problem so we brought a specialist in to help us get it right, somebody who has got a lot of experience dealing with situations like this, somebody who was like an enforcer, like a ‘Values Enforcer,’ and we’ve seen incredible results: prolonged attention span, a decrease in cell phone dependency, a heightened sense of bladder control. I’d say it’s working, I’d say our specialist is a ‘Phenom.’” (source)

We ought to be deeply concerned when a megachurch plays on violence and demonstrates their approval by graphically displaying images of violence in their church commercials. “But its only acting,” you say. Yes, but Christians should not pretend or joke about such things, let alone partake or endorse. Paul says this type of “jesting” should not be once named among the saints (Ephesians 5:4). This video commercial and UFC in general makes a mockery of Jesus’s teaching, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you,” (Matthew 5:44) and “I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Matthew 5:39).

If it is unlawful to do such things in reality, then how can we pretend, act, or even approve of such wickedness on camera? Whoever invented the Ultimate Fighting Championship invented an evil thing. Being a bloodsport, it is sin. Paul spoke of those who “knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them” (Romans 1:32). How can the people of God take pleasure and glory in a sport of violence and blood which directly contradicts the love of God and the teachings of Jesus Christ?

Yet Vitor Belfort says he is a Christian, and has previously collaborated with Elevation Church. In January, he was interviewed by Elevation pastor Steven Furtick in the church’s series “New Rules of Resolution.” “This guy loves Jesus, yet he breaks people’s faces and tears people’s limbs off for a living,” pastor Furtick says in the video. Belfort replies, “God has people everywhere.”

Another commercial from Elevation called Improve Church Giving by Motivating Your Congregation to Give has the participants identify themselves as a number in addition to their names because Furtick has said, “We’re all about the numbers!” This is only one example of the subtle dehumanizing of the individual in the name of church community. Additionally, the role of the pastor has become more of a totalitarian leader that cannot be challenged rather than a biblical shepherd and overseer of the flock. The church is not being violent themselves, but taking pleasure in it. All these factors combined are baby steps toward fascism and we ought to be deeply concerned and sound the alarm.

Filed Under: Fascism, Steven Furtick