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2009 Traveling Light: Max Lucado and the Power of Sentimentality in American Evangelicalism Todd M. Brenneman

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COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

TRAVELING LIGHT: MAX LUCADO AND THE POWER OF

SENTIMENTALITY IN AMERICAN EVANGELICALISM

TODD M. BRENNEMAN

A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Religion in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2009

______Amanda Porterfield Professor Directing Dissertation

______Kristie Fleckenstein University Representative

______John Corrigan Committee Member

______Amy Koehlinger Committee Member

Approved: ______John Corrigan, Chair, Department of Religion

The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members.

This dissertation is dedicated to

Mae March Pamela Brenneman Jennifer Brenneman and Chloe Brenneman four generations of women who have taught me much about religion and about God

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I have often tried to encourage my students to recognize that scholarship is a collective enterprise. Not only do we build on the works of other scholars who we may never personally meet, but there are so many who touch our scholarship in sometimes less tangible ways. I am extremely grateful to everyone who has touched my life and my scholarship and helped me to be a better scholar of religion. There have been many of my fellow graduate students who have helped me think through my understanding of Max Lucado. Gene Mills, Katie Hladky, Howell Williams, Barton Price and Shawntel Ensminger have offered sources and constructive criticism at various points and in various forums as I have worked through some of the research that forms the foundation of this work. My committee has been extremely helpful not only in this project but in others as well. Kristie Fleckenstein welcomed a student from a religion department into her English department class and was very encouraging as I plodded through rhetorical theory and applying it to my field. She was always welcoming of my insight and always insightful into ways that rhetorical theory could help me understand religious thought. John Corrigan has persuaded me (explicitly and implicitly) to continue to push my writing and make it better. His work is a model I aspire to both in the depth of scholarship and the breadth of knowledge. Amy Koehlinger has never stopped making me feel like I have something to offer the field of religious studies. From the moment I arrived in Tallahassee, she has always had a kind word and a gentle grace. Her compassion and concern for students combined with her outstanding scholarship is a model for the type of instructor I want to be. Plus she was extremely helpful in providing food and other baby goods after Chloe‘s birth, making those first few days easier. Amanda Porterfield has been the archetype of an excellent dissertation advisor. From the moment I first started investigating the work of Max Lucado in her twentieth-century religious thought class, she has consistently seen the potential of this work and has constantly pushed me to dig deeper and develop my analysis. My parents provided support both verbally and financially when I needed it. They have always been encouraging of whatever it is I want to do. Their belief in me and my abilities gives me strength. My in-laws have also been very supportive. They provided

iv babysitting help and a place to get away so I could finish the final chapters of the dissertation and prepare it for defense. That time allowed me to focus my thoughts while pushing this work to completion. Jeff James, sports marketing professor and (more importantly) friend, provided help with sources for the marketing chapter but also acted as surrogate advisor when I need him to be. His insight and encouragement was just as valuable as if he had been on my committee. Chloe is a dissertation baby. She was born just as I was finishing the first draft of chapter one. She has provided distraction from this work, slowing it down, but she has also provided distraction when I just needed to step back. Her beautiful smile reminded me of life outside a dissertation while also encouraging me to complete it. Having her in my life provides a balance that I know I need. I do not have words enough to express how much Jennifer means to me and my work. She believes in me even when I do not believe in myself. I could not ask for a better partner in life who provides the kind of support I need, even when it is to ask me, ―Aren‘t you supposed to be writing?‖ I am so grateful for everything she does. This dissertation would not have existed without her. And to you the reader . . . well, we‘ll get to that.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract ...... vii

INTRODUCTION ...... 1

1. GOD‘S IN THE BUSINESS OF GIVING MULLIGANS...... 22

2. YOU ARE SPECIAL ...... 60

3. ―NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR‖ ...... 108

4. GOD‘S REFRIGERATOR ...... 147

EPILOGUE ...... 187

NOTES …… ...... 205

SELECTED BIBIOGRAPHY ...... 239

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ...... 253

ABSTRACT

Although studies of nineteenth-century evangelicalism emphasize the importance of sentimentality, scholars of modern evangelicalism usually overlook it. Instead scholars have tended to focus on the importance of belief or doctrine and have defined evangelicals in terms of a certain set of beliefs that characterize evangelicals as distinct from other Christians. They have also overlooked the prominence of minister and best-selling author Max Lucado. Lucado has written over seventy books and continues to produce works in a variety of media for a variety of audiences. By examining evangelical sentimentality through the writings of Max Lucado, scholars can see how pervasive sentimentality is, particularly in evangelical practice. This dual investigation of Max Lucado and evangelical sentimentality reveals important aspects of modern evangelicalism. Building on a framework of analysis that incorporates the observations of scholars of eighteenth and nineteenth century sentimentality, it becomes apparent that sentimentality is a powerful force in evangelicalism. Evangelicals who deploy sentimental rhetoric rely on it to do a monumental amount of concealing work. Although on the surface sentimental rhetoric appeals to a familial relationship with God, beneath the surface sentimentality relies on grief over the political situation in the United States. It also takes the place of intellectually encountering the world and the challenges evangelicalism faces, particularly from science and critical examinations of the Bible. The selling of sentiment further obscures the constructedness of evangelical authors and how dependent on the market they have become. The political, intellectual, and economic history of evangelicalism has helped create a situation where sentimentality is widespread in evangelical thought and practice, and scholars should be mindful of this aspect of evangelicalism as they continue to write their stories of this religious movement.

vii

INTRODUCTION

JUST IN CASE YOU EVER WONDER: SENTIMENTALITY, EVANGELICALISM IN THE UNITED STATES, AND MAX LUCADO

My teenage acquaintances included a handful of Christians, none of whom were cool. One minister‘s daughter passed on beer parties and gossip. As a result, she spent most lunch hours and Friday nights alone. A tennis player came back from summer break with a Bible bumper sticker on his car and a smile on his face. We called him a Jesus freak. . . . But then I went off to college and heard a professor describe a Christ I‘d never seen. A people-loving and death- defeating Christ. A Jesus who made time for the lonely, the losers . . . a Jesus who died for hypocrites like me. So I signed up. As much as I could, I gave him my heart. --Max Lucado, Cure for the Common Life1

I read my first Max Lucado book when I was sixteen. It was No Wonder They Call Him the Savior, and I had received it as an award at a Bible camp in Pennsylvania. I do not remember much about what I thought about the book at the time, but when I returned to it in my academic study of religion, I was convinced that there was something telling in the work of Max Lucado and was surprised that he was not a part of studies of American evangelicalism. The name Max Lucado is a staple in evangelical popular culture circles. He is a widely-recognized author and his books are omnipresent in Christian bookstores. Why would scholars ignore him? His success alone suggests that there might be something important to the study of evangelicalism in his works. It is quite possible that the ―sugary sweetness‖ of Lucado‘s writing style causes scholars not to take it seriously as a datum deserving study. In a field that values rationality, at least in how scholars communicate with each other, it is possible that they would overlook Lucado‘s work, even if they were aware of it. Max Lucado, however, serves as a window to larger trends in evangelicalism. Scholars have largely ignored these trends in favor of focusing on other aspects, especially evangelical belief. In this dissertation I will be approaching evangelicalism in a different manner. Evangelical belief remains an important category for understanding evangelicals and evangelicalism, but I intend to investigate evangelicalism through evangelical emotional rhetoric which relies on evangelical beliefs but which seeks an affective response not an intellectual one. Quite often emotional rhetoric denounces or sidesteps the intellect while elevating the emotions to primacy in matters of religion. I am interested specifically in ―sentimental‖ rhetoric. To investigate this ―sentimental‖ rhetoric and its appeal to certain emotions, I will be examining the writings of best-selling evangelical Max Lucado. This dissertation, then, is about author Max

Lucado. It is also about sentimentality in modern evangelicalism. The two subjects are so interconnected that they must be discussed together. Max Lucado‘s work serves as a lens into what constitutes evangelical sentimentality, and evangelicalism‘s foremost purveyor of sentimentality is Max Lucado. I endeavor in this dissertation to explore the power, persistence, and pervasiveness of sentimentality in evangelicalism by looking at how Max Lucado constructs his sentimental rhetoric, the work sentimental rhetoric does, and the way evangelicals and marketers promote sentimentality through a wide variety of products. Scholars have disregarded sentimental rhetoric in modern evangelicalism and have missed the important role sentimentality plays in the ways evangelicals encounter the world. Sentimentality becomes a way for evangelicals to manage perceived grief over their marginalization in modern American culture. This coping mechanism extends itself into evangelical politics allowing politically-minded evangelicals to deploy sentimentality to motivate an electorate while allowing other evangelicals to assert an apolitical identity that claims distance from a politicized faith. Sentimental rhetoric is also an avenue to evade the intellectual questions about the validity of the evangelical worldview. Sentimentality allows evangelicals to promote their views as reality while ignoring historical and scientific challenges to the accuracy of the Bible. Evangelical marketing hides how sentimentality operates in these ways while also obscuring the paternalism of evangelical authors. By ignoring these elements of sentimentality, scholars of evangelicalism have missed an important component of how evangelicals practice their faith. The exploration of Max Lucado‘s works serves much the same purpose the biographical study of George Whitefield does in Harry Stout‘s Divine Dramatist or Frank Lambert‘s Pedlar in Divinity. The biography and impact of Whitefield was important in those works, and both authors (and many other historians) claimed that the activity of Whitefield was singular and new for the time period. Stout and Lambert, however, also used Whitefield‘s life to elucidate cultural changes in the eighteenth century and how those changes impacted the practice of religion. I am arguing the same with Max Lucado. There are many aspects of Max Lucado and his works that set him apart as singular. How successful and prolific he has been distinguishes him from other authors. The way his publishers and marketers have spun his work into numerous product lines also is distinctive from other popular evangelical ministers. Studying Lucado, however, also provides an opportunity to see larger trends and ideologies in evangelicalism in the United

States. By putting Lucado into cultural and historical contexts, we can see how influential sentimentality has been and continues to be.2 Evangelical Historiography and Sentimentality Evangelical historians and historians of evangelicalism have largely ignored this strand of sentimentality that the works of Max Lucado represent in favor of discussing evangelical belief or evangelical politics. Investigating sentimentality, however, reveals important traits of both evangelical belief and evangelical politics. Sentimentality is an important core to how evangelicals conceptualize and practice their faith. Scholars of evangelicalism, however, have tended to bypass the romantic and sentimental trends in evangelicalism and focused on constructing evangelicalism using intellectual categories. Mark Noll, for example, has brooded, in several works, over the failure of evangelicals to seriously and intellectually engage the world around them. The tacit (but sometimes explicit) assumption in Noll‘s works is that ―evangelicalism‖ contains certain forces that would be (and have been) advantageous to the shape of the United States. While such a concern is present in a work like The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, it also undergirds his theological survey America’s God. For most of his magisterial work Noll traces what he sees as the development of an ―American‖ theology in evangelicalism that combined traditional Christian thought with Scottish Common sense philosophy and a republican outlook on politics. Noll bookends his survey (and his subtitle) with Jonathan Edwards and Abraham Lincoln, and he is quite explicit that something disappointing or disturbing happens between these two religious thinkers. Edwards and Lincoln, according to Noll, tapped into the evangelical impulse in introspective (and Calvinistic) ways to offer valuable insights concerning the human condition and the national condition. His focus, in America’s God and elsewhere, is on the shape of evangelical intellectual life and how it impacts (or fails to impact) American society around it. Henry Beecher, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Horace Bushnell appear in America’s God, for example, but Noll does not reference their reliance on sentimentality, portraying them solely as theologians.3 George Marsden writes his histories of evangelicalism and fundamentalism from a similar position. In an essay on evangelicals and history, Marsden wrote that through the tools of history ―we can find in the Christian past not just a collection of precedents for our current beliefs and programs, but rather we can learn from the marvelously rich complexity of human

3 experience in relation to God.‖ For Marsden evangelical history (including its expression as fundamentalism) is the search for God‘s dealing through and with evangelicals. His histories are often about the failure of evangelicals to live up to their divine duties (as seems to underlie Fundamentalism and American Culture) or the ways evangelicals have experienced marginalization (like in The Soul of the American University). Marsden‘s evangelicals (whether as ―evangelicals‖ or ―fundamentalists‖) formed an important part of America‘s foundations and should offer similar impact in the modern world. Evangelicals engaged (and should engage) in these processes in a united way because they shared a common set of beliefs that allowed them to find common cause in a similar religious heritage.4 Other scholars have turned to ―democracy‖ for the impact of evangelicalism. Nathan Hatch has been one of the promoters of ―democratic‖ evangelicalism. For Hatch democracy is responsible for the distinctive American shape of evangelicalism, and evangelicalism is responsible for the religiosity of America from the colonial period to the early twentieth century. Although Hatch noted that evangelicalism since the early nineteenth century has moved away from intellectual rigor to populist acclaim, he still centers the democratic impulse in evangelicalism in the life of the mind. The ―democratized‖ movements of the early republic emphasized the ability of individuals to think religious thoughts and to understand the Bible on their own without mediation of a special professional class. Although Hatch does not attempt to define who evangelicals were/are, he casts evangelicalism in a mental mold. Like Noll and Marsden, Hatch sees evangelical belief as having a positive impact on American culture.5 While these scholars (all of whom are personally connected to evangelicalism) understand evangelicalism to be a movement that is (or could be) positive or constructive in American society, there are others who believe that evangelicalism is a (potentially) destructive or restrictive religious movement. Much of this scholarship comes from a concern over the political trends of conservative Christians, many of whom identify themselves as evangelicals. These scholars tend to focus on the repressive nature of evangelical politics, especially in light of evangelical conceptions of gender. In her book Not by Politics Alone Sara Diamond attempted to understand the influence and endurance of the Religious Right through an investigation of evangelicalism. Although her title disclaims it, much of the work is about the development, the theological underpinnings, and the consequences of conservative Christian politics. The vision of the Christian Right, according

4 to Diamond, is one of repression or, at least, reconstruction. The work of these evangelicals to ban abortion and same sex marriage (among other issues) ―is best understood as a series of efforts by a religiously inspired political force to make the rest of society conform to its ideas of correct belief and behavior. . . . [T]he movement is about protecting guarded notions of what it means to be a good family member and a good citizen in God‘s kingdom. For believers it is about winning an eternal struggle between the forces of good and evil . . . if not through the ballot box, then by other means.‖ Who constitutes an evangelical and is part of the Christian Right? According to Diamond, ―[t]hey believe the Bible is the accurate, inspired word of God, and they also believe that the only way to salvation is through belief in Christ‘s divinity and resurrection.‖6 Betty DeBerg‘s work Ungodly Women takes into consideration the importance of gender in fundamentalist evangelical writings and how evangelicals have constructed gender from the nineteenth century on in order to emphasize masculine supremacy while alleging the importance of women and feminine piety. In the introduction of the book DeBerg noted the important historiographical trend in histories of fundamentalism to privilege theology (and the men who constructed theology) without incorporating how that theology had important consequences for both men and women in terms of gender. While she rejects a ―purely theological or intellectual‖ approach to fundamentalism, her study is essentially that. She sidesteps the issue by claiming her focus is on ―the popular religious press‖ and not ―the carefully constructed and arcane theological positions‖ of fundamentalist theologians, but her study is about the religious beliefs of fundamentalists, although she places them in historical context. It is also important to recognize that even though her work focuses on ―fundamentalism,‖ because of the dates of her sources, the work is about conservative evangelicalism and offers insight into how both conservative evangelicals and those who called themselves ―fundamentalists‖ understood gender.7 While these scholars (Noll, Marsden, Hatch, Diamond, and DeBerg) have different views on the contributions evangelicalism and evangelicals make to American society, they share a view that there is something essential about belief to their definition of ―evangelicalism.‖ Many would probably share this assumption. To be evangelical, when conceived this way, means to ascribe to a certain set of religious beliefs. Other scholars have tried to complicate this equation between evangelicalism and a theology, set of doctrines, or list of beliefs, to varying degrees of

5 success. In focusing on evangelical practice, they have argued for a reformulation of how to do evangelical studies. Works like Marie Griffith‘s God’s Daughters, Lynn Neal‘s Romancing God, and Aaron Ketchell‘s Holy Hills of the Ozarks focus on what evangelicals do, not just what evangelicals think. Even in such studies, however, these scholars tend to find what constitutes ―evangelicalism‖ (if they attempt such a project at all) in specific beliefs. For example Ketchell‘s Holy Hills, which is about the way the tourism and consumerism of Branson, Missouri, relies on an often subsumed evangelical vision world, defines evangelicalism in terms of certain beliefs.8 Instead of focusing solely on belief as the marker of what constitute evangelicalism, I instead focus on the power of sentimentality in modern conservative evangelicalism, which is a product of the romantic impulse of the nineteenth century. Some followed this impulse into a democratic egalitarianism, like that of the Transcendentalist movement. Others appropriated the emphases of romanticism—nature, the self—in sentimental ways. Sentimentality in the nineteenth century encapsulated a group of religious thinkers in the nineteenth century that include both men and women who were committed to evangelical Christianity but who also modified it based on their acceptance of certain romantic principles but many historians identify these figures (like the Beecher family and Horace Bushnell) as ―liberal‖ evangelicals because of other aspects of their theology. That ―conservative‖ evangelicals shared similar ideas about the self and nature often goes unnoticed.9 Some scholars, however, have traced the contours of ―conservative‖ sentimentality. Historian Amanda Porterfield, relying on the work of Southern historian Michael O‘Brien, noted that Southern conservative evangelicals fused romantic ideology with a conservative Christianity that instantiated the social order as natural while also hardening conceptions of gender and race. Women remained the weaker sex in this ideology, and Anglo-Saxons continued to be the highest order of races. Southern evangelicals also relied on the separate spheres model of the domestic economy and relegated women to a sentimentalized home. In Ungodly Women Betty DeBerg demonstrated that these sentimental ideals persisted in conservative evangelicalism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, although only briefly connects these ideals to Victorian culture and does not connect it at all to the ideals of liberal evangelicals of the earlier nineteenth century. Other scholars, like Marsden, have noted that sentimentality also featured prominently among the revivalism of some conservative evangelicals, particularly Dwight Moody. Moody

6 would frequently use narrative and emotional language to appeal to his audiences. Most studies of evangelical sentimentality, however, do not usually include its presence in conservative evangelicalism or its presence in evangelicalism after the nineteenth century.10 It is somewhat surprising that scholars of modern evangelicalism have generally overlooked the importance of sentimentality since it is an important category for the understanding of nineteenth-century evangelicalism. A few studies have made note of its presence, but sentimentality is often relegated to the fringe of evangelicalism. The marginalization of sentimentality seems to occur in an unspoken accord between evangelical and non-evangelical scholars (as well as their subjects). Sentimentality appears as a cast-off, a subject unworthy for study due to its anti-intellectual character. In this study, I argue that evangelical sentimentality, best seen in the works of Max Lucado, is the center of modern evangelicalism. While it is not the only aspect of evangelical life, sentimentality is spread throughout evangelical thought and practice. Whether in inspirational books or in worship music, sentimentality is present in the ways evangelicals understand their world through religiosity. This dissertation provides a corrective to studies, like Noll‘s or Hatch‘s, which ignore the importance of feeling in an effort to centralize evangelicalism in a set of beliefs or in the positive contributions evangelical thought has made to American society. Instead rhetoric of feeling, especially in modern evangelicalism, predominates in evangelical practice and popular culture, providing a different picture of evangelicalism in the United States. Part of the reason for disregarding sentimentality in modern evangelicalism could be because of sentimentality itself. Philosopher Robert C. Solomon noted that some consider sentimentality ―a weakness. It suggests hypocrisy.‖ Furthermore, many people (intellectuals and others) believe that ―sentimental literature is . . . literature that is tasteless, cheap, superficial, and manipulative—in other words, verbal kitsch.‖11 While Solomon argued against this deprecation of sentimentality, others have been forthright in their condemnation of sentimentality, particularly in religion. For example, in his book Good Taste, Bad Taste, & Christian Taste Frank Burch Brown examines the power of religious aesthetics and the uses of the arts in religious life. Brown argues from the perspective of a practitioner and attempts to find a ground for Christians to accept the diverse aesthetics of different groups, without judgment. When it comes to what he

7 terms religious ―kitsch,‖ however, he finds himself in a struggle. While he wants to be open- minded about the aesthetics of other Christians, there are certain types of art that he cannot accept. One particular target for his backhanded criticism is the Precious Moments Chapel in Missouri. While he values the humanity of the people moved by the chapel, he finds himself forced to conclude that ―[i]f we care to call the Precious Moments Chapel a work of kitsch—and if anything is kitsch, this chapel would surely qualify—then it should be with a carefully qualified sense of what that means.‖ For Brown, Christian kitsch does not mean ―rubbish.‖ It is, however, an ―inadequate‖ form of artistic and religious expression. Despite such derision by Brown and others, the market presence and retail sales of sentimental media like Precious Moments figurines and Max Lucado books suggest that for a large amount of people sentimental expressions of religiosity are not ―inadequate‖ or ―kitsch‖ but are a vital part of how evangelicals understand or interact with the divine.12 Many of the studies that do remark on the sentimentality present in modern evangelicalism neither place it at the center of evangelical experience nor connect modern conservative sentimentalism to the liberal sentimentalism of the nineteenth century. Amanda Porterfield does sketch some of those connections in her The Protestant Experience in America. Porterfield‘s concern, however, is not in delineating the continuity of evangelical sentimentality but in explaining the acceptance of sentimental tropes in modern political life. Randall Balmer‘s broad study of modern evangelical life, Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory, provides glimpses of the power of sentimentality in modern evangelicalism. Especially in his chapters (in the fourth edition) on Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) and the paintings of Thomas Kinkade, Balmer depicts a sentimental version of evangelicalism, but sentimentalism is not his interest. In fact, when he examines sentimental aspects of evangelicalism in his diverse analyses of evangelical experience, he is dismissive of them. In his 1998 chapter ―Sound Check,‖ Balmer lauds the music of Jars of Clay for its insightful presentation of theological truths, particularly human depravity. Jars of Clay show ―surprising theological maturity‖ while other evangelical music is ―cheap affirmation‖ and ―abject subjectivism.‖ It contains ―vapid, self-referential theology.‖ Although Balmer somewhat connects the sentimental, modern hymnody to nineteenth-century music, he does not explore the sentimentality present in CCM as representative of larger sentimental trends in popular evangelicalism.13 Lynn Neal‘s study of modern evangelical romance novels is perhaps the one study that

8 does the most to center sentimentality in evangelical life. Even in this study, however, Neal makes no attempt to analyze how the sentimentality in these romance novels is reflective of a general sentimentality in evangelical life and thought, although she seems to affirm in her conclusion that it is. She cites evangelicals who deprecate aesthetics founded upon sentimentality, but she does not deconstruct such statements. She does not allow such deprecation to degrade the experience of her subjects, but she does not further challenge such evangelical assertions that attempt to marginalize sentimentality within this religious group. While theologians within evangelicalism might be dissatisfied with the presence and prevalence of sentimentality, scholars must not be distracted by this elision. Max Lucado and other sentimental evangelical writers have much larger audiences for their work than those who discountenance sentimentalism, suggesting that it has found greater acceptance than elite evangelicals would like or care to admit.14 Some scholars have explored evangelical sentimentality through material culture. In her study of Precious Moments figurines, Jennifer Rycenga notes how these statuettes are produced to bring up notions of ―childhood innocence, domesticity, and a simple Christian faith‖ in those who purchase or receive them. Through the use of child figures with giant, tear-shaped eyes, artist Sam Butcher attempts to create for his consumers ―a world of domestic bliss in homologous relation to the heavenly realm.‖ Rycenga‘s insight concerning the mass production of these figures is particularly striking, especially in her examination of the capitalist consequences of production and marketing of these figures. The Precious Moments Company not only creates the figures to be memorials to the ―precious moments‖ of life: they are created and marketed in such a way to produce those ―precious‖ moments. As Rycenga describes: The mass marketing of intimate gifts, embedded in the very name of the Precious Moments, means that your most personal moments have already been cast in porcelain, ahead of your experience of them. This is openly acknowledged in the description, which states that the [Christmas] ornaments: ―will create treasured moments.‖ This is not merely a question of linear time: it represents the nearly imperative (and commercially marketable) demand for sentimentalization.

Rycenga makes no explicit attempt to connect Precious Moments to larger trends in evangelicalism or other types of evangelical material culture, but her critique is telling for application to these areas. Sentimental literature does not have to evoke feelings within readers—in the twenty-first century it is marketed to create those feelings.15

Although Neal and Rycenga are exceptions, many scholars have overlooked an important facet in understanding not only evangelicalism as a religious movement, but also as a political and social one as well. Christian Smith argues in Christian America? that a majority of evangelicals are disappointed with the politicization of evangelicalism as expressed by the Religious Right. While Smith‘s informants may be expressing how they feel about religion and politics, contemporary evangelicalism has played an important role in American political life since the mid-1970s. Politically-minded conservative evangelicals have mobilized evangelicals to vote for conservative (mostly Republican) causes in numbers large enough to affect elections. Whether or not many evangelicals are disappointed with the Religious Right, enough of them are participating in that agenda to make a significant difference.16 Examining evangelical sentimentality and how evangelicals deploy it allows scholars to gain greater insight into evangelical politics. In this dissertation I examine how even ―apolitical‖ evangelicals like Max Lucado combine a ―religion of sentiment‖ with a ―religion of fear‖ to create an approach to politics that relies heavily on grief but that is hidden under the ―cutesy‖ rhetoric of sentimentality. Sentimentality is an important key to understanding the issues that tend to motivate evangelicals. Here again, there have been hints in the historiography to the power of sentimentalism in evangelical politics, but scholars have marginalized it as an explanatory trope. For example, in Balmer‘s interaction with Pat Robertson‘s 1988 presidential campaign, Balmer focuses on the militancy of political evangelicalism (certainly an important point) while only briefly discussing how sentimentality, particularly domestic sentimentality, forms the foundation for this political stance. Out of thirty-three pages (in the fourth edition of Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory) Balmer uses three to discuss how domesticity (which Balmer does not explicitly label as sentimental) is intertwined particularly with the pro-life stance of many conservative evangelicals. Balmer is insightful about the power of the fetus as a trope in pro-life evangelicalism, but he does not connect this to the larger role sentimentality plays in evangelicalism as a whole. At the heart of evangelical political stances on abortion, homosexuality, and other issues, is a sentimentalism that provides the foundation for what it means to be evangelical.17 Some scholars, however, have picked up on the importance of emotional rhetoric in politics. Linda Kintz in her book Between Jesus and the Market examines the rhetoric of the

Religious Right to argue for the importance of affective language in conservative materials. As her subtitle evidences, it is The Emotions That Matter in Right-Wing America. Affective notions of domesticity and masculine and feminine roles undergird the conservative evangelical approach to politics. Through the use of rhetorical familiarity and resonance, conservatives appeal to Victorian notions of the home, marriage, and community to galvanize followers in ways that emotional and not rational. Kintz, however, is concerned with issues of the late twentieth century and makes no connections to the sentimentality of previous generations of evangelicals—perhaps a vital link to do the very thing she wants to do: explain the appeal of the Religious Right.18 In his 2002 book Business of the Heart, John Corrigan briefly sketches some of these connections between the gendered notions of emotions in the nineteenth century and the practice of emotion and politics in the twentieth century. In his epilogue, Corrigan traces the legacy of the emotionality of the 1857 Businessman‘s Revival to the late-twentieth century and its resonance in the Promise Keepers movement. For the Promise Keepers as well as the businessmen in 1857, emotion blended notions of masculinity, femininity, prayer, and transaction into a religiosity expressed as ―giving the heart to God.‖ Corrigan, however, is not interested in sentimental emotions, per se, and so focuses primarily on the ways capitalism and emotionality intertwined while connected to nineteenth-century changing conceptions of gender roles and relations, without specifically addressing how some Victorians were using sentimentality to understand those roles and relations.19 In attempting to create a narrative of modern evangelical sentimentality, I will rely on the insights of several scholars. Many of these scholars have focused their studies on eighteenth or nineteenth-century sentimentality, but what they have discovered is useful in both understanding the development of sentimentality in the history of evangelicalism as well as observing how sentimentality has changed in that development. I will employ similar categories of analysis in order to demonstrate how important it is that scholars take sentimentality seriously in their discussions of modern evangelicalism. For example, in her seminal work on American sentimentality The Feminization of American Culture, Ann Douglas describes the important political consequences of using sentimentality in literature. For Douglas sentimentalism was a literary tool used by the powerless. Those who used the sentimental mood in the nineteenth century—writers such as

Harriet Beecher Stowe and ministers such as Henry Ward Beecher—were in fact dishonest in their messages. Sentimentality, according to Douglas, was a veil meant to prevent others from recognizing the mechanisms pushing the United States toward anomie and disaster. Furthermore, argued Douglas, sentimental authors and ministers participated in this push because their vain attempts to create a society shaped by sentimental notions of home and country were nevertheless powerless in actuality; they could not offer in reality what they claimed to create on paper. For Douglas, sentimentality is ―the political sense obfuscated and gone rancid.‖ The main problem with sentimentality was that it discouraged a rigorous, intellectual approach to the world. Instead of thinking analytically about the difficult events happening historically, according to Douglas, sentimental ministers and authors lulled readers into passivity, instantiating the status quo.20 Liberal ministers and middle-class women partnered together to create a sentimental Christianity that was meant to restore both groups to power through ―emotional indispensability.‖ Sentimentalism, for Douglas, became a way for ministers and women to exert ―influence‖ on a culture that was looking to other individuals and arenas for authority. These groups had lost political power, according to Douglas, because of disestablishment and the abstraction of the means of production from the home. Sentiment and the idea of ―influence‖ became an avenue to justify the world around them while believing that they could change it.21 For Douglas, however, the turn to sentimentality in the mid-nineteenth century is a turn to anti-intellectualism. Victorian America represented a decline in intellectual culture, particularly an intellectual culture rooted in the rigors of Calvinism expressed in the writings of Jonathan Edwards. Losing Calvinism, however, is not the tragedy; losing Calvinism to sentimentalism is the problem. Douglas is bemoaning the fact that romanticism, which she believes could have offered a strong, even feminist, critique, did not take hold. Sentimentalism actually permitted the abuses of Calvinism to remain without the intellectual rigor that would have challenged the problems. It stunted the possibilities of cultural critique and progress that romanticism offered (as in the writings of Margaret Fuller and Herman Melville). Harriet Beecher Stowe, for example, ―did what she did in a half-understood effort to vindicate women in the most effective way in a society that she sensed undervalued them. But it was a costly vindication, for to accomplish it she had to debase all that was best in her religious heritage, repress all that was strongest in her own creativity—and then, boast of it.‖ Sentimentality, then, was (is) a literary

12 and political technique that leads only to false consciousness—it appears to give power but actually participates in the systematic removal of that power.22 There are problems with Douglas‘s work, which scholars have pointed out. For example, Ann Braude‘s seminal article, ―Women‘s History is American Religious History,‖ demonstrated that ―feminization‖ was not a nineteenth-century occurrence as Douglas assumed.23 Instead, women had been a vital part and substantial majority of church attendees prior to the domestic disestablishment Douglas posits. Furthermore, there was more to the religious activity of women in the nineteenth century than sentimental culture. Women were involved in many reform movements including temperance and antislavery. They were also involved as missionaries at home and abroad. While scholars might describe some of their activity in these movements as sentimental, that is not an adequate categorization for all of their contribution. Douglas‘s foregrounding of sentimentality, however, draws attention to the ways in which the romanticism of the nineteenth century affected evangelicalism. One of the problems that Douglas finds with this evangelical sentimentalism is that it is undemocratic. The sentimentality of Henry Ward Beecher and his sisters (among others) was conservative and obfuscating, and permitted the abuses of Calvinism to remain without an intellectual rigor that would have exposed the ―sentimentalist self-absorption‖ and ―commercialization of the inner life.‖24 She instead bemoans the loss of a democratic romanticism (as exhibited in the works of Margaret Fuller and Herman Melville) that would have had the power to critique culture and (through its democratic outlook) led to progress in American culture. In observing Douglas‘s zeal to denounce Victorian mores, however, we should not be too quick to overlook how sentimentalists employed a democratic rhetoric in their religiosity. Sentimentalism opened evangelicalism to a rhetoric of democratization because of the ability of human beings to feel. The universality of emotion makes for a rhetoric that equalizes individuals, especially before God. In Harriet Beecher Stowe‘s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, for example, Stowe closes her narrative with an appeal to the Christians of the North to start the abolition of Southern slavery by feeling right. ―There is one thing every individual can do,‖ wrote Stowe, ―they can see to it that they feel right.‖ Douglas may be correct in asserting that sentimentality leads to false consciousness, but it holds out the potential for power and democracy that gives it cultural power. Writers used sentimentality with the belief that everyone

13 shared a common emotionology that would unite readers with the author‘s cause and views.25 Other scholars have picked up on this tendency and asserted that appeals to sentimentality offered some measure of cultural power. Historian Julia Stern used sentimental novels of the Early Republic to demonstrate the democratizing power of sentimentality. For the novels Stern examined, emotional literature was not only a way for Americans to make sense of the Revolution, but it was also a way for writers, particularly women, to attempt to push democracy forward. Of particular importance for Stern was the use of grief and sympathy in post-Revolutionary war sentimental novels. She argued that sympathy was a tool used by people still marginalized in the wake of the promise of American Independence. Authors used sentimental fiction to ―contemplate the possibility that the power of genuine sympathy could revivify a broadly inclusive vision of democracy.‖ Sentimental fiction, and especially the invocation of sympathy in that fiction, was ―a collective mourning over the violence of the Revolution and the pre-emption of liberty in the wake of the post-Revoutionary sentiment.‖ Sentimentality was the means to affect such political change because other political avenues were closed. In these cases real political venues were unavailable so fiction became a medium for these authors to appeal to audiences for change. Although sentimental fiction did not bring resolution to marginalization, it became a repeated defense mechanism that ―inevitably permeate[s] public discourse when unresolved grief lies at the heart of political society.‖26 Jane Tompkins also advances an argument about the power of sentimentality in literature, but she has different focus in her Sentimental Designs. As her subtitle suggests, Tompkins is interested in the cultural work sentimental literature performs, particularly in American history. She is attempting to salvage certain sentimental works from disparagement by arguing that such pieces (particularly those that had wide audiences) are not ―mere entertainment‖ or timeless literature without historical contexts. Instead Tompkins sees ―their plots and characters as providing society with a means of thinking about itself, defining certain aspects of a social reality which the authors and their readers shared, dramatizing its conflicts, and recommending solutions.‖27 Tompkins‘ particular interests are in redefining the canon of American literature. Although she primarily wants to open a space of respect for sentimental fiction in American literary criticism, her examination touches on the power of religious sentimentality in the nineteenth-century. In creating an apology for Uncle Tom’s Cabin and the writings of the

American Tract Society, Tompkins notes that sentimentality was a powerful tool for nineteenth- century authors because it located the center for understanding the world and engaging in social action in the human soul. Sentimentality rests on the Common sense belief that proper moral action is predicated on proper moral feeling. In appealing to sentiment, authors were providing their readers with the power and impetus to enact social change. In Uncle Tom’s Cabin, for example, little Eva‘s death is not ―all tears and flapdoodle‖ but a push for action in the cause of abolition (and to varying extent colonization) by merging little Eva‘s death (and later Uncle Tom‘s) with the vicarious sufferings of Christ and Christian mythos about sacrifice. As mentioned previously, Stowe believed that proper feeling (as motivated by the fictional accounts of Eva and Uncle Tom) would find its expression in proper action. Sentimental literature (particularly for Tompkins, fiction) provides a window into how a culture thinks about itself (including its cosmology and ethics).28 Sentimentalism in the nineteenth century, however, was not just isolated in literature. The material culture of nineteenth-century American religion (both Catholic and Protestant) worked toward creating a relationship between domestic theology and domestic goods, as Colleen McDannell demonstrated. Homes evoked domestic sentiments through architecture, religious art, and home decorations. The emphasis on sentimental domesticity in Victorian culture reinforced the sentimental domestic theology of the period. The two worked together to create and buttress the validity and power of sentimentality in both American Christianity and the larger American culture. According to McDannell, ―by combining traditional religious symbols with a set of middle-class domestic values the Victorians rooted their home virtues in the eternal and allowed the more abstract traditional symbols to assume a real presence in everyday life. Domestic religion, in its uniquely religious and generally cultural forms, bound together what was truly meaningful in Victorian society.‖ Victorians bound home, church, and nation together in expressions of sentimentality.29 If such entwining was the case in nineteenth-century expressions of sentimentality, it would be no surprise that such would be the case in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. This dissertation will argue that the same mutual reinforcement exists in modern expressions of evangelicalism, especially in the case of Max Lucado. Sentimentality is a common thread throughout evangelical thought and practice within in churches, the home, and the public sphere. As evangelicals create their social world, they rely on sentimental expressions of piety to

15 worship, to sacralize their lives, and to socially and politically understand the world around them. Other scholars provide additional important insights into sentimentality and its presence in modern evangelicalism. In her examination of evangelical women and Christian romance novels, Neal relies on the Oxford English Dictionary which defines sentimentality as ―indulgence in superficial emotion.‖ She delineates how others inside and outside of evangelicalism have responded to the use of sentimentality in evangelical popular culture, deriding happy endings, naïveté, and childishness (particularly with respect to theology and worldview). Neal, however, is unwilling to let observers psychologize the women who read these novels without understanding how these novels work in their lives. For Neal‘s readers sentimentality in Christian fiction becomes a power attached to faith that allows them to meet the crises and realities of life by recognizing that their struggle is common to humanity as well as connecting to a God who desperately loves them and wants to have a quasi-romantic relationship with them.30 For philosopher Robert Solomon sentimentality is an ―appeal to tender feelings.‖ Recognizing that writers and artists may go to extremes in using sentimental methods, Solomon wants to stake out a place for sentimental expressions in the public arena. He is working against a mindset that views sentimentality as ―too much feeling and too little common sense and rationality, as if they were opposed instead of mutually supportive.‖ Sentimentality, for Solomon, is ―not an escape from reality or responsibility but, quite to the contrary, provides the precondition for ethical engagement rather than being an obstacle to it.‖31 One particular aspect of Solomon‘s description of sentimentality that is useful in discussing evangelical sentimentality is the use of nostalgia in sentimental expressions of emotionality. Nostalgia, as Solomon notes, involves a selection and editing of memories in order to present them in a form that avoids a recognition of unpleasantness. For Solomon this does not necessarily mean that such memories are false, although that might be the case. ―Nostalgia as sentimentality is the ability to focus on or remember something pleasant in the midst of what may have in fact been tragedy and horror.‖32 Evangelical sentimentality, as I use it here, encompasses aspects of the work of these scholars. Evangelical expressions of sentimentality include nostalgia, love (both familial and romantic), and sympathy (in the sense of ―feeling with‖). In this context, these expressions differ

16 slightly from how they are used in the scholars I mentioned. I use their definitions as signposts for important aspects of sentimentality but divorce them from the specific arguments to distinguish modern evangelical sentimentality from the sentimentality of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Modern evangelicals, however, express both nostalgia and love in terms of Victorian notions of the nuclear family.33 Evangelical nostalgia is not just a backward looking phenomenon. The imagined, nostalgic past is also a hope and dream for the future. This sentimental memory of times past provides a template for a future domesticity and a renewed society. Evangelical sentimentality refers to a type of appeal that intends to create emotions related to nostalgia, domesticity, and familial love. In other words, sentimental evangelical literature aims at producing a variety of emotional responses by appealing to readers‘ notions of familial relationships superimposed on one‘s relationship with God—for example, attempting to create feelings of paternal love within a reader by presenting God as father through affective language meant to console someone projected by the author as a sinner separated from God. This attention to sentimental feelings associated with romanticism seen primarily through the works of Max Lucado provides an added dimension to the focus on evangelical belief in the work of historians like Mark Noll, George Marsden, and Nathan Hatch. Max Lucado and the Power of Evangelical Sentimentality Max Lucado and his writings offer a premier exemplar for a type of sentimental evangelicalism that offers democratization through the openness of emotional relationships with God as father and Jesus as lover. It also downplays doctrinal differences because the emphasis is on the individual‘s connection with the deity and not on the relationships one Christian has with another. Reflecting the center of popular evangelicalism, sentimentality, as represented by Lucado‘s writing, also provides an important component of evangelical social activism. Lucado‘s writing forms one of the strands for the transmission and popularization of sentimental evangelicalism as both Lucado and his handlers create, produce, and market sentimental evangelicalism in a multitude of ways. Lucado‘s work represents the culmination of the nineteenth-century sentimental impulse. Sentimentality became an important part of American evangelicalism and remained powerful in conservative evangelicalism through the fundamentalist-modernist controversy and other challenges evangelicals faced in the early twentieth century. As evangelicals recreated their presence in the American public sphere, sentimentality became an important part of

17 evangelical popular culture. Sentimental literature was a big seller in the nineteenth century and became so again in the late twentieth century. The works of Douglas, Stern, and Tompkins, although they were focused on colonial and early republic sentimental literature, also provide a framework for understanding the political consequences of sentimental rhetoric in evangelicalism. I build on their work to show both the continued presence of sentimentality in evangelicalism while also discussing how the sentimentality of modern evangelicalism is different than that of the past. Sentimentality works to obscure the political underpinnings and consequences of such rhetoric. The rhetoric of love, joy, and happiness hides a reliance on grief as a motivator from which to create sentimental rhetoric as well as an appeal to accept that sentiment. As the culmination of several trends and themes in American evangelicalism, Max Lucado capitalizes on this grief and exploits it to great financial success. Chapter one, then, is an examination of Max Lucado‘s rhetoric. In this chapter I will draw out the tropes that are most common in the writings of Max Lucado. Nostalgia, familial and romantic love, and domesticity, feature prominently in his work and are the category for understanding modern evangelical sentimentality. The prime motif for Lucado is the domestic relationship between God and believers. God is (primarily) father, and believers are children. Because of the construction of this relationship, Lucado asks his readers to accept infantilization. While some evangelical thinkers might eschew ―childish‖ theology, Max Lucado embraces it and presents it as the way Christians should interact with God. The main technique that Lucado uses is narrativity. Through the creation of his own narratives or the use of biblical or ―real-life‖ narrative, Lucado plays on the narcissism of his readers, asking them to believe that God sentimentally values them and has special blessings for them. Lucado also appeals to his readers‘ self-importance when he uses the second person (―you‖) and appeals directly to them as individuals, claiming that he wrote his books specifically for them. The conflation of these self- centered experiences—the relationship between God and believer integrated with the relationship between Lucado and reader—is meant to lead the reader to take the words and ideas Lucado offers as if they were the words of God. By assimilating his persona with how he presents God, Lucado offers his readers healing from a wide assortment of issues from child abuse to a bad day. By couching his rhetoric in an appeal to victimhood, Lucado is able to give the impression that his method can solve any problems that his audience faces. The creation of this audience,

18 who looks to Lucado for healing, is dual-sided. Lucado creates who he imagines his audience to be, but the actual readers of a Max Lucado book must make a decision about whether or not they will take the role he offers to them—that of sentimental child longing for a divine parent. The focus of chapter two is the role sentimental thought plays within evangelicalism in the United States. Due to theological shifts in evangelicalism, sentimentality has become a way for evangelicals to avoid intellectual questions about the historical validity and veracity of the Bible. Because evangelicals in the nineteenth century relied on a system of thought that filtered a Baconian approach to nature through a Scottish Common sense philosophy, they have been unable to respond to the challenges of biblical criticism and Darwinian thought in such a way as to convince non-evangelicals that evangelicalism has an intellectually-valid understanding of the world. The sentimental response to these intellectual difficulties is to present a democratic individualism that downplays the importance of doctrinal distinctiveness. The God that Lucado presents in his works values individuals as individuals and does not care about specific doctrinal positions as long as the individual has a ―relationship‖ with God and Jesus Christ. Lucado genders this piety as female and believers and placed in a situation where they relate to God as father but Jesus as lover. Lucado has honed these expressions of familial and erotic love to create a simplistic message that obfuscates and avoids intellectual questions about religion. The union of sentimentality and marketing is the foundation for discussing the media enterprise of Max Lucado that is the core of chapter three. Evangelicals have deployed contemporary marketing strategies since the middle of the eighteenth century. Some have been more successful than others, but most of the ministers who have created large audiences for their ministries or their writings have used marketing. The commercialization of sentimentality both in terms of material culture and in terms of religious thought also has a long pedigree. The elevation of the domestic sphere led to the creation of materials for the home, women, and children. In modern times there is a large market of evangelical books and objects. Max Lucado and his paraphernalia are a substantial part of that market. Not only does he have adult inspirational titles, but he also has children‘s books and DVDs, a greeting card line, and calendars, among other things. In chapter three I examine the Lucado brand and what it represents about American evangelicalism. Chapter four expands the examination of evangelical sentimentality beyond Max Lucado. In this chapter I observe the presence of sentimentality in other forms of evangelical media,

19 especially music and other devotional literature. As modern evangelicalism separated from fundamentalism and became more involved in American public life they relied on sentimental expressions of piety to present themselves to other Americans while using sentimental practices to further create a social world founded on nostalgia, familial and erotic love, and domesticity. Evangelical music in the form of contemporary Christian music (CCM) and hymns used in worship demonstrates the importance of sentimental tropes to musicians. In hymns as well as CCM songs piety and devotion are expressed through tropes that are similar to the ones Max Lucado uses. The same appeal to sentimentality is also evident in the writings of other popular evangelical authors. I examine the works of other evangelical bestsellers—Bruce Wilkinson, Rick Warren, and Joel Osteen—and find the same motifs (although with different emphases). The presence of sentimentality in both music and devotional literature demonstrates the impact it has not only on evangelical thought but evangelical practice as well. Even works like Left Behind and Chick tracts demonstrate the influence of the sentimental categories of familial love and the sacrality of domesticity. Historian Jason Bivins has situated works like Left Behind and Chick tracts in what he calls the ―religion of fear.‖ Works like these demonstrate the dark side of sentimentality. While having a public face of ―sweetness,‖ evangelical sentimentality is often connected with fear in a Janus-like construct that inextricably ties the two together. This combination is evident in the politics of conservative Christians. The issues that conservative evangelicals have espoused in recent years evidence how much sentimentality has become a part of evangelicalism. Evangelicals cast their opposition to abortion and same sex marriage as well as their support for ―school choice‖ in sentimental terms that are bounded by fear. They elevate the sanctity of domesticity, the importance of feminine piety, and the innocence of children but surround their rhetoric on these issues with a rhetoric of fear. The epilogue seeks to ask what is ahead for evangelicalism and evangelical studies. A recent document—―An Evangelical Manifesto‖—serves as a foil to show that both areas are at a crossroads. There are some evangelicals who are distraught that outsiders have equated them with the Religious Right and have attempted to marginalize evangelicals from public discourse. They are attempting to redefine who they are as evangelicals in contrast to the stereotypes that exist in the public sphere. The effort to redefine evangelicalism from within is analogous to the constant definitional struggle in evangelical studies. Scholars have primarily defined evangelicalism in terms of specific evangelical beliefs. Studies about evangelicals and especially

20 evangelical politics flow from a certain set of beliefs that scholars claim exemplify evangelicals. Such categorization is problematic not only because there is no set of beliefs that all evangelicals ascribe to in the same way, but also because focusing only on belief ignores the realm of evangelical religious practice. The focus on sentimentality in this dissertation, however, reveals how interconnected belief and practice are in evangelicalism and how much sentimental tropes permeate both.

