Struggling with Evangelicalism
Why I Want to Leave and What It Takes to Stay
“It was good for my soul to read this.”
When evangelicals make a mess, who cleans it up? Many today are discarding the evangelical label, but evangelicalism is a space, not just a brand, and living in that space is complicated.
Neither "everything's fine" nor "burn it all down," Dan Stringer argues that we need four postures to grapple realistically and redemptively with evangelicalism. Without awareness, we don't know our identity. Without appreciation, we risk succumbing to cynicism. Without repentance, we capitulate to idolatry. And without renewal, future generations will find this space even less inhabitable.
This even-handed guide offers a thoughtful appreciation of evangelicalism's history, identity, and strengths, and also laments its blind spots, toxic brokenness, and complicity with injustice. From this complicated space, we can move forward with informed vision rather than resignation, and with hope for our future together.
What people are saying about Struggling with Evangelicalism
“Dan Stringer was once my student, but now he has become my teacher. I learned a lot from this book, about both the brokenness and beauty of the movement that I love.”
— Richard J. Mouw, former president of Fuller Seminary, from the foreword
“I'm not sure I'd call myself an evangelical anymore; God knows many have already labeled me as an outsider. But because of the way labels are adopted or assigned, it was good for my soul to read Struggling with Evangelicalism and be able to give thanks for a tradition while also critiquing it as a former insider.”
— Kathy Khang, author of Raise Your Voice
“With thoughtful analysis, engaging storytelling, and tender pastoral care, Dan offers a hopeful way forward for all who wonder, 'Am I? Could I still be? What does it even mean to be . . . evangelical?'”
— Osheta Moore, community life pastor at Roots Covenant Church and author of Dear White Peacemakers
“Dan Stringer offers us a helpful guide to navigating the frustrations with the evangelical movement. He understands some may be 'done' with it, but for others he invites them to join a renewal project characterized by both clear-eyed honesty and hope.”
— Vincent Bacote, associate professor of theology, Wheaton College
“Through the background of his own cultural hybridity, Dan weaves his struggle with evangelicalism by reformulating traditional theological approaches with a refreshing model of awareness, appreciation, repentance, and renewal. In this process he offers us his greatest gift—his authenticity.”
— Randy Furushima, president emeritus of Pacific Rim Christian University
“Part memoir, part sociological study, and part theological reflection, this honest and winsome book is for any Christian who uneasily identifies with historical evangelicalism… I am grateful for the perspective he brings in this timely book. I believe many others will be too.”
— Tod Bolsinger, Fuller Seminary Church Leadership Institute, author of Tempered Resilience: How Leaders Are Formed in the Crucible of Change
“Stringer disentangles evangelicalism's current politically tainted brand in the United States from its historical roots and diverse global embodiment. His nuanced discussion offers something to think about for those on both sides of the debate.”
— Robert Chao Romero, associate professor in the Departments of Chicana/o Studies and Asian American Studies at UCLA, author of Brown Church
“A wise and humble guide, Stringer takes us on a compelling tour of the evangelical landscape and models the values of awareness, appreciation, repentance, and renewal that he prescribes as antidotes to our present myopia, dissension, toxicity, and despair.”
— Ed Gilbreath, vice president at Christianity Today and author of Reconciliation Blues: A Black Evangelical's Inside View of White Christianity
Contributing author for:
Father Factor
American Christian Men on Fatherhood and Faith
Father Factor explores the intersection between faith and fatherhood, probing the resonance and dissonance created when men examine fatherhood in all its permutations, and how it is informed by and informs their faith.
There are a wide variety of Christian faith perspectives represented in the book and many ethnicities. The contributors include ministers, professors, a real estate agent, an actor, nonprofit leaders, stay-at-home dads, and a call center representative, from locations as far apart as Honolulu to Paris and many points in between. They each have a compelling story about faith and fatherhood.
Dan’s chapter, Pulling Teeth, reflects on how the deaths of his father and son have shaped his theology of suffering and loss.