Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
“Precious Moments Christianity”

“Precious Moments Christianity”

Last updated on: August 21, 2013 at 12:14 pm by Roger E. Olson

“Precious Moments Christianity” 2013-08-21T12:14:22-05:00 Roger E. Olson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Some years ago evangelical author and speaker Charles Colson decried what he called “Precious Moments Christianity.” If memory serves me correctly that was in his book The Body. He may have also talked about it in other writings.

After writing my blog post about “T.A.C.O.s” (Totalistic, Aberrational, Christian Organizations) I thought about whether there is an opposite danger to high-demand, abusive churches within evangelicalism. I believe there is. I’ll borrow Colson’s category of Precious Moments Christianity to label it.

First let me say I have nothing against Precious Moments figurines or paraphernalia; they bring joy to many collectors. They may not be my cup of tea, but I’m not critical of them as that—collectibles, folk art.

Precious Moments figurines and paraphernalia tend to evoke feelings of comfort and calm. In a complicated, high-stakes world of seeming chaos many people find them to have a calming and comforting effect.

John Wesley is supposed to have said that the purpose of gospel preaching is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. I would say that is the purpose of all gospel ministry.

TACOs are those churches and religious organizations, some found among evangelicals, that specialize in afflicting the comfortable—often to the point of taking over their lives, obliterating their individuality, squashing all critical thinking, and turning them into clones of the leaders who have no ability to think their own thoughts or live spiritual lives apart from that particular group and its unique spiritual technology.

But there are also many, numerous evangelical churches (to say nothing of so-called “mainline churches”) that fall into the opposite error. They specialize so much in comforting the afflicted that they lose Christianity’s prophetic cutting edge. I call their brand of Christianity “Precious Moments Christianity” because they present the gospel as all comfort and calm, sweetness and light, with no conviction or accountability.

Some of the marks of Precious Moments Christianity are:

1) No or few expectations of members;

2) Promotion of what Dietrich Bonhoeffer called “cheap grace;”

3) God, Jesus, portrayed as resource for feeling good about oneself and achieving success in life;

4) Church presented as support group whose primary purpose is therapy;

5) Doctrine shunned as too difficult and divisive;

6) Little or no emphasis on the cross—either Christ’s or his followers’;

7) Worship practiced as entertainment;

8) No church discipline;

9) Spiritual formation, discipleship, presented as optional and beneficial for feeling good;

10) Christianity treated as a warm blanket of comfort and/or as a platform for personal achievement.

Often, Precious Moments Christianity is a reaction to harsh, abusive fundamentalism. Escapees and exiles from TACOs crowd into such churches and often break out into hives with any mention of doctrine or discipline. A challenging sermon that brings conviction is treated as “hellfire and brimstone preaching” even if it is not. Pressure is put on pastors and teachers within the church to “tone it down” if they begin to emphasize accountability. Church members who ask for something deeper than pablum from the pulpit are punished.

I can understand this reactionary need among survivors of fundamentalism and TACOs, but a church that thrives on it, specializes in it, without seeking the balance between comfort and affliction, challenge and support, is falling short of its responsibility.

Let me be clear. I do not deny that there are times and places in church life when Precious Moments feelings of calm and comfort, sweetness and light are appropriately evoked. One church I know holds an annual service of consolation for those caught up in grief over loss. I believe the gospel does comfort the truly afflicted and the best of contemporary evangelical Christianity does offer hope and healing for the hurting. But that cannot be the whole of Christianity. Affliction and accountability, properly applied with pastoral care, are also necessary elements of a holistic, healthy approach to contemporary evangelical Christianity.

As a historian I’m curious about when what I am here calling Precious Moments Christianity really began. I don’t see it in church history before the 1960s. As all who have studied the history of modern culture and religion, the 1960s brought about numerous changes in Christianity and church life in general. Evangelicalism was as affected as any other movement and perhaps more.

I’m not assigning blame here, just pointing back to what I see as a turning point in American evangelical Christianity toward Precious Moments Christianity: the rise of “contemporary Christian music” with Ralph Carmichael, John W. Peterson, Audrey Meier and other evangelical songwriters. Sometime in the 1960s (perhaps beginning even earlier in the 1950s) Carmichael, Peterson, Meier and others began to introduce into evangelical music a new genre with, I would say, a new message. Typical was Meier’s popular song “I’ll Never Be Lonely Again” which presents Jesus as a friend who, when accepted, guarantees no negative feelings such as loneliness. One song, of course, does not a sea change make. It only illustrates it. Many of these songs (and they abounded in my home on LP records and on Christian radio) assumed a semi-Pelagian soteriology (“…turn to the Savior; he waits for you….”) and Jesus as comforter and companion without any hint of conviction or challenge. (On a side note—I met Audrey Meier when I was a child at a denominational convention where she was guest choir conductor. My aunt made a point of taking me “backstage” after an evening service to meet her. I don’t remember why.)

A few years ago I read with appreciation Mark Galli’s book Jesus, Mean and Wild and recognized it as a reaction to Precious Moments Christianity’s over emphasis on “sweet Jesus.” I recommend it as a starting point for conversation in Precious Moments churches. That doesn’t mean I agree with everything in it. (When do I ever agree with everything in any book?) But it provides a needed correction to Precious Moments Christianity.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

August 19, 2013

A Dip into the Depths of the Doctrine of God: Discussion of the Non-Competitive View of Divine and Human Agencies

Next Post

August 23, 2013 An Arminian Ordo Salutis (Order of Salvation)

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Against Liberal Theology Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which major world religion traces its ancestry back to Abraham, along with Christianity and Judaism?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Hinduism Buddhism Islam Sikhism