CHAPTER ONE

GOD‘S IN THE BUSINESS OF GIVING MULLIGANS: MAX LUCADO‘S SENTIMENTAL RHETORIC

But one of the sweetest reasons God saved you is because he is fond of you. He likes having you around. He thinks you are the best thing to come down the pike in quite a while. . . . If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. . . . He can live anywhere in the universe, and he chose your heart. And the Christmas gift he sent you in Bethlehem? Face it, friend. He‘s crazy about you. —Max Lucado, A Gentle Thunder1

The background of the cover of the book is mostly white. On the upper two-thirds, underneath the author‘s name, two hands reach for each other. One is the hand of an adult male. It takes up nearly the entire two-thirds. You can see from the tip of the middle finger to the wrist. The other hand is that of a young child, no more than five. It reaches toward the other hand, perhaps to compare size; perhaps to have the larger hand encase it. Whose hands are these? Below the hands in royal purple the title God Came Near is emblazoned. While one may not be able to judge a book by its cover, could this book‘s title help one judge the meaning of the cover? Is the adult hand meant to be God‘s hand? Maybe. If so, whose hand is the child‘s? Is it meant to represent a human being who is but a child when compared to God the Father? Is it the child Jesus‘ hand? Is it meant to represent that God became a child and recognized God as F/father so that all human children can recognize God as Father? In either case, the photo most likely represents a father and a child (perhaps even a son—is it a boy‘s hand or a girl‘s?) reaching toward each other across some spatial division. Furthermore, the conclusion seems to be that it is the f/Father‘s hand to which the child is trying to measure up. The title God Came Near, however, suggests that it is the father who has had to come close in order for the child to reach.2 In this situation the cover for God Came Near says much about its author and his approach. God Came Near was the third book of author Max Lucado. Since the publication of God Came Near in 1987, Lucado has written and published over 75 books, as well as created several series of children‘s DVDs. Despite the differences in media and presentation, however, one element remains constant throughout Max Lucado‘s publishing career. The key emotive appeal used to present his version of evangelical Christianity is sentimentality.

In this chapter I will examine Max Lucado‘s sentimental rhetoric. Particularly important in this investigation is the image Lucado creates of God. Lucado domesticates God and primarily presents him as a father interacting with human beings as children. The main interaction between father and child, according to Lucado, is an emotional one. The central trope in Lucado‘s writings is the love God has for his children. While scholars and evangelicals alike have denigrated sentimental theology as ―childish,‖ Max Lucado openly embraces a childish theology as the main expression of the divine. He presents this childish theology not only by presenting the believer-deity relationship in certain ways but also through his discussions of Christian theological concepts of the Incarnation, infantilizing both believer and deity. Sentimental rhetoric, however, works to obscure the realities that exist behind the language. The reliance on sentimentality as an expression of religious thought allows Lucado ideological space to create imprecise meldings of the divine and human. Because of his imprecision Lucado can craft analogies that present himself (or his father Jack Lucado as well) in the role of God—allowing Lucado to make judgments as God without the reader catching the full impact of the juxtaposition. Sentimentality also hides the political roots and consequences of the language Lucado uses. The language of happiness, joy, and love comes from a history of grief and mourning over the political situation of evangelicals in the United States. Max Lucado: A Biography3 Before examining sentimentality in the writings of Max Lucado, it is important to know who Max Lucado is. Max Lee Lucado was born in San Angelo, Texas in 1955, the youngest of four children born to Exxon oil-field mechanic Jack and registered nurse Thelma Lucado. Both Jack and Thelma were members of the Church of Christ and participated in the religious activities of the group in the West Texas town of Andrews, where Max grew up. At the age of ten, Max was baptized in the local Church of Christ. Although he had grown up in a religious household, Max rebelled in his mid-teens; he began drinking alcohol and smoking. Although he was casually rebelling against the moral strictures of his religious heritage, he still attended a Church of Christ college, Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas. In the summer of his junior year, however, Max went on a mission trip to Brazil that had a profound effect on his career aspirations. Instead of becoming a lawyer or getting into politics (as he had planned on at one time), Max decided to be a missionary. He graduated with a BA in Mass Communications in 1977 and later a Master‘s in Biblical and Related Studies. As part of his

23 preparation for mission work, Lucado became an associate minister at the Central Church of Christ in Miami, Florida. There he met and married Denalyn Preston, a fellow Abilene graduate. The two of them left Miami in 1983 to become missionaries in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. From 1983 to 1987 they worked as missionaries, with some relative success. Lucado, however, was not content with simply reaching audiences in Brazil. He began compiling bulletin articles he had written in Miami into a monograph. He sent the manuscript to fifteen publishers and was rejected by fourteen of them. Tyndale House, however, took a risk on the first time author and published On the Anvil: Thoughts on Being Shaped into God’s Image (1985). While Lucado was in Brazil, however, his father was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig‘s disease. Lucado made several trips to the United States during his father‘s declining years. In between trips and mission work, Lucado wrote his second book No Wonder They Call Him the Savior (1986). It was published by Multnomah, one of the publishers who had rejected On the Anvil. Even though Multnomah editor Liz Heaney had rejected the manuscript, she had encouraged Lucado to submit another work. Not only did Multnomah publish No Wonder They Call Him the Savior, Heaney has continued to serve as Lucado‘s editor despite multiple publisher changes. The writing career was burgeoning, but the mission work was soon to end. Shortly after Jack Lucado‘s death in 1987, Max, Denalyn, and their two young daughters Jenna and Andrea moved back to the United States. Lucado took a ministry position with the Oak Hills Church of Christ in San Antonio, Texas in 1988, and was the senior minister until early 2008, when he stepped down due to a heart condition. At Oak Hills Lucado‘s productivity and success exploded. From 1989 (Six Hours One Friday) to 2007 (3:16: The Numbers of Hope) Lucado has produced an adult inspirational title about every eight months. The only year when a major, adult inspirational title did not appear was 2005. His prolificacy has not been without honors. Six Hours One Friday was the first of (so far) thirteen Lucado books to receive an Evangelical Christian Publication Association (ECPA) Gold Medallion Book Award. Lucado‘s books are also an almost constant feature on the ECPA bestseller list. There has been at least one Lucado title on the list every month since July 1990. Lucado has also won three Charles ―Kip‖ Jordon Christian Book of the Year awards for When God Whispers Your Name (1994), In the Grip of Grace (1996), and Just Like Jesus (1998). In 2001 Lucado also achieved success in the general book market. Traveling Light, released in September 2001, was Lucado‘s first book to make The New York Times’ bestseller

24 list. His books It’s Not About Me (2004) and 3:16: The Numbers of Hope (2007) would also appear on the Times’ list. Lucado, however, has not confined his writing to an adult audience alone. In 1992, he published the first of his children‘s books, Just in Case You Ever Wonder. He has been prolific in his children‘s writing as well, producing at least one children‘s book each year since from 1992 to 2004. His children‘s work has also provided a platform to enter the video market as well. In 2003 Lucado released Hermie: A Common Caterpillar. The book spawned a successful DVD series. DVDs in the series have been the number one Christian video in both 2005 and 2006. Hermie and his friends also appeared as toys in Chick-fil-A kid‘s meals in 2006. Works in the Lucado brand are not limited to books and DVDs. In 2003 Hallmark launched a card line based on Lucado‘s writings. The only other author to have such a branded line with Hallmark at the time was Maya Angelou. In their press release for the Lucado line, Hallmark noted an increased market interest in ―inspirational, encouraging and contemporary Christian cards.‖ Lucado, who had also written gift books for Hallmark, has messages on holiday cards, sympathy cards, birthday cards, and ―thinking-of-you‖ cards.4 Lucado has been honored in other ways. In 2005 Readers’ Digest named him ―America‘s Best Preacher.‖ A resolution by the Texas House of Representatives congratulating Lucado for the honor followed. He has also appeared on television programs, including ―Larry King Live,‖ usually in response to major tragedies like September 11th, the Columbia explosion, and the beginning of the Iraq War. The Republican National Committee invited him to offer a prayer at the 2004 convention, and he has participated in the National Prayer Breakfast (1999) and was the honorary chairperson of the National Day of Prayer (2005).5 His career has not been without controversy, however. After the release of A Love Worth Giving (2003), Lucado went on a speaking tour with contemporary Christian musicians Michael W. Smith and Third Day. The tour was sponsored by Chevrolet. For some religious and non- religious people, the involvement of Chevrolet in an explicitly evangelical production was disconcerting. For Chevrolet (and parent company General Motors), it was an opportunity to target the evangelical audience. News about the controversy appeared in many major media outlets.6 Larger controversy has come from Lucado‘s former denomination, the Churches of Christ. In 2004 Lucado‘s Oak Hills Church of Christ dropped the ―of Christ‖ in an apparent

25 attempt to sever itself from the denomination. Dissension over Max Lucado had been a part of the experiences of Churches of Christ prior to this, however. Although Lucado‘s success was an example of how ―Churches of Christ were moving squarely into the orbit of American evangelical Christianity‖ for historian Richard Hughes, conservative ministers within the denomination saw Lucado‘s message as departing from the core beliefs of the movement. As early as 1991 some vituperative ministers were decrying Lucado‘s success as well as his message. For example, a minister by the name of Goebel Music attacked Lucado for his ecumenical attitudes. Music protested Lucado‘s involvement in Catholic, Baptist and Presbyterian services as well as his emphasis on grace instead of traditional Church of Christ teachings regarding who is a Christian and who is not.7 When Oak Hills Church dropped ―of Christ‖ from its name, it also adopted other practices that were not traditionally associated with Churches of Christ, particularly the use of instrumental music during worship. Some conservative ministers again protested these moves. They saw such a position as a ―departure from the truth on the scriptural designations for the church, the design of baptism, and the music of the church.‖ These ministers also felt that the stance of Oak Hills Church was a call to battle: ―Local congregations are going to have to rise up and fight against this apostasy because the battle lines are very clear and those in error are very powerful.‖ Although Oak Hills is ostensibly governed by a group of elders, Lucado, because of his prominence and success, is the target for such accusations.8 Despite tensions within and minor controversy without, Lucado and Oak Hills Church have continued to achieve great success. Attendance has grown at Oak Hills. Lucado continues to write best-selling works. He is a popular speaker and commentator. Although he stepped down as the senior minister at Oak Hills, he continues to be active. With his prolific writing and his popular speaking, Lucado is one of the main propagators of evangelical sentimentality. Sentimentalizing the Family in the Writings of Max Lucado Sentimental is the key adjective to describe Max Lucado‘s works. Although they contain biblical and religious references, his books are not in-depth exegeses of biblical texts, nor are they philosophical texts per se. Instead, they emotionally appeal to readers to enter into a relationship with Lucado‘s version of God, or to deepen such a relationship. In this appeal, Lucado uses several stock tropes that recur throughout his books. Of particular utility is the image of God as desperate father concerned about a relationship with his children (including all

26 human beings). This trope appears in nearly all of Lucado‘s works, but he develops it as a major theme in his work The Great House of God. The Great House of God is Lucado‘s exposition of the Lord‘s Prayer. It should be no surprise that the fatherhood trope appears so prominent in this work since the prayer starts off with the words ―Our Father.‖ Lucado takes the prayer and breaks it into separate lines, associating each of the lines with a room in a house. Moving through the prayer, Lucado takes his readers on a tour of God‘s house: for example, the phrase ―thy kingdom come‖ is connected to God‘s ―throne room;‖ the phrase ―give us this day our daily bread‖ prompts a tour through God‘s ―kitchen.‖ Through fifteen chapters, Lucado travels through all the ―rooms‖ in God‘s ―house‖ to show his readers that: ―God wants you to move in out of the cold and live . . . with him. Under his roof there is space available. At his table a plate is set. . . . And he‘d like you to take up residence in his house. Why would he want you to share his home? Simple, he‘s your Father.‖9 This journey through God‘s house is a sentimental one. It is nostalgic. It is meant to evoke feelings of childhood—having a home with a family (particularly a father) that is a place one can become familiar with the surroundings and feel at home: ―With time you can learn where to go for nourishment, where to hide for protection, where to turn for guidance.‖ The reader is infantilized—she needs someone else to provide for her nourishment; he needs protection; she needs guidance. Lucado‘s God offers all of this; furthermore, according to Lucado, we all need this. In God‘s house, each of his children has a ―framed photo‖ and a ―scrapbook.‖10 If Lucado‘s God were a physical being with a physical house, it would be cluttered with all the mementos of his children that he would amass. Not only would God have photos and scrapbooks, ―[h]ad he a calendar, your birthday would be circled. If he drove a car, your name would be on his bumper. If there‘s a tree in heaven, he‘s carved your name on the bark.‖11 In A Gentle Thunder Lucado further notes that God is fond of human beings. ―He likes having you around. He thinks you are the best thing to come down the pike in quite awhile. . . . If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If he had a wallet, your photo would be in it. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning. . . . He can live anywhere in the universe, and he chose your heart.‖12 Human beings are infantilized in this relationship—God is father; human beings, no matter their age, are children and Lucado‘s God relates to them as such:

He is like a father who walks hand in hand with his little child. The child knows he belongs to his daddy, his small hand happily lost in the large one. He feels no uncertainty about his papa‘s love. But suddenly the father, moved by some impulse, swings his boy up into the air and into his arms and says, ―I love you, Son.‖ He puts a big kiss on the bubbly cheek, lowers the boy to the ground, and the two go on walking together.13

A predominant motif of the evangelical sentimentality that Max Lucado represents is the importance of the father figure. Not only are Victorian notions of domesticity a marker for understanding evangelical conceptions of ―family,‖ but it is the father within that family that becomes important in representations of who God is and how he relates to human beings. This is not necessarily a one-way movement of attributions. In the nineteenth century philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach (and others) suggested that people project human attributes into the heavens to conceptualize God and what such a being would be like. Lucado plays into this projection but then adds an additional projection. He returns the heavenly projection to earth. God as Father represents what evangelicals believe to be the best qualities of human fathers, and in turn evangelicals like Lucado encourage fathers to exhibit these qualities. This symbiotic projection is evident in several places in Lucado‘s works as he attempts to explain to his readers the fatherly qualities of God by using his own father as an example. Jack Lucado exhibits these qualities, and in a sense, Lucado melds Jack with God. How Jack acted is how God acts.14 Sometimes the narratives Lucado tells about his father are simply examples of how his father exhibited godly or Christ-like traits. In No Wonder They Call Him the Savior, Lucado relates his father‘s deteriorating health due to Lou Gehrig‘s disease. It serves as an opening narrative to his musings on the Passion Week of Christ. As he ponders Jack Lucado‘s last months, he mirrors them with the last actions of Christ. As Jack Lucado got his house in order, so too did Jesus prior to his crucifixion. In Jack Lucado, Max Lucado (and by extension his readers) receives a twentieth-century example of Jesus: ―‗So that is where you learned it,‘ I said aloud as though speaking to my father. I smiled to myself and thought, ‗It‘s much easier to die like Jesus if you have lived like him for a lifetime.‘‖15 Christ-likeness, however, is not the only way Lucado uses his father as an example. He frequently uses Jack Lucado as a stand-in for God. The message is this: you, the reader, can understand God by reading this story about my father. Quite often when Lucado uses his father as an exemplar, it is to demonstrate God‘s willingness to grant grace. For example, Lucado recounts a story where he compares God‘s readiness to dispense grace to his father‘s provision of

28 a credit card prior to Lucado‘s journey to college. Max skipped class one Friday to travel to another city to visit a girl without his parents‘ knowledge and without any money. On his way back to school he rear-ended someone. When he explained the situation to his father, Jack Lucado responded, ―[T]hese things happen. That‘s why I gave you the card. I hope you learned a lesson.‖ While the college-aged Lucado may have learned one lesson, the adult Lucado draws another lesson out for his readers: Did I learn a lesson? I certainly did. I learned that my father‘s forgiveness predated my mistake. He had given me the card before my wreck in the event that I would have one. He had provided for my blunder before I blundered. Need I tell you that God has done the same? Please understand, Dad didn‘t want me to wreck the car. He didn‘t give me the card so that I would wreck the car. But he knew his son. And he knew his son would someday need grace. Please understand, God doesn‘t want us to sin. He didn‘t give us grace so we would sin. But he knows his children.16

God as a loving father is an important trope for Lucado, so it is not surprising that he uses memories of Jack Lucado that present him as a loving father. But those memories are often sentimental ones. In God Came Near, for example, Lucado eulogizes his father in a chapter he claims was written on Father‘s Day. Concerning his father Lucado notes, ―He was always close by. Always available. Always present. His words were nothing novel. His achievements, though admirable, were nothing extraordinary. But his presence was.‖ He goes on to compare Jack Lucado to a ―warm fireplace‖ and a ―sturdy porch swing‖ and a ―big-branched elm in the backyard‖: Jack Lucado was a ―source of comfort‖ and dependable. No matter what happened in life, Jack Lucado was there for his son—even when others were not. But now, Jack Lucado was gone: Maybe that‘s why this Father‘s Day is a bit chilly. The fire has gone out. The winds of age swallowed the last splendid flame, leaving only golden embers. But there is a strange thing about those embers, stir them a bit and a flame will dance. It will dance only briefly, but it will dance. And it will knock just enough chill out of the air to remind me that he is still—in a special way—very present.17

Jack Lucado, however, is not the only one presented as a loving father or a stand-in for God. Lucado more often uses himself as representation of God‘s fatherly characteristics, paralleling himself with God. Although Lucado habitually uses himself as a representative of behavior evangelicals should avoid, there are moments when he points out characteristics of himself that he believes show something about God. In those moments, he asks readers to accept that his actions resemble the actions of God. The occasions of showing himself in error elide the

29 times when the presentation of himself corresponds with the presentation of God. In The Great House of God, for example, Lucado recounts buying his daughter Sara a desk. The purchase was made at an unfinished furniture store. Sara thought that the family was taking the desk home that day, unaware that the store would need time to paint it first. She pestered Lucado with questions like ―Daddy, don‘t you think we could paint it ourselves?‖ She begged until Lucado relented, and ―[t]he Lucado family took a desk home that day.‖ Moving this story of a purchase into a spiritual lesson, Lucado writes, ―I heard Sara‘s request for the same reason God hears ours. . . . .I was moved to respond because Sara called me ‗Daddy.‘ Because she is my child, I heard her request. Because we are his children, God hears ours. The king of creation gives special heed to the voice of his family.‖18 Lucado‘s book In the Grip of Grace contains another instance of the author using himself as an exemplar of God. In a chapter entitled ―Calling the Corpses‖ Lucado relates a trip to camp to pick up two of his daughters. He arrived earlier than the pickup time and had to wait until someone from the camp staff gave the parents permission to enter the camp. Lucado shoved his way through line, raced other fathers down the camp trail, and ―was willing to do what it took to see my kids.‖ God, according to Lucado, feels the same way: ―God is ready to see his own. He, too, is separated from his children. He, too, will do whatever is necessary to take them home.‖19 If God is a father (or the Father), human beings are his children, another useful trope for Lucado. He evokes nostalgia through painting images of children deeply in love and heavily in awe of their father. It is also not a surprise that an evangelical would find utility in urging his readers to become children. The writers of the Gospels present Jesus as saying favorable things about children and urging his disciples to emulate children. In Matthew 18:3, Jesus tells his disciples, ―Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.‖ He later tells them, ―Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs‖ (Matt. 19:14) Lucado, however, infantilizes his readers. He urges them to become like children and accept the sentimental expressions of love from their father: ―[I]f I know that one of the privileges of a father is to comfort a child, then why am I so reluctant to let my heavenly Father comfort me?‖ He wants his readers to believe that despite narratives that discuss God‘s wrath and justice, in essence God is a Father who only wants to relate sentimentally to his children: ―[W]hen I am criticized, injured, or afraid, there is a Father who is ready to comfort me. There is

30 a Father who will hold me until I‘m better, help me until I can live with the hurt, and who won‘t go to sleep when I‘m afraid of waking up and seeing the dark. Ever. And that‘s enough.‖20 Although in Romancing God religious studies scholar Lynn Neal hesitated to allow critics to identify the evangelical theology of her informants and their novels as childish, Max Lucado‘s theology is self-consciously ―childish.‖ He expects his readers to identify with children and become children to be in a relationship with God the Father. On a trip to Jerusalem with one of his daughters, Lucado notices a lost daughter calling for her father using the word, ―abba,‖ an Aramaic word meaning ―father.‖ Since both Jesus and the Apostle Paul encouraged Christians to refer to God as their ―Abba,‖ Lucado watches how the father of this daughter would respond. The father finds his daughter, takes her hand, and leads her across a busy street. He rhapsodizes, ―Isn‘t that what we all need? An abba who will hear when we call? Who will take our hand when we‘re weak? Who will guide us through the hectic intersections of life? Don‘t we all need an abba who will swing us up into his arms and carry us home? We all need a father.‖21 Adoption is an important metaphor in Lucado‘s childish theology. Again, the seed for the adoption metaphor comes from the biblical text. Paul used adoption to refer to the relationship between God and new Christians. He told the Roman Christians, ―[Y]ou have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‗Abba! Father!‖ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God‖ (Rom. 8:15-16). Paul also wrote to the Galatians that ―God sent his Son . . . so that we might receive adoption as children‖ (Gal. 4:4-5). As with other biblical metaphors, Lucado sentimentalizes adoption. In God Came Near Lucado relates the story of a Brazilian woman named Carmelita at her adopted mother‘s funeral. After the funeral, Carmelita, the orphaned child of a prostitute and unknown father, stood weeping at her adoptive mother‘s casket weeping, saying ―thank you‖ over and over in Portuguese. In his book Lucado reflects, ―Driving home that day, I thought how we, in many ways, are like Carmelita. We too were frightened orphans. We too were without tenderness or acceptance. And we too were rescued by a compassionate visitor, a generous parent who offered us a home and a name.‖ Furthermore, Lucado reasons that we should exhibit Carmelita‘s response: ―We, too, should stand in the quiet company of him who saved us, and weep tears of gratitude and offer words of thankfulness.‖22 In Come Thirsty, he tells another story of an orphan who was adopted. In this case, some of Lucado‘s friends adopted Carinette, a Haitian orphan. In this narrative, the reader observes

Carinette in a Haitian orphanage prior to the finalization of her adoption and travel to the United States. She is waiting for her parents to return: ―Carinette‘s situation mirrors ours. Our Father paid us a visit too. Have we not been claimed? Adopted? . . . Before you knew you needed adopting, he‘d already filed the papers and selected the wallpaper for your room.‖ Lucado uses the image of a girl in an orphanage awaiting a finalized adoption to suggest to his readers how they too await the finalization of their adoption in the Second Coming of Christ. In this context, adoption becomes a means to encourage his readers to accept the pains and problems in their life because they are short-lived: Every cafeteria meal brings [Carinette] closer to home cooking, and each dormitory night carries her closer to a room of her own. And every time she longs to call someone mama, she remembers that she soon will. Her struggles stir longings for home. Let your bursitis-plagued body remind you of your eternal one; let acid-inducing days prompt thoughts of unending peace. Are you falsely accused? Acquainted with abuse? Mudslining is a part of this life, but not the next. Rather than begrudge life‘s troubles, listen to them.23

Lucado turns from Carinette‘s situation to the situation of a ten-year-old boy named Antwan, the subject of a 1992 Time magazine article. Although the emphasis is not on adoption, the downplaying of life‘s problems (because they are short-lived) remains prominent. Antwan and his mother live in a poverty-stricken, drug-peddler-ridden neighborhood. In Antwan‘s living room, a poster with a crying black boy hangs on the wall with the caption, ―He will wipe away all tears from their eyes‖ (Rev. 21:4). What is Lucado‘s response to this situation? ―Write checks of hope on this promise. . . . Every bump of the second hand brings you closer to a completed adoption.‖24 Lucado‘s reliance on sentimentality in this situation reveals a problematic political consequence for using sentimentality. Here is Antwan, a boy living in abject poverty. Drug dealers have hidden their drugs in his socks. Even Lucado questions, ―What hope does a boy like Antwan have?‖ Instead of urging his readers to get involved in the lives of children like Antwan (since God cares for all of his children), Lucado uses Antwan‘s story only to focus on the quote from Revelation 21:4—pain and sorrow are impermanent. God as father and heaven as home, however, are permanent. In the back matter of Come Thirsty, there is an ad for the ONE Campaign to fight AIDS and poverty not just in America but also globally. Under the campaign‘s website there is a paragraph that reads: ―There is a plague of biblical proportions taking place in Africa right now,

32 but we can beat this crisis, if we each do our part.‖ On the lower half of the ad is a quote from page 72 of Come Thirsty: ―Babies need hugs. Children need good-night tucks. AIDS orphans need homes. Stressed-out executives need hope. God has work to do. And he uses our hands to do it.‖ Sentimentality, then, can both rhetorically discourage social action and encourage the same.25 Lucado‘s ―childish‖ theology, however, is not simply restricted to Christians. All human beings are God‘s children, and according to Lucado, all of us, especially non-Christians act childish. In an open letter to God, Lucado asks, ―Why do you love your children? I don‘t want to sound irreverent, but only heaven knows how much pain we‘ve brought.‖ Human beings, according to Lucado, are ungracious, complainers, argumentative, and insignificant: ―We are a gnat on the tail of one elephant in a galaxy of Africas, and yet we demand that you find us a parking place when we ask.‖ Human beings are destructive with respect to the environment and their bodies. ―We are spoiled babies who take and kick and pout and blaspheme.‖26 The ultimate expression of Lucado‘s ―childish‖ theology is his sentimentalization of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. In sentimentalizing the Incarnation, Lucado brings together his tropes of God as Father and the infantilization of his readers. God the all-powerful became Jesus the human being, and as a human being, Jesus, according to Lucado, underwent everything human beings experience: The omnipotent, in one instant, made himself breakable. He who had been spirit became pierceable. He who was larger than the universe became an embryo. And he who sustains the world with a word chose to be dependent upon the nourishment of a young girl. God as a fetus. Holiness sleeping in a womb. The creator of life being created. God was given eyebrows, elbows, two kidneys, and a spleen. He stretched against the walls and floated in the amniotic fluids of his mother. God had come near.27

In a chapter of God Came Near entitled ―Twenty-Five Questions for Mary,‖ Lucado presents the Virgin with twenty-five questions meant to demonstrate to his readers what it must have been like to have parented God as a child. Lucado wants to know what Jesus was like at funeral. ―Did he ever come home with a black eye?‖ What did Mary say about Jesus‘ first haircut? Did he have a best friend? ―Did you ever accidentally call him Father?‖ ―Did you ever think, That’s God eating my soup?‖ Through sentimental descriptions of the human aspects of Jesus‘ incarnation, Lucado works to get his readers to accept that Jesus experienced human life in its entirety: from birth to death. Jesus had to learn to walk. Jesus went through puberty. Jesus

33 was human—he knows what its like to be you.28 There are other places where Lucado sentimentalizes the Incarnation. In the back of Lucado‘s book 3:16: The Numbers of Hope there is a forty-day series of devotionals. Day 2 is entitled ―Mary Cradles God.‖ Fifth-century Christians debated whether or not Mary should be referred to as theotokos—God bearer. There were individuals on both sides of the issue. Lucado does not reference that debate—he sentimentalizes the notion of theotokos: ―God had entered the world as a baby. . . . Wide awake is Mary. She looks into the face of the baby. Her son. Her Lord. His Majesty. At this point in history, the human being who best understands who God is and what he is doing is a teenage girl in a smelly stable. . . . Mary knows she is holding God.‖29 While attempting to show that God supports the weak and the oppressed, Lucado refers his readers to his sentimental depiction of the incarnation. According to Lucado, Jesus as God had everything he could want and gave it all up to show God cares for even those on the lower rungs of society: Would you do what Jesus did? He swapped a spotless castle for a grimy stable. He exchanged the worship of angels for the company of killers. He could hold the universe in his palm but gave it up to float in the womb of a maiden. If you were God, would you sleep on straw, nurse from a breast, and be clothed in a diaper? I wouldn‘t, but Christ did. . . . He humbled himself. He went from commanding angels to sleeping in the straw. From holding stars to clutching Mary‘s finger.30

Sentimentality, nostalgia for a nuclear family, and familial love intertwine in the writings of Max Lucado as a means to create a certain picture of God that Lucado believes will be appealing to his readers. God is a father desperate to have a relationship with his human children. This God is so desperate that he became a human being (Jesus) and suffered and died as a human being to bring all human beings into a relationship with him. Sentimentalizing God in these kinds of terms produces a ―childish‖ theology—a theology that relies on human beings accepting a permanent role in a system that infantilizes them. Even God, however, is infantilized in some respects through Lucado‘s sentimentalizing of the Incarnation: a hermeneutic he extends to other parts of the Bible. Common Texts—Sentimentalizing Biblical Narratives Lucado‘s sentimentalizing of narratives from the biblical texts does not end with the Incarnation. In fact there are several biblical narratives that Lucado uses multiple times in several of his books. Focusing on giving these narratives and the characters in them an

34 emotional hue allows Lucado to craft a rhetoric of reciprocal sympathy. Historian Julia Stern described the power of sympathy in her study of sentimental Revolutionary War novels. Stern, however, argued that the sympathy used by those novelists was a response to the failed promise of the Revolution. Sentimentality became a means to enact sympathy for those who were powerless, who did not have access to the political avenues of the era. Lucado‘s enacting of sympathy in his sentimentality works differently. The sympathy expressed in Lucado‘s works is an attempt to connect the reader to a biblical character. Many of these narratives are about a biblical character‘s interaction with Jesus. The interaction usually results in some sort of healing (physical, emotional or spiritual) of the character. The reader is then put in the place of the character—similarities are emphasized (you, the reader, are like this character). If Jesus healed the character, so the reasoning goes, will he not also heal the reader? Lucado‘s emotionalizing may alter the meaning of the biblical narrative in its context, but for his purposes this presentation of biblical narratives is a common, even ritualistic, technique. His approach to these narratives (and in many respects all of his narratives) is to reiterate the same theme intending to create the same emotions. Lucado is attempting to produce a way for his readers to see themselves and the world through the repetition of biblical narratives, sentimental rhetoric, and narcissistic allure. Although he repeats multiple narratives, I will use four examples to demonstrate. One of the repeated narratives is the ―Woman at the Well‖ from John 4. The woman in this context is from a region called Samaria. Samaritans and Jews had an antagonistic relationship, and they often avoided one another. Jesus, a Jew, stops at a well in the middle of the day. A Samaritan woman comes to the well to draw water, and Jesus asks for a drink. After her initial hesitation, she and Jesus begin discussing religious topics like the proper place of worship. She returns to town and convinces a sizeable group to go with her to listen to Jesus‘ teaching. The point of the text seems to be the universal audience of Jesus‘ message or a condemnation of the Jewish people for rejecting Jesus. It also appears to function as a narrative injunction against racial prejudice in early Christianity. Lucado does not focus on any of these aspects. Instead he focuses on the Samaritan woman‘s marital situation. During their conversation in the Gospel of John, Jesus tells the woman, ―Go, call your husband, and come back.‖ She replies, ―I have no husband.‖ He responds, ―You are right in saying, ‗I have no husband‘; for you have had five husbands, and the

35 one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!‖ (John 4:16-18). In the Johannine narrative, the woman takes this as a sign Jesus is a prophet. In Lucado‘s narrative, this interaction demonstrates that this woman has had a hard life. According to Lucado, this woman has failed ―not at work but at marriage. Her first one failed. So did her second. By the collapse of the third, she knew the names of the court clerk‘s grandkids. If her fourth trip to divorce court didn‘t convince her, the fifth removed all doubt. She is destined for marital flops.‖31 In Lucado‘s version the woman comes to the well with ―half a dozen kids, each one looking like a different daddy.‖ Jesus can tell she had difficulties. ―Her life story was written in the wrinkles on her face. The wounds of five broken romances were gaping and festered.‖ Lucado‘s Jesus understands her pain, and ―[s]ilently the Divine Surgeon reached into his kit and pulled out a needle of faith and a thread of hope. In the shade of Jacob‘s well he stitched her wounded soul back together.‖32 In A Love Worth Giving the Samaritan woman becomes ―a happy-hour stool sitter who lives with her mad at half boil. . . . Certainly not Samaria‘s finest.‖ In this version, Jesus demonstrates his forgiveness, grace, and kindness by making her his missionary. Jesus knew everything about this woman and her marital problems, ―and he loved [her] anyway.‖ Lucado argues, if Jesus could do that for Samaria‘s down and out, ―[s]ee if God‘s love doesn‘t do for you what it did for the woman in Samaria.‖ The reader is juxtaposed with the Samaritan woman to create a sympathetic bond that, in turn, leads to a sympathetic resolution of the reader‘s problems—Jesus took care of her, he‘ll take care of you.33 Another one of Lucado‘s favorite narratives is the ―Raising of Lazarus.‖ In John 11, Jesus is informed that his friend Lazarus is ill. Jesus waits two days longer before making the journey to the house of Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha. By the time Jesus arrives, Lazarus has died, and his family has buried him. Both Mary and Martha confront Jesus and tell him that if he had arrived earlier Lazarus would still be alive. Jesus comforts them, assuring them that Lazarus would rise again. Jesus approaches the tomb of Lazarus and orders him to come out, which he does. From narratives about Jesus raising the dead (including the raising of Lazarus), Lucado tells his readers that Jesus is concerned when they lose a loved one to death. Furthermore, as Jesus listened to the concerns of Mary and Martha, he will also listen to the concerns of Lucado‘s readers: ―You can talk to God because God listens. Your voice matters in heaven. He takes you

36 very seriously. . . . Your prayers move God to change the world.‖34 In addition, the grief that Lucado‘s readers feel when they lose someone is the same grief Jesus had over Lazarus‘ death. As they weep over the grave of a friend or family member, Jesus wept over the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:35): [Jesus] sits on the pew between Mary and Martha, puts an arm around each and sobs. . . . Jesus weeps. He weeps with them. He weeps for them. He weeps with you. He weeps for you. . . . A person can enter a cemetery Jesus-certain of life after death and still have a Twin Tower crater in the heart. Christ did. He wept, and he knew he was ten minutes from seeing a living Lazarus! And his tears give you permission to shed your own.35

Lucado relies on the same tactics in this story as in the Woman at the Well. Modernizing the narrative, assimilating the reader and biblical character, and resolving emotional tension, work to create a reiterative approach to the Bible that invites the reader to participate in this emotional performance.

A third example of sentimentalizing biblical narrative is the story of Mephibosheth, found in 2 Samuel 9. Mephibosheth was the grandson of King David‘s predecessor Saul and the son of David‘s close friend, Jonathan. Mephibosheth was ―crippled in his feet‖ (2 Sam. 9:3). After David was established as king, he looked for someone of the house of Saul to help. A servant identified Mephibosheth as one of the remnants of Saul‘s house. David invited Mephibosheth to sit at the king‘s table as an act of kindness toward Jonathan‘s memory. This narrative also falls prey to Lucado‘s sentimentalizing. Lucado asks the reader to identify with Mephibosheth and consider David as a stand-in for God: ―You‘ve never introduced yourself as Mephibosheth . . . but you could.‖36 And just as it happened with Mephibosheth, Lucado tells his readers that ―something Cinderella-like happens‖ to them too. ―God lifted us from the dead-end street of Lo-debarville [a play on the name of Mephibosheth‘s town] and sat us at his table.‖37 ―Children of royalty, crippled by the fall, permanently marred by sin. Living parenthetical lives in the chronicles of earth only to be remembered by the king.‖38 Lucado ritualistically abstracts these narratives from their context to create a way of seeing for his readers. They are not forgotten outsiders, marginalized from society. They are familially connected to a being greater than society. A final sentimental biblical exemplar is the penitent thief who is crucified with Jesus in Luke 23. The Gospel of Luke mentions two thieves: one who mocked Jesus, another who

37 believed in him. When the first criminal called for Jesus to save himself and the others crucified with him, the second responded that Jesus was innocent and undeserving of execution. Turning to Jesus he asks, ―Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.‖ Jesus responds, ―Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise‖ (Luke 23:42-43). This narrative appears frequently in Lucado‘s books. Lucado identifies the reader (and himself) with the thief in order to present the idea that only God‘s grace saves human beings. Lucado uses the penitent thief to demonstrate how absurd God‘s grace appears. He also uses the thief to demonstrate the value of humanity to God. Human beings, argues Lucado, have accepted a belief that humanity is without value, duty, or destiny. This is not the position of God, however. For Lucado, if ―anyone was ever worthless,‖ it was this thief on the cross. He was a ―flatnosed ex-con asking God‘s Son for eternal life.‖ He was a ―strong arm.‖ He was a ―loser‖ who ―deserved dying.‖ Yet Jesus offered him forgiveness. ―Jesus chose him,‖ writes Lucado, ―to show us what he thinks of the human race.‖ By sentimentalizing the narrative, Lucado is able to present to the readers the idea that if criminals are valuable to God, they are also: ―Your value is inborn. . . . You are valuable simply because you exist.‖39 Here it becomes apparent that Lucado‘s emotive appeal is a narcissistic one. The appeal is to the reader as an individual. While Lucado hints that God loves and values all human beings the same way, the rhetoric is individualistic. He says to the reader: You the individual reader are special to God. You matter to God. God became human and died a cruel death just for you.40 Despite the fact that one of his New York Times’ bestsellers is entitled It’s Not About Me, the reader of a Lucado book could easily be convinced that it is about him or her. Lucado becomes a messenger, a conduit even, to facilitate this narcissistic relationship between a sentimental God and a childish human being. Again and again he deploys the same themes, tactics, categories, and emotive rhetoric, all of which is aimed at creating a vision through repetition. It is an encouragement to find the emotional and therapeutic in scripture by creating a groove of how to read the Bible to find these elements. As ethnographer Susan Harding noted about Jerry Falwell, Lucado creates a set of interpretive practices that not only creates a habitual way of seeing the Bible as real, but also creating authority for Lucado himself through the relationships he seeks to produce.41 Relationships and Healing Another element of Max Lucado‘s writing that is important to examine is the relationship

Lucado attempts to create with his readers. This approach is also ritualistic because Lucado repeats the same types to relate to the reader in attempting to create a therapeutic ritual built on Lucado‘s identity and reputation. One of the ways he tries to do this is through the Acknowledgment section of his books. Although he does not do it in all of his books, Lucado quite frequently makes some sort of acknowledgment to the reader for taking the time to read his book. Sometimes the reference is simply one of thanks: ―And to the readers . . . You are so gracious to invite me into your home. I‘ll do my best not to overstay my welcome.‖ At other times Lucado tells his readers that in preparing the book he has prayed for them. For example, he opens In the Grip of Grace with the acknowledgment: ―And to you the reader: I‘ve prayed for you. Long before you held this book, I asked God to prepare your heart. May I ask that you pray for me? Would you offer the prayer of Colossians 4:4 on my behalf? Thank you. I‘m honored that you would read these pages.‖ Some of the acknowledgements are in the plural (readers), but most are singular (reader). Lucado writes as if he is speaking to the person holding the book and not to a large community of readers numbering in the millions across the globe.42 Not everyone reads the Acknowledgments at the beginning of books, but there are other ways Lucado attempts to create a relationship and conversation with his readers. Sprinkled throughout many of his books are references to the reader that also give the impression that Lucado wrote the book as if he were speaking to the specific individual reader. It can be as simple as telling the reader that he had written certain sections or chapters just for them. He might mention that he is praying for the reader in the concluding chapter. He might make a pact with the reader. He might ―step out‖ so that his readers can pray to God to have Satan removed from their lives.43 In When God Whispers Your Name Lucado opens the book with an extended ―conversation‖ with his reader: ―You‘ve been on my mind as I‘ve been writing. I‘ve thought of you often. I honestly have. Over the years I‘ve gotten to know some of you folks well. I‘ve read your letters, shaken your hands, and watched you eyes. I think I know you.‖ In this one-sided ―conversation‖ Lucado lays before his readers the conditions he believes they have. In establishing this relationship, Lucado constructs his readers as people with emotional, relationship, and spiritual problems: ―You‘re busy. . . . You‘re anxious. . . .Your spouse cheated. . . . You‘ve made mistakes.‖ He takes encounters with specific readers and expands them to generalize:

I met one of you at a bookstore in Michigan. A businessman, you seldom came out of your office at all and never to meet an author. But then you did. . . . And the single mom in Chicago. One kid was tugging, the other crying, but juggling them both, you made your point. ―I made mistakes,‖ you explained, ―but I really want to try again.‖ And there was that night in Fresno. The musician sang and I spoke and you came. You almost didn‘t. You almost stayed home. Just that day you‘d found the note from your wife. She was leaving. But you came anyway.

