Many know “Reconquista” through Redeemed Zoomer, a Gen Z youtuber who advocates not leaving but restoring orthodoxy to theologically liberal Mainline Protestant denominations. He has a following of mostly young men who believe American Christianity needs the historical continuity and institutions that Mainline Protestantism offers. Many critics doubt that Mainline denominations can be salvaged for orthodoxy.
On a recent episode of the American Reformer, editor-in-chief and podcast host Timon Cline interviewed Pastor Jake Dell of The First Congregational Church of Woodbury, Connecticut on his experience and perspective on Reconquista. Cline and American Reformer advocate for a Christian confessional state in America, with which Dell seems to sympathize, although most of the Reconquista likely does not share this perspective. Dell’s church is part of the United Church of Christ, now a very progressive denomination but historically heirs to the New England Puritans.
Dell described Reconquista as a generational answer to a question that has been asked for years: “How did these [Christian founded] institutions get so far off track”? To Dell, colleges and churches were infiltrated by progressives focused on turning Mainline institutions into platforms for social issues, rather than remaining faithful to the original purpose and values for which they were founded. Simultaneously, Dell grieves over how he has not seen any effective response from the conservative side in the last 30 years. [Editor’s note: All Mainline Protestant denominations had very active and often influential orthodox renewal groups over the last 30 years. These groups ended their campaigns when the Mainline denominations liberalized their sexuality teaching.]
Cline pointed out that most evangelicals today have no experience in a Mainline denomination, and he asked Dell to share his experience in the United Church of Christ. Dell described the historic nature of Mainline churches and how “there was a fundamental unity of the Christian ecclesia, the church, and the civil order that grew into what we know today.” He stressed the importance of engaging with Mainline churches, because “to minimize the importance of the Mainline denominations … is to basically ignore the role of Christianity in the American experience.”
Dell described the character of the Mainline denominations as “subverted.” Drawing on 20th Century Presbyterian theologian J. Gresham Machen’s book Christianity and Liberalism, Dell recalled the infiltration of unitarianism into the Mainline that reduces Jesus “to a mere man”, allowing one to “put Him on par with other great moral teachers, the Buddha,” thereby naturalizing Christianity. As a result, Dell described how “within a generation or two [the Mainline churches] started even to deny the basic morality of Christianity.” Today, Dell says there is no “daylight really between the progressive cultural agenda and your typical Mainline pulpit.”
Historically, Dell described how people were members of Mainline churches for philanthropy or social prestige. However, Gen X was really the last generation to reap these benefits, and today these reasons no longer hold any weight. Cline therefore asked, “What’s the impetus for Reconquista? … What can really be accomplished by it beyond getting the buildings back?” Dell referenced the importance of symbols: “[We’re] allowing the other side to control a set of symbols for their own agenda that are contrary to what they stand for.” He argued we should care about this symbolic manipulation for two reasons. First, these churches remain under judgment and Christians should care about their spiritual livelihood. Second, to prevent progressives from ruling us orthodox believers must remove the means through which they can assert their authority.
In response, Cline highlighted how Mainline progressives demoralize orthodox Christians. He noted Mainline churches in Annapolis, Maryland with “…rainbow flags which were massive [which] is very demoralizing … So even if you just owned the real estate to do that, it’s like they could have bought a billboard, but they don’t do that … ” To Dell, these symbols are not merely passive but potent, detrimental forces: “[They] are actively trying to subvert you and destroy things that you care about. They are the moral equivalent of open sewers … ” And just like sewers, Dell sees these churches as harmful to the public good. He highlighted how certain state constitutions, including Connecticut, theoretically prohibit churches from promoting licentious behavior. To Dell, these churches are not just toxic but breaking the law.
Given the problems engendered by progressive, Mainline churches, it seems odd that conservatives are broadly unconcerned, Dell noted. He explained this passivity in terms of the American migratory spirit. Cline concurred, citing William Wolfe, Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Baptist Leadership: “When institutions failed or they fractured there was always more space, always westward to go.” Conservatives have been largely uninterested in Mainline churches since they are simply able to break off to attend or form their own faithful, orthodox churches.
One of Dell’s main concerns is that these Mainline denominations are becoming “real-estate investment trusts” – they have a lot of dying churches in marketable areas and try to sell them to mosques or low-income housing developers. Dell argued that many of these churches and institutions have historical clawback clauses which would prevent them from using donated funds for an non-Christian agenda, and these stipulations need to be brought to light: “Some of that money needs to be clawed back and put to the original intent … which would mean to raise up and train godly men for biblical ministry in those towns.”
So, what are the next steps? Dell suggested that we need to find an existing party who has been grieved by the actions of these Mainline institutions in order to advance Reconquista. He also suggested looping in “sympathetic attorney generals at the various states levels who are willing to go after this,” given some state constitutions preclude churches from promoting licentious behavior. [Editor’s note: It’s very unlikely that state governments would seek to enforce such long unenforced demands on churches, nor would courts likely abide state coercion of churches.]
Dell insisted: “I’m optimistic for the first time in my adult life.” But a Reconquista of the Mainline denominations remains a daunting task.
More from IRD:
Reconquering Mainline Protestantism?
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