He constructs his book as providing the solution: ―And so as I wrote, I thought about you. All of you. You aren‘t malicious. You aren‘t evil. You aren‘t hardhearted (hardheaded occasionally, but not hardhearted). You really want to do what is right. . . . I sought to give a repertoire of chapters that recite well the lyrics of grace and sing well the melody of joy. For you are the guest of the Maestro, and he is preparing a concert you‘ll never forget.‖ When the readers‘ lives ―turn south,‖ they can pick up a Lucado book—whose author has prayed for them; spoken to God for them—and allow the author to remind them that ―God knows your name.‖44 In Just Like Jesus, Lucado replaces the Acknowledgement with an open letter to the readers which starts ―Dear Friend.‖ The first section of the letter gives the reader insight into the Lucado household. He describes the redecoration of his writing room. He writes about his wife Denalyn‘s love of redecoration. Then he shifts to discuss God‘s love of redecorating: ―God loves to decorate. God has to decorate. Let him live long enough in a heart, and that heart will begin to change.‖ Lucado then tells the reader that God is remodeling their hearts. At which time he turns this letter into an acknowledgment section: ―Before we go any further, may I stop and say thank you? To spend these moments with you is a high privilege, and I want you to know how grateful I am for the opportunity.‖ He proceeds to offer gratitude to his editor, some friends and family, and others involved in the creation of the book.45 Such addresses to the reader are not something unique with Lucado‘s sentimentality. Authors of eighteenth-century sentimental literature employed a similar technique to involve the reader in the work they were reading. Several early American novels were in epistolary form. As scholars have noted the epistolarity of these novels had important gender connotations, because narrators of these novels were often women, even when the author was male. Epistolarity blurred other lines as well. Textuality, performance, and vocality merged together as narrators spoke directly to their readers. Public and private also blurred because the novel was in the form of a letter but publishers produced these works for a sizable audience; epistolarity created the opportunity for the individual readers to believe they were each participating in the

40 correspondence with the author/narrator. The epistolary form also served to enact power relations. The epistolary novel could be, in Julia Stern‘s words, ―a conduit for equal and open exchange or a guise for vocal tyranny.‖46 The epistolarity of Max Lucado‘s writings works similarly. The blurring of text and voice, public and private, author and God, are all features of a Max Lucado work. Many of Lucado‘s adult titles come from sermon series which are performed vocally. Lucado and his assistants recreate those sermons into text, but the texts often bear the imprint of vocality. The books read like conversations Lucado has with the reader. The use of literary devices that imagine the response of the reader (phrases like ―I know what you are thinking‖) further blur the distance between Lucado as author and the reader. Lucado also blurs public and private through his conversational style. The reading of a Max Lucado book suggests an often private activity, but the work is available for a broad audience. The reader may feel that ―Max‖ is speaking with them, but in fact Lucado (and his publishers) hopes that a large audience will read his book—the thoughts of which are part of the public sphere of commerce. Through other conventions, Lucado blurs the distinctions between himself and God. Although Lucado nowhere claims to be God, he asks his readers to assimilate the views and actions of the author with the views and actions of God, especially when it comes to healing. Insight from psychiatrist Jerome Frank may be helpful here. In his book Persuasion and Healing Frank observed that psychotherapies are constructed in such a way that the healer and the patient are in a relationship where the patient draws healing from the way the therapist produces emotional responses through the clarification of symptoms, the inspiration of hope, and the facilitation of experiences of success or mastery.47 The inspiration of hope is particularly important in Frank‘s study: ―hopelessness can retard recovery or even hasten death, while the mobilization of hope plays an important part in many forms of healing in both nonindustrialized societies and our own.‖48 Part of the healer‘s success is based on how well she or he can instill hope in the patient that they will be cured of their illness. In order to instill this hope, the patient must have faith in the healer.49 Frank discusses the placebo effect as a demonstration of how expectations of help and trust in the healer can drastically improve the patient‘s response and healing rate. A placebo is ―a pharmacologically inert substance that the doctor administers to a patient to relieve distress when, for one reason or another, the doctor does not wish to use an active medication.‖ There is

41 nothing in the placebo itself that can bring about healing—any healing that comes from the ingestion of a placebo comes from the mind of the patient, particularly the trust the patient has for the doctor. ―Placebos exert their effects primarily through symbolization of the physician‘s healing powers.‖ The placebo works when the patient believes in the power of the healer and the healer‘s statement that the unidentified placebo will effect healing.50 This belief or expectation of help is a very important component for healing to take place in nearly any type of healing situation. In some ways, then, the placebo effect is part of all types of healing, even when pharmacologically active drugs are used. The successful healer is one who recognizes that the effects of the placebo part of healing are dependent ―primarily on interactions between the patient‘s momentary state and aspects of the immediate situation, including especially the attention and interest of the healer.‖51 As we have seen, part of Lucado‘s interest in writing is to bring about healing. Since Lucado is a healer, to some extent he relies on the placebo effect, whether consciously or unconsciously. All healers use the placebo effect in their healing, even if that effect is only connected to their societal recognition as healer. The symbolic connotations connected to ―doctor,‖ for example, draw on the placebo response. As Frank notes, part of the healer‘s role in the use of the placebo effect is the creation or massaging of trust in the healer‘s power. The patient must believe that the healer not only is able to heal the patient but is interested in healing the patient. In Lucado‘s case, this is expressed in the creation of his image. Part of the Lucado placebo effect is the way he presents himself as interested in his readers and concerned about their spiritual (and emotional and psychological) welfare.52 Who, then, is ―Max Lucado‖? People put their trust in the Max Lucado who ―seems like a good neighbor or favorite relative.‖ They cling to a Lucado who appears ―fun‖, ―authentic,‖ and ―humble‖ but is also ―like all of us.‖ ―Max Lucado‖ is a ―nice guy‖ who is approachable. He is ―Max‖ not ―Reverend Lucado‖ or even ―Mr. Lucado.‖ He is ―real.‖ He is ―plain and simple‖ in his approach to people and his use of words. No matter how he is described, the message is clear. ―Max Lucado‖ is concerned about people. Max Lucado‖ cares so much about his audience individually that he wants to share with them what he sees as profound (to greater and lesser extent) truths about the nature of a relationship with the deity present in Jesus Christ.53 The books are written in such a way that Lucado takes the reader on an emotional rollercoaster from despair, anguish, or disappointment to an experience of elation, hope, and

42 fullness. The goal of each book is for the reader to recognize (or have created) a feeling of grief, absence or lack. There is something wrong in the reader‘s life that ―Max,‖ who remains constant throughout the book, has the solution for. The reader who may or may not come to one of Lucado‘s books with feelings of guilt or inadequacy walks away with a feeling of completeness. Even if the reader has not encountered God in Lucado‘s words, many of his recent works close with an encouragement to say ―the sinner‘s prayer,‖ although not in those terms. In Facing the Giants for example, Lucado close the book by encourage his non-Christian readers to become Christian: [Jesus] calls you brother; he calls you sister. The question is, do you call him Savior? Take a moment to answer this question. Perhaps you never have. Perhaps you never knew how much Christ loves you. Now you do. Jesus didn‘t disown David. He won‘t disown you. He simply awaits your invitation. One word from you, and God will do again what he did with David and millions like him: he‘ll claim you, save you, and use you. Any words will do, but these seem appropriate: Jesus, my Savior and Giant-killer, I trust you with my heart and give you my life. I ask for mercy, strength, and eternal life. Amen. Pray such words with an honest heart, and be assured of this: your greatest Goliath has fallen. . . . You can face your giants. Why? Because you faced God first.54

If the book itself has not created a divine experience, the reader is invited through their own initiative and power to bring one about. For Lucado, a divine experience is available at any point. In fact, God is waiting to encounter the reader whenever the reader wants such an experience. This pre-packaged divine experience seems to be another example of Lucado relying (again, perhaps unconsciously) on the placebo effect. He gains the trust of the reader through the presentation of the ―Max Lucado‖ image. He then goes on to unveil (or again, create) for the reader his or her situation, as if saying, ―I know what your life is like because my life was like that too.‖ He builds trust through the image and then connects on a quasi-personal level (as much as such can be done in a book completed several months prior to its release) to the reader that affirms the reader while at the same time challenges the reader. Into this emotional tie between the reader and ―Max,‖ Lucado introduces God. Max knows we are hurting because he hurt too. Max knows we have fallen from grace: we are alcoholics, prostitutes, adulterers, cheats, liars; Max was some of these things too. Then, Max introduces how his life changed so that he has found grace and left his prior, ―sinful‖ life. His life changed because of his experience of God‘s grace through Jesus Christ. That is what Lucado

43 attempts to introduce the reader to—the power of God‘s grace that will (supposedly) overwhelm a person and erase the guilt, fill the absence, or heal the hurt. Much of what Lucado writes is meant to disarm the reader to further connect him or her to Lucado. Lucado is not beyond telling stories on himself to get his readers to laugh at (or feel sorry about) ―Max‘s‖ misfortunes and wrong turns in order to create the fictitious friendships many of his readers claim to have: I can get lost anywhere. Seriously. Anywhere. The simplest map confuses me; the clearest trail bewilders me. I couldn‘t track an elephant through four feet of snow. I can misread instructions to the bathroom down the hall. Indeed, once I did and embarrassed several women in a fast-food restaurant in Fort Worth. . . . I once went for a morning jog, returned to the hotel, and ate. I‘d eaten two portions of the free buffet before I remembered my hotel had no breakfast bar. I was in the wrong place.55

To further breakdown the barrier between author and reader, Lucado will often postulate what the reader is thinking and include that as part of the text.56 By using phrases like ―I know what you‘re thinking‖ or ―I know that you might be saying,‖ Lucado invites participation in the experience. The reader is not just reading what Lucado writes, she or he is participating in the conversation Lucado is constructing. Jerome Frank may be helpful here as well. One of the therapies that Frank describes in Persuasion and Healing is that of modeling or identification. In modeling ―patients enter into emotionally charged interactions with a therapist on whom they depend for guidance or advice.‖ In this atmosphere, modeling becomes a way that patients ―imitate the therapist‘s way of approaching problems or adopt aspects of the therapist‘s values.‖ The implications for thinking about Lucado are that the connection he attempts to create is meant to heal through the reader adopting Lucado‘s values and his outlook on religion.57 Part of the reason that modeling is successful is the way in which the healing situation is constructed. As Frank notes, the expectations of the therapist affect the success of healing in the patient. Specifically, Frank argues, ―[T]he kind of improvement patients report tends to confirm their therapists‘ theories.‖ In order to expect his readers to experience spiritual healing, Lucado has to make that connection to them where they feel like Lucado (who stands in for God) actually cares about them and expects that they can have a better relationship with God through reading his words.58 What Lucado is trying to create, then, is an emotional experience for the reader to have

44 when they read one of his books. The books are prepackaged, constructed emotional religious experiences waiting to happen—just add reader. Obviously the actual working out of the experience is more complicated than this. Probably only those predisposed to agreeing theologically with Lucado or those cognizant of emotional issues will be caught up into the experience Lucado attempts to create. Skeptics would find his writing vapid and uninspiring. Even some evangelicals might close the book, disappointed that there was not more substance to Lucado‘s ideas. Millions, however, seem to have found a connection to Lucado, as Hallmark asserts, and are willing to return in a short eight months to find a similar experience, albeit in different packaging. Perhaps it is that Lucado has created a problem to which he is the solution. Lucado would probably claim that the problem is sin, that everyone has it, and that he is simply one way to get to the ultimate cure, which for Lucado is a relationship with Jesus Christ. His statement of the problems his readers have, however, tend to lump a variety of ―ailments‖ together. Throughout his books, Lucado creates lists of problems or moral failings that connect a spectrum of troubles from simple to complex. In a chapter entitled ―Take Goliath Down!‖ Lucado lumps together the ―Goliaths [that] still roam our world.‖ This list includes ―Debt. Disaster. Dialysis. Danger. Deceit. Disease. Depression.‖ While there are great differences in the experiences of debt, dialysis, and depression, Lucado combines them together as ailments that he has the cure for.59 Lists like these are almost ubiquitous throughout Lucado‘s work. They do not make too much of an appearance in Lucado‘s first work, On the Anvil, but as he has continued to develop his style, they are a very important part of his writing. By his second book, lists of ―ailments‖ (some psychological, some ethical) make an appearance. Discussing choices that sometimes need to be made quickly (what he calls ―a dynamite of a choice‖), Lucado gives some examples: ―For the teenager it could be a joint being passed around the circle. For the business man it could be an offer to make a little cash ‗under the table.‘ For the wife it could be a chance for her to give her ‗two bits‘ of juicy gossip. For the student it could be an opportunity to improve his grade while looking at his friend‘s quiz. For the husband it could mean an urge to lose his temper over his wife‘s spending.‖60 The naming of the problem that the reader has, is indicative of the expectations Lucado has for success. It is as if, by combining all sorts of issues from pornography to alcoholism to

45 anger, Lucado is saying, ―I can name your problem or situation; I can also name your cure.‖ He is exerting power over his readers much like a doctor or therapist would. By diagnosing the ailment, the doctor must also have the power to bring relief. Again, Jerome Frank is helpful in understanding how such a naming situation can be vital to successful healing: ―Healers are usually adept at distinguishing those illnesses they can treat successfully from the ones that are beyond their powers. Rejecting patients with whom they are likely to fail enables them to maintain a reputation for success. Such a reputation, by arousing favorable expectations in the patient and the group, undoubtedly enhances their healing power.‖61 The ability of healers to identify symptoms of treatable problems works itself out in Lucado‘s lists. Since he appeals to the power of God for ultimate healing, the lists represent problems God can cure. By combining a wide variety of problems and issues together, Lucado is saying that he has the answer to all the problems his readers could have. There are no spiritual problems Lucado does not have the answer to. Furthermore he fuses the problems in his lists, permitting his readers to participate in a culture of victimhood that elevates even the smallest of problems to grand proportions. It can also provide hope for victory from the small problems because if Lucado can provide the solution to major ones, the resolution of small problems is assured. As Frank suggests, this could work as a feedback loop for Lucado‘s readers. If depressed people read one of Lucado‘s books and are satisfied that there is a God who truly loves them and receive hope that God is ultimately in control, they could possibly begin to feel less depressed. It is likely they would then attribute their decrease in depression to Lucado‘s help in spiritually diagnosing their problem. Such an attribution reinforces for such people (and then any others to whom they would recommend Lucado) that Lucado possesses healing powers (or that God is truly working through Lucado—which for an evangelical audience might be the description they would choose to apply). It is no wonder that Lucado is so prolific a writer. His success with spiritual healing would reinforce the desire to read more from someone who some would see as being able to speak to their personal condition—no matter what that is, from domestic abuse to gossip.62 It is important to remember that the way Lucado as healer constructs the problem and solution of his readers is a sentimental one. It relies on the nostalgic notions of God as father and human being as child. Furthermore Lucado as healer does not engage in deep diagnosis of his patient‘s problem—the problem is the same for everyone. If the problem is the same, the cure is the same: a sentimental relationship with God. Father God will take care of his children‘s

46 problems if they enter into a better relationship with him—a relationship Lucado as healer, standing in for God, can facilitate. This healing also further demonstrates the ritualistic aspects of Lucado‘s works. Readers come with their various maladies to Lucado who, as a twenty-first- century evangelical shaman, offers them healing. Lucado proffers that the cure is feeling in certain ways and engages in leading his readers on a quest to find those feelings in a familial relationship with deity. He has routinized this process so that each Lucado book reads very similarly to the others. Many readers, however, continue to return to Lucado‘s new books as they find healing through the ritual of reading. Ritualizing Reading in a Max Lucado Book A Max Lucado book is not just about creating an experience of healing. At its core, Lucado asks his readers to accept his version about who God is and the kind of relationship human beings should have with that God. Sentimentality is the genre that Lucado uses to accomplish this task. The goal is to get readers to feel that either something is wrong with their relationship with God or that they could improve their relationship with God. Through reading Lucado‘s audience participates in the ritualized setting Lucado constructs. In the words he places on the page he asks his audience to perform a repetitive action—reading multiple Lucado books—which offer a routinized vision of God and the world in order to find healing, a process which instantiates Lucado‘s authority. Who is the audience for a Max Lucado book? This audience is in part a construction of Lucado‘s imagination. He must make certain assumptions about his audience—who will read his books; who will be persuaded by his writing. Based on what he writes, that constructed audience includes both Christians (of various denominations) and non-Christians. The one thing that binds this diverse imagined audience together, however, is that all of the individuals in that audience have spiritual, psychological, emotional, or physical problems that the message Lucado has to offer can cure (at least in his mind). In constructing his audience, therefore, Lucado has created an audience of diverse metaphysical leanings and commitments who are moved by a sentimental appeal to God‘s love for them individually as his children. Lucado works the perceived universality of his argument through the conduit of sentimentality of God and the biblical narrative. There are no in-depth analyses of questions surrounding the existence of God—it is assumed by Lucado that God exists and needs no proof of his existence. There are no in-depth analyses of questions surrounding the biblical text—its

47 authorship, its provenance, its authenticity. Lucado assumes that his readers believe in the Bible and that his appeal to the text is sufficient to gain their adherence to his presentation. The results of modern science and modern biblical scholarship are of little or no consequence to Lucado and the audience he constructs. Yet the interaction between Lucado and his readers is not simply one-sided. Lucado‘s readers must play a role in the construction of meaning and the ritual of reading. Lucado‘s audience, however, is not just an imagined group. There are real individuals with real bodies who engage in the ritual of reading, and continue to do so. One in 10 Americans have read a Max Lucado book. Two-thirds of those have read one or a few; one-third has read more. Over 50 percent of the Christian consumers surveyed by Thomas Nelson‘s market research have read ―several Lucado books.‖ It appears evident, therefore, that many people return to Lucado‘s books multiple times for some reason, continuously enacting a ritual of healing through the mental action of reading meant to produce an emotional experience. Literary critic Wolfgang Iser may be helpful in understanding this return. Iser argues that ―literary texts initiate ‗performances‘ of meaning rather than actually formulating meanings themselves.‖ This performance, or experience, of a Lucado book is not simply the rhetoric Lucado uses to create a literary work. In addition, Lucado asks the reader (implicitly or explicitly) to perform the meaning of the text with him as she or he reads. As Iser notes, ―It is, then, an integral quality of literary texts that they produce something which they themselves are not.‖ The production of words on a page has no meaning, according to Iser, until it is read; it is in the reading of the work that meaning is performed.63 The reader, however, does not act independently. ―It is generally recognized,‖ writes Iser, ―that literary texts take on their reality by being read, and this in turn means that texts must already contain certain conditions of actualization that will allow their meaning to be assembled in the responsive mind of the recipient.‖ These ―conditions of actualization‖ bring forth what Iser calls the ―implied reader.‖ The implied reader ―embodies all those predispositions necessary for a literary work to exercise its effect—predispositions laid down, not by an empirical outside reality, but by the text itself. Consequently, the implied reader as a concept has his roots firmly planted in the structure of the text; he is a construct and in no way to be identified with any real reader.‖ In keeping with the notion of reading as a performative experience, the text offers the reader a role to play: a role which is structured by the text and not independent of it.64

Although he relies on a mental action—reading—Max Lucado seeks an emotional response through emotional appeals. Lucado offers his readers the role of a sentimentalized child looking for help and guidance from a father God. The text of each book invokes this role for the reader to fill not only to understand the text, but, in what seem to be Lucado‘s view, to enact a real religious experience. From the number of books sold and the numbers of repeat readers, there are readers willing to accept that role again and again because the sentimentalized expression of evangelicalism Lucado offers resonates with their understandings of religion and reality. They have accepted the way of seeing that Lucado creates and are willing to ritualistically embed themselves in that reality by a performative act—reading Max Lucado‘s books. This ritualistic immersion in sentiment even carries over into the political vision Lucado offers his readers. The Politics of Evangelical Sentimentality Evangelical sentimentality is not solely about conceptions of God or humanity. There are political roots and consequences to sentimental rhetoric. In many respects modern evangelical sentimentality taps into the same cultural milieu that scholars of eighteenth and nineteenth- century sentimentality pointed out. The political aspects of sentimentality are ironic in some ways because of how much Lucado attempts to eschew politics and a politicized faith. In August 2004 Lucado offered a prayer for the Republican National Convention. His rhetoric is different from the stereotypical conceptions of evangelical thought about American and its destiny: Oh Lord, God of our fathers, You direct the affairs of all nations. You made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth. . . . Thank you for this nation. And have mercy on her. Please unite our citizens. Nurture the poor, abused, and abandoned. Protect our children; keep our homeland free from harm. Remind us, oh Lord, that you do not exist to bless America. We exist to bless you. . . . We lay this election before you. And, in the end, your will be done.65

He attempts to evoke a global rhetoric that is not connected to notions of a ―Christian America,‖ distancing himself from those who would want greater evangelical involvement in shaping the destiny of the United States. In 2005 Max Lucado was chosen to be the spokesperson for the National Day of Prayer. Not surprisingly, Lucado wrote a book about it. The book, Turn, is a call to the people of America to be involved in prayer. Lucado as his text chose 2 Chronicles 7:14, ―If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from

49 their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land‖ (NIV). As an evangelical leader, one would expect Lucado to rail against an American society that forsaken its covenant with God. Lucado does not, however, repeat the hackneyed call for a return to puritan conceptions of American (like Pat Robertson might). While Lucado subtitles the book Remembering Our Foundations, it is not an appeal to return to the supposed religion of the founding fathers nor is it civil religion. America is God‘s nation, only in so far as every nation is God‘s nation. Lucado is, of course, concerned that prayer is limited in schools, the Bible is not allowed to be studied in schools, what he sees as God‘s idea of family are being overturned, and the phrase ―under God‖ is in danger of being removed from the Pledge of Allegiance. But his apparent concern is not nationalistic or political.66 Instead he attempts to characterize it as simply theological. Christians (and others) should be concerned about the ―removal‖ of God from the public sphere not because America is God‘s nation, but because America exists by God‘s power. ―God determines every detail of every country. He defines all boundaries. He places every milestone. While we applaud Mayflower pilgrims and Lewis and Clark expeditions, they did nothing apart from God‘s power.‖ Lucado argues that such is the case of all nations. God sets up authorities and governments, and Christians are expected to submit to those governments: ―Such words test our trust. We think of Nero, Stalin, Hitler, and Saddam Hussein. We may wonder why God permits despots and dictators their day. But we can be sure of this: no one rules without his permission.‖ Lucado does issue a dire warning, however. Because America exists by the power of God, God is ultimately in control of whether America continues to exist or is destroyed. We ignore God ―only at a terrible risk.‖67 America not only exists by the power of God, it also exists to give God glory, according to Lucado. The phrase should not be ―God Bless America,‖ he writes, but ―America bless God‖: God does not need the United States in order to advance His cause. He lobbies no country and depends on no government. ―No, for all the nations of the world are nothing in comparison with him. They are but a drop in the bucket, dust on the scales. He picks up the islands as though they had no weight at all. The nations of the world are as nothing to him. In his eyes they are less than nothing—mere emptiness and froth‖ (Isaiah 40:15, 17, NLT). We may think God exists to bless America. But according to scripture, America exists to bless God.68

How can the people of the country bless God, according to Lucado? Part of the answer lies in a return to prayer and the Bible. For Lucado these are the two most neglected things in

American culture. Citing James 5:16, NCV, ―When a believing person prays, great things happen,‖ Lucado urges his readers, ―Lay our great nation at His feet.‖69 But as a nation, prayer is not the only thing the United States needs. Americans must also ―seek God‘s face‖ through interaction with scripture. The Bible and its story are valuable and powerful, says Lucado, and it has the power to transform the country: History offers a concordant chorus. Psychologist William James affirmed, ―The Bible contains more true sublimity, more exquisite beauty, more morality, more important history, and finer strains of poetry and eloquence than can be collected from all other books, in whatever age or language they have been written.‖. . . No one remembers philosopher Immanuel Kant for orthodox religion, yet he confessed, ―The existence of the Bible as a book for the people is the greatest benefit which the human race has ever experienced.‖70

Lucado examines the story of the Bible, which for him is the relationship God wants to have with humanity through Jesus Christ, and concludes, ―If God‘s word is indeed the oracles of heaven, what power awaits the nation that embraces it?‖71 If God is in control, and asks the nation to pray and read scripture, how does the nation accomplish this? What program should be installed? Which officials should Americans vote for? What grass roots effort to change the political situation should they be involved in? The answer, for Lucado, is not politics, but humility. People of the United States must repent: ―[F]rom the beginning God has called for honesty. He‘s never demanded national perfection, just truthfulness.‖72 Such a national repentance does not begin with an enforced political morality. It begins with, yes, recognizing that ―America needs to change,‖ but following that up with ―the change begins with me.‖73 National repentance begins with personal repentance: ―We don‘t have any problem with the first part of the sentence, ‗America needs to change.‘ Our list of complaints grows like the deficit. Hollywood needs to change. Taxes need to change. The White House, the liberals, the conservatives, the lobbyists . . . we know what needs to change.‖74 Lucado cites the parable of the Pharisee and the publican the Jesus tells in Luke 18, but presents the two characters as ways Americans as individuals can look upon American society: We begin feeling like the man at the prayer session. During the time of private prayer, he stood alone and prayed, ―God, I thank You that America has people like me. The man on the corner needs welfare—I don‘t. The prostitute on the street has AIDS—I don‘t. The bum at the bar needs alcohol—I don‘t. The gay caucus needs morality—I don‘t. I thank You that America has people like me.‖ In the same meeting, a man of humble heart, too

contrite to even look to the skies, prayed, ―God, have mercy on me—a sinner. Like my brother on welfare—I‘m dependent on Your grace. Like my sister with AIDS—I‘m infected with mistakes. Like my friend who drinks—I need something to ease my pain. And like those You love who are gay—I need direction, too. Have mercy on me a sinner.‖75

When Americans humble themselves like this, writes Lucado, God ―will heal our land.‖76 Lucado used similar rhetoric in encouraging visitors to his website to pray for President- elect Barack Obama on Inauguration Day. In a prayer guide offered through his website, Lucado urged his audience, ―It‘s time to pray. It‘s time to pray for the leaders of our nation.‖ With the problems facing the United States, wrote Lucado, Barack Obama and Joe Biden were going to need God‘s help. In a letter in the prayer guide addressed ―Dear Friends,‖ Lucado noted, ―I am a pastor, not a politician.‖ Obama faced difficult situations, but it was the privilege of Lucado‘s audience to pray for him, as the Bible commanded.77 I am not suggesting that Lucado‘s works have no overt political comments. Although they are rare, Lucado has offered his insight into political situations. In 1995, when Democrat Bill Clinton was in office. Lucado wrote, ―Doesn‘t matter who the evil one has recruited. Doesn‘t matter if he has infiltrated the government. . . . The best of Satan melts as wax before the presence of Christ.‖ He did not specifically name Clinton as one whom the devil has recruited, but there were certainly many evangelicals who probably believed this way.78 In 2003 Lucado appeared with other prominent Christian leaders (Catholic, Protestant, mainline, and evangelical) on Larry King Live to discuss the Iraq War. According to The Washington Post‘s coverage of Larry King Live, Lucado had a minimal role in the discussion. It was noted that Lucado appealed to Paul‘s comments in the Romans 13 that ―the government and those in authority are really ministers appointed by heaven to protect and to punish . . . I agree very much with the concept that we have to let [war] be the last resort. But somebody has to make that call.‖79 Lucado also addressed the issue of God and war in a website essay entitled, ―Why Does God Allow War?‖ As he usually does, Lucado attempts to address the issue first from what he sees as God‘s perspective before attempting to explain how war operates in society. ―If we don‘t see war and human conflict from God‘s perspective, our discussion will be futile. Any discussion of war must revolve around the character of God.‖80 Lucado appeals to God‘s love as an expression of God‘s character. For Lucado this

52 means ―God only does what is good.‖ He also notes that God is just. Where does war come from, then? For Lucado, ―[w]ar is a fruit of sin. The Bible does not isolate war, as if it were something unique and quite apart from other human struggles. International combat resides in the same neighborhood with rape, murder, wife-beating, husband-berating, loneliness, arrogance: these are the fruits of sin.‖81 Despite war arising out of the sinful nature of human beings, war can also be a tool of God. ―There are many unacceptable reasons for war. Imperialism. Financial gain. Religion. Family feuds. Racial arrogance. There are many unacceptable motives for war. But there is one time when war is condoned and used by God: wickedness.‖ God uses governments to wage these wars against wickedness.82 Again noting the writings of Paul in Romans 13, Lucado writes: Those in authority, the President, the soldiers, Secretary of Defense and so forth, are God‘s deacons and deaconesses—as ordained for their task as is any preacher or evangelist. Their role is clear: protect and punish. Protect the innocent and punish the evil. When the government perceives that her people are under threat, when negotiations have proven fruitless and olive branches have gone unacknowledged, when the leaders of a country are convinced that an attack against evil will preserve that which is good and protect those who are innocent—then, and only then, war is justifiable.83

But what of the critique that Jesus was for peace? What about ―turn the other cheek?‖ Lucado argues that ―turn the other cheek is an appropriate response when someone attacks us as individuals.‖ When the ―innocent‖ are attacked, however, a response is appropriate: If someone criticizes me, I am called to ―turn the other cheek.‖ I forgive. But what if they criticize my wife and daughters. What if they threaten them? What if a perpetrator tells me he is coming after my family? What do I do? Simple, I protect the innocent. I take steps to insure their safety. But, Max, aren‘t you called to love your enemies? Absolutely. And I will love him in jail. Why? Because, to leave my family unprotected would be to abdicate my responsibility as family leader. It is a higher evil to let evil go unpunished than to punish those who would harm innocents.84

―Why Does God Allow War?‖ is not a wholesale commendation of the Bush administration. Lucado allows that the answer to whether the United States should have invaded Iraq is unclear. Was the Iraq war a war to protect the innocents of the United States? Was Saddam Hussein an imminent danger? ―Only the authorities of a nation can answer that question. But if they perceive a real and present danger, their godly response is to protect the country.‖85

Perhaps Lucado‘s most apparent political commentary is a piece on same sex marriage. I downloaded the document ―What God Says About Gay Marriage‖ in 2006, although the piece was written in 2004. It has since been removed from Lucado‘s website. Lucado encourages his readers to contact their senators to support passage of the Federal Marriage Amendment which would have limited marriage to heterosexual partners. ―We cannot budge,‖ wrote Lucado. ―Too much is at stake.‖86 Despite these statements which evidence Lucado‘s commitment to the issues of conservative politics, he appears to work hard to present himself as apolitical and nonpartisan. ―Max Lucado‖ can reach a broad audience because he does not identify with Republicans or Democrats, liberals or conservatives. His concern is about religious matters not political ones. The answers to the individual‘s problems are spiritual not governmental. Furthermore such a position distinguishes him from other evangelicals like Pat Robertson or fundamentalists like Jerry Falwell who have a blatantly political faith. The sentimental rhetoric that presents an apolitical image, however, is an obfuscation. Modern evangelical sentimentality in fact does political work and is ensconced in politics. The observations of scholars Julia Stern, Jane Tompkins, and Ann Douglas provide a framework to see how the sentimentality of modern evangelicalism is different from the sentimentalism of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but the types of sentimentality have resonances. By placing them parallel to each other, especially in light of the political work sentimentality does, we can see important differences. As Stern contended, the use of sentimentality often reveals important details about culture and historical moments.87 In The Plight of Feeling Julia Stern pointed to the power of grief to create ―fellow- feeling‖ as a foundation for democracy. Authors like Susanna Rowson used novels like Charlotte Temple to evoke feelings like grief and melancholy in their audiences to both expose the failed democratic dream of the Revolution while also offering the hope of a reimagined community that would fulfill the hopes of independence. Grief was a tool to reveal the conditions of society while also providing an avenue to critique the situations that produced such grief. The historical context of these sentimental novels provides an important lens to understanding the way these authors use feeling for political ends.88 Grief is also an important emotion for Max Lucado, but it works in ways that are different than the ones Stern explored. Although love is the emotion that Lucado foregrounds,

54 his presentation of love relies on grief unlike Stern‘s authors who give a prominent place to grief. As we have seen throughout this chapter, Lucado manipulates the readers‘ grief in order to bring them to his representation of God. Lucado‘s usage of grief comes in different forms. He attempts to evoke grief through expounding the imagined activities of his readers. His readers have sinned against God. They have sinned against others. They have lied, cheated, stolen. They have said harsh words in anger. They have committed actions they should feel grief or guilt for performing. Sometimes Lucado tries to induce grief for actions that others have committed against the reader. Husbands have left them. Fathers have abused them. Employers have fired them. A driver cut them off in traffic. Life for Lucado‘s readers is filled with disappoint, loneliness, and despair. Others have brought grief into their lives. The infantilization of his readers also participates in this ritual of grieving. By casting his readers as children Lucado paints them as hopeless, helpless, and friendless, without the loving presence of Father God. Grief for Lucado serves a different function than it did in the sentimental novels of the eighteenth century. As Stern noted grief in the early republic was meant to be collective. Authors used grief to attempt to create a bond between readers and authors to expose the anomie of lived independence in the hopes of finding a common solution. Lucado‘s grief, and the grief of his readers, is a narcissistic grief. Its borders do not extend beyond the life of the individual reader. Very rarely (although it is present) does Lucado ask his readers to move beyond the focus of their own lives to see the suffering and grief around them. Even when he does, however, the grief of others is usually brought back to the individual. Others feel the same kind of grief that the reader does. The observation of someone else‘s grief is a mirror of one‘s personal grief. Lucado‘s grief is also passive. Even when he writes about collective grief, he does not advocate social or political activity to alleviate it. Instead he urges the reader to believe that because God cares for her or him so much that he will remove the grief from one‘s life. His sentimentality is not a ground for action, it is a ―wait and see‖ sentimentality. Unlike the sentimentality of the nineteenth century which motivated evangelicals to create benevolent institutions, modern sentimentality encourages passivity. I am not suggesting that evangelicals do not deploy sentimentality for political ends. We will see that in chapter four. Authors like Lucado, however, tend to downplay human activity in favor of anticipating divine activity. Grief

55 serves not as a stimulation to reconstruct society but an expectation of what others will do for the reader. While Lucado and Stern‘s authors obscured the political roots and activity of sentiment, the politics of these types of literature is quite different. Stern‘s authors sought to recreate society; Lucado‘s writing serves to instantiate its current form. In Sensational Designs Jane Tompkins elucidated another feature of the cultural and political work that sentimental rhetoric does. In attempting to rescue the literature of nineteenth- century sentimental authors, Tompkins noted the cultural authority that they wielded because sentimentality provided them avenues to create a public presence that society had previously denied them. The elevation of the domestic sphere and feminine piety became a foundation for some women to enter the public sphere. These authors, many of whom were women, attempted to ―reorganize culture from the woman‘s point of view.‖ They created and participated in a mythos of domesticity as an ideal for society and offered that to a large audience. Because these women drew on the social, religious, and political categories of the day, they were able to create successful literary works that relied on the mores of contemporary America while also critiquing aspects of them. Sometimes the works of these authors had great political consequences. Tompkins makes the case that Harriet Beecher Stowe‘s Uncle Tom’s Cabin provided the groundwork for the American Civil War through its creation of a moral judgment on slavery based on feeling not on an intellectual or scriptural argument against the practice. The audience‘s participation in this shared sentimentality bestowed cultural power on these authors.89 Sentimentality also provides cultural authority to Max Lucado. As I have noted Lucado‘s deploying of sentimental rhetoric is an attempt to create a bond between author and reader, a bond where the reader accepts the author‘s view of reality. He invites his readers to accept a view of God, humanity, and the world around them. When they do, they give him power to shape their thinking about religion. One of the main pieces to this exchange of power is Lucado‘s depiction of God. I mentioned previously how Lucado projects God into his thoughts and actions, asking his readers to accept that he represents God. Lucado rarely uses this cultural authority to shape politics. He did encourage people to contact their senators about the marriage amendment and to pray for President Obama, but it appears that he uses most of his authority in creating more authority by retaining and procuring new customers/readers. He does not actively promote societal change; instead his evasion of the political works to legitimate society in some form. While he may decry the lack of morality in society, the locus for social change appears to

56 be the sentimental reconstruction of the individual not a collective political expression of solidarity and change. The transformation of society, according to Lucado, will occur through personal influence. Ann Douglas argued that the evangelical reliance on the power of personal influence to effect social change is a product of nineteenth-century sentimentality. Ministers and sentimental authors had no tangible power due to disestablishment and the abstraction of the means of production from the home. Instead they sought authority through ―influence.‖ Through ―influence‖ these individuals believed they could actually exert more authority because influence would be something ―discreetly omnipresent and omnipotent.‖ They could be ―unobtrusive and everywhere at the same time.‖ ―Influence,‖ however, was essentially conservative and worked to instantiate culture not radically change it.90 Furthermore, ―influence‖ was nostalgic in many respects. Although many clergy rhetorically embraced disestablishment in the nineteenth century (eventually), the use of ―influence‖ as a symbol to assert power served as a reminder that they were separated from the traditional power to which clergy were accustomed. According to Douglas, disestablishment left clergy ―to substitute political rhetoric for genuine political leadership, to imitate rather than assert political authority.‖ Such a generalization is surely an overstatement, but for most clergy, they could only look back to a time when clergy wielded widespread political authority. As historians like Jon Butler have argued, however, an important part of the creation of a ―Christian America‖ in fact and myth was a product of the late eighteenth century and the early Republic. In the minds of clergy and many Christians they were attempting to recover what they believed had been lost, but they were actually creating something new and different. Sentimentality was an important of this (re)creation.91 Nostalgia still marks this desire to see a political return to an imagined ―Christian America.‖ It can be a part of how evangelicals envision a political return to this imagined past. Language of ―restoration‖ and ―return‖ are ubiquitous throughout conservative rhetoric about ―Christian America.‖ The family and politics about the family (including the politics of sex) are often the key for this conservative reconstruction. The post-World War II period is also important for this nostalgic reimagining of ―Christian America,‖ especially the imagined family of the 1950s.92 Even the ―apolitical‖ rhetoric of Lucado and others participates in this politics of

57 nostalgia. When Lucado says, ―I‘m a pastor not a politician,‖ he demonstrates the culmination of the historical trend of disestablishment. Pastor and politician are two distinct, and importantly distinct, offices in this rhetoric. Being a pastor, however, is rhetorically more important than being a politician in a culture that is suspicious of politicians and politicized faith. This apolitical stance (although it is not apolitical in actuality) participates in the grief of a certain segment of culture that feels disenchanted with politics, politicians, and clergy masquerading as politicians. The rhetoric obscures the political roots of an ―apolitical‖ agenda. The politics of the apolitical participates in the same grief and nostalgia over a ―lost‖ Christian America. Although Lucado shuns political expressions about a political return to America, the rhetoric he uses (in books like Turn) of ―return‖ and ―America bless God‖ evidences his involvement in an evangelical mindset that postulates pristine Christian origins for the nation and that grieves that America has left those origins. Lucado may be rhetorically satisfied to adopt a pastor persona distinct from politics, but by doing so he demonstrates that he shares in a politics of grief and nostalgia that mourns the loss of Christian influence in the shaping of the United States. In many respects Lucado‘s ―apolitical‖ political vision is closely related to the ritualistic character of his work. By creating a particular way of viewing the world through the consistent presentation of biblical narratives in certain ways, Lucado encourages his readers to accept that individuals have behavioral power based on their individual connection to God. He entices his readers to believe that by performing specific acts or behaving according to a specific manner (which flow from the feelings they find through his leading) they can affect the course of the world around them. These behaviors are deeply embedded in the emotions and the repetitive schema that Lucado has developed to cultivate those emotions. Constructing God and humanity in his characteristic ways through a repetitive formulation of how to read scripture is the foundation for healing that results in a type of behavior for being in the world. Conclusion This chapter began with the examination of one book cover; it ends with another. The cover of one edition of In the Grip of Grace depicts a man (possibly a father) throwing a child (a young girl) into the air. His hands are extended in a motion that suggests that he is readying to catch the girl instead of having just thrown her. Under the caption ―over one million copies in print,‖ the author‘s name (Max Lucado) and the title in a large font, is a phrase located next to the still of a father reaching for his falling daughter—―YOUR FATHER ALWAYS CAUGHT

YOU. HE STILL DOES.‖ Not all of Max Lucado‘s covers are as revealing of his approach to God and religion as God Came Near and this version of In the Grip of Grace. Lucado‘s sentimental theology revels in childishness—the childishness of human beings with respect to a heavenly father, the childishness of Christians loved by a heavenly father, the childishness of non-Christians in their rebellion against God‘s love, the childishness of Jesus as a human being born to Mary of Nazareth. Throughout his books Lucado uses the tropes of family and sentimental biblical narratives to create works that encourage the readers to have a sentimental relationship to God. This occurs through his sentimental rhetoric, his construction of an audience and roles for the reader, and the creation of an image of Lucado as a healer. The popularity of Max Lucado is suggestive of larger trends in evangelicalism. Many people buy Max Lucado books because they approve of his message—there is an emotional God who wants a familial relationship with every human being. This message of sentimentality, however, is not the only important aspect of Max Lucado. His rhetoric is not just about impacting the reader‘s relationship with God but signals Lucado‘s views about evangelical ecclesiology and its message. The routinization of his message and the repetitive return of readers again and again to Lucado books instantiates the authority Lucado has and makes his view of the world real for readers who approach with a hermeneutic of faith. The ―reiterative conditions‖ of Lucado‘s thought provide the opportunity for his continued success.93 These views have important political roots and consequences that the rhetoric of sentimentality shrouds. Grief and loss undergird the language of familial love and domestic sacrality. Sentimentality may lead to expressions that are anti-political, but it demonstrates how evangelicals view their place in American society. Sentimentality allows authors like Lucado to participate in a culture of victimhood and grief without explicitly doing so. The appeal to individualism and narcissism fosters and relies on this grief to create cultural authority for Lucado and others. Evangelicals cannot rely on politicians to look out for them or their goals. The sentimental message, however, is that God does not necessarily want evangelicals involved in politics. Instead they should wait for him to act on their behalf.

CHAPTER TWO

YOU ARE SPECIAL: DEMOCRATIZING INDIVIDUALISM AND SENTIMENTAL EVANGELICALISM

God‘s not a trickster. He‘s not a genie. He‘s not a magician or a good-luck charm or the man upstairs. He is, instead, the Creator of the universe who is right here in the thick of our day-today world who speaks to you more through cooing babies and hungry bellies than he ever will through horoscopes, zodiac papers, or weeping Madonnas. . . . Listen for him amid the ordinary. --Max Lucado, And the Angels Were Silent1

In the fiftieth anniversary issue of evangelical magazine Christianity Today (October 2006), the editors selected the top fifty books they believed had shaped evangelicals the most. These were ―[l]andmark titles that changed the way we think, talk, witness, worship, and live.‖ Included in the list were titles by C. S. Lewis, evangelical theologian J. I. Packer, and minister and author Rick Warren as well as fiction titles like This Present Darkness (about spiritual warfare) and Left Behind (about the end times). At number forty-five was Mark Noll‘s The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind (1994). In this work Noll remarked that despite having a strong intellectual heritage, evangelicals are by and large anti-intellectual, or at least, non-intellectual. Noll‘s scandal of the evangelical mind encompassed three categories: cultural, institutional, and theological. Culturally ―the evangelical ethos is activistic, populist, pragmatic, and utilitarian,‖ leading away from cultivating a life of the mind. Institutionally there were no strong intellectual evangelical journals nor did evangelical educational institutions foster intellectual pursuits. Theologically evangelicalism was stunted because of its lack of intellectual rumination, leading Noll to remark, ―For an entire Christian community to neglect, generation after generation, serious attention to the mind, nature, society, the arts—all spheres created by God and sustained for his own glory—may be, in fact, sinful.‖ In citing Noll‘s book as the forty-fifth most influential book in shaping modern evangelicalism, the editors of Christianity Today noted, ―Few people have accused evangelicalism of being an intellectual movement—but now we feel bad about it, at least.‖2 Whether or not evangelicals as a group actually feel bad about anti-intellectualism, it is certainly a feature of modern evangelicalism in the United States. Given the amount of attention to precision and comprehensiveness to theology and theological investigation in previous generations of evangelicals, it is curious why anti-intellectualism should color modern

60 evangelical counterparts.3 Attention to evangelical intellectual history, so important to many scholars, reveals the ways evangelicals have made this transition, allowing individuals like Max Lucado to play upon the intellectual emphases of evangelicalism for emotional ends. This chapter demonstrates that shifts within evangelical scientific and religious thought have created an ideological situation that sentimental expressions of piety exploit. The conjoining of Protestant Christianity, particularly proto-evangelicalism, with a Baconian approach toward nature and biblical revelation, committed conservative Protestants to a specific intellectual path. Because they had embraced Scottish Common sense philosophy so thoroughly in the nineteenth century, conservative evangelicals met intellectual challenges in the late 1800s. Questions about the authorship and dating of biblical documents provided a test for the veracity of Christianity. The development of Darwinian science moved conservative evangelicals from the scientific and philosophical mainstream in the United States. Although liberal evangelicals tried to accommodate both biblical criticism and Darwinian evolution, conservatives responded based on Baconian Common sense which was becoming an outmoded approach to the world. The inadequacy of an evangelical worldview to understand and explain reality for many Americans led evangelicals to retreat from the public sphere of the United States. Evangelicals, however, maintained a commitment to a vestigial Baconian and Common sense worldview which allowed some evangelicals to turn to sentimentality as a way to avoid the intellectual challenges to Christianity. Dwight Moody avoided these intellectual controversies by appealing to the emotions and offering a sentimental gospel that incorporated an ideology about the domestic sphere. Moody‘s preaching often involved narratives that were meant to create an affective response not an intellectual one. Moody, however, was not the only one to attempt to avoid the intellectual challenges evangelicalism faced. Billy Sunday also sidestepped questions about the validity of Christianity by appealing to sentimental tropes. Although Sunday did not completely embrace sentimentality to the extent that Moody did, his evocation of domestic motifs played into the remnants of Victorian sentimentality. Sunday also continued to avoid theological and doctrinal controversies, like Moody did, and he also downplayed the importance of the intellectual questions of Christianity. Although Moody and Sunday (and others like them) accepted the theology of fundamentalism, by focusing on the non-intellectual (and often anti-intellectual) characteristics of evangelicalism, these evangelicals were able to sidestep the intellectual issues

61 of the fundamentalist-modernist controversy (even though many of them opposed ―modernism‖) without drifting into neo-orthodoxy or embracing the social gospel.4 The legacy of these intellectual shifts is evident in the sentimentality of Max Lucado. This chapter further demonstrates that Lucado‘s sentimentality strategically takes advantage of these shifts to present a democratizing Christianity where God loves individuals qua individuals without concern about most of their doctrinal positions. This downplaying of doctrine is an intentional feature of Lucado‘s writings as he offers a vision of Christianity bounded by sentimentality and open to individual preference and conscience. Not every doctrine, however, is open to individual conscience. Lucado‘s sentimentality is limited: individuals must approach God through a relationship with Jesus Christ, and those who do not could suffer an eternity of punishment in a real hell. His rhetoric of a gendered individualism, where all believers are gendered female, however, complicates sentimental evangelicalism even further by overriding intellectualism in favor of a spirituality marked by how one feels rather than a philosophically-cohesive, logical system of thought. This chapter also further demonstrates aspects of sentimentality that I laid out in chapter one. Evangelical sentimentality includes aspects of piety that reflect nostalgia, familial or romantic love, and sympathy. This chapter examines how Max Lucado has honed his sentimentality—particularly expressions of familial and romantic love—to create a simplistic message that operates in place of a well-reasoned, intellectual approach to spirituality. Max Lucado employs sentimentality as a motivation to minimize doctrine and maximize feelings of familial and romantic love for God. To create this simplistic message Lucado casts God as both father and lover, wanting believers to feel, not think, their way into an acceptance of his vision of religion. The success of Lucado‘s simplistic message represents important changes in the history of evangelical thought. The Rise and Fall of Baconian Science and the Evangelical Intellect Much of evangelical thought over the past two centuries is dependent upon a Baconian view of science. The Baconian approach takes its name from Francis Bacon a sixteenth-century philosopher and politician who developed a new model of scientific inquiry. Bacon set out to create a "great renewal" of learning through the promulgation of a new method to approaching nature. Calling his massive work The Great Instauration, Bacon originally prepared to write a multi-volume work which he never finished. He did, however, complete part of one of the

62 volumes called The New Organon. Bacon's new method stood in contrast to previous methods of deductive examination that sought to expand and detail previously held theories about the world or a specific part of nature. Instead of deductive reasoning Bacon emphasized the importance of inductive reasoning based upon observation and experimentation. Baconian science started from gathering facts and then formulated theories about the world. Scientists (or natural philosophers according to the parlance) would create theories from fact instead of creating theories and then finding facts to support the theories.5 Bacon‘s approach to the world offered a new model of science, but it also made an impact on how Reformed Protestants approached the Bible and the world around them (which they understood through biblical interpretation). While Bacon may not have wanted to look to scripture for scientific principles, Protestants used his method to do this. The Puritans, for example, assimilated Bacon‘s worldview and regarded his writing as almost scripture. Bacon‘s approach to science and technology pervaded other aspects of Puritan thought including economics and politics. Historian Charles Webster has referred to Baconianism as ―the key to Puritan sensibilities.‖ As an ideology Baconianism led to a search of the biblical text to support the advancement of learning, the ―improvement‖ of nature, the advance of arts, and even the increase in trade. Puritans even incorporated Baconian ideas about utopia through scientific advancement into their Calvinist notions of the Kingdom of God. As Webster noted, ―The Puritans genuinely thought that each step in the conquest of nature represented a move towards the millennial condition, and that each extension of the power of parliament reflected the special providential status of their nation.‖ Furthermore the Puritan values of anti-authoritarianism and utilitarianism found resonances in Bacon‘s philosophy. According to Webster, Bacon provided precision and systematization that made the Puritans amiable to his philosophy of science and reality, especially since ―Bacon‘s philosophy was explicitly conceived in the biblical and millenarian framework which was so congenial to the Puritans.‖6 The ideas of Bacon also made a significant impact on the development of Scottish Common sense Realism (sometimes referred to as "the Scottish philosophy"). Thomas Reid and Dugald Stewart, two influential Scottish philosophers, depended on Bacon‘s thought as a foundation for their approach to understanding reality and morality. Particularly important for the Scottish philosophers was Bacon's inductive scientific method. Scottish Common sense (as Reid and Stewart understood it) was took Bacon's method and applied it to the realm of

63 philosophy and knowledge emphasizing the obviousness of the rational order of nature. In their extrapolation of Bacon, Reid and Stewart emphasized the importance of the collection of "facts" from which one could inductively drawn conclusions instead of hypotheses and theories. The Scots also emphasized that "[a]bstract concepts not immediately forged from observed data have no place in scientific explanation."7 Baconian science and philosophy, which interpreted Bacon through the Scottish Common sense philosophers, ―took America by storm in the first half of the nineteenth century.‖ The Puritans had looked to Bacon for the ways science could bring about millennium, but American thinkers in the nineteenth century committed themselves to the empiricism of Baconian philosophy. Although different denominations were variously committed to the Scottish philosophy, nearly all evangelical denominations became dependent upon this philosophy for understanding the world and the Bible. Obviously the belief that the Bible is true was not new to evangelicals or Christianity, but Baconian Common sense created a certain way in which the Bible was true. The Bible was seen as a storehouse of facts. The Baconian inductive method was a way to examine those facts and create a theology around this examination. Inductive reasoning from facts brought ―truth‖; deductive reasoning from previously-conceived theories brought speculation or one's prejudices to scripture. "Evangelicals assumed that when they applied scientific Common Sense to Scripture and God-given experience more generally, they could derive a fixed, universally valid theology" much like Isaac Newton's laws.8 In the mid-nineteenth century, however, new developments and discoveries challenged both Baconian science and the Baconian Common sense approach to the Bible. The acceptance of Darwin‘s theory of natural selection, and the acceptance of organic evolution in general, among academic and some Protestant thinkers was a challenge to literal interpretations of biblical accounts of the creation of the world. While many Protestants accepted evolution and believed it to be compatible with a belief in Christianity and Christianity‘s God, others were more hesitant about the impact of these scientific developments. These conservative evangelicals were also concerned about liberal theologies coming mainly from Germany that questioned the historicity and composition of the Bible. ―Higher criticism,‖ as biblical scholars called it, postulated multiple sources for the first five books of the Hebrew Bible/Christian Old Testament, books that many had previously believed Moses had written. Higher criticism also questioned the authorship of the book of Isaiah and the New Testament Gospels.9

Conservatives believed that evolution and higher criticism were detrimental to Christianity. If left to work their way through the religious thought of the country, evolution and higher criticism would destroy the faith of many and lead America away from God. Evolution especially challenged the intellectual foundations of nineteenth-century evangelicalism. Although Darwin identified himself as following Bacon‘s method, his discoveries challenged the welding of Christianity, Baconianism, and Common sense.10 In an attempt to intellectually answer the problem of Darwinism, however, evangelicals continued to rely on Baconian Common sense. One of the first responses to Darwin and higher criticism was the creation of fundamentalism.11 At its heart fundamentalism was an intellectual response to the intellectual challenges of new modes of thinking about the Bible and reality. Fundamentalists answered the challenge of ―modernism‖ by asserting what they saw as ancient beliefs: the inerrancy of scripture and the special creation of the world by God, among others. These beliefs, among others, stood as a bastion for fundamentalists of what it meant to be a Christian and how the world operated. Modernists, as fundamentalists identified those who accepted liberal theology, were a danger to Christianity with their new, hence erroneous, understandings of the world and the Bible.12 Two examples demonstrate the intellectual response by proto-fundamentalists to the challenges of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The creation of the Princeton theology and the publication of The Fundamentals evidence a reliance on Baconian Common sense as an intellectual framework that conservatives were committed to despite the weakening of both a Baconian approach to science and a Common sense approach to reality and scripture. Charles Hodge, and later Benjamin Warfield, relied heavily on Common sense in crafting a theology at Princeton that was meant to intellectually counter Darwin and higher criticism. Hodge, Warfield, and other Princetonians assumed that ―basic truths are much the same for all persons in all times and places.‖ The Bible contained these truths, and conservatives believed it was best understood through Common sense principles. In a particularly useful image historian George Marsden compared the Common sense-influenced Princeton theology and the developing modernist view to differences between the Ptolemaic and Copernican understandings of the universe. Princeton theology, like the Ptolemaic version, was concerned with a ―fixed truth that could be known objectively, while around it revolved all sorts of errors, speculations, prejudices,

65 and subjective opinions.‖ Competing modern worldviews were more Copernican in that they saw truth ―in motion—caught in historical processes. Rather than seeing truth as objectively existing at one fixed point, they have viewed knowledge at least to a considerable degree relative to a person‘s time and point of view.‖13 A series of twelve volumes that conservative evangelicals wrote between 1910 and 1915, The Fundamentals further demonstrate a reliance on Baconian Common sense. Subtitled A Testimony to the Truth, this work included ninety articles that presented arguments in a straightforward manner as appeals to average Christians. The articles of The Fundamentals were largely apologetic in nature as the authors attempted to respond to the challenges of modernism by presenting what they saw as timeless, unchanging truths. Inspired by a Baconian approach to science the authors argued that ―true science‖ and historical-critical approaches toward scripture did not contradict traditional, biblical views of the world. ―True science‖ followed the Baconian method—reasoning inductively from facts that observers gathered. The competing science of modernism relied, according to conservatives, on games of the mind—creating speculations, hypotheses, and theories. That the response of The Fundamentals was an attempt at an intellectual one can be seen in the authors‘ credentials. Many of the authors chosen to write the articles had some sort of advanced degree—qualification enough, it was believed, to attack and question the scientific findings of the modern age. That they relied on Common sense in writing those articles is evident in the off-handed way those authors critiqued higher criticism especially. The Princeton theology and The Fundamentals were two intellectual sources providing the foundation for fundamentalism.14 Fundamentalism as an intellectual phenomenon was short-lived, however. Many observers (both academic and not) would point to the 1925 Scopes Trial as the downfall of fundamentalist intellectuality. Although in theory the trial was about whether or not John Scopes had broken the Butler Act of the state of Tennessee (a law that prohibited the teaching of evolution in public schools), the trial came to represent a contest between differing explanations for the origin of the universe and human beings. When defense attorney Clarence Darrow called prosecuting attorney William Jennings Bryan as a witness, Darrow was challenging not only the law and the power of fundamentalism but also the validity of Baconian Common sense as an accurate approach to science. Fundamentalist Baconian Common sense failed the test. Darrow challenged the law and Bryan on the literalness of the Bible, and Bryan's only defense was a

Common sense one. "Evolution is not truth," wrote Bryan in his closing argument, "it is millions of guesses strung together." Bryan, as many other anti-evolutionist fundamentalists did as well, relied on the Baconian-induced belief that the hypothesis-experiment model of modern science was inaccurate because it was speculation—not based on "truths" that observers inductively drew from "facts." Darrow managed to demonstrate the inadequacy and weakness of Bryan's knowledge of both science and the Bible, allowing commentators like H. L. Mencken to ridicule fundamentalist intellectuality. In response to the prevailing pressures and ridicule, fundamentalists withdrew from American life to create a thriving subculture, but fundamentalist intellectuality suffered a crippling blow.15 Fundamentalism was not the only way conservative evangelicals have attempted to counteract the intellectual failings of Baconian Common sense. Scholars have often pointed to the creation of an educational system centered around ―Bible colleges‖ as part of the reason for the survival of fundamentalism after the Scopes trial. According to historian Randall Balmer, Bible colleges and institutes provided ―islands of refuge‖ for fundamentalists wary of higher criticism, evolution, and their impact on religion. Fundamentalist/evangelical colleges also provided at least the appearance of intellectual validity. The awarding of advanced degrees allowed ministers and educators to claim respectability alongside scientists and philosophers from secular schools. After all, these fundamentalists were also doctors. These schools, however, continued to be mired in the Common sense philosophy and a Baconian worldview. The illusion was that what was taught at fundamentalist schools were ancient approaches to scripture and the ―proper‖ approach to science. Although they attempted to shore up intellectual responses to evolution and higher criticism, fundamentalist education institutions further separated fundamentalists from the intellectual mainstream of American culture. Once again fundamentalists failed to intellectually respond to their opponents.16 The attempt to legitimate creationism as a scientific field of inquiry able to be taught in public schools is a third example of the failure of Baconian Common sense to achieve and retain intellectual legitimacy. Although the history of the relationship between evolution and conservative Protestantism is a complex one, conservative evangelicalism became united with an antievolution stance. When evolution gained acceptance in the scientific community and public schools, conservatives in the late twentieth century attacked it on Baconian grounds. The battles with evolution for most of the early twentieth century were amorphous, focusing on what were

67 seen as "loopholes" in evolutionary theory or challenging it as acceptable science. In the mid- twentieth century, however, conservatives created "creation science" or "scientific creationism" as an answer to evolution. The foundations of creation science date back to the late nineteenth century, but as a cohesive unit, creation science is a late twentieth century product.17 The formation of the Creation-Science Research Center and the Institute of Creation Research in the 1970s was an attempt to prove the scientific validity of the biblical accounts of the creation of the world in such a way that creationism could be taught in public schools. They did achieve some short-lived success. The legislature of the state of Arkansas, for example, passed a law requiring educators to present ―creation science‖ alongside of evolutionary theory. In the late 1980s, however, the Supreme Court determined that ―creation science‖ was an attempt to slip religion into schools as a subversion of the separation of church and state. The failure of ―creation science‖ to gain entrance into academic spheres, however, did not end the attempt to validate evangelical intellectuality. Creationism appeared again in the 1990s in another form— Intelligent Design (ID).18 ID was an attempt to self-consciously present creationism without its religious underpinnings. The coalition behind ID was broader than evangelicalism or even Christianity and included individuals from a variety of fields. Intelligent design proponents also differed widely over who the designer was, how the designer acted, and the timetable for design. ID, however, was popular among many evangelicals because it seemed a way to integrate an alternative explanation for the universe and life into the evolution-controlled public schools. Advocates of intelligent design achieved some success in places like Wisconsin and Kansas, where school boards redefined science standards to allow for the teaching of intelligent design due to the ―theoretical‖ nature of evolution. Unsurprisingly, scientists and other advocates of evolution challenged the acceptance of intelligent design, claiming that it was pseudo-science and it was inherently philosophical not science. Either track lead to the same conclusion: intelligent design belonged in philosophy classes, if it belonged in curricula at all. Ultimately, intelligent design fared the same as ―creation science.‖19 ―Creation science‖ and ―intelligent design‖ may have acquired advocates outside of evangelicalism and Christianity, but the impact of Bacon and Common sense is just as important for their evangelical adherents. In his book Creation and the Modern Christian, Henry Morris, one of the founders of ―creation science‖ argued that ―[s]cience once was recognized as the

68 organized body of known truth, or at least as a search for truth. It dealt with facts, demonstrated facts.‖ While Morris allowed that the scientific method should involve ―factual predictions which could tested and at least in principle, either falsified or confirmed by measurement,‖ he further demonstrated the influence of Baconian Common Sense when he told Christians how to respond to those who questioned the validity of a ―creation science‖: If Christians will simply keep these distinctions [about the definition of science] in mind, they need never be intimidated by naturalistic scientists or other skeptics. Whenever someone says that science has proved evolution, simply ask him to cite and document one scientific proof of evolution, reminding him that ―science‖ means knowledge, not theory or assumption or speculation.

If evolution was theory and speculation for Morris, the Bible contained ―facts‖: ―Many of the Biblical statements of scientific fact preceded their confirmation by scientists by thousands of years. Such facts can be cited and explained both as evidence of Biblical inspiration. Real science will always be found to support creation and the Bible.‖ Despite allowing for the use of hypotheses and experimentation in science, Morris argued that ―real‖ science was about the discovery of ―facts‖ that lead to conclusions—a Baconian approach.20 Even though the intelligent design movement includes individuals who are not evangelical, evangelicals still evidence the influence of Baconian Common sense when discussing intelligent design as an alternative to evolution. Charles Colson, former adviser to President Richard Nixon (and one of the individuals involved in the Watergate scandal), has become a popular evangelical writer. In an April 2005 article in Christianity Today Colson claimed that the burden of proof regarding the origins of life rested with those who believe in evolution not those who supported intelligent design. In answer to a question he posed about whether scientists have empirically proven Darwinian evolution, Colson responded, ―Wrong. Sure, there's evidence that evolution takes place within a species—but the fossil record has not yielded evidence of one species becoming another, as Darwin confidently predicted.‖ Since Christianity is ―a historical religion that deals in facts and events,‖ the ―facts‖ should predominate in questions about the origins of life. Intelligent design, then, should be present in public schools as an alternative to evolution. Claiming that ―[t]he evidence for Intelligent Design has become so persuasive,‖ Colson stated that ―any objective observer must conclude that belief in either the biblical or the naturalistic worldview demands faith. The issue is not science versus faith, but science (evolution) versus science (Intelligent Design).‖ Colson

69 concluded by saying he would like to argue the case of evolution versus intelligent design in the Supreme Court: ―pitting the common consensus against the Darwinist establishment.‖21 Although intelligent design and evangelicalism have both moved beyond an explicit reliance on Bacon and Common sense, the influence is still present. The appeal to ―facts‖ and the disdain for ―theories‖ and ―speculation‖ demonstrate that influence. In some respect Colson is right. The issue between ID and scientists is one of ―science versus science.‖ One of those models of science, however, is outdated. The evolutionary-Darwinian approach to science has superseded the Baconian one; evangelical attempts at intellectual respectability, however, have not adapted to this change. I could add other examples of the reliance and impact of Baconian Common sense within evangelicalism. These examples, however, demonstrate how the uniting of Bacon, Common sense, and evangelicalism in the nineteenth century has shaped the path of evangelical intellectuality in the twentieth and into the twenty-first. Bacon and Common sense have failed evangelicals when they need it most—in historical moments where they might have shaped the intellectual climate of American culture. In the vacuum of a strong intellectual culture, sentimentality has taken root. In the late nineteenth century Dwight Moody incorporated Victorian sentimentality into his revivalistic appeal. He supported the theological positions of conservative evangelicals, but focused on appealing to the emotions in his sermons through the evocation of narratives meant to illicit a response from the affections not the intellect. Because his concern was conversions, Moody also simplified his message and presented sermons that focused on a limited number of topics, contained a message that would have broad appeal to Protestants of diverse theological backgrounds, and avoided the controversial attitude of proto- fundamentalists. Billy Sunday employed many of the same techniques although he rhetorically deprecated a sentimental approach to Christianity. Sunday‘s sermons demonstrated his reliance on the domestic typology of the Victorian period and the sentimentality that went along with it. He valorized the piety of women, especially mothers, and emphasized the importance of the sanctity of the home to the success of the nation. In promoting a ―muscular Christianity,‖ Sunday encouraged men to take their rightful place as strong leaders of the home. While he offered memorable and fanciful statements deploring ―feminized‖ Christianity, he employed some of the same tropes in his messages. Like Moody, Sunday offered a simplified message aimed at the conversion of people in his audience. Theological controversy had no place in a

Sunday revival unless it was as a foil to the type of Christianity that Sunday promoted. The use of a simple, sentimental message that avoided intellectual topics also marked the careers of prominent evangelicals in the middle of the twentieth century. Historian Joel Carpenter records an event in Billy Graham‘s life that demonstrates this abdication of intellectual rigor among popular evangelicals. Early in his career, before his widespread success, Graham experienced serious doubts about the inerrancy of scripture and the validity of the fundamentalist viewpoint. Liberal theology and modern scholarship challenged Graham, and he was conflicted. Graham, however, eventually resolved his conflict without resolving the intellectual challenges. He decided to simply trust the Bible as God‘s word. His career reflected this evasion of the intellectual problems of Christianity for sentimental simplification.22 The use of sentimentality allows many people to remain committed to evangelicalism without questioning the Baconian Common sense foundations that create an antipathy to evolution and liberal theologies about the Bible. Sentiment allows for greater receptivity of the evangelical message because it promotes feeling and relationship and, explicitly or not, an anti- intellectualism that elides the intellectual difficulties evangelicalism faces. Max Lucado especially has used this to his advantage. From Lucado‘s pen sentimentality is strategically used to avoid exploring the intellectual foundations of evangelicalism and to disregard the intellectual stability of either evolution or higher criticism. Obfuscating intellectual problems means that sentimentality must do a lot of work. Particularly it must convince Lucado‘s readers that the questions and challenges directed towards evangelical Christianity are insignificant compared to the emotional connection available between the reader and God. The goal is to make people feel good—not necessarily convince them that Christianity is ideologically true. Lucado assumes (and expects his readers to assume) that Christianity is true—based on feeling and not on intellect. Several examples from Lucado‘s writing demonstrate this. Although intellectual defense is never Lucado‘s intent, there are places in his writing where he relies on sentimentality to counteract intellectual examination. Sometimes this elision occurs with a tongue-in-cheek expression that encourages the reader to recognize that intellectual challenges to evangelicalism are not worth the time of either the author or the reader. In No Wonder They Call Him the Savior, for example, Lucado argues that ―someone convinced us that the human race is headed nowhere. . . . The creation was incidental and humanity has no direction.‖ Human philosophies, according to Lucado, suggest that human

71 beings have no destiny, no duty, and no value. Any philosophy without a creator leads to feelings of worthlessness and depression. At this point, Lucado makes a rhetorical shift. Instead of intellectually challenging the straw philosophies he creates—he is never specific about what he discussing—he allows sentimentality to do his rhetorical work: [God‘s] plan is much brighter. God, with eyes twinkling, steps up to the philosopher‘s blackboard, erases the never-ending, ever-repeating circle of history and replaces it with a line; a hopefilled promising, slender line. And, looking over his shoulder to see if the class is watching, he draws an arrow on the end. In God‘s book man is heading somewhere. He has an amazing destiny. We are prepared to walk down the church aisle and become the bride of Jesus. We are going to live with him. Share the throne with him. Reign with him. We count. We are valuable. And what‘s more, our worth is built in! Our value is inborn.23

Instead of intellectually engaging these agnostic or atheistic philosophies, Lucado sidesteps them and essentially asks his readers: which is more appealing or makes you feel better: a philosophy where life occurred by chance or a philosophy where God loves and cares for life and human beings? Lucado does something similar in his book In the Grip of Grace. In this case Lucado downplays the impact of scientific hypotheses about the origins of the universe and life by telling a parable about crickets. According to the narrative, he happened to notice a cricket under his pew one Sunday as he was about to take Communion. Although he is not a bug-lover, the presence of the cricket allows Lucado to rhapsodize about the similarities between himself, the reader, and this cricket. ―We have something in common, you, me, and the cricket. Limited vision.‖ According to Lucado, the auditorium is the only universe the cricket knew. The cricket has no lofty aspirations and a minimal understanding of the world around it. Lucado also wonders whom the cricket worships. ―Does he acknowledge that there was a hand behind the building? Or does he chose to worship the building itself? Or perhaps a place in the building? Does he assume that since he has never seen the builder there was no builder?‖ Lucado then postulates about a cricket philosophy that would ignore the importance of a builder if crickets could understand how everything in the room works. In this scenario these crickets have understood electricity, air conditioners, and speakers and determined there was no life beyond the room: Would we let the crickets get by with that? Of course not! ―Just because you understand the system,‖ we‘d tell them, ―that doesn‘t deny the presence of someone outside the system. After all, who built it? Who installed the switch? Who diagrammed the

compressor and engineered the generator?‖ But don‘t we make the same mistake? We understand how storms are created. We map solar systems and transplant hearts. We measure the depths of the oceans and send signals to distant planets. We crickets have studied the system and are learning how it works. And, for some, the loss of mystery has led to the loss majesty. The more we know, the less we believe. Strange, don‘t you think? Knowledge of the workings shouldn‘t negate wonder. Knowledge should stir wonder.24

Once again Lucado fails to engage the intellectual aspects of life origins and dismisses them sentimentally—if someone understands the universe scientifically but doubts God‘s existence, that one is like a cricket, thinking they understand an auditorium. There is no real engagement of science or evolution; there is only sentimental obfuscation. Because the sentimental message is an anti-intellectual one, Lucado can strategically deploy sentimentality to create a simple, well-honed message that is appealing to a large audience. He does this through emphasizing the power and value of the individual, downplaying the importance of doctrinal distinction, and eroticizing the relationship between the believer and God. The Democratizing of American Evangelicalism In his 1989 book The Democratization of American Christianity, Nathan Hatch argued that Christianity in the American Early Republic underwent great changes that were shaped by the philosophical individualism of the Revolutionary War. After the Revolution, according to Hatch, the largest Christian denominations encountered a radically new religious and political situation that they were unequipped to confront. The Revolution disrupted the power of Congregationalists, Episcopalians, and Presbyterians and allowed new religious movements like Methodists, Baptists, the Disciples of Christ, Mormons, and black denominations to fill the void and gain adherents. One of the main reasons that these new religious movements succeeded in the Early Republic was their use of Revolutionary rhetoric in the context of religion. These new movements stressed an anti-authoritarian, individualistic approach to Christianity that resonated with the spirit of the times, according to Hatch.25 One example that Hatch used was Alexander Campbell, founder of the Disciples of Christ and Churches of Christ. Alexander Campbell‘s anti-authoritarian and individualistic understanding of Christianity was evidenced both in his approach to religious thought and ecclesiology. In the early years of his career Campbell was very antagonistic to the idea of a separate clerical class, which in Campbell‘s mind often tended towards an elitism within

Christianity. Instead Campbell believed, or at least promoted the idea, that every individual could approach scripture and come to an understanding of God‘s will. For Campbell that approach was rooted in the Scottish Common sense philosophy and the Baconian approach to reality. From these two strands of thought Campbell advocated an inductive method to understanding scripture. For Campbell if everyone used the inductive method, everyone would come to the same conclusions. This individualistic inductive methodology would not only free human beings from (what he saw as) the tyranny of the clergy but would also bring about Christian unity. If everyone believed the same ideas about scripture, then there would be no differences in faith or practices because (ideally) everyone would follow the scriptural plan regarding Christianity and its practice.26 Campbell is an important historical link to Max Lucado. As I noted in chapter one, Lucado is a religious heir of Campbell. He understands God and Christianity in certain ways due to a Campbellite influence. This connection can be seen in many ways, but Christian ecumenism is one of the prime avenues of Campbell‘s effect. Campbell, however, sought Christian unity through intellectual appeal to scripture. Writing before the full impact of biblical criticism or Darwin, Campbell did not have to deal with those specific challenges to the validity of the Bible. He assumed to a great extent that those writings were true and assumed that many (if not most) Americans accepted the Bible to be true, although he knew and debated some who did not. Unity for Campbell would occur through intellectual examination of scripture to determine what it said to human beings. When all human beings would understand the Bible alike, Christians would bring about unity because they would share the same beliefs and practices. Campbell and those who associated with him determined to meet denominational fighting and doctrinal division by creating a system of doctrines that represented (in his belief) pristine, apostolic Christianity.27 While the intellectual rigor of the Baconian method that Campbell prized is absent in Lucado‘s works, the influence of Baconian Common sense, partially filtered through the Campbellite tradition, is evident. The influence of Campbell and Baconian Commonsense, however, are apparent in sentimental expressions of an anti-authoritarian individualism. Just as Campbell emphasized the ability of all persons to approach scripture and God on their own, Lucado deploys this theme in his writings as well. In And the Angels Were Silent Lucado posits that religion, especially Christianity, has become too ―cluttered‖ with rules and regulations.

Instead Lucado argues that the religion of Jesus Christ is much simpler. What causes the difficulties in religion, according to Lucado, are religious teachers who claim that they are the source of religious truth. The easy way to simplify one‘s relationship with God, says Lucado, is to ―[g]et rid of the middleman. Discover truth for yourself.‖ Lucado‘s interpretation of Jesus‘ message is that one can seek God for oneself: ―You have a Bible? You can study. You have a heart? You can pray. You have a mind? You can think.‖ According to Lucado, anyone can clearly understand the Bible without the assistance of religious professionals. Everyone has equal access to God in Lucado's schema of Christianity. Everyone can seek God for themselves: "No confusing ceremonies necessary. No mysterious rituals required. No elaborate channels of command or levels of access."28 The attempt to dismantle or override theological traditions is an attempt to ignore the changes and developments of history or to downplay their importance. ―Historylessness‖ (an attempt to conflate one‘s contemporary situation with the historical situation of the Bible) is an important feature of not only the Campbellite tradition Lucado came from but also evangelicalism as a whole. In one of the early issues of his journal Christian Baptist Alexander Campbell wrote that he attempted to read the Bible as if he had never read it before. Campbell was dissatisfied with interpretations of the Bible and believed that interpreters had clouded the meaning of the texts. In reply to a letter from a Baptist, Campbell stated: I can assure you that the scriptures, when made their own interpreter, and accompanied with earnest desires to the author of these writings, have become, to me, a book entirely new, and unlike what they were when read and consulted as a book of reference . . . there is not a man upon the earth whose authority can influence me, any farther than he comes with the authority of evidence, reason, and truth. . . . I have endeavored to read the scriptures as though no one had read them before me; and I am as much on my guard against reading them to-day, through the medium of my own views yesterday, or a week ago, as I am against being influenced by any foreign name, authority, or system, whatever.29

This ―historylessness‖ has not occurred only in Campbellite groups but has been present in other movements as well. Historian Theodore Bozeman examined this same type of phenomena among the New England Puritans. Bozeman‘s Puritans, however, expressed ―historylessness‖ through a conflation between biblical times and the seventeenth century. They imagined themselves as living out the events of the Bible in the modern period. Historian Sidney Mead also argued that ―historylessness‖ was an important idea for understanding some

75 movements within American Christianity. He rooted this conception in the Protestant Reformation, claiming that an ahistorical bias existed in American Protestantism because of the emphasis on tradition in Roman Catholicism. For Mead many American Protestants in the Early Republic believed that the intervening history between the construction of the New Testament texts and the present could be ignored in favor of an approach to the Bible not bound by creed or history. I am not suggesting that history was ignored or unimportant to evangelicals either in the Early Republic or now. Historian Brooks Holifield notes the importance many evangelicals placed on the developing field of history as a description of the marvelous acts of God. Instead, it is important to note the concept of ―historylessness‖ was a component of the religious thought of many individuals throughout the history of religion in the United States.30 Both the Campbellite heritage and the larger evangelical community developed their notions of history and interpretation of the Bible out of the same Baconian ethos I mentioned previously. This philosophy approached reality through a belief that truth was simply an uncovering of facts in nature and in the Bible.31 Such an outlook gives rise to the belief that one approaches nature or the Bible unfiltered or unconditioned, or at least that one can (and possibly should) approach the world or religious texts in such a way if one consciously divests oneself of one‘s cultural and theological presuppositions. History and tradition are ultimately unimportant in such a worldview, and they are impediments to ―true‖ understanding of the word. Since one can encounter reality in this way (at least suppositionally), then mediators, like clergy or denominational traditions, are at best unnecessary, at worst hindrances to understanding and ―truth.‖ This individualistic and anti-authoritarian hermeneutic, however, is itself a historical and cultural product. It comes from a seventeenth-century approach to science (Bacon) which was shaped by an eighteenth-century philosophical system (Scottish Common sense) and was situated in a nineteenth-century democratic society. Despite what Campbell believed, he could not approach the Bible as if he had not read it before. Neither can Max Lucado or his readers. As much as Lucado would like to have his readers renounce their traditions, those traditions inform the appeal to ignore traditions. Lucado‘s individualism, however, is divorced from a Campbellite emphasis on an individual‘s intellectual investigation of scripture. While there is an undergirding foundation of an individualism that emphasizes the ability of the individual to understand and approach God, Lucado sentimentalizes this individualism to create an individualism that focuses on the

76 sentimental feelings Lucado‘s God has for human beings. Lucado‘s gospel is individualistic because God loves each and every individual equally: ―All ages are welcome. Both genders invited. No race excluded. Scoundrels. Scamps. Rascals and rubes. All welcome. You don‘t have to be rich to drink [from the water Jesus offers], religious to drink, successful to drink; you simply need to follow the instructions on what—or better, who—to drink. Him.‖ Jesus ―comes to all. He speaks to all.‖32 The individual is not the locus for the inductive discovery of ―truth‖ but the locus for sentimental expressions of divine love. This sentimentalized individualism based on God‘s love is even more evident in Lucado‘s book 3:16: The Numbers of Hope. A work focused on John 3:1633, 3:16 is an examination of each section of that verse and what Lucado believes it means for his readers. Chapter seven, ―Heaven‘s ‗Whoever‘ Policy,‖ features a clear example of Lucado‘s type of individualism. The presence of the word ―whoever‖ in John 3:16 indicates to Lucado that God‘s message is for all humanity at all times. ―Whoever‖ makes no distinction between individuals but is openly inclusive: ―After all, who isn‘t a whoever?‖ ―Whoever‖ is inclusive of people of all races and genders: ―The word sledgehammers racial fences and dynamites social classes. It bypasses gender borders and surpasses ancient traditions. Whoever makes it clear: God exports his grace worldwide.‖ Furthermore, this grace is open to people no matter what state they inhabit: ―God takes you however he finds you. No need to clean up or climb up. Just look up. God‘s ‗whoever‘ policy has a ‗however‘ benefit.‖ According to Lucado the ―whoever‖ of John 3:16 indicates that his God values all individuals as individuals: ―No status too low. No hour too late. No place too far. However. Whenever. Wherever. Whoever includes you . . . forever.‖34 In The Great House of God Lucado continues this theme by emphasizing the positive diversity of individuals in God‘s ―family.‖ ―We all call God ‗Father‘ and we all call Christ ‗Savior,‘‖ Lucado writes, ―but beyond that, things are quite diverse.‖ Included in God‘s family in The Great House of God are (among others) bikers, Swahili tribesman, dispensationalist theologians, missionaries, and murderers. ―We are olive-skinned, curly-haired, blue-eyed and black. We come from boarding schools and ghettos, mansions and shacks. We wear turbans. We wear robes. We like tamales. We eat rice. We have convictions and opinions, and to agree would be nice, but we don‘t, still we try and this much we know: ‗Tis better inside with each other than outside living alone.‖ Class, race, and gender distinctions are (at least rhetorically) immaterial in this conception of God; every human being is a child of God and belongs in God‘s

―family.‖ The sentimentalizing of God (crafting him as a father who loves his children) that is so prominent in Lucado‘s works provides a foundation to sentimentalize the individual (as being loved no matter what one‘s situation is).35 Downplaying Doctrinal Differences The sentimentalizing of the individual and her or his relationship with God also leads Lucado to downplay the importance of doctrinal differences in pursuit of a simplistic expression of spirituality and sentimentality. According to Lucado, God recognizes humanity‘s weaknesses and sinfulness, so God became a human in Jesus Christ. Since God is the Father of everyone who believes in Jesus in this schema, then all Christians are fellow family members. For Lucado this means that doctrinal differences that separate Christians are not as important as Christians often make them out to be. Doctrinal differences work against Christian unity; sentimentality provides the means to eliminate the importance of these differences: ―Now, what I saw two decades ago in the band, I see today in the church. We need each other. . . . [E]ach of us has a place.‖36 We saw earlier that Lucado draws on Alexander Campbell for an anti-authoritarian individualism as well as a desire for Christian ecumenism. There is an important difference between the two on how such Christians could achieve such unity. Campbell‘s strategy was to appeal to the intellect and intellectual methods. He referred readers of his journals and his debates to specific passages in the Bible; he even appealed to the Greek and Hebrew texts to justify his doctrinal position. The way to end denominational fighting over creeds and doctrines, for Campbell, was to offer a new system of doctrine (which Campbell believed was actually an apostolic one). Campbell was so sure of his position that he would frequently debate in public or in his journals. He was confident that the Bible, which he believed all rational people would accept as valid, would support his contentions. Lucado, however, is in a different position in the twenty-first century. Many Americans accept that the Bible reveals some truths about God, but even Christians disagree about how they believe the Bible is God‘s word. Lucado also must face a sizable section of Americans who do not believe that the Bible reveals anything about metaphysical realities. He could not use the same strategy as Alexander Campbell and reap the same success that he has achieved. By avoiding the intellectual challenges and appealing to the emotions, however, Lucado can recreate a foundation for Christian unity through the deploying of sentiment.

Lucado‘s God is freely accepting of all who believe in Christ. He expects his children to do likewise: ―What is the work of God? Accepting people. Loving before judging. Caring before condemning.‖ Lucado recognizes, however, that human beings, unlike this God, tend to prejudge based on appearance or the information they have about a person. To such people Lucado warns, ―Look before you label.‖ One should not judge another based on appearance, especially when it comes to judging one‘s relationship to God: Do you like it when people label you before they know you? ―So, you‘re unemployed?‖ (Translation: Must be a bum.) ―Hmm, you‘re an accountant?‖ (Translation: Must be dull.) ―She‘s an Episcopalian.‖ (Translation: Must be liberal.) ―She‘s an Episcopalian who voted for the democrats.‖ (Translation: Must be a liberal beyond help.) ―Oh, I‘m sorry; I did not know you were a divorcee.‖ (Translation: Must be immoral.) ―He‘s a fundamentalist.‖ (Translation: Narrow-minded half-wit.)37

Because God knows and loves all individuals qua individuals, then Christians should love equally, no matter where they fall on the political or religious spectrum. The labeling of individuals (whether denominationally, politically, or economically) works against the sentimental plans of Lucado‘s God—because it tends toward division and separation instead of unity and family. To divide from other Christians is a statement about the character of God, according to Lucado. Delineating who is a child of God is a statement about who is not a child of God. For Lucado it also limits how God can speak to humanity: ―We still think we know which phone God uses and which car he drives. We still think we know what he looks like. But he‘s been known to surprise us.‖ Lucado‘s God can speak through all sorts of circumstances. He can speak through the church or through the unchurched, Protestants or Catholics: ―We listen for him among the Catholics but find him among the Quakers.‖ Instead of emphasizing a specific doctrinal position that limits God, argues Lucado, ―We must let God define himself.‖38 In many respects this sentimentalizing of doctrinal differences is meant to counteract denominational competition like that which historian Philip Mulder saw in the awakenings in the South around the time of the Revolution. In Mulder‘s study, Presbyterians, Methodists, and Baptists emphasized their doctrinal distinctiveness in an attempt to gain adherents. Even as they responded to each other and became closer in beliefs and practice, these groups emphasized distinction and not commonality. ―The awakeners strove to make clear their differences with other awakeners and to identify precisely who was on the path toward heaven.‖ Distinction was

79 a mark of identity. Mulder further argued that the separation present in the eighteenth century was still animating denominations in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Despite the language of ecumenism the actual experience of congregations was quite different. Groups attempting to practice unity have organized themselves into structures that create distinction simply through their organization—delineating what a group believes creates distinctions against groups and individuals who believe differently. As Mulder writes, ―Ecumenicity among Protestant groups remains as elusive an ideal today as it was when it was created in awakening fervor. Individual denominational concerns and debates continue to make headlines with strife over civil rights, women‘s participation, and homosexuality.‖39 It is this divisiveness that Lucado‘s sentimentality is meant to heal. He wants to see unity among Christians because he believes this is God‘s desire. This desire for unity also has Campbellite origins. Alexander Campbell believed that the restoration of ―New Testament Christianity‖ would lead to the unification of all the Christian groups. As people relied on a Baconian inductive approach to scripture they would come to the same conclusions and modify their theology and their practice accordingly. Part of that modification would be the renunciation of denominational labels in favor of simply being known as Christians. Lucado, however, is much less dogmatic and less intellectually rigorous than Campbell was on how unity would be achieved. For Lucado, Christians would not find unity in a common intellectual approach to scripture but in a sentimental approach to God and a sentimental understanding of Jesus Christ.40 Even non-Christians are God‘s children for Lucado. God is concerned about them and loves them as well. In Cure for the Common Life Lucado goes so far as to suggest that God is among all ethnic groups and all religious groups. Lucado plays off of Matthew 1:23, ―‗Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,‘ which means ‗God is with us.‘‖ According to Lucado, since Jesus is called Emmanuel, that means that God is with humanity in Jesus: ―He came as the ‗with us God.‘ God with us. Not ‗God with the rich‘ or ‗God with the religious.‘ But God with us. All of us. Russians, Germans, Buddhists, Mormons, truckdrivers and taxi drivers, librarians. God with us.‖41 The fact that God is with non-Christians, however, does not mean that Lucado believes there are many religious paths to God. For Lucado there is only one path to God—belief in Jesus: ―Why Jesus? Why not Muhammad or Moses? Joseph Smith? Buddha?‖42 Because Lucado believes that Jesus is God, he also believes that human beings can only have a

80 relationship with God through Jesus. That makes Jesus unique for Lucado and means that Christianity is either the only correct religion or a fraud: ―Don‘t list [Jesus] among decent folk. Don‘t clump him with Moses, Elijah, Buddha, Joseph Smith, Muhammad, or Confucius. He didn‘t leave that option. He is either God or godless. Heaven sent or hell born. All hope or all hype. But nothing in between.‖ It is not surprising that an evangelical would claim exclusivity for Jesus, but what is surprising is how Lucado classifies the religious leaders of other movements. Moses, Elijah, Buddha, Joseph Smith, Muhammad, and Confucius are ―decent folk‖ not ―hypocrites,‖ ―liars,‖ ―frauds,‖ or ―charlatans.‖ The sentimentalizing of God, Jesus, and humanity allows Lucado to uphold Christianity while (perhaps unintentionally) opening up the possibility for the sincerity of non-evangelical, non-Christian groups. This approach has sentimental foundations not ideological ones.43 Even doctrines traditionally associated with evangelicals become open to sentimentality and downplaying, like dispensational premillennialism. Dispensational premillennialism is a doctrine that developed in the 1870s as a fusion between a long tradition of Christian millennial speculation and a historical crisis that questioned the very foundations of Christianity as a viable explanation for the existence of the world. For Lucado, however, how Christians have expounded on biblical eschatological texts has led not only to divisiveness but fear and discomfort among people, Christian and non-Christian alike: ―[T]here are all those phrases—‗the mark of the beast,‘ ‗the Antichrist,‘ and ‗the battle of Armageddon.‘ And what about ‗the wars and rumors of wars‘? And what was that the fellow said on TV? 'Avoid all phone numbers with the digits 666.' And that magazine article disclosing the new senator as the Antichrist? Discomforting, to say the least." Instead, Lucado argues that Christian eschatology should not be about fear but hope and comfort. Sentimentalizing the end times, Lucado paints a picture of the end of days as a grand reunion between a heavenly Father and his children. God "is away from his family" and looks forward to being with them.44 But what of the eschatological imagery that so fascinates many, evangelicals and non- evangelicals alike? Does Lucado dismiss the scriptural symbols that fill books examining biblical prophecy, as well as fiction? Lucado never delineates his eschatological view in a clear way but obfuscates the deep doctrinal differences that separate even evangelicals through sentimentality. Just as humanly parents do not emphasize details with their children in certain situations, writes Lucado, the heavenly Father does not emphasize details about the end of days.

Instead, God's approach to eschatology in scripture reflects "the tenderness of a parent to a child." God must present eschatology this way, argues Lucado, because "[o]ur pre-K minds are ill-equipped to handle the thoughts of eternity." Although Christians have expended much ink over the Second Coming and the end times, Lucado feels this has been futile: "Issues like the millennium and the Antichrist are intended to challenge and stretch us, but not overwhelm and certainly not divide us. For the Christian, the return of Christ is not a riddle to be solved or a code to be broken, but rather a day to be anticipated." As with the religious thought and rhetoric discussed in chapter one, Lucado‘s understanding of eschatology is a ―childish‖ one, that is, it infantilizes humanity‘s ability to know and understand scriptural teachings about the eschaton.45 Lucado attempts to further downplay doctrinal differences by presenting an image of organized religion that obscures Lucado's commitment to the very system he claims to denigrate. For example, in Lucado's second book No Wonder They Call Him the Savior, he uses the story of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus to challenge religious institutions and some of the people that participate in them. According to the Gospels, Joseph and Nicodemus were both part of the Jewish Sanhedrin, a religious governing body in first-century Judea. The Gospels paint the Sanhedrin as public and private enemies of Jesus of Nazareth, but Joseph and Nicodemus were secret followers of Jesus, fearing their fellow leaders. After Jesus' crucifixion, though, both Joseph and Nicodemus (in the Gospel of John) participated in Jesus' burial. For Lucado, this narrative presents Joseph and Nicodemus as being in the dark "tunnel of religion." In the tunnel of religion, according to Lucado, are pitfalls and "subterranean stench." It is a maze that is antagonistic to "young faith": "Young minds probing with questions quickly stale in the numbing darkness. Fresh insights are squelched in order to protect fragile traditions. Originality is discouraged. Curiosity is stifled." Lucado abstracts Jesus' denouncement of the Pharisees in the Gospels and projects it onto the religious leaders of his time. They are "hypocrites." They are "[h]air splitters." Quite often, "one has to find faith in spite of the church instead of in the church." Such is not the case for everyone who is a Christian, however. "[J]ust when the religious get too much religion and the righteous get too right, God finds somebody in the cavern who will light a candle." Lucado does not identify himself as one of those "lighting a candle" in the "dark cavern of religion," but his attack on organized religion seems to rhetorically function as just that. Lucado presents himself as a challenger to mundane, stagnant, constrictive Christianity.46

Later in No Wonder They Call Him the Savior Lucado takes this refrain up again. This time he uses the Gospel account of Roman soldiers casting lots for Jesus' clothing at his crucifixion. "Here are common soldiers witnessing the world's most uncommon event and they don't even know it." Instead, they gambled for Christ's possession. This scene reminds Lucado of modern-day Christians: It makes me think of us. The religious. Those who claim heritage at the cross. I'm thinking of all of us. Every believer in the land. The stuffy. The loose. The strict. The simple. Upper church. Lower church. "Spirit-filled." Millenialists[sic]. Evangelical. Political. Mystical. Literal. Cynical. Robes. Collars. Three-piece suits. Born- againers. Ameners. I'm thinking of us. I'm thinking we aren't so unlike those soldiers. (I'm sorry to say.)

Such Christians, writes Lucado, are "[s]o close to the cross but so far from the Christ." Lucado doles out judgment on Christianity for its doctrinal pettiness and divisions, but he believes that Christian unity is not an impossible dream. The solution is simple for Lucado--a dismantling of organized religion: "One church. . . . Not Baptist, not Methodist, not Adventist. Just Christians. No denominations. No hierarchies. No traditions. Just Christ." Even the dismantling of the denominational structure of Christianity, however, receives Lucado's sentimentality: "Too idealistic? Impossible to achieve? I don't think so. Harder things have been done, you know. For example, once upon a tree, a Creator gave his life for his creation. Maybe all we need are a few hearts that are willing to follow suit."47 This ecumenical rhetoric may appear theologically sound, but it belies the larger historical and cultural framework that informs the context out of which Lucado writes. Furthermore, how sincere is Lucado‘s attack on institutional religion? Lucado is a minister in a congregation. This congregation has elders, deacons, other ministers, facilities staff, and administrative assistants. The Oak Hills Church has several satellite locations. It has organized services and specific meeting times. The congregation is broken into small groups for better ministry. The website offers online giving. This is not organized religion? For Lucado to attack organized religion is somewhat disingenuous since he is a part of (and gets his success from) the very system he condemns.48 Lucado‘s democraticizing iconoclasm is also apparent in his approach to certain ministers. Although he does not name any one of his contemporaries specifically, Lucado attacks individuals who use Christian ministry as an opportunity for wealth building. These

―ecclesiastical con men‖ take advantage of common men and women for their own profit and, in Lucado‘s mind, to the detriment of the Christian message. These ―hucksters‖ appear to be Christians but their agenda is anything but Christian: The time has come to tolerate religious hucksters no longer. These seekers of ―sanctimoney‖ have stained the reputation of Christianity. They have muddied the altars and shattered the stained glass. They manipulate the easily deceived. They are not governed by God; they are governed by greed. They are not led by the Spirit; they are propelled by pride. They are marshmallow phonies who excel in emotion and fail in doctrine. They strip-mine faith to get a dollar and rape the pew to get a down payment. Our master unveiled their scams and so must we.

Lucado continues by listing some characteristics of those who would fit that model. They emphasize finances more than they emphasize the message of Christianity. They emphasize the importance of boundaries and attempt to demarcate their ministry and their flock as true Christians not understood or appreciated by Christendom at large. Although he does not mention a contemporary, Lucado does use Jim Jones of the Peoples Temple movement as an example of this type of Christian minister. With the mention of Jones comes a warning, those who follow ―ecclesiastical con men‖ could end up following the path of those who died in Jonestown. In Lucado‘s words, ―it could happen again.‖49 The contemporary situation of Lucado‘s writing these words was the televangelism scandals of the late 1980s. Ministers like Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart made headlines in the mainstream media due to their mishandling of finances as well as their sexual dalliances which stunned their congregations, led to prison time for Bakker, and severely impacted the size of their congregations. Certainly Lucado has men like these, if not these very men, in mind when he writes of ―ecclesiastical con men.‖50 Here again, however, the labeling of certain ministers as ―hucksters‖ obfuscates larger elements at work in evangelicalism and in Lucado‘s ministry as well. Bakker and Swaggart are easy targets for leveling an accusatory finger about ―hucksterism.‖ As historian Randall Balmer noted in Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory, however, observers could raise questions about others involved in evangelical ministry. ―Surely the transgressions of Bakker and Swaggart were not that much more egregious than Pat Robertson and his son pocketing an estimated $227 million from the sale of the Family Channel to Rupert Murdock, a property that Robertson developed from the tax-deductible contributions of the faithful.‖ Balmer noted that the ―obscene amounts of money‖ associated with televangelism invite this kind of abuse. Despite his deprecation of

84 evangelists who appear to focus solely on monetary gain, Lucado has appeared several times on Robertson‘s The 700 Club to promote his books.51 Lucado himself also has a substantial share of the evangelical financial pie. He has sold millions of inspirational books, as well as DVDs and children‘s books. He makes enough money to return his minister‘s salary to the Oak Hills Church. Max Lucado is not in financial straits. Wealth, however, is simply one aspect of what historian Randall Balmer refers to as ―the cult of personality‖ that infects many evangelicals and movements. Many evangelical congregations, especially those that are ―megachurches,‖ are known because of their association with a particular minister. From published reports, Oak Hills downplays Lucado‘s presence at services, but a cursory glance through Oak Hills‘s website offers links to Lucado‘s personal website as well as a speaking schedule so people can come when Lucado is in town and speaking. Although Lucado and the Oak Hills Church might like to downplay Lucado‘s involvement and celebrity status to focus on the worship of Christ in their services, some people come to Oak Hills due to the prominence of Lucado in the evangelical world. An anti-authoritarian, iconoclastic approach to Christianity may make for good writing, but in practice the situation might be far different. In fact, Balmer postulated that the very qualities of evangelicalism that rhetorically work against institutionalization—antagonism to creeds and religious structuralism—are most likely those that are most responsible for the ―cult of personality.‖ ―Evangelicals once harbored a healthy—though, at times, excessive—suspicion of worldliness, but they, too, have been infected by the culture of celebrity.‖ The iconoclasm of Lucado‘s rhetoric in fact obscures how ―organized‖ the religion of Max Lucado really is. The use of sentimentality helps facilitate this because appealing to the emotions encourages readers to accept what Lucado says at face value and engage in a relationship of trust with Lucado, as I pointed to in chapter one.52 Rhetorically, however, these attacks on organized religion are a sentimental way of appealing to his readers. Whatever the reality may be, Lucado creates a picture of Christianity devoid of doctrinal differences that lead to division. It would appear that Lucado does not have a problem with doctrinal distinctiveness. He asserts instead that God has a problem with distinctiveness that leads to divisiveness. By sentimentalizing God, Lucado allows for the individual to worship God in almost any way she or he sees fit—provided that it is in the context of Christianity.

Fictionalizing Sentimental Evangelical Piety Lucado‘s democratizing individualism combines with his doctrinal iconoclasm in his narratives—one of the features that is prominent in his books, and one that some observers have pointed to as a key feature of Lucado‘s writing.53 His use of narrative further removes evangelicalism from an appeal to the intellect because the messages of his stories are not meant to encourage a logical investigation into the veracity or validity of Christianity. Instead the object of Lucado‘s narratives is to create a responsive feeling in his readers. These narratives come in several types. There are narratives (or parables) that Lucado has invented completely on his own. Lucado also fictionalizes biblical narratives by renaming characters and rewriting the stories in different contexts. Finally, Lucado takes ―real life‖ examples from newspapers, magazines or other sources and uses them to illustrate moral truths in his books. In all of these types of narratives Lucado emphasizes the importance of the individual while downplaying doctrinal differences. As with many religious teachers, Max Lucado uses parables as means of teaching moral truths to his readers. The parable is often a fictional story that illustrates a spiritual truth that is more than the sum of the narrative plot. Many of Lucado‘s parables often contain a humorous tone even when Lucado makes a serious spiritual point. The serious spiritual point of Lucado‘s parables often relates to a critique of a certain type of Christianity. In his parables Lucado censures Christians for not behaving in what he believes are appropriate ways. His parables assess Christians and finds non-Christ-like activity. The point of the parable is often the need for more Christ-like behavior. In God Came Near Lucado tells the parable ―Lights of the . . . Storage Closet.‖ The parable is told in the first person. During a blackout, Lucado enters a storage closet to gather some candles to give light to the house. He lights four of the candles and begins talking to them: ―If you do such a good job here in the storage closet, just wait till I get you out where you‘re really needed!‖ He goes on to rhapsodize of how the candles will be useful for the family to eat, for Lucado to read, and for Lucado‘s wife to cross-stitch. Surprisingly, the candles begin to talk back. The candles do not wish to leave the storage closet. One candle protests that it is unprepared to give light. Another candle is too busy meditating about light to act as a candle should. Another refuses to provide light until it gets its life together. The final candle believes its talent is singing not giving light. Lucado is upset, blows out the candle, and leaves the

86 storage closet. He bumps into his wife on the way out, asking her where she acquired such inefficient candles. She responds, ―Oh, they‘re church candles. Remember the church that closed down across town? I bought them there.‖54 The parable comes from Lucado‘s ruminations on Matthew 5:14 which calls Christians ―the light of the world.‖ Lucado, however, does not see many Christians acting as lights of the world. In the parable the candles‘ excuses for not wanting to leave the storage closet to light up a dark house are meant to represent the excuses of Christians who do not want to leave their churches to light up a ―dark‖ (i.e., non-Christian and evil) world. Such Christians, in Lucado‘s construction, believe themselves unprepared to encounter non-Christians, prefer devotional expressions of spiritual to a missionary piety, conceive of themselves as imperfect representations of Christ and therefore refuse to demonstrate their Christlikeness, and rationalize their inactivity to having different spiritual ―gifts.‖ Whether it represents the reality of Christian life or not, Lucado believes that many Christians are not acting in ways that proclaim their Christianity. When he finds out that the candles are church candles from a failed congregation, Lucado responds, ―I understood.‖ What Lucado understands is that individual Christians are not actively being examples of piety. This narrative condemnation is related to the modern evangelical belief about the power of personal example as a missionizing technique. In the book Christian America: What D o Evangelicals Really Want? sociologist Christian Smith argues that lay evangelicals do not explicitly support the institutionalizing of Christianity in American social order. Instead of Christianizing America through the establishment of theocratic political schema, evangelicals, according to Smith and his researchers, believe that America will become a Christian nation through the power of personal example. As evangelicals live in Christian ways, they believe that non-Christians will see the superiority of their lives and desire to convert to evangelical Christianity.55 Lucado‘s parable of the candles accepts this notion of the power of individual example, but his critique is not an intellectual one but an emotional one. Lucado‘s readers are either to recognize others in the voices of the candles and emotionally understand that this is not the appropriate type of spirituality or they are to recognize themselves in the candles and emotionally respond by changing their actions. The point of the parable is not whether the Christian message or Christian piety is intellectually valid for the non-Christian world. The point is the emotional response of guilt or innocence the narrative evokes. In addition to challenging his readers to individually live in Christ-like ways, many of

Lucado‘s parables also question how effectively denominations are demonstrating Christlikeness. Specifically, many of these parables rebuke Christians for not acting in unified ways. Instead of expressing a common sense of mission and purpose and respecting the rights of other Christians to believe and worship differently, Lucado believes that many denominations preference their own theologies and practices over an ecumenical vision of a unified Christendom. Again Lucado uses humor in these parables to demonstrate what he sees as the absurdity of denominational rigidity. One example of Lucado‘s critique of denominational rigidity is his parable ―The Beggar and the Bread‖ from A Gentle Thunder. Again the parable is told in first person. This time Lucado puts himself in the place of a bread baker visited by a beggar. The beggar desires bread, and Lucado tells him he has arrived in the right place. The beggar‘s need for bread, however, is frustrated by Lucado‘s wish to demonstrate the superiority of his bakery. Lucado recites his ingredients and his knowledge to the hungry beggar, and then offers the beggar a tour of the facilities. The highlight of the bakery is an auditorium lined with stained-glass windows. In this room Lucado ascends to a podium and tells the beggar of how people travel every week to hear him expound on bread and read from ―the cookbook of life.‖ The beggar again asserts his hunger, but Lucado ignores him as he waxes poetic about the differences between his bakery and others. They do not serve the true bread. In fact, he notes, ―I know of one who adds two spoons of salt rather than one. I know of another whose oven is three degrees too hot. They may call it bread . . . but it‘s not according to the book.‖ The beggar leaves in disgust while Lucado notes sadly how ―[t]he world just isn‘t hungry for true bread anymore.‖56 The meaning of this parable is more readily apparent because it is in the midst of exposition by Lucado. The parable is a reference to a comment by Jesus in the book of John, ―I am the bread of life‖ (John 6:35). As bread is a staple of every culture, according to Lucado, Jesus should be a spiritual staple of every culture. Jesus and his message, however, require distribution to every culture. Distribution is where Christians come in. As in the parable of the candles, Lucado believes Christians are reluctant to distribute the bread of life. The exploration of the bakery and the comparison to other bakeries, however, brings denominational differences as something additional to Lucado‘s exploration of Christianity. Lucado downplays the importance of these differences in the exposition surrounding the parable. The differences between ―bakeries‖ stand in for the differences between denominations. In fact in the parable

Lucado the baker is more interested in expressing the superiority of his ―bakery‖ than providing bread. Lucado‘s ecumenism is much more apparent in the expositional discussion of Jesus as the bread of life: Bread is served in many forms. It‘s toasted, jellied, buttered, flattened, and grilled. It can be a sandwich, sweet roll, hot-dog bun, croissant, or dinner roll. Bread can meet many needs. So can Jesus. He adapts himself to meet our needs. He has a word for the lonely as well as for the popular. He has help for the physically ill and the emotionally ill. If you vision is clear, he can help you. If your vision is cloudy, he can help you. Jesus can meet each need.57

While it is not explicit, Lucado‘s meaning seems to be that just as bread can be presented in various ways, Jesus can be presented in various ways—none of which are necessarily better than others. Again the point of the parable is that the differences between ―bakeries‖ (churches) are not as important as the beggars (non-Christians) receiving the bread (Jesus). Lucado makes this point more clearly in his parable ―Life Aboard the Fellow-Ship‖ from In the Grip of Grace. ―God has enlisted us in his navy,‖ writes Lucado, ―and placed us on his ship.‖ God‘s ship is a battleship. Those who have signed on the ship have different responsibilities. Some watch the waters to snatch people who are drowning. Some arm cannons because they are concerned about the enemy. Others feed and train the crew. ―Though different,‖ continues Lucado, ―we are the same. Each can tell of a personal encounter with the captain, for each has received a personal call.‖ Each individual, however, has different interests and concerns and tends to cluster with others who share those interests. This clustering, however, has led to disharmony among the crew. Of particular concern to Lucado is ―the plethora of opinions.‖ Some believe in the need for serious study, rigorous discipline, and ―somber expressions.‖ They can be found in the stern. Some emphasize prayer by kneeling. They are found in the bow. Some claim that only real wine should be used in Communion. ―You‘ll find them on the port side.‖ Other opinions are even more distinctive: Some think once you‘re on the boat, you can‘t get off. Others say you‘d be foolish to go overboard, but the choice is yours. Some believe you volunteer for service; others believe you were destined for the service before the ship was even built. Some predict a storm of great tribulation will strike before we dock; others say it won‘t hit until we are safely ashore. There are those who speak to the captain in a personal language. There are those who think such languages are extinct. There are those who think the officers should wear robes, there are those who think there should be no officers at all, and there are those who think we are all officers and should all wear robes. And, oh, how we tend to cluster.58

Lucado continues to describe how clustering occurs around worship practices before appealing to Jesus‘ prayer for unity among his followers (John 17). The fellow-ship, however, is a ―rocky boat‖ which has lost opportunities because ―some adrift at sea have chosen not to board the boat because of the quarreling of the sailors.‖59 As in the parable about the bakery, Lucado downplays denominational differences through his ecumenical view of Christianity. The dissension aboard the fellow-ship is a matter of personal preference. The clustering of individuals around certain preferences is not the problem for Lucado. The judgment of one cluster over another is. As with ―The Beggar and the Bread,‖ Lucado‘s exposition makes his ecumenical point clear. Unity, for Lucado, comes from accepting fellow Christians in spite of their personal preferences. Lucado offers the example of his own life as a model for this sentimental ecumenism. Although raised in the West Texas Church of Christ, Lucado ―found encouragement in other staterooms‖ on God‘s ship. Presbyterians, Anglicans, Baptists, Pentecostals, and Catholics provided Lucado with different perspectives on spiritual themes, and Lucado believes that other Christians should be as eclectic. He writes, ―I‘m a better husband because I read James Dobson and a better preacher because I listened to Chuck Swindoll and Bill Hybels.60 By naming Dobson, Swindoll, and Hybels as important teachers, Lucado is placing himself among an ecumenical group of evangelicals who attempt to elevate elements of Christianity that are intentionally non-controversial. In her study of gender and James Dobson‘s Focus on the Family, historian Colleen McDannell observed that Dobson‘s organization avoids theological speculation in favor of doctrinally non-divisive issues. Instead of staking out a doctrinal position, Dobson‘s ecumenical approach to family issues is an approach that does not require ―an analytical response‖ but one that attempts to create a foundation where most people (read: conservative evangelicals) would find common ground.61 In many ways this is the same tactic used by Lucado, especially in parables like ―Life Aboard the Fellow-ship.‖ Lucado believes that most Christians would accept that their distinctive doctrines are small compared to the element that unites them—belief in the saving work of Jesus Christ. There is no search for intellectual validity or viability in examining the different doctrines—Lucado accepts that the doctrines he is referring to are matters of personal preference that may inhibit the sentimental connection between the individual and the deity.

The second type of narrative that Lucado employs are fictionalized reconstructions of biblical narratives. In this type of narrative Lucado takes a biblical story and changes the names of the characters and the settings of the events. The biblical narratives are reinterpreted, and there is not a one to one equation between the events and characters of the biblical narrative and Lucado‘s version. One example of a reconstructed biblical narrative is Lucado‘s ―The Voice from the Mop Bucket.‖ The main character of this narrative is a janitor named Hank. Hank is an aged man who spends his nights cleaning up an office building. On some nights Hank enters the executive offices and reminisces about when he was an executive. A scandal, however, had driven him from business. He had attempted to help someone being mugged and ended up killing the mugger. He fled justice. He put the past behind him and became a janitor. One night, after he had finished his work, Hank heard a voice calling to him from the mop bucket. ―Don‘t come any closer,‖ said the voice, ―Take off your shoes. You are on holy tile.‖ The voice was God‘s.62 The story of Hank and his divine mop bucket is a reconstruction of the story of Moses from the first few chapters of Exodus. Instead of Moses the son of Pharaoh‘s daughter, Hank was an executive. Instead murdering an Egyptian beating Moses‘ fellow slaves, Hank murders a mugger. Moses flees to Midian for twenty years and becomes a shepherd; Hank becomes a janitor. Moses hears God‘s voice from a burning bush; Hank hears God‘s voice from a mop bucket. Moses‘ story in Exodus is about the deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage through the divine power of God. Moses‘ story in Lucado‘s When God Whispers Your Name is about how ―[t]he voice from the bush is the voice that whispers to you. It reminds you that God is not finished with you yet. Oh, you may think he is. You may think you‘ve peaked. You may think he‘s got someone else to do the job. If so, think again.‖63 As was evident when discussing how Lucado sentimentalizes biblical narratives to emphasize the importance of the individual to God, he does so when he reconstructs biblical narrative as well. The Exodus story provides the foundation for the Jewish concept of God‘s covenant relationship with Israel. In Lucado‘s version, the importance and utility of the individual is emphasized. According to Lucado, Moses‘ story is about how God can use anyone at any point in their lives, no matter what they have done. Furthermore, in the exposition of Hank‘s narrative, Lucado presents the possibility that what happened to Moses (and to Hank) could possibly happen to the reader: ―[Your Father] may speak through a bush or a mop bucket, or stranger still, he may speak through this book.‖64

Another example of this type of narrative reimagining occurs in A Gentle Thunder. In ―The Yay-Yuck Man‖ Lucado tells of a man named Bob who ―loved to make people happy.‖ Where Bob lived, everyone wore coats which they never removed. Everyone, however, had different preferences concerning the color of the coats that they wore. Some liked blue; others liked green; still others liked yellow. The people of the town liked only the colors they liked and hated anything else. When people would see Bob in a color they liked, they would say, ―Yay!‖ When they saw him in a color that they did not like, they would say, ―Yuck!‖ Bob became very adept at switching between coats of three different colors to please whoever saw him at a specific time. Because of his ability to please different groups of people through his quick coat switching, Bob was elected mayor of the town. One day yellow-coated people brought in someone dressed in a t-shirt with no coat. Bob questioned this individual about why he did not wear a coat and why he did not desire to seek the approval of the people around him. The townspeople called for the death of the man in the t-shirt, and after several attempts to dissuade them, Bob agreed to the man‘s death.65 The biblical narrative behind ―The Yay-Yuck Man‖ is Jesus‘ trial before Pilate. Bob the mayor stands in place of Pilate the Roman governor of Judea. In the biblical narratives, the Jews approach Pilate when they want to crucify Jesus. Pilate is hesitant about crucifying Jesus. As the gospel writers portrayed him, Pilate searches for ways to release Jesus or punish Jesus without having to kill him. In Lucado‘s version, Pilate (Bob) is a wishy-washy bureaucrat who cannot decide what to do on his own because he is too busy trying to please everyone. He seeks approval. The Pilate of the biblical narrative appears somewhat different. Pilate is in a difficult political position. He must keep the peace but he has no patience for the Jews or their religious disputes. He wants to free Jesus not because he desires to please everyone, but because he believes Jesus to be innocent (or at least that is how the Gospel writers present him). By reimagining this narrative Lucado has altered the biblical presentation of Pilate into something different.66 ―The Trashman‖ is a narrative in Next Door Savior that is neither entirely Lucado‘s creation nor is it necessarily a reconstruction of a biblical narrative; it is a blend of both. Lucado takes elements from the crucifixion narratives of the Gospels but he so alters them and sentimentalizes them that it is difficult to say it is a reimagined narrative. The story starts off with a woman slumping on a park bench because of the garbage sack she has been carrying. As

92 she sits, she watches people moving past her. They are all carrying sacks filled with trash. She wonders what they are carrying. A voice speaks up and begins telling her what is in the sacks. She turns to look at the speaker and sees a man dressed in a t-shirt and wearing a baseball cap. He does not carry any trash with him. He begins telling her about her own trash, and then asks her to give it to him. He tells her to bring it to the landfill on Friday. When she arrives on Friday she finds a multitude of others who have come to the landfill to give the man their trash. He takes their trash, dumps it on himself, and screams. Eventually the mound is so large that it covers the man. The crowds hear his moans of pain for a while until they stop. The crowd lingers around the trash heap. Early Sunday morning the crowd notices the trashman has escaped and is standing in the morning sun.67 ―The Trashman‖ is a narrative about the crucifixion but the details are changed just enough that it is not the same type of narrative as ―The Voice from the Mop Bucket.‖ The events of the crucifixion narrative do not equate to events in Lucado‘s narrative. Instead ―The Trashman‖ is Lucado‘s sentimentalized depiction of what he thinks the events of the crucifixion mean. In Lucado‘s telling human beings carry sins around with them and the crucifixion is Jesus taking those sins away. The theological significance of sin, however, is downplayed. The ―trash‖ of the individuals in this narrative does not carry with it the centuries of theological significance of ―sin‖ nor does it connect to how Christians over the centuries have debated how Christ‘s crucifixion works as atonement for that sin. Instead sin becomes garbage that people carry around, that is dumped on Christ, and that somehow Christ eliminates. Divisions between Christians over how and why Christ‘s death can be a response to humanity‘s sinfulness are disposed of as easily as the Trashman supposedly eradicates the people‘s trash. The combination of Lucado‘s sentimentality with his narrative form leaves a discerning reader with some questions. If the Trashman is Christ and the trash people carry around is their sinfulness, where does the trash go? How does dumping trash on the Trashman do anything more than move trash? Does not the bringing of the trash to the landfill suggest the activity of human beings disposing their trash in contrast to the Protestant belief that humans can do nothing with regard to their own sinfulness? Is it the sheer weight of the trash that kills the Trashman or is it some quality of the trash? And why does Jesus always appear in a t-shirt in Lucado‘s parables? These theological questions are not the goal of the narrative. The goal of the narrative is the sentimental response of the reader: ―I don‘t need to carry my garbage around with me because

Jesus is willing to take it/has taken it.‖ Lucado‘s use of reconstructing biblical narratives adds an additional consequence that is not present in the narratives he has created on his own. Essentially he is fictionalizing scripture. The text becomes malleable to Lucado‘s ministrations and he can reimagine it however he wishes. The question of the factuality of scripture is subsumed to the larger sentimental purposes Lucado can draw out of these stories. Since the 1870s most conservative evangelicals have asserted the inerrancy of scripture as a chief marker of identity. Inerrancy has become a hallmark doctrine both within evangelicalism and without. While Lucado would probably assert his belief in both the factual truth and inerrancy of biblical texts, with his assistance inerrancy becomes a moot point. It does not matter whether biblical events actually occurred or whether the Bible is an accurate representation of those events and reality itself. What matters is the sentimental feeling that readers can achieve in response to the narrative whether in a form that adheres closely to the biblical text or in a form that is largely a reimagination of the narrative independent of the biblical text.68 A third type of narrative that Lucado uses is the ―real life‖ example. These are narratives that Lucado has encountered in other sources including, but not limited to, newspapers or magazines. Lucado uses the events that have happened to people in order to make a sentimental spiritual point. The narrative is most likely truncated and only those details which are useful for sentimentalizing are included in the abstraction. These types of narratives are ubiquitous throughout Lucado‘s works. His inspirational titles usually include at least three or more narratives that Lucado has drawn from history books, news articles, or some other source presenting real life occurrences. These events and people range from notable Christians like Mother Teresa, Billy Graham, and writers of famous hymns like John Newton and George Matheson to historical individuals like Dwight Eisenhower, the brother of John Wilkes Booth (who unknowingly saved Robert Todd Lincoln from being hit by a train in the late nineteenth century), George Washington Carver, and Alfred Hitchcock. These narratives might be about a garbage barge that continues to travel the seas because it cannot find port, a woman suffering from fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva or FOP (a disease where the entire body becomes solid bone), or a doctor performing an appendectomy on himself. They might be about men in a life raft saved by a seagull or about a man convicted of manslaughter who, according to a wrongful death suit, had to send a check for $1.00 every week for 936 weeks to the family of the

94 woman he killed (they had to take him to court four times because he forgot to make the payment). Whatever the narrative and its original context, Lucado sentimentalizes it to make it into a story about spirituality. Three examples show this process.69 In his book In the Grip of Grace Lucado relates the case of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Dahmer was given life without parole for his conviction in the deaths of seventeen men. When he was arrested police found parts of eleven corpses in his apartment. He had been cannibalizing his victims. ―My thesaurus has 204 synonyms for vile,‖ writes Lucado, ―but each falls short of describing a man who kept skulls in his refrigerator and hoarded a human heart.‖ Dahmer‘s crimes or his behaviors are not what trouble Lucado, however. ―Not his trial, as disturbing as it was, with all those pictures of him sitting serenely in court, face frozen, motionless. No sign of remorse, no hint of regret. . . . Can I tell you what really troubles me about Jeffrey Dahmer?‖ Prior to his death in prison at the hands of a fellow inmate, Dahmer converted to Christianity. ―Said he repented. Was sorry for what he did. Profoundly sorry. Said he put his faith in Christ. Was baptized. Started live over. . . . Sins washed. Soul cleansed. Past forgiven.‖ Dahmer‘s forgiveness bothers Lucado.70 Jeffrey Dahmer‘s conversion provides Lucado the opportunity to write about grace. Instead of questioning whether or not a serial killer can receive grace from God, however, Lucado makes a different point. If God can forgive Jeffrey Dahmer from his heinous crimes, he can certainly forgive Lucado‘s readers from whatever they might have done. Furthermore, Lucado sentimentalizes Dahmer‘s conversion by telling his readers that they are just like Jeffrey Dahmer. Drawing on the Gospel of Luke‘s account of a criminal crucified with Jesus who received forgiveness, Lucado writes: ―As far as we know, Jeffrey Dahmer did the same thing. And as far as we know, Jeffrey Dahmer got the same response. And when you think about it, the request Dahmer made is no different than yours or mine. He may make it from a prison bunk and you may make it from a church pew, but from heaven‘s angle we‘re all asking for the moon. And by heaven‘s grace we all receive it.‖71 Lucado does not address concerns about how a just God would address the atrocities of Dahmer or how God is able and willing to forgive Dahmer. These questions are moot for Lucado as he sentimentalizes Dahmer and his readers. Lucado records a different narrative in Come Thirsty. He tells of a seventeen-year-old boy named Jake Porter who went to school at Northwest High in McDermott, Ohio. Porter suffered from chromosomal fragile X syndrome, but he loved sports. He went to all the practices

95 for a variety of sports, but he never played due to his condition. When his high school was playing the team from Waverly, he got the opportunity to play. Northwest High was down 42 to nothing in the final seconds of the game. The Northwest coach called timeout and crossed over to the Waverly coach to ask him to allow Porter into the game to take a knee and end out the game. The Waverly coach agreed to allow Porter in the game only if Porter would be allowed to score. Porter entered the game, thinking he would take a knee. When handed the ball, his teammates prevented him from taking a knee and told him to run. The defense allowed Porter to pass through and score a touchdown. Lucado‘s version of this story (taken from Sports Illustrated) is used to introduce a chapter entitled ―Angels Watching Over You.‖ Lucado notes, ―[W]hat Jake‘s team did for him, the Lord of the universe does for you every day of your life. And you ought to see the team he coaches.‖72 The Sports Illustrated article, ―The Play of the Year,‖ contains some sentimentality, as one might expect considering the subject matter. There is more, however, to the source material than makes it into Lucado‘s Come Thirsty. Not only did the play raise a national debate from some commentators concerning the role of the disabled in athletics, but there were racial issues surrounding the play as well. About half of the article is devoted to Waverly‘s coach, Derek Dewitt, who was the first African American coach in the conference. Rick Reilly, the author of the article, mentions racial slurs and other difficulties Dewitt had faced because of his race. Reilly also noted that, at least apparently, relationships between the towns of McDermott and Waverly seemed better. The collective impact of Porter‘s touchdown and its overtones concerning race and disability, a prominent aspect of the Sports Illustrated article, is lost in Lucado‘s sentimentalizing of the individual.73 In his book Facing Your Giants Lucado uses a real life example to encourage his readers to confess any hidden sins. Upon the death of Pope John Paul II, a man named Rogers Cadenhead registered the domain name www.Benedict-XVI.com prior to the ascension of Joseph Ratzinger, and also prior to his selection of his papal name. Cadenhead, himself a (lapsed) Catholic, was willing to turn the domain over to the Catholic Church on the election of Ratzinger, with some stipulations. Cadenhead did not want money. Instead he wanted ―one of those hats,‖ ―a free stay at the Vatican hotel,‖ and ―complete absolution, no questions asked, for the third week of March 1987.‖74 From Cadenhead‘s example, Lucado draws the generalization that all people (because of

96 human nature) have our ―third week of March 1987.‖ There are those moments in the lives of human beings that they want to cover up so that no one knows about them: ―A folly-filled summer, a month off track, days gone wild. If a box of tapes existed documenting every second of your life, which tapes would you burn? Do you have season in which you indulged, imbibed, or inhaled?‖ Human beings have all sinned and have covered it up. Since this is the case, Lucado argues, each one must turn to God to have those sins removed.75 The weeks of March 1987 become a troubling illness, something that plagues humans, makes them restless, haunts them, argues Lucado. He likens this covered-up sin to a boil which needs to be squeezed so that it can be removed. If the hands that squeeze a boil hurt us, he posits, how much more the hands of God? Unconfessed sins sit on our hearts like festering boils, poisoning, expanding. And God, with gracious thumbs applies the pressure. . . . God takes your sleep, your peace. He takes your rest. Want to know why? Because he wants to take away your sin. Can a mom do nothing as toxins invade her child? Can God sit idly as sin poisons his? He will not rest until we . . . confess our fault.76

The pain of the momentary trouble that removes sin (like the pain of removing a boil) hurts, but it leads to the freedom from that sin. Unconfessed sin troubles like physical discomfort does because God prods at us to confess it. When it is confessed, God removes it: ―It‘s time for you to put your ‗third week of March 1987‘ to rest. Assemble a meeting of three parties: you, God, and your memory. Place the mistake before the judgment seat of God. Let him condemn it, let him pardon it, and let him put it away. He will. And you don‘t have to own the pope‘s name for him to do so.‖77 Lucado makes much of Cadenhead‘s desire for absolution for the third week of March 1987, but how serious was Cadenhead? His blog request could be read sarcastically, as news reports seem to indicate. Other narratives experience the same kind of editing, as discussed previously. If that is the case, what does this do to Lucado‘s reasoning since he is using a ―real life‖ example as a foundation? Sentimentalizing narratives of real life examples offers Lucado the opportunity to pick and choose what aspects are important to share with his readers. He provides a redacted version of records to sentimentalize people and events to work them into his overall agenda—making his readers accept his version of God and Christianity. Lucado‘s parables and narratives lionize and sacralize the ordinary. Whether or not the narrative is based on fact or not, Lucado‘s characters are generally common individuals that

97 become important through Lucado‘s construction of his craft around them. Because Lucado presents them as nondescript, he attempts to convince his readers that they are in a similar position, that they can respond similarly, or that they relate to the supernatural in the same way. In some respects Lucado‘s parables are similar to the parables of the Gospels. The parables of Jesus feature common elements of contemporary Jewish life—farming, fishing, merchandizing. The Gospel parables also feature emotional appeals, although those that do are very few. Lucado‘s parables and narratives, however, rely on emotional appeal. They may evoke heart- rending feelings or are ―cutesy‖ in how Lucado presents them, but the purpose is not to make individuals examine the validity of the story but to make them feel certain feelings. In other words ―The Trashman‖ elicits a different response than ―The Good Samaritan‖ (Luke 10). The intention of ―The Good Samaritan‖ appears to be related to racial issues in first-century Judea. At the end of the parable, the listener or the reader faces a racially-inclusive challenge—who is one‘s ―neighbor‖? ―The Trashman,‖ however, serves a different purpose. The function of this parable seems to be to create an emotional response—perhaps grief, remorse, relief. A reader could feel any of these emotions (or others) upon reading Lucado‘s parable. Whatever the emotion, the focus of his parables is an individual affective response not an intellectual (or even sometimes moral) one. The power comes not from the words or the message itself, but from an uncritical acceptance of Lucado‘s narrative. The plain and familiar style invites readers to come with a hermeneutic of faith not a hermeneutic of suspicion. The operation of a hermeneutic of faith, however, lends a measure of control to Lucado that his audience is unaware of relinquishing.78 The Democratic Limits of Sentimental Evangelicalism While Max Lucado presents a sentimentalism that emphasizes individualism and downplays doctrinal differences, there are limits to how democratic this sentimentalism is. Lucado offers a wide range of opportunities for individual opinion concerning how God is to be worshiped. Not every option, however, is available. There are a few doctrines that Lucado refuses to allow. As mentioned previously, Lucado insists that it is necessary to believe in Jesus Christ as Savior. While Lucado insists that God loves every human being despite their religious affiliation, he believes that only those who believe in Jesus Christ will be saved. The salvific work of Jesus, however, is not the only doctrine that Lucado holds a necessity. As much as Lucado sentimentalizes Christianity and the believer‘s relationship to God,

98 he still holds a belief in the both the concrete reality and eternality of hell. Despite the differences in Christendom over whether hell exists, how long people will be in hell, and whether one can escape hell, Lucado is insistent that the Bible teaches a real, eternal hell. For Lucado, the existence of hell is related to the character of God. ―If there is no hell,‖ writes Lucado, ―God is not just.‖ Because God reveals the existence of hell in scripture, Lucado continues, to refuse to believe in hell makes God a liar and the scripture untrue. Furthermore, the doctrine of a real hell is not inconsistent with the message of Jesus because, according to Lucado, ―[t]hirteen percent of the teachings of Christ are about judgment and hell. More than half of his parables related to God‘s eternal judgment of sinners.‖79 Not only do the scriptures describe the reality of hell, writes Lucado, they also insist on the eternality of hell. Despite his recognition that some Christians believe hell is not eternal, Lucado‘s reading of scripture suggests otherwise. ―There is no point which I‘d more gladly be wrong than the eternal duration of hell. If God, on the last day, extinguishes the wicked, I‘ll celebrate my misreading of his words. Yet . . . God sobers his warnings with eternal language.‖ For Lucado, if heaven is eternal, hell is as well. ―[Hell] may have a back door or graduation day, but I haven‘t found it.‖80 Despite his refusal to allow for individuals to seek God through various paths outside of Christianity and his insistence on the real, eternal existence of hell, Lucado gives the topic of hell the sentimental treatment. While he believes that hell is a terrible place of torment, Lucado‘s sentimental God does everything he can to prevent people from going to hell. ―He has wrapped caution tape on hell‘s porch and posted a million and one red flags outside the entrance. To descend its stairs, you‘d have to cover your ears, blindfold your eyes, and, most of all, ignore the epic sacrifice of history: Christ, in God‘s hell on humanity‘s cross.‖81 Democratic individualism also comes into play in Lucado‘s doctrine hell. God so values the free choice of individuals that it is not God who sends people to hell, according to Lucado. Sinners and rebellious people freely choose to go to hell. ―[God] simply honors their choice. Hell is the ultimate expression of God‘s high regard for the dignity of man. He has never forced us to choose him, even when that means we would choose hell.‖82 Lucado does not allow for a complete freedom of choice in how people will express their religiosity. For him anyone who wants to be pleasing to God must have a relationship with Jesus Christ. Those who do not approach God through Christ are left with the real possibility of

99 suffering eternal punishment in hell, in this schema. Hell, however, is also subject to sentimentality and democratizing. Lucado‘s God so loves each individual and the freedom of their conscience (or their will) that he will not force people into heaven. People will end up in hell because God allowed them to freely choose to go there. Individualism is absolutely sacred in this sentimental worldview. Because Lucado values individualism so highly and relies on sentimentality so thoroughly, he fluctuates between fearful expressions of hell and diminutive downplaying of its reality. The fear of hell is real for Lucado. Its suffering is eternal, and its power is destructive. Yet Lucado also encourages his readers to not be afraid of hell and uses cutesy language to minimize the fear. Hell, for example, would be tolerable ―if its citizens were lobotomized.‖ ―[H]ell‘s misery is deep, but not as deep as God‘s love.‖ The doctrine of hell ―teaches concepts that are tough to swallow, concepts such as ‗conscious punishment‘ and ‗permanent banishment.‘ But it also teaches a vital truth which is easily overlooked. . . . the unimaginable love of God.‖ ―How could a loving God send sinners to hell? He doesn‘t. They volunteer.‖83 Lucado‘s descriptions of hell are not Jonathan Edwards‘s ―Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.‖ Lucado uses the fatherly love of God to mask the terrors of the doctrine of hell, pushing them to the margins of his thought. He conceals this fearful rhetoric under the sugary sentiment of God‘s love. Under the democratic, doctrinal-dismissive rhetoric, however, is a belief in a God doing (or at least willing to allow) terrible, wrathful things to those who do not accept Jesus as his son. The Erotics of Sentimental Evangelicalism Important conceptions of gender also mark Lucado‘s sentimental individualism. Gender issues are an important topic in investigating American evangelicalism.84 Scholars have produced excellent studies on gender dynamics within evangelicalism to show that both genders find empowerment within the movement to relate both to God and to human beings. Much of the focus in these studies has been on women and how they operate within a system that (generally) preaches the submission of women to men both in the church and in the home. Many scholars, however, have been silent about the important gendered concepts that function within the religious thought of evangelicalism and what that says of the movement, particularly when it comes to the sexualization of the believer‘s relationship with God.85 Religious studies scholar Lynn Neal makes this a prime point of her work Romancing God. The religious novels she

100 studied are romances where quite often the subtext of the sexual relationship between man and woman (only in the context of husband and wife) is the sexualized relationship between God and woman. Directed primarily at evangelical women, these novels tell the story of a romantic relationship of God being the true relationship women for which women should strive. This relationship is a mirror of the relationship of husband and wife so that the Christian woman should be searching for God as their husband. Because of the limited focus of her study, however, Neal fails to note that the sexualized relationship between God and the believer is a part of a more diverse aesthetic within evangelicalism. Not only does ―women‘s literature‖ project women into the role of divine wife, other practices and thought within evangelicalism projects all believers as divine wives married to Jesus Christ. Sentimentalizing of the individual, as in the works of Max Lucado, has lead to gender confusion within evangelicalism. There is evangelical literature that tells men they need to be ―men,‖ and there are wide variety of sources, including Lucado‘s books, telling men they need to be ―women.‖86 Biblical authors used feminine imagery to refer to God‘s chosen people. In the Hebrew Bible many writers, particularly the prophets, referred to Israel as the bride of God. In Ezekiel 16 the writer presented God as a wealthy man who had found a young abandoned girl (Israel) whom he assisted. When the woman was full grown, the man took her as a wife but she was unfaithful and became a prostitute. Yet, the writer noted, the husband would again call the prostitute wife. A similar image occurred in the book of Hosea with the marriage of Hosea and the prostitute Gomer mirroring the relationship between God and Israel. Other prophets used this bridal imagery. The writer of Isaiah 50 referred to Israel‘s exile in Babylon in terms of a husband and wife. He referred to pre-exilic Israel as a mother, the wife of God. New Testament writers also used this imagery. In a Christian context the church becomes the bride of Christ. The writer of Ephesians uses the metaphor of husband and wife to refer to the relationship between Christ and the church. John the Seer in the book of Revelation refers to the ―new Jerusalem‖ as the ―bride, the wife of the Lamb‖ (Rev. 21:2, 9). Biblical writers referred to the collective of God‘s people as the wife or bride of conversely God or Christ. Modern day evangelicals, however, rely on an individualization of this relationship so that each individual Christian is a bride or wife of Christ. In Next Door Savior Lucado writes of the anticipation of the Christian waiting for the groom, Christ. ―When you see him, you will [forget about yourself]. I‘m sorry about your

101 greasy gown. And your flowers—they tend to slide, don‘t they? . . . Everything changes when you look at your groom. And yours is coming. . . . Jesus is coming for you.‖ Lucado continues by saying that Jesus hand will touch his bride‘s face and change her life. He also uses this image in Just Like Jesus in a section entitled ―Pictures of Intimacy.‖ He writes of intimate pictures used in scripture to describe the relationship that God has with believers. One of them is the bridal imagery: ―Aren‘t we the bride of Christ (Rev. 21:2)? . . . Haven‘t we made vows to him, and hasn‘t he made vows to us? What does our marriage to Jesus imply about his desire to commune with us? For one thing, the communication never stops. In a happy home the husband doesn‘t talk to the wife only when he wants something from her.‖ For Lucado human beings have the opportunity to have intimate relationships with Jesus like that of husband and wife. Jesus is the husband and the believer is the wife—whether that believer is male or female. Although some of the imagery (like that in Just Like Jesus) can be read as a collective expression, most of it reads as individualized relationships between the believer (the wife) and Christ (the husband).87 The language is much more explicit in When Christ Comes. As with most books, Lucado refers to ―the reader‖ in his acknowledgements, making this a work addressed to the individual reader.88 In a chapter entitled ―Crossing the Threshold: A Day of Everlasting Celebration‖ Lucado discusses the reader‘s relationship to Christ. He begins by telling a parable about a peasant bride engaged to a prince. ―A more intriguing romance never occurred.‖ The prince proposes but has to leave on some mission promising, ―I‘ll return for you soon.‖ As the time goes by, however, the woman forgets her engagement. She begins to behave differently. ―[S]he has been seen cavorting with the village men. Flirting. Whispering. In the bright of day. Dare we wonder about her activities in the dark of night?‖ The parable of the peasant bride is, of course, about Christians. Individual Christians are the bride of Christ. ―We, the peasants, have heard the promise of the prince. He entered our village, took our hand, and stole our hearts.‖ As he continues to explain his parable, however, Lucado turns from collective referents to individualized ones. As he encourages Christians not to forget their engagement to Christ, he reminds them, ―You had captured God’s heart.‖89 Lucado continues by describing a girl he knew in college. According to his telling, when she got engaged, she changed. ―Her hair changed. Her dress changed. Even her voice changed. . . . She spoke with confidence. What made the difference? Simple. She was chosen. . . .

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Empowered by his proposal. Validated by his love. His love for her convinced her that she was worth loving.‖ Lucado believes the same thing can happen to Christians: ―We, like the girl, feel so common. Insecurities stalk us. Self-doubt plagues us. But the marriage proposal of the prince can change all that.‖90 Lucado appeals to the biblical book Song of Solomon as an example of the love God has for his bride. He takes the erotic imagery of husband-wife relations and applies it to the love God has for the believer. He even goes so far to sexualize the Incarnation: Do you find it odd to think of God as an enthralled lover? Do you feel awkward thinking of Jesus as a suitor intoxicated on love? If so, how else do you explain his actions? Did logic put God in a manger? Did common-sense nail him to a cross? Did Jesus come to earth guided by a natural law of science? No, he came as a prince with his eye on the maiden, ready to battle even the dragon itself if that‘s what it took to win her hand.91

The Incarnation is not comprehended here in theological terms of sin and atonement but romance and sexuality. God, and Christ, were so captivated by a humanity gendered female that Christ became human and died to have a relationship which each and every human being: ―God flirts with us. He tantalizes us. He romances us.‖92 Jesus ―longs for his bride.‖ He cannot bear to live without her. ―And who is that bride? Who is this beauty who occupies the heart of Jesus? . . . It is not nature. . . . It is not his angels. . . . Who is this bride . . . for whom Jesus longs? Who is this maiden who has captured the heart of God‘s son? You are. You have captured the heart of God.‖ Jesus is a lovesick God desperate for human beings to love him the same way husbands and wives love each other. ―[H]e‘s dreaming of the day he carries you over the threshold.‖ Lucado has sexualized the believer-deity relationship and confused gender distinctions among human beings. While he might make gender distinction in the roles men and women have in the church and in the home, when it comes to the relationship between the Christian and Christ, everyone is female: ―You are engaged to royalty, and your Prince is coming to take you home.‖93 The sentimentalizing of evangelicalism and the sexualization of the believer-deity relationship leads to muddle theological distinction. In describing the romantic relationship between the believer and the deity, Lucado uses God and Jesus interchangeably. He appeals to passages in the Christian Old Testament (that refer to God) and passages in the Christian New Testament (that refer to Christ) and conflates them. It would be easy for someone to think that in Lucado‘s schema both God and Jesus are infatuated with humanity. Are believers engaged to

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God, or are they engaged to Jesus? This inexact approach to religious thought leads to further confusion. If God is both the Father of humanity and the Father of Jesus, does this place Christians in an incestuous relationship? If believers are gendered female in this evangelical sexualization, is there something oedipal at the heart of modern evangelical religious thought that scholars have overlooked? In his primal myth of human civilization, psychologist Sigmund Freud postulated that humanity started from a crucible of violence. According to Freud there were several sons who desired to have relations with their mother and so slew the primal father, hoping to take his place. Feeling guilt over their murder, the older brothers used the youngest as a scapegoat and killed him to expiate their crime. Civilization, for Freud, came from the attempts of human beings to inhibit the desires that led to this violence against the father.94 In evangelical sentimentality, however, a kind of mirror image occurs. Freud gendered humanity masculine, desiring to usurp the father. In Lucado‘s worldview, however, humanity is gendered female. Human beings do not seek to usurp the father‘s place, but instead Lucado wants humanity to take both the daughter‘s and the wife‘s places in a divine economy. In Protestantism, there is no divine mother figure. Catholicism, of course, looks to Mary as divine mother. Lucado‘s sentimentalizing eroticism, however, fills in that lacuna. The Christian is a divine fiancée awaiting matrimony. Yet Lucado also imagines the Christian as a divine mother. In chapter one, Lucado infantilizes the Incarnation. Above he sexualized it. In Next Door Savior he maternalizes it. In this version of Lucado‘s view on the Incarnation, the believer becomes a mother instead of daughter or wife. Lucado invites the believer to consider himself or herself as a ―modern-day Mary.‖ Based on the evangelical belief that Christ dwells within the believer, Lucado argues that since Christ is within the believer the believer is like Mary. Like Mary, the believer is to be passive to the work of God within. The believer should offer no resistance to what God wants to do in her or his life. The reason people are put on this earth, writes Lucado, is ―to be so pregnant with heaven‘s child that he lives through us.‖ He closes the chapter on becoming a ―modern-day Mary‖ by poetically rhapsodizing on what such a state would be like. What would it be like, asks Lucado, for Christ to be seen in the believer? ―What‘s it like to have Christ on the inside? . . . What‘s it like to a Mary be? No longer I, but Christ in me.‖95 Gender is a complex subject in American evangelicalism, especially in the context of

104 sentimentality. Believers are gendered female and told they have a special place in God‘s heart that is mother, daughter, and wife, all at the same time. The actual practice of gender in evangelicalism is even more complex. Although the feminine is upheld in the believer‘s relationship to God, the actual experience of women in a variety of movements is quite different. For many conservative evangelical groups, women, so prized in sentimental rhetoric, are prohibited from recognized positions of leadership and authority. Sentimentality, however, works to obscure these challenges and conflicts. Sentimental rhetoric encourages the reader to feel important without intellectually questioning how one has come to that feeling. Conclusion Sentimentality is a powerful tool that is a product of anti-intellectualism but that also exploits the absence of failed attempts of establishing evangelical intellectuality. The failure of Baconian Common sense and the failure of evangelicals to adapt to changes in science and biblical studies left evangelicals holding on to vestiges of a system that many did not find valid or viable. Sentimentality bypasses the intellectual challenges to evangelicalism by offering an emotional validity that trumps intellectual concerns. Why concern oneself with whether or not an evangelical approach to the world is intellectually cohesive or logical, if one feels that it is emotionally true? Max Lucado uses this feature of evangelical sentimentality quite effectively to create a simplistic message that casts the individual in the role of both child and lover with respect to a deity who values individuality to the point of not caring about most matters of doctrine. Although it might not be his intention, Lucado‘s sentimentalizing of the individual leads to a narcissism that may or may not be truly democratic. His rhetoric emphasizes the importance, value, and primacy of the individual, sometimes to the detriment of the Christian communities those individual inhabit. He downplays the importance of doctrinal differences between denominations and rhetorically eliminates any aspects to which individuals might appeal as markers of status in a religious hierarchy (e.g., class, ethnicity, gender). Yet, this is not a completely democratic system. It is not open to complete freedom of conscience. While Lucado probably would allow for the political freedom to worship (or not worship) God in whatever ways individuals believed were adequate, for him Christianity is the only true religious system. Such a position is not surprising for an evangelical, but it does show the democratic limits of evangelicalism, sentimental or not.

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Furthermore, Lucado participates in a structure that is also undemocratic in some respects. As a writer in the United States, Max Lucado and others have the freedom to voice their opinions and even have those opinions published. For publishing company Thomas Nelson, for example, to publish an author, however, that author must present a work with which the publisher agrees. In her work The Word in the World Candy Brown discussed a similar concept. Among nineteenth-century evangelicals, ―[n]ew publications gained entrance to the canon if they shared certain marks of membership.‖ Authors gained access to the evangelical community and became part of an evangelical canon of works if they learned ―conventionalized ways of writing, publishing, and reading, the practices of which continually re-created the evangelical canon as members chose from among interpretive options.‖96 Something similar occurs in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Thomas Nelson will not just publish anyone. Authors must surely meet certain standards (including marketability) before publishers will authorize them to enter the market through their channels. This is ultimately a pragmatic concern—what will sell? One type of literature that will sell is sentimental. Max Lucado‘s writings meet with Thomas Nelson‘s approval. Otherwise they would not publish his works. They must not consider his rhetoric subversive to their marketing agenda as a Christian publisher. By giving him a platform to publish, they are tacitly supporting what is included in his works. By refusing to publish other authors, they are attempting to deny them access to the field of evangelical publishing. The refusal to publish some authors may be pragmatic—not enough potential to achieve substantial sales; only able to publish a certain amount of books. The refusal may also be theological—a disagreement with the material in a specific book. Lucado, however, has found an entrance into this field of publishing to promote his sentimental individualism. This sentimentality, however, is a complex subject. It interweaves democratic rhetoric with gendered language that challenges the conceptions that scholars have had about evangelicalism. Understanding evangelicalism only through the lenses of evangelical beliefs and the politics of outspoken leaders of the Religious Right obfuscates the emphasis on sentimental feelings in evangelicalism, as Lucado‘s writings evidence. Biblical inerrancy and biblical literalism, which critics often examine and ridicule, become malleable in the writings of a sentimental author. The historicity or veracity of the text is less important than the power of feeling that the sentimentally-interpreted text may evoke. Understandings of gender become

106 even more complex when the sometimes oppressive practices of evangelical gender encounters a rhetoric of gender which genders all believers whether male or female as feminine. The fluidity of sentimentality works against concise definitional characteristics. Downplaying of doctrinal distinctions and allegiances, a product of sentimentality, allows Lucado to position himself in the center of evangelicalism as a common person and a harbinger of Christian unity while obfuscating (intentionally or not) the power relations that allow him to even make those claims to an audience. The way ―Max‖ presents himself as just like his readers eclipses Lucado‘s position as a male leader in an evangelical church and as an author given evangelical imprimatur in the form of a publishing contract and the media forums to promote his books. Furthermore by creating analogies that ask the reader to accept that God believes and acts in ways that Max Lucado believes and acts (as I explored in chapter one), Lucado effectively puts himself in the place of God without his readers even realizing it. A reliance on sentimentality by Lucado and the acceptance of a sentimental approach by his readers allow for this fusion that obfuscates the downplaying of intellect in favor of emotional response. Any investigation of evangelicalism, therefore, that ignores sentimentality or is dependent only upon intellectual categories to investigate evangelicalism simplifies the complex reality that exists both in evangelical religious thought and evangelical practice.

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CHAPTER THREE

―NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR‖: THE BRANDING OF MAX LUCADO AND THE MARKETING OF SENTIMENTALITY

[Jesus] wanted to show . . . that he comes. . . . Into the world of his children. He comes to those as small as Mary‘s baby and as poor as a carpenter‘s boy. He comes to those as young as a Nazarene teenager and as forgotten as an unnoticed kid in an obscure village. . . . He comes to all. He speaks to all. He spoke to me this week. The book you are reading came back from my editors with a hemorrhage of red ink. . . . I seriously considered shelving the project. The irony of my rotten attitude struck me: writing a book about good days was taking the fun out of mine. --Max Lucado, Every Day Deserves a Chance1

A trip to a local Christian retailer can provide nearly all the material one would need to see the impact of Max Lucado in the American evangelical market. One can not only find many, if not all, of Max Lucado inspirational titles, but one can also find versions of those works directed at a teenage audience. There are children‘s books and children‘s DVDs. One might also be able to buy cards from Max Lucado‘s Hallmark line. One could purchase a Max Lucado calendar that would provide inspirational messages from Lucado throughout the year. A Max Lucado gift book might sit on a bedside table next to a Max Lucado Bible under a window through which one might see a Max Lucado wind chime. After reading a passage in a Max Lucado book, one might write down some thoughts in a Max Lucado journal related to the book. Max Lucado‘s use of sentimentality has led to the creation of a simplified, honed, single- minded message of God‘s love for human beings as individuals. Such a message is certainly marketable. The success of Lucado‘s books has spawned even more product lines and market penetration. The ubiquity of Lucado‘s name suggests how important his publisher, Thomas Nelson, believes Lucado‘s market share is to their success in the Christian and general markets. If they did not believe these products would sell, they would not produce them. That they produce them and continue to spin off new product lines affirms Lucado‘s success in reaching an audience that is open to purchasing more than just Lucado‘s books. It suggests that there is an audience that wants Lucado‘s message around them in a constant way. It suggests they want their children to grow up with Lucado‘s depiction of God as their own. They want to hear what Max says about the Bible, and they want to share Max‘s words with others. The branding and marketing of Max Lucado and his works are the focus of this chapter. The scope of this investigation includes an examination of the product that is marketed—

108 practical piety; the reasons for the marketing—socialization and stabilization; and what marketing does—creating omnipresence. The development of Lucado as a brand demonstrates a confidence on the part of his publishers that Lucado‘s message is one that has a substantial audience they can influence. To succeed as a brand Lucado and his marketers have created a simplistic message that is marketable to a broad audience a practical to their daily lives. Instead of creating a message that would appeal to a particular sub-group or that could be fracturing, Lucado and his team have created a message about the practical effects of sentimental Christianity. Having a sentimental relationship with God leads to better marriages, better relationships, and better jobs (among other things). They also market this sentimental Christianity to children in an attempt to incorporate this vision of Christianity into the worlds of both parents and children in order to create (or at least appear to create) stability within evangelicalism. This stability is further created through a broad brand line that includes not only books but material objects as well. The combination of marketing and practical piety when seen through the lens of Lucado‘s children‘s literature reveals a paternalistic approach to his readers that works against the evangelical attitude of ―thinking for oneself.‖ The rhetoric of individual power obscures the fact that evangelical authors create a path for their readers to follow to a specific conclusion. The individual does not determine on their own to accept the author‘s view of the world. The author leads them to it. The continued commercial success of a Christian author relies on her or his ability to convince readers that the author conveys spiritual truths. These authors and publishers, however, are not solely focused on discovering or presenting truths (as Lucado for example claims); they are also in the business of selling it. The marketing acumen of Lucado and his team is apparent in the appropriation of multiple types of media and in the targeting of audiences of all ages. This combination also reveals how sentimentality and marketing obscure larger issues of modern evangelicalism including the historical development of evangelical thought and how marketing has led to constructed evangelical authors who are fundamentally dependent on marketing and economics. Marketing and Practical Piety in the History of American Evangelicalism Max Lucado is an excellent example of how evangelicals engage marketing principles in order to create a presence in the commercial sphere. Historically he stands at the (current) end of a long process of engagement between message and market. Evangelicals have often used the

109 market to great success, but Lucado has achieved even greater success because of the tools and media available to him due to the technological developments of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Because of the business acumen of Lucado and his team, he is able to achieve omnipresence in the market by emphasizing presence in the market over the purity of a distinct, concise, cohesive doctrinal position. While many historians have written about the ―market revolution‖ in the history of eighteenth-century Western Europe and the United States, as historian R. Laurence Moore noted selling and finances have been a component of Christianity for longer than the eighteenth- century. In the eighteenth century, however, changes in the market allowed ministers and other religious people to take advantage of economic, social, and political changes to broadcast their particular versions of Christianity.2 Scholars usually look to George Whitefield as one of the earliest and most successful of religious market innovators. Whitefield adapted newspapers and advertising to his benefit to market his revivals. By publishing his journals and advertising his upcoming meetings Whitefield assured himself of large crowds and of a widespread audience. Whitefield became ―a pioneer in the commercialization of religion.‖3 Others quickly followed. As historian Candy Brown related in her Word in the World, evangelicals who adopted the methods of the market struggled between trying to maintain the purity of their message while sustaining a presence in the secular arena. That presence was an important one for evangelicals since they saw competing messages in the market, including irreligious ones. An evangelical presence was also important in the market, especially as systems of distribution developed, because evangelicals could reach individuals they might never encounter face-to-face. The potential for missionizing was great because they could send the message even if they could not send the people. Methodists became especially resourceful in using market and print cultures in the colonial period and the early republic. Circuit riders were both ministers and merchandisers as they proclaimed the Methodist message and sold Methodist tracts or books. The impact of their teaching would be present while the circuit riders were gone.4 The presence of evangelicals in the market increased in the nineteenth century. Not only did technological changes in manufacturing and publishing allow for cheaper materials, but disestablishment meant that evangelicals had to compete for an audience in new and different ways. Print culture in books and journals was one of the ways evangelicals coped with disestablishment. Many connected the rise of print culture and success in marketing with the

110 onset of the Millennium. As human beings spread the gospel and thoughts about the gospel throughout the country they believed they were working towards converting the nation and establishing the kingdom of God. This euphoria over the potential of human publishing and distribution was part of the general trust in the power of the institutions of the benevolent empire to enact God's will on earth.5 Marketing, print culture, and material culture also combined in the realm of sentimentality. Sentimental literature was very popular in the middle of the nineteenth century, and authors like Harriet Beecher Stowe and Elizabeth Stuart Phelps wrote novels that became bestsellers. Because of the importance of the home and domestic values in sentimental thought, products for the home also became a big business. Religious art and architecture, along with other objects like family Bibles, feed into the consumerist lifestyle of sentimental Christians. Sentimentality itself became a commodity as these objects were connected to the feelings emphasized by the religious thought of the time.6 Marketing continued to be a vital part of millennial dreams and continued to shape evangelicalism even after many of those dreams faded. Not only did religious marketing continue in the realm of print culture, but it also impacted the oral presentation of the gospel. By the end of the nineteenth century ministers like Dwight Moody were expertly using different marketing techniques to attract large audiences. As they had been for George Whitefield, newspapers were especially useful for Moody to market his meetings. Moody, however, moved beyond just using newspapers to announce his meetings. He developed committees to prepare for events and used posters and other forms of advertising (like placards and handbills) to publicize his meetings and his message.7 Furthermore Moody crafted his message into a product that was able to be received by mass audiences. He intentionally simplified his message in order to experience the widest acceptance possible. Avoiding doctrinal contentions and theological speculation, Moody focused on God's love for humanity. Concentrating on evangelism, Moody displayed "an irenic spirit concerned with holiness and saving souls" in the midst of the late-nineteenth-century challenges to evangelicalism. Although the militancy of later fundamentalism shifts attention away from this strand in conservative evangelicalism, Moody's creation of a simplistic, good- natured product became a model for the success of later evangelicals.8 The development of the Keswick movement also had an important contribution to the

111 combination of a simple, marketable product. The Keswick teachings developed in Britain but found resonances with Holiness teachings in the United States, particularly the idea of perfectionism. Although many evangelicals with a Calvinist background did not accept the idea that one could lead a perfect life free from sin, the Keswick teachings allowed Calvinists to believe that human beings could eliminate the tendency to sin without actually losing the ability to sin. Along with this freedom from sin, participants in the Keswick movement also emphasized the ―higher life‖ that individuals would experience when free from sin.9 The Keswick movement inspired the beginnings of another theological creation in twentieth-century America. Called the ―Victorious Life,‖ this theology emphasized a higher life- type experience which connected a supernatural component—the power of the Holy Spirit—with a practical outcome—freedom from worry, fear, anxiety. The ―Victorious Life‖ was a response to the instability and uncertainty of late-nineteenth-century shifts in American culture that brought industrialization, urbanization, (im)migration and other changes that were disconcerting to many Americans. ―Victorious Life‖ theology was not simply a theological concept about sin in the believer‘s life; it was also about how individuals could live everyday lives. In some sense ―Victorious Life‖ was mind-cure in evangelical clothes and justified by evangelical rhetoric. Yet believers did not see it that way. Instead it made perfect Christian sense that if Christ or the Spirit lived in the believer, that believer should have a life free from emotional distress. In the Keswick movement we can see a turn to the practical effects of Christianity that became an important component of evangelicals presented their message. Moody‘s adoption of Keswick teachings combined the marketing of an evangelical gospel with a message of practical piety.10 Revivalist Billy Sunday was not concerned about emotional distress, but he too believed the gospel of Jesus Christ could have practical effects. He combined this practicality with marketing strategy. While Sunday did not preach that Christianity would make people happy or unafraid, he did preach that conversion would help men and women re-create the systems of power in the United States and bring about a utopia. As historian Douglas Frank noted, Sunday‘s message was ―that if enough people were good and strong, politics would be purified, insanity and poverty would disappear, families would be made whole, young people would grow up to be solid citizens, and, in general, America would be saved.‖11 Immersed in the optimism of the Progressive Era, Sunday preached a message of societal transformation through individual conversion. Society would be just when its members followed

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Jesus Christ. Although Sunday had a myopic view of what constituted societal justice, he preached a gospel of practical piety from inward transformation. Historian Robert Martin observed Sunday‘s sermons ―were also lessons in his version of applied Christianity rather than mere discourses in a fundamentalist theology or emotional appeals for repentance.‖ While much of the application was constructed within Sunday‘s ―muscular‖ and ―masculine‖ approach to Christianity, Sunday believed and preached that acceptance of the Christian message would lead to practical outcomes.12 Sunday preached a practical gospel, and he used contemporary marketing methods to make sure people heard it. First as an assistant to revivalist J. Wilbur Chapman, and then on his own, Billy Sunday knew the value of preparation, advertising, and general marketing for creating audiences who would then in turn contribute to numerical and financial success. As his popularity increased, Sunday looked for ways to increase the prestige and audience of his message. The incorporation of wooden tabernacles for large, sturdy, identifiable meeting space, the tailoring of his message to his audience by holding men or women only services during his revivals, and the introduction of music to the services to involve the audience in the revival services were responsible on one level for Sunday‘s success, but acquiring sponsors, strategically locating tabernacles, involving the religious and secular press, and creating an advance team to prepare and advertise his revivals were other facets of Sunday‘s ministry that also contributed to his success—perhaps in greater ways.13 Although the popularity of Billy Sunday faded and conservative evangelical Protestantism experienced marginalization from the mainstream American public sphere, the importance of marketing to fundamentalism was greater than ever. The fundamentalist movement included many prominent businessmen of the day, and they brought with them a marketing savvy that they applied to the religious message of fundamentalism. Although many fundamentalists were outspoken about the dangers of modern American culture, advertising and other business methods offered hope for religious success. Combined with modern technologies, marketing was prevalent in fundamentalist churches. Newspapers and radio provided opportunities to spread the message and draw people to religious services, but fundamentalists also used other techniques as well. While fundamentalists may have spurned much about modernity, they embraced marketing and the modern technologies that would allow them to market their brand of Christianity.14

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Fundamentalists were not the only ones to utilize advertising and marketing strategies to promote their version of Christianity. Liberal Protestants as well made effective use of the market to advance their message. Although Bruce Barton offered a fictional portrait of Jesus as a first-century entrepreneur in The Man Nobody Knows, he was not alone in melding religion and modern business culture. Shailer Mathews, theologian and the dean of the University of Chicago‘s divinity school, wrote The Scientific Management of Churches and liberal Protestant publishing houses released titles like Handbook of Church Advertising, Business Methods for the Clergy and Principles of Successful Church Advertising. Some of these works suggested the use of slogans to get people‘s attention when advertising a church. Using slogans, of course, would lead to a simplified expression of the church‘s message. In such instance, one author emphasized the message that ―Christianity Makes People Healthy, Happy, and Prosperous.‖15 The commercial promotion of a liberal Protestant message, however, was unable to corner the market on versions of Christianity. In the first half of the twentieth century, more moderate fundamentalists began moving away from their more militant colleagues in an attempt to lay a foundation for their presence in and relevance to the larger American culture around them. One of the architects of this shift was minister and radio personality Charles Fuller. Fuller‘s Old Fashioned Revival Hour garnered listeners and dollars that allowed Fuller to create Fuller Seminary, which in turn would serve as a base to create a neo-evangelicalism that relied on fundamentalist theology arrayed in a more moderate rhetoric. In crafting this shift in conservative evangelical theology, Fuller relied on business savvy and marketing skills to garner an audience and get their financial support to keep the Old Fashioned Revival Hour on the air. Part of that savvy included simplifying and honing his message to one that avoided doctrinal controversy and emphasized the love of God for sinners. Although in earlier manifestations of his radio broadcasts Fuller was much more obviously fundamentalist in theology and atmosphere, by the time his Old Fashioned Revival Hour had reached its peak Fuller deemphasized dispensational premillennialism (and the controversies arising over the exact timing of events in that eschatological scheme) and denominational affiliation in order to create broad appeal for his message and his financing of it. As historian Tona Hangen noted, ―[Fuller‘s] sermon themes stayed rather narrowly focused around the necessity of salvation and of the individual sinner‘s responsibility to accept the gospel of Jesus—although he spoke little of hell or its horrors. Instead he tended to emphasize God‘s mercies, blessings on the righteous,

114 and promises that their regenerated lives would buoy men and women up to endure their everyday troubles.‖16 Part of the success of Charles Fuller‘s attempt at a broad-based coalition to reinvigorate a less militant and separatist evangelicalism was due to marketing savvy and the creation of ―Charles Fuller,‖ radio personality, as a down-to-earth, common person. Another aspect of this success was the association between Fuller, his seminary, and William Franklin ―Billy‖ Graham. Graham used the tried and true method of downplaying doctrinal distinctiveness and advancing a simplified message to even greater success than even Moody, Sunday, and Fuller had. His attacks on communism garnered him attention from the media which he parlayed into encounters with individuals in positions of power, particularly Presidents of the United States. Graham‘s publicity was not just second-hand. He also intentionally used the market and the media to promote the neo-evangelical vision of Christianity.17 Graham was not the only evangelist harnessing market and media in the middle of the twentieth century, however. Norman Vincent Peale also employed these techniques to present his practical Christianity that relied on a supernatural power to achieve desired results. His 1952 book The Power of Positive Thinking is a culmination of a variety of threads in the history of American evangelicalism. It demonstrates the impact of a strand of evangelicalism that is a conflation of Christianity and mind-cure. Furthermore, for its time, it was the pinnacle of a transition of practical Christianity to therapeutic Christianity that would influence later thinkers and authors. Finally, observers can attribute part of its success to the marketing campaign that brought Peale‘s message to a wide audience.18 In The Power of Positive Thinking Norman Vincent Peale combined evangelical Christianity with New Thought/mind-cure to create a work that was aimed at the problems Peale perceived to afflict his audience. The book consisted mostly of anecdotes about individuals who had various problems. ―They complained of fatigue, of ‗cracking up‘ and breaking down, of insomnia, of heavy drinking, and of loss of energy.‖ Instead of an in-depth examination of these issues, Peale offered a treatment schema that rested in the power of the individual and her or his mind. Although critics panned Peale for his theology (among other things), audience received the book well. It became a very popular bestseller and went through several reprintings over three decades. In Peale we see an example of the unification of practical piety and marketing that marked Christianity in the post-war period.19

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Christian marketing exploded after World War II. A variety of religiously-themed products from books to movies entered the marketplace. Hand-in-hand with the religious revival in the fifties, the religious marketplace expanded and offered consumers opportunities to envelope their lives in religiosity. Although the sixties brought challenges to established religious traditions, the religious marketplace continued to blossom. It also underwent great changes. Although religious retailing had been a part of American life since the middle of the nineteenth century, producers, marketers, and consumers developed new tactics to create consumers. Christian bookstores especially found the sixties and the seventies to be times of great growth. While the ―Jesus people‖ derided established religious institutions, they helped change the face of Christian bookstores and what they offered. The rise of contemporary Christian music and other media that packaged religious themes in secular-like trappings led to an entirely new form for the fundamentalist gospel. Dispensationalist premillennialism was one topic that found expression in music, movies, and books in the seventies and into the eighties with each successive presentation getting more sophisticated (marketing-wise) than the rest, culminating with the Left Behind series of the 1990s. T-shirts and bumper stickers also became a facet of Christian marketing, combining statements of belief with an evangelistic emphasis.20 One part of Christian retailing that has been successful is the genre of inspirational or self-help books. Probably because these books tend to downplay theology and offer a simplified Christianity, they have found favor with Christian booksellers and their consumers. With the rise of mega-bookstores like Barnes and Noble and Borders, many of the more popular Christian authors are also available in general market bookstores. These books offer practical piety—how Christianity can make one a better parent, spouse, employee—but they do not always have the best marketing machines to get their message out to large audiences. Max Lucado, however, has successfully combined his simplified, practical message with a good marketing team that has developed a well-known brand name of Christian merchandise. Lucado also demonstrates that in recent times the purity/presence dichotomy that Candy Brown noted in the nineteenth century is still an issue for evangelicals. Lucado has chosen a less dogmatic approach to religious thought in favor of a type of Christianity that emphasizes feeling over thought. Because of choosing to focus on feeling, Lucado can present himself and his message in ways that are marketable for a larger audience in more ways. Although Lucado might hold certain beliefs as definitively true, he has created a message that is part of evangelical

116 presence in the market, sometimes at the expense of purity of a doctrinal stance. Lucado and his team have taken that message and created a brand from it, relying not only on the commodification of sentiment, but also on the commodification of Lucado himself as the ―Max Lucado‖ brand. Brand Knowledge, Brand Equity, and the Lucado Brand In 2004 Thomas Nelson Inc. and W Publishing funded the ―Lucado Market Research Project‖ in an attempt to gauge best-selling evangelical author Max Lucado‘s readership so they could ―quantify Max Lucado‘s powerful national name recognition and broad readership base with empirical data.‖ In the wake of the findings Thomas Nelson‘s executive vice-president Jerry Park announced that the survey results would allow the publisher to ―better present the Lucado story to retailers.‖ ―We are now better equipped to explain Max‘s mission, history and success to our retail partners,‖ said Park. He went on to explain that ―as a direct survey benefit to retailers, we are designing strategic in-store display systems for a variety of Lucado products.‖21 The surveyors found that one in ten Americans had read one Lucado book. Consumers‘ awareness of Lucado was calculated (through random digit phone surveys) at 21.8%. Lucado‘s awareness was second only to Billy Graham among Christian/Spirituality authors. In fact, when asked to name their favorite Christian/Spirituality author, Christian consumers listed Lucado more than any other author, although his percentage (16.8%) may be deceiving. Another statistic is telling as well. Lucado releases an adult inspirational about every eight months or so. When asked about this release schedule, around seventy percent of Christian consumers thought this was a good schedule with an additional ten percent believing that an increased schedule would be welcome. Less than ten percent thought that Lucado was ―writing too many books.‖22 The project focused on retailers as well. Seventy-nine percent of retailers connected to the Christian Booksellers Association had read ―several to most‖ of Lucado‘s books. Sixty-four percent of ―general market‖ retailers had done the same. Retailers also noted that it was probably Lucado‘s message about God‘s grace that made him so successful. Both types of retailers also expressed that Lucado had ―excellent brand equity.‖23 ―Brand equity‖ refers to the value that a brand has that is ―uniquely attributable to the brand.‖ In other words, equity can be conceptualized in terms of ―certain outcomes result[ing] from the marketing of a product or service because of its brand name that would not occur if the

117 same product or service did not have that name.‖24 The concept of ―branding‖ is a common one in our culture; one that often operates without conscious thought. Companies and marketers pay enormous amounts of money to create a ―brand‖ that will sell. It is not just the product but also the name attached to the product that is important in the market. In extreme cases, the ―brand‖ often becomes interchangeable with the product. For example, if I wanted to purchase an adhesive bandage to protect a cut, I might speak of buying a ―Band-aid,‖ even though the actual product is an adhesive bandage. ―Band-aid‖ is registered trademark of the Johnson and Johnson Company, but the brand has become so ensconced in the American mindset through branding that the brand name is interchangeable with the product. The same could be demonstrated in the interchange of Kleenex for facial tissue and Jell-o for gelatin. In such cases these companies have created brands that affect the way people think about their products. They have created an unconscious assimilation between a specific product (facial tissue, for example) and their brand of that product (Kleenex). When the Lucado Market Research Project determined that Lucado had excellent brand equity, they were saying that consumers are ―familiar with that brand and [hold] some favorable, strong, and unique brand associations in memory.‖25 Marketing research, of course, would be interested in such associations, but the idea of a Lucado ―brand‖ has found currency among other discussions of Max Lucado. A 2003 Publishers‘ Weekly article noted that even in a ―down- turned economy‖ Lucado‘s books were continuing to be successful and the ―Lucado brand‖ was up 17.8% compared to 2002.26 A New Yorker article from 2006 also referred to Lucado‘s books as one of Thomas Nelson‘s ―most popular brands‖ in a review of Nelson‘s line of different types of Bibles.27 Lucado may not be the ―Band-aid‖ of evangelical religious thought, but his publishers and marketers attempt to formulate an image of who Lucado is and what his message is in order to create positive associations about Lucado and his religiosity and get people to buy his books. When a brand is created, it is linked to a variety of consumer experiences. For marketers, the hope is that consumers will become aware of the brand and remember it (brand awareness). Marketers also hope that what consumers remember about the brand will be positive (brand image). Brand awareness and brand image combine to form brand knowledge. Brand knowledge can be broken down into several key aspects: awareness, attributes, benefits, thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and experiences. In other words, brand knowledge consists of how a

118 branded product addresses perceived needs, how it is characterized, what benefits it offers, how consumers respond to the brand cognitively and affectively, and how consumers purchase the brand.28 If Lucado‘s publishers are concerned about brand knowledge (which from the Lucado Market Research project it appears they are), then when W Publishing or Thomas Nelson puts out a Lucado book, these are the elements that are connected to that enterprise. Lucado as a brand is managed so that his books meet the perceived needs of his consumers. The books are produced in such a way that consumers will attach value or meaning to them in hopes that they will purchase another Lucado book because they have had a positive experience with a previous one. The use of Lucado as a brand is controlled so that consumers will associate certain thoughts and feelings with ―Max Lucado‖ and act on those thoughts and feelings and buy another adult inspirational book, children‘s book, DVD, journal, Bible, or whatever else is tagged with the Lucado brand. This is not just about selling an author‘s book; it is about selling both an author and an experience. While Lucado presents himself as someone the reader can call friend, such a presentation is heavily constructed by more than just the gospel message Lucado claims to be offering. It is a subterfuge for how important marketing and economics are to the production of a Max Lucado book. The Ligon Group manages the Lucado brand for W Publishing and focuses on ―Lucado's product development, marketing and overarching brand strategy.‖ Susan Ligon, the main manager for Lucado, notes that licensing of the Lucado brand is undertaken on a very conservative basis, claiming that ―the message is more important than the market.‖ Without the market, however, Lucado would not have the success or the audience he has. Even Lucado himself must recognize the importance of this marketing strategy. In his book Facing Your Giants, he mentions Susan Ligon in the acknowledgements, noting that ―[her] attention to detail is exceeded only by [her] devotion to Christ.‖29 If the message has so much power, then why is there such an attention to developing a brand, to surveying brand recognition, and to hiring a marketing group to promote Lucado and his books? The strategy of highlighting message over market allows Lucado and his team to evade the truth that his particular message is a commodity that survives only as long as there is a place for it in the market. Lucado‘s message is a simplified, non-intellectual (even anti-intellectual) reduction of centuries of Christian theological expression. Instead of complex categories that one would find

119 in a thinker like Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Luther, or even a Niebuhr or Hauerwas, Lucado‘s thought is focused on unsophisticated and familial expressions of God. Lucado also relies on personalizing God and scripture for his readers so that he can claim that God cares individually for Lucado‘s readers and that scripture speaks directly to each of them. The use of emotional rhetoric targeted at individuals allows Lucado to rhetorically strip Christianity of centuries of history, theological speculation, culture context and literary analysis to offer his readers a product abstracted from anything that would complicate the commodification of the Lucado brand. This emotional reduction of Christian thought masks the historical origins of Lucado‘s thought in American fundamentalist evangelicalism. The Lucado brand, however, is larger than just the message. It includes the man offering the message. As I showed in chapter one, a substantial part of Lucado‘s rhetorical strategy is the presentation of himself as someone to whom the reader can connect. The use of ―Max Lucado‖ as a brand name is not mistake. Lucado‘s identity and the one he has created for himself through his writings are vital to the effective selling of Lucado‘s products. People probably buy goods with Lucado‘s name on them because they believe that they know who he is. They might also believe and trust in him as a faithful representative of God or as a faithful expositor of truth. Lucado‘s publishers and marketers rely on this trust as they build the Lucado brand. For example, a press release from Hallmark announcing its new line of inspirational cards featuring selections from Lucado‘s writings declared, ―Many Americans have found a voice in Max Lucado.‖ In attempting to explain why some Americans feel Lucado expresses their thoughts, the release went on to hypothesize, ―Perhaps it‘s that Max Lucado almost seems like a good neighbor or favorite relative. Maybe it‘s because he uses simple language for complicated thoughts and feelings.‖ A 2004 Christianity Today article placed Lucado‘s success on his ―simple anecdotes‖ and his message that ―emphasizes the Cross, grace and forgiveness, and second chances.‖ Reader’s Digest similarly echoed this in their 2005 ―America‘s Best‖ issue by naming Lucado ―America‘s Best Preacher.‖ While not as explicit as Christianity Today, Reader’s Digest suggests that Lucado‘s success is found in his message which he summarizes as ―God‘s in the business of giving mulligans,‖ a golf term for re-taking a shot. 30 One area where it is evident that Lucado‘s team relies on his persona is his inspirational writings, but Lucado‘s brand line also includes material objects that move this brand beyond a straightforward presentation of religious thought. In her groundbreaking book Material

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Christianity Colleen McDannell emphasized the importance of material objects in the study of American religiosity. One area that was particularly important for McDannell‘s study was the domestic sphere, and many of the examples she uses in her plethora of illustrations are objects intended for the home. Whether it was a Victorian Bible, religious art or religious knick-knacks, Christians in the United States have abundantly decorated their homes with religious objects. Religious merchandising was intricately connected to the rise of domestic Christianity, and so it is no surprise that much of the religious paraphernalia merchants have produced would be home- centered. Furthermore because of the sentimentality associated with domestic piety, it is also not surprising that much of the religious accoutrements found in the home convey that sentimentality.31 As part of the branding of Max Lucado, various merchants have created a wide product line that carries the name Max Lucado. From Bibles to biblical study literature to greeting cards to wind chimes, the name Max Lucado appears across an abundance of stuff. The presence of material objects in Protestantism gives lie to the idea that Protestantism is solely about religious thought and belief. Material objects are quite often as important in the religious lives of American Protestants as they are for non-Protestant religious Americans. When it comes to objects connected to Max Lucado, however, those objects are often intricately tied to Lucado‘s religious thought. Whatever the object is, there is usually a phrase from a Lucado book emblazoned on it. Thought and object meld together to make the thought a concrete part of daily life. The thought, however, is the commodified aspect of the object. Without Lucado‘s expression, the object is worthless as a religious object. A wind chime without a Max Lucado quote is just a wind chime. Although this is not the case with all religious objects, objects in the Max Lucado brand are sacralized because of the Max Lucado name and the presence of his thoughts. Max Lucado greeting cards are one expression of the Lucado brand. Hallmark started the line in 2003 as a line of Easter cards but then expanded the line to other occasions as well. Because they had ―seen interest in inspirational, encouraging, and contemporary Christian cards growing for more than a decade,‖ Hallmark decided to offer Lucado cards through the DaySpring subsidiary in its Hallmark stores and Christian bookstores as well.32 The cards feature phrases from Lucado‘s books on the front with a message that ―continues the spirit of the Lucado quote‖ on the inside of the card, suggesting that the inside material is not written by Lucado.33 For example, one birthday card with a picture of two fingers

121 holding a red flower proclaims, ―God has placed his hand on your shoulder and said, ‗You‘re something special.‘—Max Lucado.‖ Inside the card reads, ―I think you‘re special too! Happy Birthday.‖ On the back there is a citation for the front quote. It is from the preface of Let the Journey Begin, a book that features quotes from multiple Lucado books repackaged in a new form. Another birthday card tells the recipient, ―God is for you. Had he a calendar, your birthday would be circled.‖ Inside the recipient learns that ―God is rejoicing that He created you, and I‘m rejoicing too! Happy Birthday!‖ This time the quote is from Lucado‘s In the Grip of Grace. Words from A Gentle Thunder provide the front phrasing for a third birthday card which reads, ―We are God’s idea. We are His. His face. His eyes. His hands. His touch . . . There is no greater truth than this: We are His. Unalterably. He loves us. Undyingly.‖ Inside are the words: ―I can see His resemblance in you! Hope your birthday is wonderful.‖34 By their very nature, greeting cards are a commodification of sentiment. As American studies scholar Barry Shank has noted, greeting cards are representations of ―the fundamental power of economic organization to enable and constrain experiences of longing, status, desire, social connectedness, and love; to shape the construction of subjectivities; and to structure and partially determine the most private, internal, and intimate of feelings.‖ The mass production of sentimental products like greeting cards and other material goods under the Max Lucado brand lends itself to a cynical interpretation. Manufacturers produce sentimental products to sell with the hopes that they will create responses in their customers that will lead to the purchase of more sentimental products (either by the original customer or others). Customers buy sentimental products either because it has produced a sentimental response or the customers hope it will (in themselves or others). What does the mass production of sentimentality say about that sentimentality? Prepackaged sentimental experiences suggest (again cynically) that manufacturers and retailers rely on the manipulation of sentimental responses to move product and increase profits. The key to this success, however, is the masking of such manipulation so that consumers do not realize that they are being manipulated.35 The marketing of an assortment of objects with Max Lucado‘s words offers the opportunity for Lucado to create an almost ubiquitous presence in the lives of his readers. Coupled with the omniscience Lucado presents in his books (which was discussed in chapter one), the omnipresence of Lucado‘s words in reader‘s lives could further equate God and "Max." As readers associate their views of God with the presentation Lucado gives of God, the

122 assimilation of the two becomes more complete. No one would claim that Max Lucado is God, but juxtaposition of sentiment, Max Lucado's message, and ideas of God leads to a reciprocal reinforcement of this identity. Lucado frequently presents himself as flawed and subject to the same difficulty his readers have, but (as mentioned in chapter one) he also frequently creates narratives where he stands in for God (this usually occurs when Lucado writes about his daughters). The image of Lucado as father and God meld with Lucado's presentation of God so that the reader encounters a presentation that at the very least offers the supposition that "Max" knows what God thinks and as the reader encounters "Max," they are in some sense encountering God. The omnipresence of material objects with Max Lucado's words on them furthers this reciprocal assimilation of "Max" and God but also complicates it. While none of the individuals who purchase Max Lucado objects for their home or for others would probably ascribe infallibility to Lucado, the staging of Max Lucado's words in the domestic sphere suggest both assent to Lucado's overall message as well as to the idea that "Max" faithfully imparts a truthful image of God through his writing. Displaying Lucado's words are like displaying the words and thoughts of God. This identification becomes more complex when one considers the line of Max Lucado Bibles. There are several different Bibles in the Max Lucado brand line. There are some that are tied into other titles in the product line (like a 3:16 New Testament). There is also the Grace for the Moment Bible which is a Bible organized around daily readings from the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs with a devotional thought from Lucado‘s writings. Lucado has also released The Devotional Bible. The commodification of the Bible is not something new with Lucado. People had been printing and selling copies of the Bible since the Reformation and the creation of the printing press, but the Bible became much more of a commodity in the nineteenth century. Colleen McDannell noted three developments in the nineteenth century that led to the Bible‘s commodification. The rise of sentimentality, the centering of affective development in the home, and the increase of industrialization (especially the creation of better printing technologies) combined to create a market for religious goods of all types, especially the Bible. Furthermore Bible publishers developed additional materials to put in Bibles to make their particular Bible more attractive to consumers. Maps, illustrations, tables, family history plates, and other items

123 became a part of what a publisher could include in a Bible to make it distinctive and more marketable. Although the focus in the nineteenth century was on creating family Bibles, the trend of providing additional materials in the Bible became part of the Bible business that today includes Max Lucado‘s The Devotional Bible.36 The Devotional Bible is a good exemplar of how Lucado ties together his brand with his emphasis on practical piety. According to the publisher‘s description, ―The Devotional Bible is a comprehensive resource to meet all your devotional life needs—in one convenient volume. Ideal for today‘s busy lifestyles, all the helps essential for understanding and applying the truth of Scripture are now at your fingertips, paired with an accessible easy-to-read translation of the Bible.‖ On the front cover the title is prominent in the middle of the cover, but Max Lucado‘s name is also prominent at the top of the cover. While both the front and back covers identify Lucado as the ―general editor‖ of The Devotional Bible, it is not immediately clear what this appellation means. The publisher does not list any other contributors on the cover and Lucado‘s acknowledgements only states that a ―team of diligent researchers‖ helped with assembling the marginal material. The name ―Max Lucado‖ is selling point for this Bible.37 It is also important to note that the publishers present this Bible as a devotional Bible and not a study Bible. There is some brief introductory material before each biblical book, but it is limited to statement of authorship, date, key themes, a key verse, and an outline. The information given with regard to authorship and date is traditional fare with no discussion of how the historical-critical approach to biblical studies has challenged traditional attributions of authorship. Before the book of Genesis, for example, the ―About this Book‖ note simply claims the author as Moses without any references to how modern scholarship has both challenged Mosaic authorship as well as postulated several different sources for the composition of the Pentateuch. Similar silence occurs in other places, like Isaiah, for example, where there is no discussion of the possibility of multiple authors for the work. There is a minimal amount of textual-critical information. There is a note at Mark 16:9 that recognizes that verses 9-20 are missing in some ancient manuscripts. A similar notation occurs at John 7:53 about the woman caught in adultery pericope. There is no discussion about whether these passages where original parts of these gospels or what textual-critical analysis means for questions of biblical inerrancy. Instead, Lucado glosses over these issues for the sentimental point that can be made from the biblical text. In John 7:53-8:11, for example, the

124 woman caught in adultery passage is one that is a prime example of Lucado‘s ―God of the second chance.‖ The marginal note does not mention the textual questions or address whether such a passage is Johannine in origin. Instead it is a sentimental quote from Lucado‘s Six Hours One Friday about Jesus really seeing the woman and how that encounter would have greatly changed her.38 Although there is no conversation with biblical studies scholarship, there are several places in The Devotional Bible that emphasize the importance of biblical study. There is an essay entitled "How to Study the Bible" by Lucado in the front matter. The focus is on application of biblical passages. The question Lucado tells his readers to ask is "What can we do to make the Bible real in our lives?" The answer to how one should study the Bible is a very mystical one. One begins studying by praying to God: "Invite God to speak to you. Don't go to Scripture looking for your idea, go searching for his." One should also recognize that studying the Bible takes time: "The Bible is not a newspaper to be skimmed but rather a mine to be quarried. . . . To understand the Bible you don't have to be brilliant, but you must be willing to roll up your sleeves and search." Bible study takes time because God will only gradually provide insight into his word. The third step to Bible study, according to Lucado, is to be ready to obey what one finds in scripture.39 Bible study, in such a conception is not an intellectual exercise but a devotional, even mystical, one. Such an approach is definitely not a historical-critical one or even the Baconian approach I discussed in chapter two. The Baconian approach to scripture, which was so important for evangelicals in the middle and late nineteenth century, saw scripture as a storehouse of facts that Bible students needed to mine and intellectually group in order to understand biblical truths. In Lucado‘s framework God reveals truths to individuals as they open themselves up to God‘s instruction. The Bible becomes not a storehouse of facts but a gateway to a mystical encounter. God uses the physical words on the physical pages to contact the human being reading them. As Lucado tells the readers of his ―How to Study the Bible‖ piece, ―If anyone understands God‘s Word it is because of God and not the reader.‖40 Despite the necessity of a mystical experience to understand the Bible, The Devotional Bible includes marginal notations to help individuals in their discovery of God‘s voice. These marginalia are called ―Life Lessons.‖ These ―Life Lessons‖ include several categories from a quick overview of a biblical chapter to a selection from Christian authors related to a particular passage. Entitled ―Inspiration,‖ these selections include excerpts from Lucado‘s writings as well

125 as authors like Charles Colson, Billy Graham, Charles Swindoll, Pat Robertson, and C. S. Lewis, among several others. There is a section on ―Application‖ as well as one on ―Exploration‖ which offers additional biblical texts that Lucado or his team of researchers believe are related. Some of the material in these margin notes seems to be completely unrelated to the texts they are discussing. In 1 Samuel 30-31, for example, there are two narratives. The first is about David attacking Amalekites who had captured the families of David‘s army. David, after seeking advice from God, tracks down the Amalekites and destroys them. In chapter 31 the Philistines defeat King Saul, his sons, and his army. Saul‘s sons die in battle, and Saul kills himself. The Philistines desecrate Saul‘s body and hang his head and body on the wall of a particular town. Some courageous Israelites eventually recover the body and give it a proper burial. In the marginalia, the notes cover both chapters together instead of each chapter separately, even though there are two distinct narratives. The ―Observation‖ section fits with the selection to some extent: ―In times of trouble, David turned to God for wisdom and help, while Saul consistently turned away from God, even at his death.‖ The ―Inspiration‖ material is totally disconnected. The selection is from Lucado‘s He Still Moves Stones and concerns ―lovebursts‖ or explosions of tenderness. Perhaps it is related to the Israelites who returned Saul‘s body but this is unclear. The ―Application‖ section seems even more disconnected. In it, Lucado asks, ―How do you react to problems and pressures? Ask God to help you lighten up with laughter, forgiveness, and trust—that God will give you all the energy you need.‖ One wonders how this is related to the biblical text for which it is the note. Did David laugh before hunting down the Amalekites who had captured his wives? Would Saul not have committed suicide if he had laughed off the death of his sons in battle? Perhaps one needs the mystical experience in order to understand how this is an application of the passage it refers to.41 The Devotional Bible also includes forty-eight ―full-page Bible studies‖ that are also excerpts from Lucado‘s adult inspirational titles. They demonstrate his emphasis on practical piety. There are studies on bitterness, contentment, disappointment, family, fear, grief, guilt, habits, money, peace, and vengeance, among others. These Bible studies provide readers with the evidence, if they did not believe already, that Lucado believes the Bible to be imminently practical. This practicality is also emphasized in the ―More Help for Your Spiritual Growth‖ section at the end of the Bible. It includes verses on how to grow spiritually as well as a section entitled ―30-Day New Believers Studies‖ meant to help new Christians understand their

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Christianity. This spiritual growth section also includes a ―Where to Turn When‖ Index that tells readers what verses they should read when they experience emotions like anger, envy, and fear or they want to grieve, gossip, procrastinate, or worship. ―The exchange of Christian goods and the construction of religious environments is not something that has appeared recently in American culture and it is not something that will disappear,‖ wrote Colleen McDannell in Material Christianity. The choices evangelicals have available to materially construct those environments, however, has increased in recent years. There is a plethora of religious options even just within evangelicalism which evangelicals can appropriate and inject into the worlds they inhabit. Lucado is one of those options that many people turn to in order to understand God and the world around them. Lucado‘s religious goods and the thought that they embody provide individuals an opportunity to see the world with sentimental eyes. If people adopt the worldview Lucado offers, they can make sense of the world and the people around them in the context of a sentimental God who interacts with human beings in sentimental ways. Lucado‘s religious objects are an opportunity for his publishers and marketers to create omnipresence—or at least a close approximation. A calendar that offers a daily Lucado quote, a Lucado DVD for the children to watch, a Lucado journal to record one‘s thoughts, a Lucado Bible to read devotionally, and a Lucado title to inspire can theoretically work together to create a dependence on the part of the reader/consumer. They turn to Lucado to understand the Bible, God, and the world—reality itself and their place in it. Omnipresence offers the opportunity to bathe one‘s life in sentimental sacredness—for a price.42 That price is not just financial. The economics and marketing of modern evangelical sentimentality has led, in Lucado‘s case, to the emphasis of presence in the market instead of purity of theological stance. Evangelical popular culture becomes a means to seek stability— stability found in emotional boundaries not doctrinal ones. Lucado offers a vision for what Christianity should be about. His publishers market that vision in the hopes of saturating the market with Lucado products that will help their bottom line. They play on the trust consumers have that ―Max Lucado‖ has the answers to life‘s questions and that ―Max‖ can give them practical advice. Practical piety Practical piety, as I mentioned previously, has existed alongside strategies to market it since the late nineteenth century. Lucado builds on this tradition and effectively plays on the

127 interest in practical applications of Christianity to great financial success. The reliance on practical piety reflects an anti-intellectual approach to evangelical Christianity because of its reliance on the positive effects of Christianity rather than the intellectual viability of Christianity‘s tenets. The concern is not to prove the objective veracity of Christianity but the practical utility of it. The appeal to Christianity‘s practical benefits is an effort to sidestep the question of truth and validity. Emphasizing practicality as a feature of the Lucado product makes that product marketable to a larger audience interested not in intellectual cohesiveness but in finding answers to the emotional distresses of modern life. Foregrounding practical piety also leads to a simplified Christian message focused on the impact of this message on the individual life. Instead of explicitly setting out an evangelical theology, Lucado is able to bolster a subtle fundamentalism that practicality conceals. The omnipresence of such books both in Christian and general markets indicates that there is a large audience for this type of material. The success of Lucado suggests that many find his brand appealing. Lucado and his publishers have centered the Lucado brand on a practical piety that minimizes theological speculation and emphasizes how the Christian message can change everyday lives for the better. There is some discussion in Max Lucado‘s books about Christian doctrine, but Lucado uses this for the larger purpose of convincing his readers that the practicality of Christianity is more important for them. Lucado‘s books are about how his readers can have better marriages, better relationships, better jobs. The books are also about day- to-day problems people have: loneliness, failed marriages, lost jobs. Evangelical beliefs and the importance of conversion are still prominent in his works, but the sentimental practicality of evangelicalism is also emphasized. While some type of practical piety (having a better marriage, finding a better job, dealing with loneliness or regret) features in nearly all of Lucado‘s books (and The Devotional Bible), three of these books are particularly piously practical: Traveling Light, Cure for the Common Life, and Facing Your Giants. Traveling Light was Lucado‘s first book to make the New York Times’ best-seller list. It was released in September 2001 right around the events of September 11th. Subtitled Releasing the Burdens You Were Never Intended to Bear, Lucado and his publisher had already scheduled a tour for Lucado to publicize the book. In the aftermath of September 11th, the publisher decided to keep the tour, but the meet and greets became a time ―of prayer and encouragement‖ according to an ad placed in USA Today.43 In light of the context of September 11th, it is no

128 wonder that this particular Lucado book would sell so well. Traveling Light was Lucado‘s musings on Psalm 23. How could Americans who watched the tragedy and death play out on their television sets not be comforted by the words, ―Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me‖? Traveling Light was a call to his readers to unload the burdens that weigh down human beings on life‘s journey. In any other context, the book would have done well. To those dealing with the loss of loved ones, the senselessness of terror, and the fear of tomorrow, Lucado‘s words were timely: The suitcase of guilt. A sack of discontent. You drape a duffel bag of weariness on one shoulder and a hanging bag of grief on the other. Add on a backpack of doubt, an overnight bag of loneliness, and a trunk of fear. Pretty soon your pulling more stuff than a skycap. No wonder you‘re so tired at the end of the day. Lugging luggage is exhausting. . . . God is saying to you, ―Set that stuff down! You‘re carrying burdens you don‘t need to bear.‖44

As Americans looked for meaning in the face of evil, some of them turned to Lucado. Many looked to him to provide meaning for death, destruction, and God‘s place in it all: Are you passing through the valley [of the shadow of death]? . . . If so . . . you know that the black bag of sorrow is hard to bear. It‘s hard to bear because not everyone understands your grief. They did at first. They did at the funeral. They did at the graveside. But they don‘t now; they don‘t understand. Grief lingers. As silently as a cloud slides between you and the afternoon sun, memories drift between you and joy, leaving you in a chilly shadow. No warning. No notice. Just a whiff of the cologne he wore or a verse of the song she loved, and you are saying good-bye all over again. Why won‘t the sorrow leave you alone?45

When Lucado was writing these words, they were meant in a general sense. They were meant to address the general loss and pain people feel when they have lost someone special to them to death. By the time the words were published, however, people were asking more of them. Lucado was called upon to make sense of mass death, mass grief.46 The confluence of the events of September 11th and the release of Traveling Light highlights the practicality of the piety Lucado offers in his books. Although Lucado did attempt to create a theodicy about September 11th in a small book entitled America Looks Up,47 Traveling Light was a typical Lucado book. The chapter titles emphasize the practicality of Lucado‘s message. They alert the reader that each chapter will deal with a particular ―burden.‖ These burdens include discontent, worry, hopelessness, guilt, death, grief, loneliness, shame, and

129 others. The book is meant to deal with the psychological issues Lucado believes his readers have. Traveling Light is meant to provide relief from those ―burdens‖ through Lucado‘s meditation on Psalm 23. These ―burdens‖ would have been prevalent among a certain audience prior to September 11th, but applicable to an even larger audience afterwards. Another example of Lucado‘s emphasis on practical piety is his book Cure for the Common Life which he released in 2005. Subtitled Living in Your Sweet Spot the book was about how each individual could find the ―divine spark‖ within each of them. Although Lucado wanted to emphasize his belief that ―God endows us with gifts so we can make him known,‖ the book was not like his other works. Not only did Lucado discuss the spiritual vocations of Christians, he also intended to help readers find their vocations in the world: ―Look at you. Your uncanny ease with numbers. Your quenchless curiosity about chemistry. Others stare at blueprints and yawn; you read them and drool. ‗I was made to do this,‘ you say.‖ Cure for the Common Life is an expression of the Protestant tenets of the priesthood of all believers and the holiness of one‘s calling. Because Protestants rhetorically make no preferential distinction between clergy and laity, they consider (again, rhetorically) all vocations equally valid in the eyes of God. One should put all of one‘s effort in finding one‘s calling and using it to glorify God. As Lucado puts it, ―Whether you work at home or in the marketplace, your work matters to God. And your work matters to society. We need you! Cities need plumbers. Nations need soldiers. Stoplights break. Bones break. We need people to repair the first and set the second. Someone has to raise kids, raise cane, and manage the kids who raise Cain.‖48 The book reads as part-Lucado inspirational title and part-career counseling book. The result is an approach to one‘s career that is founded on the familial relationship between reader and God. Not only does Lucado emphasize that one should do one‘s job to the glory of God, but he also claims that God has specifically designed each individual for a specific purpose and vocation: God planned and packed you on purpose for his purposes. . . . And since you are God‘s idea, you are a good idea. . . . Set apart for a special work. . . . He shaped you according to [your purpose]. How else can you explain yourself? Your ability to diagnose an engine problem by the noise it makes, to bake a cake without a recipe. You knew the Civil War better than your American history teacher. . . . How do you explain such quirks of skill? God. . . . And his design defines your destiny.49

The main thrust of Cure for the Common Life is finding out one‘s God-created vocation.

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Lucado proffers a method (created with a business management group named People Management International) that will help individuals determine what kind of career path they should follow. The characteristic Lucado individualistic sentimentality is present in the path to finding one‘s ―S.T.O.RY.,‖ an acronym Lucado uses for his career advice. Lucado‘s advice to his readers is that they should find their place in the world (which includes the right career) because God tailor-made their lives individualistically: No one else has your skill makeup. . . . An oil-rig repairman won‘t feel at home in an Argentine schoolroom. And if God made you to teach Argentine kids, you won‘t enjoy offshore derrick repair. And the kids in the class and the workers on the platform? Don‘t they want the right person in the right place? Indeed, they do. You do too. And, most of all, God does. You are the only you he made.50

Lucado even sentimentalizes his readers‘ careers. The message is, ―You need to be you.‖51 Lucado‘s acronym S.T.O.R.Y. is a method for his readers to ask questions about their lives in order to determine what their best career choices should be. ―When do your Strengths, Topic, Optimal conditions, and Relationship patterns converge in such a fashion that you say, ‗Yes!‘? When they do, you are living out your S.T.O.R.Y.‖ Supposedly, this method of examining what the reader does best, what objects and subjects the reader enjoys, how the reader works best, how the reader enjoys working (e.g., alone, in groups), and what situations bring about satisfaction, will provide the reader with a job or a type of job that would bring fulfillment to the reader‘s life. After telling his readers to find their vocational niche in life, Lucado encourages them to make the most of their jobs, and to love what they do. Lucado devotes an entire chapter to dealing with frustration on the job. His solution for worker frustration is for his readers to remember that they ultimately work for Jesus. Whether driving a truck, presiding in a courtroom, working a job site, or nursing in a hospital, Lucado tells his readers that their employer is really Christ. ―God‘s eyes fall on the work of our hands,‖ write Lucado. God ―blurs the secular and the sacred.‖ Lucado entwines work and worship to sanctify the jobs of his readers, noting that all jobs are divine jobs: ―You don‘t drive to an office; you drive to a sanctuary. You don‘t attend a school; you attend a temple. You may not wear a clerical collar, but you could.‖52 Lucado‘s practical piety in Cure for the Common Life consecrates daily life and offers a vision of God which cast God as concerned about even the mundane aspects of life. For Lucado

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God is concerned about how individuals live their lives and is even concerned that they find the vocation for which he created them. Lucado‘s God, however, does not sit back and hope that people will find their path in life; he intervenes. God is so concerned about even the ordinary aspects of one‘s job that Lucado encourages his readers to pray to God to help them execute the most menial tasks: ―Holy Spirit, help me stitch this seam. Lord of creation, show me why this manifold won’t work. King of kings, please bring clarity to this budget. Dear Jesus, guide my hands as I trim this hair.‖53 Cure for the Common Life ties Lucado‘s religious thought with his belief in the practicality of Christianity. Not only does God want to save humanity, but he also cares about what jobs human beings do, at least according to Lucado. ―God does big things with small deeds.‖54 The emphasis on the fatherly love of God provides the framework to join Lucado‘s piety with his practicality. If Lucado‘s God is intimately concerned about every individual, it would seem to make sense that part of that concern would be how those individual live their everyday lives. Although Cure for the Common Life is consistent with Lucado‘s religious thought, however, the book is light on doctrinal development (as most Lucado‘s books are). To return to Candy Brown‘s categories of nineteenth-century marketing, the emphasis of the book (and most books) is on presence in the market, not purity of theology. The minimizing of doctrines that distinguish evangelicalism (or even Protestantism) do not appear, in favor of an approach to Christianity that offers the readers a better job or a better attitude toward one‘s job through the cultivation of certain feelings toward God and an affective understanding of how God feels toward human beings. Lucado‘s book, Facing Your Giants, serves as another example of this practical piety. In this book, the story of David serves as a central narrative for the book. At times throughout the work David is the example the reader should emulate. In other situations David is the character the reader might feel like, and people that David encounters are the example to follow. In a chapter entitled ―Facing Your Giants,‖ Lucado, in his characteristic way, recreates the narrative of David and Goliath from 1 Samuel 17. David, a young Jewish lad, faces off against a nine-foot giant from Philistia named Goliath who has challenged the Israelites to a duel. No one among the Israelite army is willing to face the monstrous warrior until David arrives on the scene. Selecting some smooth stones from a brook, David approaches Goliath armed only with his shepherd‘s sling and his confidence in the power of God to kill Goliath. David‘s faith is well-

132 founded as Goliath quickly falls. Lucado then turns the discussion to matters that would be practical for his audience. Lucado asks his readers, What is your Goliath? Your Goliath doesn‘t carry sword or shield; he brandishes blades of unemployment, abandonment, sexual abuse, or depression. Your giant doesn‘t parade up and down the hills of Elah [the battlefield where David and Goliath‘s showdown took place]; he prances through your office, your bedroom, your classroom. He brings bills you can‘t pay, grades you can‘t make, people you can‘t please, whiskey you can‘t resist, pornography you can‘t refuse, a career you can‘t escape, a past you can‘t shake, and a future you can‘t face. You know well the roar of Goliath.55

The reader is invited to conflate their problems with the giant. Lucado assumes or creates a reader who recognizes how they have struggled with problems that they wish to surmount but simply cannot. In this chapter, the reader is connected to the armies of Israel who instead of racing out to meet Goliath cowered in fear behind their lines. Goliath becomes the ultimate foe who can stand in for not only physical bullies but also becoming a workaholic, facing divorce, or destroying relationships. The readers‘ Goliaths become all-consuming, inviting the reader to admit, ―Yeah, I have felt that way. There is that problem in my life that I just cannot get around.‖56 Just when Lucado has positioned his readers in this place of depression, he informs them they do not need to feel that way. David provides an example of a way to overcome the giants in one‘s life. The problem, argues Lucado, is that we human beings tend to focus on our problems and not on God. David in the Goliath narrative is able to see what God can do. David, armed with his sling and stones, approaches Goliath. He fells him with a stone, then takes Goliath‘s sword and chops off his head. ―You might say that David knew how to get a head of his giant.‖57 The reader is invited to do the same with his or her own personal giants: When was the last time you . . . ran toward your challenge? We tend to retreat, duck behind a desk of work or crawl into a nightclub of distraction or a bed of forbidden love. For a moment, a day, or a year, we feel safe, insulated, anesthetized, but then the work runs out, the liquor wears off, or the lover leaves, and we hear Goliath again. . . . Try a different tack. Rush your giant with a God-saturated soul. Giant of divorce, you aren’t entering my home! Giant of depression? It may take a lifetime, but you won’t conquer me. Giant of alcohol, bigotry, child abuse, insecurity . . . you’re going down. How long since you loaded your sling and took a swing at your giant?58

David was able to defeat the giant Goliath. The reader can defeat her or his own giants with the proper focus, motivation, and power. Lucado, as usual, puts it simply, ―Focus on your giants—

133 you stumble. Focus on God—your giants tumble.‖59 Sentimentalizing the problems of his readers may seem like over-simplification. Depending on the extent, it seems unlikely that years of child abuse could be handled on one‘s own through ―rushing one‘s giant‖ whether one‘s soul is ―God-saturated‖ or not. Lucado‘s individualism, however, presents just that option. His matter-of-fact statement of the practicality of his message might lead readers to believe that their complex problems can be solved with a simple solution. No one else is needed. If Lucado‘s God is on the side of the reader and the reader calls upon him, the reader can address the problem and dispose of it. The Christian community experiences marginalization in this setting. Although Lucado mentions that he believes joining a local community of Christian is important, the focus of his practical piety is on the power of the individual, with or without peers.60 The assimilation of the readers‘ problems from abuse to lost jobs is part of a trend toward a focus on therapeutic language, evident in trends like the Keswick movement and works like Norman Vincent Peale‘s The Power of Positive Thinking. Both of these phenomena demonstrate how American evangelicals have sought the supernatural for day-to-day problems in a society that increasingly looked for the solution to problems elsewhere. Instead of actively or publicly engaging those problems, evangelicals who were interested in Keswick, Peale, and others, searched for privatized expressions of piety to solve these issues. Lucado shows similarity to these developments but also demonstrates how much this therapeutic evangelicalism minimizes the scope of difficulties individuals face while maximizing a culture of victimhood in the name of providing a simple solution, no matter the concern. Lucado‘s publishers, of course, hope that individuals will find (or at least believe they have found) the solution in one or more of Lucado‘s books.61 Lucado‘s therapeutic piety also evidences a higher level of reliance on the market to subsume his evangelical theology and all that it entails underneath an appeal to practicality. By focusing on practicality Lucado can subtly include his commitments to certain views of scripture and doctrines while telling his readers that Christianity will provide solutions to their problems. The continued production of books that are essentially variations on the same theme also indicates the publishers‘ commitments to blatantly sell the same approach in repackaged form. The marketing of ―Max Lucado‖ and his works allows Lucado and his team to distract the audience from these allegiances by appealing to the utility of Lucado‘s message.

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Sentimentalizing Childhood and Childish Sentimentality The combination of marketing savvy with a practical Christianity is most evident in Lucado‘s children‘s material. In the creation of media directly aimed at children, Lucado demonstrates the importance of children (and their parents) to evangelical theology and life. Lucado‘s children‘s literature reveals more than just this, however. Because Lucado treats his adult readers as children, his children‘s literature is especially revealing. By examining evangelical marketing and practical piety through the lens of children‘s literature, we can see Lucado‘s paternalism as well as how important marketing is to modern evangelical popular culture and religious thought. Lucado‘s focus on children is not something new in evangelicalism. Children have played an important role in the thinking of evangelicals especially since the nineteenth century. Evangelical creators of culture in the nineteenth century, as historian Colleen McDannell noted, saw the home as ―a vehicle for the promotion of values.‖ They stood at a pinnacle of a Christian tradition that had moved from the house churches of the earliest centuries of Christianity to a domestic religion found in American Puritanism to the elevation of domestic piety in the Victorian United States. The Enlightenment and the rise of republicanism led to changes in family piety that made the home (and parents and children) the center of religious life for Victorians. Nostalgia became an important facet of domestic piety as individuals and families looked to an imagined colonial period as the height of familial commitment to religiosity. Changes in architecture as well as in the market led to reconceptualizations of home and family that bifurcated the public and private spheres in the minds of many. Whatever the reality, Americans idealized the Victorian home and what it should represent. They conceptualized the home as a stronghold of safety against the deteriorating forces of the market and the secular world. Attendant with this idealization of domestic space came a rise in domestic products that could both fill and sacralize that space. According to McDannell, ―By linking morality and religion with the purchase and maintenance of a Christian home, the Victorians legitimized acquisition and display of domestic goods.‖ Theologians like Horace Bushnell provided an ideological foundation for accepting the home and family as the center of a Protestant faith that emphasized the religious duty of fostering a Christian home.62 In addition to changes in conceptualizing domestic space and domestic piety, children especially came to serve an important role. Conceptions of children underwent changes

135 theologically and educationally. The traditional view of children as bearers of original sin and thus born sinful gave way to a romantic view of children as inherently innocent from birth. Based on philosopher John Locke‘s view of the mind and the senses, adults viewed children as blank slates, malleable, and ready to be molded. In the early republic individuals followed the thinking of people like Joseph Addison, Frances Hutcheson, Jean Jacques Rousseau, along with the philosophers of the Scottish Enlightenment and emphasized the importance of instilling republican virtues and good citizenship in children. Evangelicals began to focus on parent and child relationships as key to not only theology but also living daily life in the United States. Mothers were frequently the ones who took on this responsibility to make children good citizens, and they did this through the inculcation of religious values.63 By the middle of the nineteenth century, however, conceptions of children underwent another evolution. With Horace Bushnell‘s thoughts on ―Christian nurture‖ and the writings of the Beecher sisters Catherine and Harriet, children moved from being vessels whom parents should fill with republican virtue and pieces of clay that parents and educators need to mold to being spiritual guides adults should follow. Perhaps the most famous spiritually-guiding child of the mid-nineteenth century was Harriet Beecher Stowe‘s literary figure, Little Eva. Eva served as an example of tolerance and spirituality for not only her father Augustine St. Clare but for Stowe‘s readers as well. Despite Eva‘s explicit paternalism, Stowe‘s narrative makes her a guide for the characters around her—both black and white.64 Historians usually connect Bushnell and the Beechers with a liberal strand of American evangelicalism, and quite accurately. This historiographical connection, however, leads to further conclusions that may not be completely warranted. In her book Growing Up Protestant historian Margaret Lamberts Bendroth makes the point that the ―family values‖ rhetoric of late twentieth century evangelicals (especially the Religious Right) obscures a historical trend of individualism within conservative Christianity that oftentimes worked against familial structures. Instead Bendroth sees the domestic piety of Bushnell working through mainline denominations.65 Yet the sentimental approach to children appears even within conservative thought. Dwight Moody, for example, used the image of a child as a spiritual guide in several of his sermons. In ―The Child Angel‖ Moody related a narrative of a child very similar to Little Eva who although dead still led her father to a conversion. A little girl is able to move Abraham Lincoln to have compassion on her brother in ―The Child and President Lincoln.‖ Another little child‘s faith that

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God would provide a house because she had prayed for one in faith reproves a mother‘s disbelief in ―Faith.‖ These three sermons are representative of the importance Moody placed on children and on the child as the model of a good Christian. Although a liberal theology might connect Bushnell to liberal Protestantism, children were also a part of conservative theology. As historian George Marsden noted, ―The emphasis on motherhood and domesticity in Moody‘s preaching was part of the widespread evangelical conviction that stability in the home was the key to the resolution of other social problems.‖ Individual conversion was the focus of Moody‘s preaching, but the family (especially children) played an important role in the relationship between believer and society.66 The family was also important in fundamentalism as they retreated from society. Since other avenues were cut off, the family was an important sphere to protect Christianity. Furthermore the status of the home reflected as well as impacted the moral stability of the nation. ―As the home goes so society will go,‖ said minister Charles Fuller in one of his radio broadcasts. Fundamentalists continued to conceive of the home and family as a fortress to protect individuals from the perils of the ―world.‖ Victorian notions of domesticity continued to empower fundamentalist conceptions of the home and family as divinely sanctioned and ordered. The home was particularly important because in the home children learned and expressed the piety that would shape their entire lives. Victorian views on gender also motivated the fundamentalist home, especially concerning the relationship between parents and children. Fundamentalist mothers provided the instruction that would safeguard children from the dangerous ideologies in the world, particularly evolution. Fundamentalists fathers provided discipline that would theoretically prevent children from straying from fundamentalist teachings.67 In 1992 Max Lucado released his first children‘s title, Just in Case You Ever Wonder. Since then he has released over thirty children‘s and teen‘s books and DVDs. Some of those works are child or teenage versions of his adult inspirational titles. Others are titles that draw upon themes found in his works but are completely new works. Lucado has some books and DVDs that are part of a series, like Hermie & Friends or Wemmicks. Some are stand-alone stories. Throughout all of them, however, the same themes are present that are present in his inspirational titles. Sentimentality (especially a familial conception of God) is the ruling motif; individualism and the individual‘s relationship to God are the key points.

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In Just in Case You Ever Wonder, for example, Lucado shapes his narrative around a one-sided conversation between a parent and a child. Throughout the story the parent emphasizes to the child that God made the child both as a special child and as a unique child: ―God made you like no one else.‖ The parent further tells the child that because of their special, unique nature God specifically picked their home: ―God wanted to put you in just the right home . . . where you would be warm when it‘s cold, where you‘d be safe when you‘re afraid, where you‘d have fun and learn about heaven. So, after lots of looking for just the right family, God sent you to me. And I‘m so glad he did.‖ The parent also wants the child to know about God: ―He loves you. He protects you. He and His angels are always watching over you.‖ Furthermore it is the parent‘s responsibility to tell the child about heaven: ―It‘s a wonderful place. There are no tears there. No monsters. No mean people. You never have to say ‗good- bye,‘ or ‗good night,‘ or ‗I‘m hungry.‘ You never get cold or sick or afraid.‖ Finally, the narrator connects the parental role to the role of God: ―In heaven you are so close to God that He will hug you, just like I hug you.‖68 Although the book is written on a level that a child could understand, it contains the same themes that Lucado uses in his adult titles. The reader (or listener) is placed in the role of a child (although in the case of the children‘s book the audience is chronologically a child). Lucado conflates the narrator with God (although in Just in Case You Ever Wonder the parent reading the book to the child would be connected to God and not Lucado). The sentimentality that pervades Lucado‘s adult works is present. The child is told that God loves him or her, that God specially made the child, and that God is a familial God (e.g., God will hug the child like the parent hugs the child). Others of Lucado‘s children‘s books are reinterpretations of biblical narratives. In Small Gifts in God’s Hands Lucado tells the story of a boy named Elijah who comes in contact with Jesus at different points in his ministry. Elijah is present when Peter and his fellow fisherman net an enormous catch after a night of catching nothing (Luke 5:1-11) and when some men lower a paralyzed man through a roof to get to Jesus (Luke 5:17-26). Each time he sees these events, Elijah tells his mother, Miriam, that he, although poor, wishes he had something that the Teacher Jesus could use. Miriam tells Elijah each time that ―God can do big things with a small gift.‖ One day Miriam and Elijah decide to go listen to Jesus preach. When they arrive, there are thousands of people listening to Jesus. Elijah discovers that the people are hungry, but there is

138 no food to feed them. Being reminded by his mother of the small portion of food that they have with them, Elijah offers his two fish and five loaves to Jesus, who uses them to feed five thousand people.69 In Small Gifts Lucado takes great liberty with the biblical text. The Johannine boy providing the food for feeding the five thousand is unnamed but Lucado builds an entire narrative around him. Elijah is the nephew of the apostle Peter in Lucado‘s version, thus explaining how he is able to encounter Jesus so often. Peter has a son named Aaron according to Small Gifts, although he is not mentioned in the Gospels. The final scene of the book takes place at the crucifixion. Peter tells his son and nephew that Jesus is ―giving his life as a gift to save the world,‖ in contrast to the Gospels which do not include anything about Peter during Jesus‘ crucifixion. The Gospels also claim that the apostles did not understand Jesus‘ death involving the salvation of the world. This interpretation was arrived at later. Lucado‘s inventiveness works counter to a notion of biblical inerrancy which sees the Bible as the final, complete, revealed will of God. In his children‘s books Lucado evidently believes he has free reign to modify the biblical narrative and incorporate additional material to manufacture the story he wants to produce. By abstracting these narratives Lucado reinterprets them to make the point about the narrative the importance of children and their (supposedly) inadequate abilities in the eyes of God. Sentimentalizing the narrative allows Lucado to tell a different story—one in which the power and the importance of the individual becomes the main thrust. His anti-clericalism also comes out in his children‘s books. In All You Ever Need, for example, Lucado tells the story of life in a desert land where Tobias, the ―Watermaster,‖ and his son Julian owed a well that abundantly provided free water for everyone in the dry land. Tobias and Julian decide to take a trip and leave their servant Elzevir in charge of providing the people with water. Elzevir originally shares the water, but eventually begins to restrict access to the water due to his perception that the people are ungrateful. Elzevir continues to create more conditions for access to the water and fewer and fewer people are able to acquire the water. One day an individual comes to the well. Although initially rebuffed by Elzevir as unworthy, he reveals that he is Julian, the Watermaster‘s son. He has returned to remove Elzevir from his position and again provide the water freely to all.70 All You Ever Need is open to multiple interpretations. As a children‘s book, the work seems to be about unselfishness. Elzevir was given a responsibility to freely share the water with

139 the people around him, but he began to horde the water and did not dispense it. An allegorical interpretation, however, reveals a critique of Christians. That Julian is a type for Christ is evident in the last pages of the story where Julian is referred to as the Son, with the ―s‖ capitalized.71 Elzevir, in this interpretation, would represent Christians, probably ministers, who have prohibited access to the free waters provided by the Son.72 The allegory is that there are people who prevent access to Christ‘s gift by placing restrictions on people that God did not intend. Lucado‘s critique is probably aimed against religious leaders creating rules that disqualify people from becoming Christians. The allegory, however, would probably be lost on his child readers unless their parents specifically explained it to them. Lucado has spun some of his children‘s books off into popular series including both books and DVDs. The two major series are Max Lucado‘s Hermie & Friends and the Wemmicks series. Hermie & Friends DVDs were the number one children‘s videos for 2005, 2006, and 2007 according to Nielsen‘s Soundscan. The animated films featured the voice talents of actors like Tim Conway, Don Knotts, Richard Kind, and John O‘Hurley, among others.73 The Wemmicks books and DVDs have not been as popular as the Hermie series, but there are several episodes and books in that series as well. In the book Hermie: A Common Caterpillar Hermie and his friend Wormie, caterpillars, question God about why they are common. God tells them that he loves them but is not finished with them. Hermie and Wormie encounter various creatures like ants, snails, and ladybugs and notice the different traits they have and wonder why God had made them so common. God again affirms that he has not finished with them. As he is going to sleep one night, Hermie prays to God and tells God that he is content being a common caterpillar. In the morning, he finds himself encased in a cocoon. He manages to break free, only to discover that he has transformed into a beautiful butterfly. He finds his friend Wormie and tells him, ―God wasn’t finished with me, Wormie. And He is not finished with you, either!‖74 Lucado based Hermie: A Common Caterpillar on his adult title Just Like Jesus. Hermie reflects many of the themes of Lucado‘s adult books on a child‘s level. He affirms the importance of the individual and the love God has for each individual as individuals. As Hermie says to God, ―You love me, and that makes me special.‖ Furthermore the idea that God has something special in store for each individual is present. Hermie is a way for Lucado to present these ideas to a different audience.

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The first of the Wemmicks books is a work entitled You Are Special. The book opens by describing a group of wooden people called Wemmicks who had been created by a woodcarver named Eli. The Wemmicks spent quite an amount of time giving each other stickers. If they approved of another Wemmick, they gave that Wemmick a gold star. If they disapproved of another Wemmick, they gave that Wemmick a gray dot. There was a Wemmick named Punchinello who always received dots because the other Wemmicks did not like him. One day Punchinello met a Wemmick named Lucia who did not have any stickers. Neither the gold stars nor the gray dots would stick to her. She told Punchinello that the stickers did not adhere to her because she went to see the Wemmicks‘ maker, Eli. Punchinello visits Eli who tells him that Punchinello should not care what the other Wemmicks think of him. Instead he should rest assured that Eli, his maker, thought he was special. Eli continues by telling Punchinello that Lucia does not have stickers because she does not care about what the Wemmicks think of her: ―The stickers only stick if they matter to you. The more you trust my love, the less you care about their stickers.‖ As Punchinello leaves Eli‘s house, he begins to understand what Eli tells him and the gray dots start falling off.75 You Are Special is an allegorical narrative. The child reading (or hearing) the story is put into the role of Punchinello. Eli represents God or perhaps Jesus. The stickers represent the praise (gold stars) or disapproval (gray dots) of the people around the reader. What is important, according to Lucado, is not what other people think about a person, but what God thinks about a person. The individual is inherently special in the eyes of God because God created each individual. Furthermore, every individual is a child of God and special in that way as well. Lucado‘s children‘s books, however, may not live up to the expectations of the author, the publishers, or even parents who buy them for their children. One of the few scholarly studies that investigates the work of Max Lucado is a study about You Are Special. Professor Ann Trousdale studied children‘s responses to You Are Special by having them read the book (along with another book by a different author) and discuss it with her. In her findings Trousdale noted that the children did not make a connection between the character Eli and God until Trousdale specifically asked if Eli reminded them of God. The children had previously related Eli to family members that they knew, but only when Trousdale made the connection for them they did see some similarities. After de-allegorizing the character of Eli, the children believed that the lesson of You Are Special had to do with personal autonomy and self-esteem. Most of the

141 children said that what was most important from You Are Special was not what other people thought about an individual but what God thought about that individual.76 There are some issues with Trousdale‘s study that make its finding possibly incomplete (an aspect she readily admits). She only interviews six children, and all of them have religious backgrounds. Of the six children, two had a Reformed Jewish background; two had a Catholic background; and two had a ―mainline‖ Protestant background (One attended an Episcopal school and a Methodist church, although her father was Catholic; the other‘s religious background was undefined).77 None of the children appear to have had an evangelical background. With a sample this size it is difficult to say how representative Trousdale‘s findings are. Furthermore, although the children did not recognize the connection between Eli and God, one wonders whether or not evangelical children would have made this same connection on their own. What it does reveal is that Lucado‘s sentimental individualism comes across clearly even if the message is abstracted from its theological underpinnings and even in children‘s literature. Lucado evidences the duality of children needing instruction and children providing instruction. In his works, whether for adults or children, Lucado urges the preparation and socialization of children while also using them as spiritual exemplars. Quite often, at least in his adult inspirational titles, Lucado uses his own children as models for the need for socialization and as models who display ideal types of spirituality. They might demonstrate appropriate attitudes toward worship. Lucado might use them to show how joyful individuals will be in heaven. Sara might evidence a faith in her father that Lucado argues is the kind of faith individuals should have in God. Recounting Jenna seeking protection offers the opportunity for readers to ponder whether they turn to God for protection. Andrea‘s fear becomes peace when turning to Lucado and the incident becomes a narrative in The Applause of Heaven about God assuaging the fears of his children.78 Sometimes the Lucado children can also serve as negative examples. In such cases readers are also compared to children, but in these instances the message appears to be that such childlike behavior may be understandable but disappointing concerning Lucado‘s children but the analogous behavior in the readers is inexcusable. For example Lucado tells a story about taking his children to a plastic ball pit at Sea World. One of his children filled her arms with balls and then attempted to walk through the pit. Since the balls were waist high, it was almost impossible for her to move. Instead of dropping the balls, as her father suggested, the daughter

142 continued to hold on to them and refused to release them no matter what. Eventually Lucado had to enter the pit and physically remove his daughter from the balls. He rhapsodizes that children learn such behavior from their parents: Andrea‘s determination to hold those balls is nothing compared to the vice-grips we put on life . . . try prying our fingers from our earthly treasures. Try taking a retirement account away from a fifty-five-year-old. Or try convincing a yuppie to give up her BMW. Or test your luck on a clotheshorse and his or her wardrobe. The way we clutch our possessions and our pennies, you‘d think we couldn‘t live without them. Ouch.79

If children fail to behave as spiritual examples, it is only because in such instances they are mirroring the behavior of adults. Literature and other products directed toward children perform important functions for the evangelical community. Children‘s materials offer the hope of a stable community—one that will continue after the death of contemporary adults. The materials are a way for parents and other adults to convince themselves that they are passing on their faith to the next generation. Related to this feature, children‘s literature also provides socialization to the evangelical community. It introduces evangelical virtues and standards to children. It tells children— through cartoon characters or easy-to-read narratives—what matters to the community and how one should act in the community. Lucado‘s children‘s books evidence the same practical piety found in his adult titles. Self-concept, sharing, telling the truth, love, and following the rules are just a few lessons found in Lucado‘s children‘s books. They provide children with figures whose qualities they should emulate. Values that are important to the community are transmitted through colorful cartoon characters or through adults reading to children. These works do not present doctrinal or philosophical arguments, but neither do Lucado‘s adult titles. These works fit into the simplified message I examined in chapter two. The overall message of God‘s love for human beings permeates Lucado‘s media, making it easy to associate the Lucado brand with an easy-to-identify idea: a Max Lucado children‘s book will tell a child about God‘s love. The Max Lucado brand of children‘s materials works on two levels—adult and child. The child may relate to the Hermie brand and want the latest Hermie DVD or the Chick-fil-A Kids‘ Meal with the Hermie toy. When children watch a Hermie DVD, Lucado introduces them to a variety of evangelical values. These values are practical ones. The Hermie videos feature evangelical ideas about God and Jesus, but their main focus (emblazoned on the front of each DVD) is on encouraging children to tell the truth, be unique, get along, behave, be friendly, and

143 share, as well as engage in certain religious practices (e.g, believe God, pray). The parent or adult might feel comfortable buying a Hermie DVD because it is Max Lucado’s Hermie & Friends, and they have come to trust Max Lucado. If such is the case, the branding has worked effectively. Lucado and his publishers and marketers, then, have successfully branded ―Max Lucado‖ as a brand that people can rely on and trust to present godly, positive, life-affirming material meant to draw readers (or viewers) into a closer relationship with God. Children are spiritually safe with Max Lucado products, and Max Lucado will help parents prepare their children to be godly. Children, however, generally act as spiritual guides in Lucado‘s inspirational titles, so Lucado asks his adult readers to think of themselves of as children. As he infantilizes his readers, he places himself in a paternalistic role, even as he rhetorically identifies himself with his readers. Although he uses first person ―we‖ and ―our‖ statements, he is actually positioning himself above the reader. From his lofty vantage point, he can see how his childish readers are acting in inappropriate way, and he can offer insight on how to become like the childish spiritual guides he lauds. Whether acting as a father to Jenna, Andrea, and Sara or acting as a father to his readers, Lucado present himself as having the simple solution to his children‘s juvenile behavior. You Are Special and Lucado‘s other children‘s literature reveals the author‘s paternalistic attitude. Lucado as narrator sets himself apart from his readers and tells them what they need to know and how they should act. Because of the similar themes and tactics between his children‘s literature and his adult literature, his paternalistic stance comes out in relief. In his adult titles he tells his readers how to feel, act, and think. The message is that ―Max Lucado‖ knows what is best for them. The conflation between sentimental God and Lucado is another aspect of this paternalism. By asking his readers to think of themselves as children and equating himself (or at least his views) with God, he implicitly asks his readers to look at him as a father who knows what is best for his children. If this is an accurate of Lucado‘s rhetoric, it becomes evident that the market and practical piety actually work against democratization instead of promoting it (at least in some cases). The production of Lucado‘s ―simple‖ message contains a complex background that encourages his readers to accept through sentimental feeling—and not the intellect—that what Lucado presents about himself, God, and his readers is true. This simple sentimental rhetoric, however, actually obscures the fact that it is crafted to hide that Lucado is not someone the reader actually knows and that his brand and his brand management relies on

144 repeat business which means that Lucado, to continue to write, must provide something audiences will continue to buy. It also conceals the numerous people involved in creating the image of ―Max Lucado,‖ including Lucado himself, his assistants, his editors, the publishers and marketers of Thomas Nelson, and Lucado‘s own team of publicists who attempt to promote his books. The ―Max Lucado‖ of his books is a fiction shrewdly created and marketed to an audience that is unaware of what occurs behind the scenes. Marketing also obscures the fact that through his children‘s books and DVDs Lucado is aiming at adults. Adults are generally the purchasers of children‘s materials, but through his children‘s material he is also encouraging adults to become and think like children. Children‘s literature is a crafty repackaging of the childish theology on which Lucado relies. I started off this chapter by briefly tracing some contours of evangelical marketing. It was obviously incomplete and selective, but it is a standard narrative of the ways evangelicals have used marketing to promote their message. The narrative has been one of religious innovation. Whitefield, Moody and others often appear as astute observers of market forces who manipulate the market for their own purposes. I have found Candy Brown‘s categories of purity and presence helpful in succinctly expressing the tensions evangelicals have faced in trying to decide how to interact with the market. What Lucado reveals about the history of marketing and evangelicalism, however, is how much Lucado and his contemporaries appear much more dependent on marketing than before. Even Whitefield, Moody, and Sunday did not have the kind of team that Lucado has. This reliance on marketing for presence puts modern evangelicals in a quandary because, if Lucado is any indication, it appears that quite often evangelicals must downplay purity in order to be present.80 Minimizing doctrinal purity, however, hides larger issues in evangelicalism including the reliance on fundamentalist theology and Scottish Common sense in modern evangelicalism, the importance of the bottom line to evangelical marketers and publishers, and the constructedness of evangelical authors. The trajectory of evangelicalism and marketing from Whitefield to Lucado, therefore, is not simply one of religious innovators manipulating the market to spread evangelicalism. There were certainly instances of that, but it is also about evangelical celebrities becoming more and more dependent upon the market for success. Market research, publishers, and economics all factor into the production of evangelical popular culture. Whether or not Dwight Moody, for example, would have incorporated high-tech market research (he probably would have), modern

145 evangelical authors must take it into consideration. Publishers must consider profitability and not just the religious values and teaching that a work presents. Lucado‘s success demonstrates not only sentimentality‘s profitability, but also how important sentimentality is to understanding modern evangelicalism. Through an examination of marketing, practical piety, and children‘s literature we see how much evangelicals, especially evangelical publishers and authors, have come to depend on the commercialization of sentiment and religiosity for survival. They seek to find stability in evangelicalism through the production of religious materials to shape a constituency that will continue to buy their religious materials. Evangelical publishing finds itself in much the same position that promoters of tourism in Branson, Missouri do. As Aaron Ketchell noted in Holy Hills of the Ozarks, Branson tourism relies on a simplified Christianity that allows for the appearance of ―family values‖ but is a capitalistic venture that has crafted a religiosity dependent upon broad appeal not doctrinal positions. It is an ―amorphous Christian outlook‖ presented ―in a buoyant and consumable manner.‖81 Because of the capitalist bottom line that marketers (whether of religious tourism or religious books) must consider, this appeal to a sentimentalized Christianity that seeks feeling creation not intellectual assent, presence not purity, scholars cannot simply accept that religious marketing is about the message. It is not. It is about will sell, and diminishing doctrine in favor of paternalism and infantilizing will.

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CHAPTER FOUR

GOD‘S REFRIGERATOR: THE UBIQUITY AND RITUALIZATION OF SENTIMENTALITY IN AMERICAN EVANGELICALISM

If you‘d like a reminder of our Father‘s creativity you‘ll find one here [in God‘s house]. We all call God ―Father‖ and we all call Christ ―Savior,‖ but beyond that, things are quite diverse. Take a walk around the room and see what I mean. . . . Pick up a Swahili phrase from the tribesmen. Eavesdrop on the theologians discussing dispensationalism. Experience worship with a bagpipe, then cross the room and try the same with the accordion. . . . And if you‘re wondering how those folks from the other denominations got here, ask them. (They may want to ask you the same question.) --Max Lucado, The Great House of God1

I never expected that going to a parade would make it into a discussion of evangelical sentimentality. As I left the parade, however, an individual approached me and handed me several tracts. I immediately recognized what they were and was grateful to receive them. I had heard about these comic-style tracts and was quite interested in taking a closer look at what this individual had provided me. One tract in particular was quite illuminating, especially for a discussion of how sentimentality operated in American evangelicalism. The tract contains very few words and little spoken dialogue. It opens with an image of the exterior of a cabin in a torrential rainstorm. Inside the cabin a father sends his child out into the storm to beg for money. The father is a drunk, as evidenced by liquor bottles scattered across the floor of the cabin and the word ―hic‖ in a thought balloon. The androgynous, large-eyed child exits into the rain with a large cup to collect money. Most of the people the child encounters pass by; the child only receives a penny from one individual. Upon returning, the child, shivering and wet, presents the money to the father. The father, seeing only a penny, is furious, and in a drunken rage he beats the child. After the beating, the father tosses the child out of the house into the storm. The child crawls away from the house and eventually into an alley, falling asleep in a box by a garbage can. While the child sleeps the scene shifts. The rain has stopped and a new breeze is blowing. It is particularly blowing a card with the words ―SOMEBODY LOVES YOU‖ written on it. The wind blows the card to the child who picks it up and reads it. The child does not understand the message (as evidenced by the large question mark over the child‘s head while reading). Noticing a woman passing by, the child holds the card out to her wondering what it means. ―JESUS LOVES YOU!‖ the woman tells the child. In some of the tract‘s only spoken dialogue, the woman tells the child that she will go to get help.

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The child is overjoyed with the news and thinks, ―JESUS LOVES ME!‖ The child lies down clutching the card (as hearts connected by dotted lines radiate off of the child‘s body). Help for the child, however, does not come, and the child dies. In the last panels of the comic an angel bends into the box holding the child and grabs the child‘s body, taking it to heaven. In the last panel the angel presents the child to someone off screen. The child‘s face beams as it reaches out for whatever it sees. The author tells the reader, ―AND THE LORD JESUS LOVES YOU TOO!‖ The tract is entitled ―Somebody Loves Me‖ and is a product of Chick Publications.2 Chapter four broadens the examination of sentimentality to observe its presence throughout evangelicalism. The discussion of Max Lucado has served to be a window into how ubiquitous sentimentality is in American evangelical thought and practice. Sentimentality especially serves as a foundation for evangelical music and evangelical devotional literature. Scholars of modern evangelicalism have largely overlooked sentimentality in these areas or have downplayed or denigrated its importance. Through an examination of these areas of evangelical life, however, it becomes apparent that sentimental understandings of God provide the foundation for evangelical practice. Despite the attention given to more militant expressions of evangelical belief, sentimentality is the fount that produces evangelical piety. Because of how omnipresent sentimentality is in evangelicalism, it is a rhetorical force not only in evangelical practice but also in evangelical social and political action. Evangelicals have ritualized sentimentality to the point that it is an important feature of how many evangelicals interpret and understand the world around them. Creating a Modern Evangelicalism The terms ―fundamentalism‖ and ―evangelicalism‖ are both useful and problematic when describing conservative Protestant Christianity in the United States. They are connected and separate. Outsiders have used the terms disparagingly, and insiders have adopted them as markers of identity. Scholars have questioned their utility while trying to define who fits into these terms identify. Part of the confusion comes from the purity/presence dichotomy that Candy Brown has identified within nineteenth-century evangelicalism.3 In many respects we can differentiate fundamentalists and evangelicals through plotting them on a spectrum of varying rhetorical mixture of purity and presence. Evangelicals might rhetorically emphasize that presence in American culture does not affect doctrinal or moral purity. They might also suggest that the presence of American culture in expressions of piety does not have to adversely affect

148 doctrinal purity. Fundamentalists would rhetorically claim that in order to maintain purity, presence in American culture and the presence of American culture must be minimalized. Again, these would be positions on a continuum with various combinations; no one position can be a complete representation of the entire group but there are historical reasons for using these terms to describe specific individuals and groups. This rhetorical balancing between purity and presence was part of the resurgence of ―evangelicalism‖ as distinct from fundamentalism. Several conservative Christians became dissatisfied with the separatism of fundamentalism. Individuals like Harold Ockenga, Carl Henry, Harold Lindsell, Charles Fuller, and Billy Graham looked for ways to move conservative Christianity into more contact with American culture. Several factors motivated these individuals to reconceptualize fundamentalism. They believed that Christians had to be involved in culture in order to evangelize effective. They also were frustrated with the anti-intellectual position of many fundamentalists. Finally, they sought social and political engagement with the world through activism. They assumed they could not maintain the disengagement of fundamentalism and accomplish these goals.4 One of the ways they began to distinguish themselves from other fundamentalists was through the formation of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) in 1942. Organizers like Harold Ockenga pictured the NAE as a response to the liberalism of the Federal Council of Churches and the divisiveness of the American Council of Churches, a fundamentalist group. At its origin the NAE worked against separatism by being more inclusive with regard to the groups that it admitted. Groups like Pentecostals, Methodists, and Mennonites—excluded from the American Council of Churches—joined the NAE. This inclusivity angered fundamentalists, but it was a sign of the changes to come.5 The next major milestone in the developing fundamentalist cleavage was the creation of Fuller Seminary in California. Minister and radio personality Charles Fuller and minister Harold Ockenga started Fuller Seminary in 1947 as an attempt to given intellectual legitimacy to the fundamentalist/evangelical movement. Like the NAE, the founders of Fuller conceived of the school as a conservative school that moderated between the fundamentalist hard-line found in schools like Dallas Theological Seminary and the liberalism of places like Princeton. Ockenga, especially, believed that a rigorous intellectual life was the key to the success of the neo- evangelical movement (a term not commonly used until the 1950s) as well as the way

149 evangelicalism would make an impact on the larger American culture. As historian George Marsden noted, Ockenga believed that a ―true scholarly center‖ would create outstanding scholarship and ―all the world would have to notice.‖ Whether or not the world noticed, Fuller Seminary educated part of the next (and subsequent) generation of evangelical ministers and theologians.6 While Ockenga and Fuller were recreating evangelicalism on the West Coast, others were making an impact on the East Coast. In the East the focus was not on scholarship but youth. Ministers like Percy Crawford and Jack Wyrtzen produced radio programs geared at preaching a fundamentalist/evangelical gospel to a young audience. Based on their success on the radio, Crawford (in Philadelphia) and Wyrtzen (in New York) held rallies of young people in large venues (like Madison Square Garden), drawing tens of thousands of people. Other ministers used a similar format and began holding ―Youth for Christ‖ rallies. Gradually these rallies were institutionalized into a Youth for Christ organization which opened offices in Chicago. In 1944 the Youth for Christ movement started a series of Saturday night rallies. The inaugural speaker, who later became officially associated with the movement, was a twenty-five-year-old Wheaton College graduate named William ―Billy‖ Graham.7 By 1948 Graham had left Youth for Christ to start holding citywide revival campaigns. He preached across the country and even took several preaching tours of Great Britain (much like Dwight Moody had done at the end of the nineteenth century). His success at these campaigns was modest compared to the audience he had reached in the Youth for Christ rallies. In 1949 Graham agreed to be the featured evangelist in a crusade in Los Angeles. The result was much different. After several weeks, several noteworthy conversions, and the publicity of a press motivated by Graham‘s success as well as his anti-communist message, attendance at the crusade exploded. He followed this success with success in Boston and then elsewhere. Billy Graham (and neo-evangelicalism) was catching the attention of American culture.8 A few years after Graham‘s Los Angeles crusade, a candy-salesman-turned-failing- Fuller-Seminary student named Bill Bright claimed to have received a vision from God to start a ministry to college students. Bright‘s goal in 1951 was ―to recruit one hundred seminary and Bible-college graduates to be ‗dispatched in teams of five‘ across the country to hold evangelistic meetings and meet student leaders.‖ Things did not work out as planned. Bright‘s initial forays into creating a Campus Crusade for Christ were modest, but highly publicized conversions by

150 notable college athletes, smart use of the media, and persistence allowed Bright to grow Campus Crusade in fits and starts.9 The separation between fundamentalism and neo-evangelicalism solidified in the 1950s. Much of the break was due to the work of Graham and those who supported him. Graham began accepting support from non-evangelicals and non-fundamentalists in publicizing his crusade. His ecumenical attitude angered many fundamentalists, and they denounced his work. The publication of Christianity Today, an evangelical magazine supported by Graham and other neo- evangelicals, also precipitated the break. The editors and writers of Christianity Today intentionally distanced the magazine and the movement from fundamentalism and evidenced a more tolerant attitude toward modernism, the decades-old enemy of fundamentalists. The creation of neo-evangelicalism also brought together Graham (along with Christianity Today), Fuller Seminary, and Campus Crusade for Christ as part of the institutionalization of neo- evangelicalism. Graham endorsed Fuller Seminary. Fuller Seminary and its faculty threw its weight behind Graham, and Campus Crusade eventually broke ties with fundamentalist Bob Jones University to find acceptance and patronage with Billy Graham and his coterie.10 The 1960s brought both challenges and adaptations for evangelicalism. Billy Graham tried to be racially inclusive while standing at a distance from the Civil Rights movement. Campus Crusade met protests on college campuses. Fuller Seminary experienced a division among the faculty regarding whether or not they should continue pushing the idea of biblical inerrancy or adopt the idea of biblical infallibility. Fuller chose infallibility, and conservative faculty members like Harold Lindsell left. Graham, however, also became politically prominent during this time. He continued to succeed in his crusades, but also began a shift into becoming an advisor to presidents by aligning himself with Richard Nixon. Campus Crusade changed tactics. Bill Bright simplified the message of the group to ―Four Spiritual Laws,‖ making the presentation of the message much easier on staff members. The first of these laws was ―God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.‖ Not only did Campus Crusade simplify its message, it adopted some of the activities and interests of the New Left and the counterculture in order to present this simplified message. Grassroots organizing and collective protesting became a part of evangelicalism. At Fuller Seminary, faculty (including the dean Daniel Fuller, son of Charles Fuller) turned to Karl Barth and his notions of biblical infallibility to mediate a commitment to scripture as God‘s word while recognizing the possibility that scripture contained

151 errors. These individuals could no longer accept the doctrine of biblical inerrancy but they wanted to cling to scripture as a revelation from the divine. While they could not accept all of Barth‘s neo-orthodoxy, his position on scripture was a welcome substitute for the problems of inerrancy.11 If evangelicals had made somewhat successful attempts to reassert themselves in American culture from the 1940s through the 1960s, the decade of the seventies brought evangelicalism much more prominently back into the public sphere in a sustained way. Yet the move from generally separated from culture to fully integrated into culture, did not leave evangelicalism unchanged. Many scholars have focused on the political shifts of the time period: the rise of the Moral Majority, protests over abortion, and the election of Jimmy Carter. These events changed the political face of evangelicalism, but evangelical politics was not the only aspect of evangelicalism changing in the 1970s. The practice of evangelicalism also experienced changes, due in some measure to the rise of Jesus people.12 The Jesus Movement (also referred to as ―Jesus people‖ or ―Jesus freaks‖) is probably responsible for more of the shape of the modern evangelical ethos (especially the sentimental ethos) than scholars usually credit it with. Born out of several centers in California in the late 1960s, the Jesus Movement was an anti-institutional response to Christianity that attempted to incorporate those infatuated with the counter-culture of the time. They dressed in hippie ways (sometimes even wandering around dressed like they thought Jesus would have dressed). They created communities similar to the ones hippies lived in. They attempted to translate the ancient message of Christianity into contemporary slang. In some areas they baptized hundreds in the Pacific Ocean. They quite frequently drew the attention of the press and other evangelicals as well.13 The anti-institutional rhetoric, however, was not enough to keep the Jesus Movement from moving towards institutionalization. Jesus Movement pioneers like Duane Pederson began creating and selling ―Jesus stuff‖: bumper stickers, clothing, and other objects. Christian retailers soon got into the business as well. The success of Hal Lindsey, a former staff member of Campus Crusade turned Jesus freak, and his The Late Great Planet Earth brought into being (or recreated) the mega-genre of modern-day apocalyptic literature—now a product of large publishing houses producing even mainstream bestsellers. ―Jesus rock,‖ a response to what was seen as antiquated church music, transformed from countercultural critique to Contemporary

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Christian Music (CCM), a twenty-first century hallmark of Christian radio stations and even worship services.14 More mainstream evangelicals also (intentionally or unintentionally) tapped into the success of the Jesus Movement. Campus Crusade organized Explo‘ 72 as a training event for its campus ministry. The actual event (called a ―religious Woodstock‖ by Billy Graham, a featured speaker for the event) had a Jesus Movement feel to it. As historian John Turner notes, however, ―[i]n many ways . . . Explo‘ 72 symbolized a conservative evangelical appropriation of the Jesus Movement: carefully planned, toned down, and commercialized.‖ Explo ‘72 signified that evangelicalism was changing with the times and the culture. It was both changing cultural expressions like the Jesus Movement incorporating into a conservative politics and theology and being changed by the larger culture around it. The practice of evangelicalism was different due to its encounter with the Jesus Movement.15 Not only was the practice of evangelicalism different because of the encounter with the Jesus Movement, the rhetoric of evangelicalism also changed. Bill Bright had presented a simplified message (the ―Four Spiritual Laws‖) in the late 1950s. His emphasis on God‘s love as a starting point for evangelizing mirrored the rhetoric of the Jesus Movement which emphasized love particularly when it concerned doctrinal differences (like the gift of speaking in tongues). Critiques of the Jesus Movement (mostly by other evangelicals) mirror critiques that could be made concerning modern evangelicalism. Historian Stephen Prothero noted that critics of the Jesus Movement charged that their piety was ―too emotional and experiential.‖ They also claimed that ―the Jesus people were theologically shallow—that the movement‘s focus on experiencing Jesus had led it away from the truths of the Bible and the doctrines of the creeds.‖ The Jesus Movement also used a non-institutional rhetoric in preferencing ―spirituality‖ over ―religion‖ and ―Churchianity‖ that is reflected in the rhetoric of some modern-day evangelical, including (as we have seen) Max Lucado.16 The 1970s and 1980s, however, also featured a large-scale reintroduction of evangelicals into public political life. Time magazine called 1976 the ―Year of the Evangelical‖ due to, among other things, Jimmy Carter‘s candidacy for president. Jerry Falwell created the Moral Majority as an organization to create political change. In the 1980 presidential election all three candidates identified themselves as evangelicals, and Ronald Reagan successfully appealed to evangelicals for their support. Dissatisfied that neither Carter nor Reagan lived up to his

153 expectations of evangelical presidents, Marion ―Pat‖ Robertson, a televangelist, ran for the Republican nomination in 1988. Although he was unsuccessful at acquiring the nomination, Robertson continued to shape the Republican Party‘s agenda by starting the Christian Coalition, a grassroots evangelical movement which intended to reshape American politics at all levels of government to look more like the imagined ―Christian America‖ of the past. Robertson‘s candidacy also points to other ways evangelicals were prominent towards the end of the twentieth century. Televangelists, like Robertson, Oral Roberts, Jimmy Swaggart, and Jim and Tammy Bakker, used the airwaves to reach millions of viewers and acquire millions of dollars. While televangelists had been using television since its inception, the eighties marked both a proliferation of ministries and a proliferation of scandal. Swaggart and Bakker were separately involved in high-profile sexual scandals, and Bakker was also indicted on issues related to the mishandling of money from viewers. Despite the scandals, televangelists continued to use media to garner viewership and financial support.17 Evangelicals also made their presence known in other media areas in the late twentieth century to greater levels than they had before. The proliferation of contemporary Christian music occurred not only on Christian radio and in Christian bookstores but also in mainstream markets. ―Crossover‖ artists like Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Jars of Clay, and Sixpence None the Richer brought an evangelical message to secular radio stations and music stores. Christian movies, videos, and books became popular in Christian bookstores as well as in mainstream market bookstores and general retailers like Wal-mart, K-mart, and Target. Whether or not Ockenga, Henry, and Fuller intended this kind of presence in American culture when they formed the National Association of Evangelicals, by the end of the century American evangelicals had thrown off the separatism of fundamentalism to make their presence known. In creating that presence, evangelicals have relied on sentimental tropes to understand who they are and how they should be involved in the world. Through religious practices like singing and reading, evangelicals have reinforced the idea that sentimentality helps them relate to modern American culture. With this sentimental base they have made their political presence known as they relied on sentimental tropes, particularly about domesticity, to motivate people for political causes as well as to try to explain their beliefs to others, quite often using the sentimental discourse of God‘s love and the sanctity of the domestic sphere as the foundation for a politics of fear.

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Music Music has been an important aspect of Christian practice since it emerged out of the Jewish synagogues in the first century CE. Hymns praising God have been created for millennia. Music itself is a powerful vessel for emotion, and it is no surprise that we would find emotional expressions in the music of modern evangelicalism. Music has the power to make us laugh or cry. It can move us to anger or can pacify us to calmness. It can also express sentimental notions of relationships between individual and deity, as it does in modern evangelicalism. In particular sentimental evangelical music evokes both familial and erotic love as it attempts to shape the attitudes of believers into conceptualizing the relationship between the believer and God in sentimental ways. The sentimentalizing of evangelical hymnody occurred around the same time as the sentimentalizing of evangelical thought, the nineteenth century. As scholar June Hadden Hobbs noted, the gospel hymn (a specific type of church music Hobbs dates to the nineteenth century) provided the means to pass on truths about Christianity without engaging the challenge of science and modernism. Positioning hymns in the first person and connecting them to an emotional experience encountered in the hymnist‘s personal life allowed worshipers to abstract the hymn from its historical setting, adopt the affect of the hymn as one‘s own, and bypass intellectual or theological questions that troubled many in the nineteenth century. Singers relied on the lyricist‘s authority as a conveyer of religious truth.18 The use of sentimental music as a collective expression of worship legitimized certain types of emotion as acceptable (perhaps even preferred) modes of communicating with the deity. The ―romantic currents‖ (in historian Charles Lippy‘s phrase) in mid nineteenth-century America became opportunities for new modes of declaration of one‘s commitment to the Christian God. These currents also brought metaphors of domesticity into contemporary hymnody. Because many hymn writers in the mid to late nineteenth century were women, it also gave women more of a public voice, especially among groups where women did not have access to positions of authority. By crafting hymns that were used in worship, these women were able to put their words and expressions of sentiment on the lips and in the minds of both men and women, sometimes for several generations.19 A multitude of hymn examples could demonstrate this transition to sentimental, domestic music in worship. It could be the plaintive strains of Sarah Adams‘s ―Nearer, My God, to Thee‖

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(1841). The pleading of Elizabeth Prentiss‘s ―More Love to Thee, O Christ‖ (1869) also demonstrate this sentimentality. Even ―What a Friend We Have in Jesus‖ (c. 1855) by Joseph Scriven shows the influence of the sentimental mood, especially when the worshipers tell each other that ―In His arms He‘ll take and shield thee/Thou wilt find a solace there.‖ Some of the songs of Fanny J. Crosby, however, clearly show how much sentimental imagery had invaded evangelical hymnody. Fanny Crosby was perhaps the most prolific of hymn writers. She claimed to have written 8000 hymns during her lifetime. Quite often she had to write these works under pseudonyms, as June Hobbs noted, because publishing companies did not want it known that Crosby was producing a large amount of the hymns in evangelical hymnals, work for which she was grossly underpaid. Not all of her hymns have sentimental or domestic imagery, but it is a common feature in many of them.20 In the hymn ―Tell Me the Story of Jesus,‖ for example, Crosby asks to hear about the story ―most precious‖ about Jesus‘ life on earth, his birth, his temptations, his ministry, his crucifixion, and his resurrection. This is the story about which Crosby asks, ―Write on my heart ev‘ry word.‖ She tells the imagined respondent, ―Love in that story so tender/Clearer than ever I see/Stay, let me weep while you whisper/Love paid the ransom for me.‖ The hymn presents the story of Jesus‘ life as one that should create an affective response—―let me weep while you whisper‖ the story. This ―sweetest [story] that ever was heard‖ is not about believing facts about Jesus‘ identity and his resurrection; it is about how the story moves the emotions. It does not ask for intellectual consent but weeping for what Jesus has done for the singer.21 The intertwining of sentimental imagery and domestic motifs is evident in Crosby‘s hymn ―Jesus is Tenderly Calling.‖ In this hymn the worshiper is told that ―Jesus is tenderly calling thee home.‖ Yet the worshiper continues to move herself or himself away from ―the sunshine of love . . . farther and farther away.‖ Jesus, however, continues to call to the worshiper. In successive verses he is ―tenderly calling;‖ he is ―calling;‖ he is ―waiting;‖ he is ―pleading.‖ The place where Jesus is, however, is ―home.‖ Through the singers, he calls sinners with their ―burdens‖ to ―Come with thy sins/At His feet lowly bow.‖22 The imagery behind this hymn (and many other Victorian hymns) is Jesus‘ parable of the Prodigal Son from Luke 15. In the parable a father has two sons. The younger son asks for his inheritance and then leaves. He spends his money on immoral living and is soon broke. He gets

156 a job working on a farm. One day he realizes that his father‘s servants have a much better life than the one he is living. He resolves to return to his father and become a servant. His father runs to him when the father sees his son returning. He will not entertain any thoughts of the son becoming a servant and calls for a celebration for the son who has returned home. Crosby invokes this story in ―Jesus is Tenderly Calling.‖ The song calls any sinner to come home to Jesus who will ―tenderly‖ welcome that sinner home.23 A romantic tone marks some of Crosby‘s other hymns, like ―I Am Thine, O Lord.‖ In this hymn the worshiper confesses to hearing God‘s voice, which has told the worshiper of God‘s love. In response to this love the worship professes that ―I am Thine, O Lord‖ and asks to ―be closer drawn to Thee.‖ The rest of the hymn talks of the singer‘s will being lost in God‘s will, of ―the pure delight of a single hour‖ in God‘s presence, and of the ―depths of love that I cannot know‖ and of the ―heights of joy that I may not reach‖ until reaching heaven and being with God. The chorus pleads with God for closeness: ―Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord/To the cross where Thou has died./Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord/To Thy precious, bleeding side.‖24 Such hymns emphasize that believers should have an erotic desire for God. The singer tells the deity that she or he wants to be drawn to God‘s side, to experience intimate closeness. Such intimacy, it is believed, will bring about delight, love, and joy. It has not happened for the worshiper, but she or he expresses that ―I long to rise in the arms of faith/And be closer drawn to Thee.‖ Connected to this erotic longing is an expression of submission (―my will be lost in Thine‖) that evokes surrender to the deity that may also be read as romantic.25 Sentimental music became so popular in the last half of the nineteenth century that revivalists like Dwight Moody made strategic use of it in their meetings. Moody and his music partner Ira Sankey incorporated music into their productions in order to stimulate the emotions of their audiences and perhaps garner a larger response. The music Sankey chose was often sentimental in tone and emphasized the importance of the domestic sphere. Sankey also chose songs that recalled the prodigal son parable (and others like it). Charles Lippy pointed to the revivals of Moody and Sankey (and especially the music used in these revivals) as an example (and promoter) of ―popular religion‖ in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In particular Lippy argued that the music used by Moody and Sankey called audiences to capture or encounter supernatural power while emphasizing the importance of the individual believer. One

157 of the key tropes used in such hymns was the ―possession‖ of Jesus. As Lippy noted, The sense of personal possession of Jesus in these hymns brings the supernatural presence into everyday life and endows the heavenly sphere with greater meaning and power than empirical reality. . . . One might feel lost amid the seeming chaos of factory and city, but those who tapped into the reservoir of supernatural power knew that they were in actuality ―lost in his love‖ [a line from Fanny Crosby‘s ―Blessed Assurance‖] and hence not lost at all in the ultimate sense but, rather, at ―the gate of life eternal‖ [a line from Crosby‘s ―Closer to Thee].26

Sankey was more a composer and hymn compiler than lyricist and many of the hymns for which he composed the music were written by women (including Fanny Crosby). As Moody‘s music leader, however, the hymns Sankey chose emphasized the closeness of Jesus and not Jesus‘ divinity. These hymns (even several written by men) focused on ―the intimate love of Jesus rather than the awesome power of his Father.‖ The Moody and Sankey evangelistic team chose to emphasize the relational aspects of Christianity instead of other intellectual aspects, to great numerical success. ―In the Sankey hymns, Jesus was a human being who could be known and loved and imitated.‖27 Revivalists were not always strong public supporters of sentimentality. June Hobbs noted that Billy Sunday was strongly against types of Christianity that ―would domesticate and feminize Christian men.‖ Even by the time of Billy Sunday, however, many of these ―feminized,‖ sentimental hymns were a part of the collective consciousness of evangelicals and a staple of their worship. Audiences would ask Sunday‘s music leader Homer Rodeheaver for songs like ―Blessed Assurance,‖ despite Sunday‘s preference for songs like ―Onward Christian Soldiers‖ and ―The Battle Hymn of the Republic.‖ Sunday may have railed against ―sissified‖ Christianity, but this was counteracted when Rodheaver led an audience to sing, ―Filled with His goodness/Lost in His love.‖28 Sentimentality had become a part of evangelical practice even if rhetorically ministers and theologians deprecated it. Sentimentality buoyed the militancy of fundamentalism, and evangelicals incorporated it into the youth culture that they attempted to develop in the middle of the twentieth century. The development of the ―Youth for Christ‖ movement not only affected evangelical organizations, but it also impacted evangelical music. Evangelicals, especially ministers holding crusades, tried to reach large audiences of young people by creating new styles of music that they believed would attract and keep those large audiences. Even though they faced resistance Youth for Christ organizers created new music that they believed was

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―entertaining‖ and ―upbeat.‖ Some of it, however, was simply revivalism lyrics combined with new music. It was ―repackaging Fundamentalist spirituality as both fun and fulfilling.‖ It was also a transition between the music of the late nineteenth century and the late twentieth century. Music focused on evangelizing youth in the postwar period served as a foundation for ―Jesus rock‖ and contemporary Christian music. Part of that transition was bringing to the forefront the impact of sentimentality and the language of romance in evangelicalism.29 Like much within modern evangelical popular culture CCM has expanded in the past four decades. Although there had been recordings of gospel music prior to the late twentieth century, from the 1960s on, Christians, particularly evangelicals, have made religious music a big business.30 Coming out of the Jesus Movement, CCM evidences an attempt to connect to both evangelicals and non-evangelicals in ways that were an effort to distance religious music from its institutional stereotypes. Much like the Jesus people criticized ―Churchianity,‖ the musicians of the early ―Jesus rock‖ (the progenitor of CCM) felt older forms of music too reminiscent of church services and wanted to mimic the styles of non-religious music, particularly rock and roll. The oft-repeated phrase (during ―Jesus rock‖ and in scholarly pieces afterward) ―Why should the devil have all the good tunes?‖ reflects the mindset of this new style of music.31 Although it was a new style of music for evangelicalism, ―Jesus rock‖ and CCM reflect the themes of earlier sentimental evangelical music, perhaps more explicitly. The language of romance is much more explicit and obvious in certain contexts. Media scholar Heather Hendershot noted that the ambiguous romantic language of some CCM songs appears to be an attempt to reach an audience wider than evangelicals. For example, instead of singing ―Jesus love me,‖ a CCM singer might sing, ―He loves me.‖ Instead of singing, ―I love God,‖ a band might say, ―I love him.‖ The intent is to be inoffensive to a non-Christian audience, believing that a Christian audience (which is ―in the know‖) would understand the ―true‖ meaning of the lyrics.32 Whether or not this is what occurs, it is evident that CCM artists believe that it is often appropriate to sing to the deity through love songs and sentimental music. Dc Talk‘s ―Consume Me‖ is a perfect example of this combination of erotic sentimentality and religious devotion. Michael Tait, one of the band‘s members, starts the song by singing of how God moves him and he seeks no escape. He later sings, ―Without You I‘m incomplete/It‘s hopeless.‖ The rest of the band joins in to sing, ―You consume me/You consume me/Like a burning flame/Running through my veins.‖ The second verse, mainly sung by Toby

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McKeehan, is more explicit. ―Wholly devoted,‖ sings McKeehan (who also goes by tobyMac), ―I immerse myself in you/Baptize me in Your love.‖ As the band again joins in, they sing, ―Doesn‘t matter what I lose/I‘m Yours/You consume me.‖ The same type of language continues in the bridge: ―I am in your hands/Under Your command/Like a puppet on a string.‖ After repeating the chorus several times, the song concludes with the repetition of the phrase, ―There‘s no other way I can fly/It‘s you and I, you and I.‖33 The group recognizes, even embraces, the ―passionate‖ language of ―Consume Me.‖ On the (now separated) band‘s official website, the lyrics to ―Consume Me‖ are called ―smoldering.‖ McKeehan states that the intimacy of the song is intentional because of the band‘s view that the relationship between believers and deity is personal. He goes on to say, ―[S]ome people might get upset because the relationship in 'Consume Me' is so passionate and real, rather than ritualistic. We wrote this as a spiritual song because to us, faith is a passionate, personal, committed love relationship with Jesus Christ.‖ Their message, therefore, is not about the intellectual validity of Christianity or the theological nature of Jesus Christ, but about the romantic relationship one should have with Jesus. Like a lover, they want Jesus to ―consume‖ them, to ―run through their veins.‖ In some sense this is a working out of the Christian belief of the indwelling of Christ, but it is couched in language that appeals to the emotions not to the intellect. It takes the language of romantic love and projects it onto a relationship between the divine and human. The rituals and feelings of adolescent love become the language which one should speak to God and the expectations which one should anticipate from a ―relationship‖ with God. Note McKeehan‘s statement about critics: those who do not have the type of relationship with Jesus reflected in ―Consume Me‖ have a ―ritualistic‖ approach to God and not a ―real‖ one.34 The use of romantic language is also present in ―Love Song‖ written by Mac Powell of the group Third Day. In the song, the relationship between believer and deity is compared to that between lovers. ―I‘ve heard it said,‖ starts Powell (in the role of Jesus), ―that a man would climb a mountain/Just to be with the one he loved.‖ Human love, however, is replete with promises that lovers have broken. Jesus has not climbed with a mountain, but he ―walked the hill of Calvary/And just to be with you I would do anything/There‘s no price I would not pay.‖ The second verse starts by discussing the possibility of a man swimming the ocean to be with his beloved. ―All of those dreams are an empty emotion,‖ sings Powell, ―It can never be done.‖

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Jesus did not swim the ocean, but he walked on the ―raging sea.‖ Again Powell sings, ―And just to be with you I would do anything/There‘s no price I would not pay/And just to be with you I would give anything/And I would give my life away.‖ Jesus‘ love is the subject of the bridge as well: ―And I know that you don‘t understand/The fullness of my love/How I died upon the cross for your sins/And I know that you don‘t realize/How much that I give you/And I promise I would do it all again.‖ The song closes with Powell repeating that Jesus gave his life away, ―Just to be with you/Oh, just to be with you/Oh, just to be with you/Oh, just to be with you.‖35 ―Love Song‖ intertwines human romance with the deity/believer relationship. The message appears to be that human romance is filled with failure and empty promises but the romance between a believer and God is filled with success and sure promises. The Jesus of ―Love Song‖ is so in love with human beings that he died for their sins. The atonement, a subject of great debate throughout Christian history, is reduced to a declaration of affection. The point is not about limited or unlimited atonement or whether the death of Jesus is substitution, expiation, or propitiation. All that one needs to know about the atonement is that Jesus loves the individual, and he loves the individual more than any human being can. The sentimentalizing of the individual is the motif of ―Sea of Faces‖ by the group Kutless. Lead singer Jon Micah Sumrall starts the song with a melancholic examination of the mass of humanity around him: ―I see the city lights all around me/Everyone's obscure/Ten million people each with their problems/Why should anyone care?‖ But someone does care. In God‘s eyes, the singer is not overlooked in a ―sea of faces.‖ Jesus traded his life for the singer‘s life. How could the singer be unimportant? The second verse echoes the first: ―Sometimes my life it feels so trivial/Immersed in the greatness of space/Yet somehow you still find the time for me/It's then You show me Your love.‖ The chorus repeats the sentiment that he is important and not just one other person. The bridge further emphasizes the importance of one person in God‘s eyes. Sumrall rhapsodizes that if he were the only person that Jesus would have redeemed through his sacrifice, Jesus ―would have still been a man/With a reason/To willingly offer your life.‖ Although Kutless may fit into ―Christian rock‖ of ―Christian alternative,‖ they still rely on sentiment to express to their audience what they think God feels about them.36 CCM artists rely on sentimental tropes to encourage their listeners to believe that God loves them as an individual and cares deeply about having a relationship with them. Intentionally or not, they draw on a long tradition of evangelical music constructing how

161 believers should understand God and the world around them. It is this sentimental product that is marketed through Christian magazines and Christian radio. These artists are asking people to engage in a religious practice of listening to their music, perhaps singing along with it, and accepting their views of God and how God sees the listeners. The listener is so important to Jesus, sing these artists, that he would (as Kutless says in ―Sea of Faces‖) still have died if it only would saved the listener and only the listener. The repetition of the songs on Christian radio or frequent listening of the song off of an album provide multiple occasions for listeners to hear this message and make it part of how they see the world. Listening to CCM is not the only way sentimental music reaches evangelicals. The use of sentimentality in modern worship hymns also demonstrates how important sentimentality is to the practice of evangelicalism. There are many hymnals that are available in the evangelical market, although they often contain the same song. As one example of the genre, I have chosen The Worship Hymnal. LifeWay Christian Resources produces The Worship Hymnal as one of the hymnals offered through LifeWay Christian Stores, a popular outlet for evangelical Christian material. LifeWay is a part of the Southern Baptist denomination and claims to be ―one of the world‘s largest providers of Christian resources.‖ The Worship Hymnal is indicative of evangelical music, even though it may not be used extensively by evangelicals. As an attempt to get their product into the pews of evangelical churches, LifeWay would certainly attempt to collect songs for The Worship Hymnal that they believe evangelicals would use or are interested in using.37 In the song ―Draw Me Close‖ worshipers sing to God or (more likely) to Jesus, ―Draw me close to You/never let me go.‖ The worshipers then tell the deity that they are willing to surrender everything ―to hear You say that I‘m your friend.‖ The second verse, however, takes on a more sensual tone: ―You are my desire,‖ the worshiper sings, ―no one else will do.‖ She or he tells the deity of longing for ―Your embrace.‖ In romantic language, the chorus swells with proclamations of the deity being all the worshiper wants and needs, begging, ―Help me know You are near.‖38 A similar aesthetic appears in the song ―Breathe.‖ Although the song evokes a centuries- old doctrine of the presence of God among believers, the desire for God is couched in romantic language. God‘s ―daily presence‖ is ―the air I breathe,‖ according to the song. The chorus is much more explicitly romantic. The believer tells the deity, ―I‘m desp‘rate for you. . . . I‘m lost

162 without You.‖ The lyrics read almost as a love letter. The attitude encouraged in the song is an erotic one. One approaches the deity through desire as opposed to the intellect. Desperate for God‘s presence, the believer cries out for the deity to come and be the vital essence of life (―the air I breathe‖). Both male and female CCM artists have recorded the song and males and females would both be singing in a worship service, signifying that the attitude of the song is one all believers (regardless of sex) should aspire to.39 The verses of ―Beautiful One‖ do not necessarily betray a romantic connection between the singer and God. The verses speak of wonder, power, might, and mercy. There is some mention of beauty, but it is a minor part of the declarations which most focus on how (for example) God‘s ―glory fills the skies.‖ By the chorus, however, the worshiper is overtaken by the emotions that he or she feels for the deity and declares, ―Beautiful One I love/Beautiful One I adore./Beautiful One, my soul must sing.‖ The romance is even clearer in the bridge where the believer sings about the opening of her or his eyes to God‘s wonder and how ―You captured my heart with this love.‖ The bridge concludes with the observation that ―nothing on earth is as beautiful as You.‖40 Sentimentality is not just present in CCM that may be listened to sporadically. It is also present in how evangelicals worship when they gather together. The continual performance of sentimentality reinforces the belief that one should understand God through this aesthetic. Although evangelicals would certainly give lip service to theological descriptions of God that emphasize ideas like transcendence, sovereignty, inscrutability, and distance, the practice of evangelicalism encourages evangelicals to accept that the way God most often relates to human beings is through sentimental affect. God may be a great, terrible, and mighty judge of humanity, but he is primarily an erotic God of love. Devotional Literature Another area of evangelicalism where sentimentality reigns is devotional or inspirational literature. Max Lucado‘s writings would fit into this genre, but other authors have had similar (and in some ways greater) success using sentimental tropes. Sentimentality is by no means the only motif that these authors appeal to, unlike Lucado who almost exclusively uses sentimentality. The appeal to sentiment, however, is predominant in these works showing that, like Max Lucado, part of the success of these authors is due to their tapping into evangelical sentiment and forming their appeal to their readers through this important aspect of

163 evangelicalism. Bruce Wilkinson‘s The Prayer of Jabez became a number one bestseller on The New York Times‘s bestseller list. While it demonstrates many things about evangelicalism, it also shows the impact of sentimentality on evangelicalism and how evangelical authors rely on sentimentality. The book itself is relatively short, but the back cover promises great results for any who apply its principles. The inspiration for the book is a prayer that a man named Jabez offers in 1 Chronicles 4:10. Wilkinson promises that those who pray this prayer will receive fabulous blessings. He claims that he is not promoting a ―health and wealth‖ gospel, but he does emphasize throughout the book that God wants to bless people with great things. The book itself evidences many similarities to the work of Max Lucado. There is an introductory letter to the reader, and throughout the book Wilkinson directly addresses the reader by frequently using the second person pronoun, ―you.‖ Like Lucado, Wilkinson attempts to draw the reader in and make a personal connection to the reader. Wilkinson also uses personal narratives throughout the book which are his evidence that praying Jabez‘s prayer brings results as well as an attempt to tell the reader that if it worked for the author, it will work for the reader. The key here is the validity of experience not intellectual reasoning to determine factuality.41 Wilkinson also embraces the importance of every individual and emphasizes the relationship he believes God want to have with each individual. Throughout the book, he claims that God has great blessings in store, even for ―someone as ordinary as I.‖ The trope of ordinariness is an attempt to claim that his message is appropriate for everyone: rhetorically this is not a book for a certain group. God loves everyone, and as such wants to ―bless‖ everyone: God really does have unclaimed blessings waiting for you, my friend. I know it sounds impossible—even embarrassingly suspicious in our self-serving day. Yet that very exchange—your want for God‘s plenty—has been his loving will for your life from eternity past. And with a handful of core commitments on your part, you can proceed from this day forward with the confidence and expectation that your heavenly Father will bring it to pass for you.42

Like Lucado, the appeal to the ―ordinary‖ individual is in fact an appeal to narcissism. Wilkinson‘s appeal would be most successful among an audience who feels alienated from a culture of success. The message of unclaimed or untapped blessings would be attractive to individuals who feel marginalized from the valorization of celebrity and wealth in American society. That such blessings are available for even the most ―ordinary‖ of people is a useful

164 rhetorical trope to fascinate readers of the potential of Jabez‘s prayer, and given Wilkinson‘s enormous financial success from the book, it charmed an enormous audience. The theme of God as father and believer as child is also a prominent one in The Prayer of Jabez. God is a loving father who wants to bless his children, but there are some blessings he will only give if explicitly asked: ―In the same way that a father is honored to have a child beg for his blessing, your Father is delighted to respond generously when His blessing is what you covet most.‖ Wilkinson never clarifies why God would withhold blessings unless human beings specifically ask for them, but that is the entire premise of his book—there are blessings to be had, but only if one prays the prayer of Jabez (a fact one would not know had one not read Wilkinson‘s book). He relies, however, on the reader‘s belief that God is fatherly and willing to lovingly provide good things to his children: ―The very nature of God is to have goodness in so much abundance that it overflows into our unworthy lives. . . . God‘s bounty is limited only by us, not by His resources, power, or willingness to give.‖43 Like Max Lucado, Bruce Wilkinson also employs a narrative from his own life to show how God acts toward his children. Also like Lucado, Wilkinson is the father in the story, asking his readers to accept that how he acts is how God acts. In a chapter entitled ―The Touch of Greatness,‖ Wilkinson encourages his readers to ask for ―God‘s hand‖ to be with them. By ―God‘s hand‖ he means God‘s power. With all the blessings his readers will receive through Jabez‘s prayer, Wilkinson tells them they will need God‘s power to accomplish the things God is doing through them: ―As God‘s chosen, blessed sons and daughters, we are expected to attempt something large enough that failure is guaranteed . . . unless God steps in.‖44 To demonstrate his belief in the truth of this point, Wilkinson uses a narrative about a visit to a playground with his young children. There were three slides of varying heights in this park, and Wilkinson‘s five-year-old son David was enamored with them and began playing on them. Wilkinson‘s wife suggests he go with David, but he does not, saying, ―Let‘s wait and see what happens.‖ David plays on the small slide for some time before moving on to the medium slide. Wilkinson‘s wife again encourages him to go to David, but he again refuses. After sliding down the medium-sized slide several times, David approached the largest slide. Wilkinson and his wife discuss the situation and agree that David should not go down the large slide by himself. When David calls for his father, however, Wilkinson ignores him and pretends that he cannot hear him. David finally musters the courage to climb the slide‘s ladder, but only gets part of the

165 way up before he is too afraid to continue. He again calls out for his father, who comes to him this time. When David finally admits that the slide is too tall for him to go alone, Wilkinson agrees to slide down with him. Why Wilkinson needed David to explicitly say that he could not climb without him is unclear, perhaps he believes that David needed to assert his inadequacy. His point in telling the story, however, is clear. Human beings must declare that they are unable to achieve success. They must recognize that they have referred agency—they have agency only through their identity as God‘s children: ―That is what your Father‘s hand is like. You tell him, ‗Father, please do this in me because I can‘t do it alone! It‘s too big for me!‖45 Sentimental language is not as prominent in The Prayer of Jabez as it is in the works of Max Lucado. It is often subsumed to Wilkinson‘s concerns to convince his readers that praying a specific prayer will offer great rewards in their lives. Yet Wilkinson draws on some of the same tropes that Max Lucado utilizes in his writings. This common stock of motifs—familial relationships and the value of the individual—demonstrate that sentimental rhetoric forms an important part of the substrata of the evangelical ethos. Another author who deploys sentimentality effectively is Rick Warren. Rick Warren is the pastor of the Saddleback Church in Orange County, California. He is very laid back when it comes to presenting himself at the church, but he has garnered not only a significant following, but he has also acquired access to power internationally. Warren preaches in a Hawaiian shirt and sandals, but he has offered the invocation at both George W. Bush‘s second presidential inaugural as well as the inaugural for President Barack Obama. He holds an earned doctorate from Fuller Theological Seminary and leads a ministry network including thousands of pastors and churches. Like Max Lucado, however, Warren attempts to present himself as a common person, despite writing a book that spent nearly a year at the top of the New York Times’ bestseller list.46 Warren‘s best-selling book The Purpose Driven Life, like The Prayer of Jabez, also demonstrates how much sentimentality is a part of evangelicalism. Throughout his work, Warren relies on the same sentimental tropes that Max Lucado does. While Warren has written other books, The Purpose Drive Life has been his most successful, selling tens of millions of copies. Like Lucado, the Purpose Driven brand includes a variety of media including notebooks, CDs and journals, all of which Warren unhesitatingly shills throughout the text as well as in the appendices. Also like Lucado, Warren attempts to make a personal connection to his readers,

166 encouraging them to trust what he is saying to them. He is their friend, interested in helping them through life. This attempt at connecting to his readers starts on the dedication page. Instead of dedicating the book to a family member, personal friend, or even a deity, Warren dedicates the book to his readers: This book is dedicated to you. Before you were born, God planned this moment in your life. It is no accident that you are holding this book. God longs for you to discover the life he created you to live—here on earth, and forever in eternity . . . I thank God and you for the privilege of sharing them with you.47

Whether we should understand such a statement as arrogance or providence, from the very beginning of The Purpose Driven Life, Warren seeks to establish the truthfulness of his message (God has planned the reader‘s reading of this book), the importance of it (God has great desire for the reader to know what is contained in the book) and the trustworthiness of the author in proclaiming the message (God has given Rick Warren the privilege of writing this book).48 The main point of Purpose Driven Life is to help readers determine their purpose in life. The subtitle suggests the question Warren is attempting to answer: What on Earth Am I Here For? To help his readers determine this he frequently approaches the topic through sentimental language intended to make his readers feel that they have a purpose in life and are special to God. ―You are not an accident,‖ Warren says to his readers. God had specifically created them and planned them, long before their parents conceived them: ―He thought of you first.‖ God‘s special creation of each of Warren‘s readers is meant to make them feel unique and loved. This creation was also very detailed: ―God prescribed every single detail of your body. He deliberately chose your race, the color of your skin, your hair, and every other feature. He custom-made your body just the way he wanted it. He also determined the natural talents you would possess and the uniqueness of your personality.‖49 The details of God‘s planning of the reader do not end there. God decided when the reader would be born, where the reader would be born, and how the reader would be born. ―Many children are unplanned by their parents, but they are not unplanned by God. . . . God never does anything accidentally, and he never makes mistakes.‖ Warren invites the reader to believe that she or he is so important to God by suggesting that ―God was thinking of you even before he made the world. In fact, that‘s why he created it! . . . This is how much God loves and values you.‖ Much like how Max Lucado appeals to the narcissism of his readers, Warren assures them that God highly values them: ―You were created as a special object of God‘s love!

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God made you so he could love you. This is a truth to build your life on.‖50 Warren also shares Lucado‘s tendency to downplay doctrinal distinctiveness. Although Warren is a Southern Baptist, in Purpose Driven Life he takes an anti-denominational stance and promotes a ―relationship with Jesus‖ instead of ―religion.‖ Like Lucado this is an attempt to create as broad an audience as possible. It is also an attempt to target people dissatisfied with or alienated from institutional religion. At the end of time, argues Warren, ―God won‘t ask about your religious background or doctrinal views. The only thing that will matter is, did you accept what Jesus did for you and did you learn to love and trust him?‖ Furthermore Warren argues that ―Christianity is not a religion or a philosophy, but a relationship and a lifestyle.‖ In describing churches, Warren states that ―[a]s believers we share one Lord, one body, one purpose, one Father, one Spirit, one hope, one faith, one baptism, and one love. . . . These are the issues, not our personal differences, that we should concentrate on. We must remember that it was God who chose to give us different personalities, backgrounds, races, and preferences, so we should value and enjoy those differences, not merely tolerate them.‖ With the variety of differing Christian beliefs about these nine things, Warren ignores the theological problems by asserting that more is shared among Christians than separates them (although differences in christology alone are often polar opposites—how is Jesus the Son of God; how does his death affect the forgiveness of sins; if, when, and how will he return to earth). The minimalizing of doctrine, however, makes the acceptance of an affective approach to God much easier to promote.51 As one might expect, Warren combines his downplaying of doctrinal distinctiveness with an emphasis on the experiential aspects of religion. For Warren experience trumps intellect. In this case Warren is much more explicit about his anti-intellectualism than Max Lucado is. In a chapter entitled ―Sharing Your Life Message‖ Warren tells his readers that God expects them to share their ―testimony‖ about what God has done in their lives. The conveying of personal experience, argues Warren, is a better tactic to spread Christianity than intellectual arguments: You may not be a Bible scholar, but you are the authority on your life, and it‘s hard to argue with personal experience. Actually, your personal testimony is more effective than a sermon, because unbelievers see pastors as professional salesmen, but see you as a ―satisfied customer,‖ so they give you more credibility. Personal stories are also easier to relate to than principles, and people love to hear them. They capture our attention, and we remember them longer. Unbelievers would probably lose interest if you started quoting theologians, but they have a natural curiosity about experiences they‘ve never had. Shared stories build a relational bridge that Jesus can walk across from your heart to theirs. Another value of your testimony is that it bypasses intellectual defenses. Many

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people who won‘t accept the authority of the Bible will listen to a humble, personal story.52

Warren lays out to his readers, the point that I made in chapter two about Lucado‘s writing: sentimentality becomes a way to bypass the intellectual difficulties of a view of scriptural inerrancy by appealing to the emotions and experience. Warren does not lay out a procedure for proving the veracity of the Bible. Instead he urges people to show others that God loves them and Christianity is true because of what they have personally experienced. As Warren states, ―it‘s hard to argue with personal experience.‖ Like Max Lucado Warren emphasizes the individual and experience over the intellect. The personal experience that Warren is most interested in is a sentimental one. Warren encourages the reader to tell others ―what Jesus has done‖ for the reader or the ―relationship‖ she or he has with Jesus. The key for such a conversation is the sentimental tropes that make up evangelicalism. This type of appeal circumvents intellectual problems with Christianity and allows readers to feel secure about their religiosity because of felt experience. The ―purpose- driven life‖ like other expressions of evangelicalism is a sentimentally-driven one. Joel Osteen is another best-selling evangelical author; he is also the pastor of the largest church in the United States, Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. He became the pastor of the church when his father died in 1999. He managed to grow the congregation from the 8000 members when his father died to over 40,000 currently. The church grew so much that it eventually acquired a thirty-year lease to the Compaq Center after the NBA‘s Houston Rockets moved. Osteen has written two best-selling books, has a large television audience, and has amassed a substantial amount of wealth—he received an eight figure book deal for his second book. His charismatic evangelicalism, along with market-savvy business skills, have made Osteen a prominent minister.53 There are several differences between Joel Osteen and someone like Rick Warren (or even Max Lucado). Osteen‘s gospel is more of a ―name-it-and-claim-it‖ version of evangelicalism than Warren, emphasizing the powers of the mind and the individual in finding and keeping happiness, and thereby showing the influence of a Norman Vincent Peale-type, mind-cure infused evangelicalism. There are, however, similarities between Osteen and other evangelical authors. Osteen speaks to his audience directly, using the second person ―you.‖ He emphasizes the power of experience for his approach to reality: ―I know these steps work,

169 because they have worked in the lives of my family members, friends, and associates, as well as in my own life. I am confident that if you will take these steps along with me, you ultimately will be happier than ever before, living with joy, peace, and enthusiasm—not just for a day, or a week, but for the rest of your life!‖ Also like other evangelical authors, Osteen uses sentimentality to convey his message.54 In his 2004 book Your Best Life Now Osteen argues that God wants everyone to experience a blessed life. Many people do not experience those blessings because they do not believe that God can change their life. ―The good news is,‖ writes Osteen, ―God wants to show you His incredible favor.‖ He goes on to tell his readers, ―God has so much more in store for you.‖ Too many people, argues Osteen, have a ―small view‖ of God which limits how much he can bless them. ―[God‘s] dream for your life is so much bigger and better than you can even imagine.‖ The reason people should have a large view of a God that is ready to incredibly bless them with great jobs, large house, and general happiness, has to do with the sentimental evangelical view of God as a loving father.55 People have a right to expect these giant blessings because they are Christians. Osteen, who has experienced great prosperity in his own life, encourages his readers to adopt his attitude in order to receive great blessings: ―My attitude is: I‘m a child of the Most High God. My Father created the whole universe. He has crowned me with favor, therefore, I can expect preferential treatment.‖ This attitude is the key to Osteen‘s theory on blessings and prosperity. Because Christians are children of a loving God who wants to bless them, they should expect blessings: ―It doesn‘t matter what the circumstances look like in your life. Regardless of how many people tell you that what you‘re attempting can‘t be done, if you‘ll persevere, declaring the favor of God and staying in an attitude of faith, God will open doors for you and change circumstances on your behalf.‖56 God‘s favor is not just for great prosperity. According to Osteen, God‘s blessings for his children appear even in the mundane acts of everyday life: ―at the grocery store, at the ball field, the mall, at work, or at home.‖ God will even open up a lane for you in traffic. He will find you a parking spot or a shorter checkout line at the store. God might even arrange a meeting with some you want to do business with. All of this is God‘s favor, and something a child of God should not just dream about but expect—due to his sentimental understanding of God as father.57 Many people, however, do not believe this of God because they do not believe that they

170 are worthy of such attention. Such people need a new, healthy self-image. They need to adopt God‘s image of themselves, and not what they might think of themselves: God wants us to have healthy, positive self-images, to see ourselves as priceless treasures. He wants us to feel good about ourselves. God knows we‘re not perfect, that we all have faults and weaknesses; that we all make mistakes. But the good news is, God loves us anyway. He created us in His image, and He is continually shaping us, conforming us to His character, helping us to become even more like the person He is . . . . You can hold your head up high and walk with confidence knowing that God loves you unconditionally. His love for you is based on what you are, not on what you do. He created you as a unique individual—there has never been, nor will there ever be, another person exactly like you even if you are a twin—and He sees you as His special masterpiece! Moreover, God sees you as a champion.58

Like Max Lucado, Osteen‘s sentimentality is expressed as a practical piety. Because God cares about individuals, he wants them to have their ―best life now.‖ Because God is involved in the ordinary, according to Osteen, Christians should expect that following God will produce practical results: ―You can dare to start believing Him for a better marriage. Start believing Him for better health. Believe for joy and peace and happiness. Start believing for increase and abundance.‖ This practical piety is intricately interwoven with an evangelical ―childish‖ theology. As God‘s children, God wants evangelicals to have good finances, good health, good businesses, and good children. Osteen also argues that Christianity has the answer to all sorts of problems: ―Alcoholism, drug addiction, poverty, depression, anger, low self-esteem, whatever the problem, the good news is that you have the opportunity to break the negative cycle.‖ A sentimental outlook allows Osteen, like Lucado, to connect alcoholism and low self-esteem in such a way to create the impression that his approach is broad enough to be all-inclusive, while also maximizing his appeal to a culture of victimhood by aligning low self-esteem with alcoholism and drug addiction.59 There are evangelicals, including Rick Warren, who have criticized Osteen and others who preach a prosperity gospel.60 Osteen‘s search for the ―best life now,‖ however, comes from the same sentimental foundations as Rick Warren‘s ―purpose-driven life.‖ Both appeal to a conception of God as a loving father who is so infatuated with his human children that he is willing to do anything for them. Warren takes this ―anything‖ in terms of Jesus‘ crucifixion, the salvation of human beings, and a search for purpose in activism. Osteen, however, understands ―anything‖ to include personal possessions, financial success, and business acumen. Evangelical sentimentality is flexible enough to encompass both positions because of the shared premise that

171 underlies works by authors like Warren, Osteen, and Lucado. Anyone of them (or others) could have written, ―God is a good God, and He gives good things to His children. No matter who has denigrated you or how much pain you‘ve experienced in life, no matter how many setbacks you have suffered, you cannot allow yourself to accept that as the way life is supposed to be. No, God has better things in store for you.‖61 Osteen relies on the aesthetics of sentimentality, despite his drawing on a prosperity theology as well. While he has different ideas about possessions and finances than Max Lucado, Rick Warren, and other prominent evangelicals, Osteen is an example of an evangelical author because of his dependence on the same types of sentimental piety. He relies on the sacredness of the individual and the familial relationship between God and the believer in the same way authors like Lucado and Warren do. While there are many beliefs and practice that create evangelical diversity, sentimental tropes unite evangelicals. The Politics of Fear and the Power of Sentiment In his book Religion of Fear Jason Bivins traces the interconnections between the use of fear tactics and the political aspirations of American evangelicalism. Bivins uses great attention to detail as well as theoretical acumen to map out how intricately conservative evangelicals have tied themselves to a culture and worldview that attempts to use fear both as a motivator for conversion as well as a political outlook meant to motivate the faithful to rally around specific political causes. Although he does not intend to say all evangelicals tap into this ―religion of fear,‖ Bivins notes that within politically-engaged, conservative evangelicalism there are two ―instabilities.‖ These polar opposites exist as tensions with evangelicalism. There is the ―erotics of fear‖ that draws evangelicals to depictions of demonology and other illicit media. The ―erotics of fear,‖ however, is also an identity boundary because of the ―demonology within.‖ In other words the fascination with these types of media is a way to describe one‘s self in opposition to the Other (i.e., the damned, the unconverted) by cognitively distancing oneself from the presence of the ―erotics of fear.‖ For a participant in the ―religion of fear,‖ one condemns another through the very object in which one is interested—condemnation of those who practice witchcraft while being deeply interested in what witchcraft entails; condemnation of immorality while painstakingly depicting all of its nuances.62 One example Bivins uses to demonstrate the combination of evangelicalism and fear is Chick tracts. I described a Chick tract at the beginning of this chapter, but that tract is not one

172 that is usually the subject of scholarly analysis. Perhaps this is due to the medium of the tracts. Chick tracts are small, comic strip style tracts that combine often heavily-detailed artwork with text meant to be evangelistic. The artwork is usually lurid and demonstrates a prurient fascination with violence or morbidity. Jack T. Chick, the recluse inventor of Chick tracts, started publishing his gospel in 1961, with his first tract appearing in 1964. Since then, many individuals and churches have purchased and distributed the tracts in telephone booths, at nightclubs, on cars, and after parades. The website boasts the sale of over 700 million tracts in English.63 With titles like ―The Sissy?,‖ ―The Death Cookie,‖ and ―Who murdered Clarice?‖ it is not surprising that scholars have focused on the violence and religious intolerance of Jack Chick and his gospel tracts. The stories quite often read as evangelical noir, while the illustrations are often graphic, especially in terms of violence. In ―Somebody Loves Me,‖ for example, the beating of the child is horrendously graphic, even though it is seen from behind and little actual detail of the abused child is seen. The father uses a large piece of wood and beats the child several times. In the next panel, the father stands over the child‘s body and some sort of liquid, most likely blood, is dripping off of the wood he used. The next panel shows the child‘s bruised and broken body.64 Religious intolerance is another staple of the Chick tracts catalog. Chick often rails against non-evangelical religions through his medium, intending to prove that they are false and evangelical Christianity is true. Catholicism is one of Chick‘s favorite targets, although he has written tracks against Mormonism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. In his attacks on Catholicism, for example, Chick questions whether they are Christians, blames them for the Holocaust, condemns Christians who fellowship with Catholics, and makes light of Catholic doctrines like transubstantiation (in a uniquely titled tract, ―The Death Cookie‖). Religious intolerance and graphic depictions of violence, however, are not all there is to a Chick tract. Underlying Chick‘s ―religion of fear‖ is evangelical sentimentality.65 The Chick tract ―The Present‖ combines Chick‘s penchant for violence and fear with evangelical sentiment. ―The Present‖ opens with a story about a king ―who lived in a palace above the clouds.‖ This king had one son whom he loved very much and ―he loved EVERYONE who loved his son.‖ One day the king tells his son to invite everyone he can find to come live in the castle with them. When the son goes to the people, they are suspicious.

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Although the son tells the people that the king has ―a wonderful present‖ for them, the people believe he is lying and kill the son. When the king hears what has happened, he is greatly angered. The townspeople had ―murdered his beloved son . . . and rejected his present.‖ So the king attacked the town and killed everyone in it. The tract transitions from this parable to a different section by saying, ―The next part of this book IS TRUE. Now turn the page and see about a wonderful present that is waiting for you!‖ The second part of the tract is the story of Jesus. The parable at the beginning is simply an allegory for the story of how ―God the Son (Jesus), was sent to earth on a very special mission . . . to die for the sins of all mankind.‖ In one panel an amorphous light (representing God the Father) tells Jesus that ―those who receive you will live with us in heaven FOREVER! This is MY PRESENT for them.‖ The people (who are never explicitly identified as Jews), however, reject Jesus and crucify him. Among the last panels of the tract, the reader learns that ―[t]hose who reject God‘s only begotten Son and His wonderful present . . . will burn forever in the lake of fire!‖ On the other hand, ―those who receive God‘s present‖ will live forever in heaven with God and Jesus. The tract concludes with telling readers how to get God‘s present by saying a specific prayer and noting that ―[t]he most wonderful present in the universe can be yours right now. Simply take it . . . and it‘s yours.‖66 Jack Chick deploys fear and violence throughout his comic tracts. He relies on stereotypes and prejudices to convey his message. Yet at the core, parts of that message come from sentimental evangelical thought. Calling salvation ―God‘s present‖ or using a comic tract to tell readers that ―someone loves them‖ demonstrates that even in the most deplorable presentations of evangelicalism, there is a sentimental heart. Chick may or may not explicitly detest sentimentality (and a majority of his tracts suggest this might be the case), but he relies on it consciously or unconsciously because of how much it has infiltrated how evangelicals understand God and the world around them. Another example of the politics of religious fear for Bivins is the Left Behind series of novels. The Left Behind series is an example of contemporary approaches to dispensational premillennialism and a literal interpretation of the Bible. Over the course of sixteen novels Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins create a narrative of their view of what it might be like on earth in the last days. Believing that the biblical books of Ezekiel, Daniel, and Revelation (among others) provide a plan and timeline for the arrival of the eschaton, LaHaye and Jenkins (who is the

174 primary author) tell a story of the Rapture of all the faithful Christians from the earth, the onset of a period of trouble (known as the Great Tribulation), the rise of a world leader called the Antichrist, and the final battle between good and evil, culminating in the return of Jesus in the battle of Armageddon. Though similar tales have been (and continue to be) told by others, LaHaye and Jenkins achieved greats success with the Left Behind series, selling several million copies of each book in the series as well as making the bestseller lists of many newspapers and magazines. Whatever else can be said about Left Behind, a large audience has read these books. The success of Left Behind (and its spinoff line of audiobooks, movies, kids‘ versions, and videogames) has brought it to the attention of scholars as indicative of certain trends in American evangelicalism. Scholars have investigated Left Behind in various contexts. Amy Johnson Frykohlm focused on the readership of Left Behind, noting that both evangelicals and non-evangelicals approach the books from a series of social networks that lead to understanding themselves and the world through the narratives they construct in connection with reading the books. While non-evangelicals might read the books as an opportunity to construct themselves as an outsider to the evangelicalism that spawned the books, many evangelicals read the books as a way to understand the prophetic passages of the Bible. For evangelicals who read the books sympathetic to the apocalypticism in them, the books also become a tool to evangelize others about Christianity and the end times and a means to heal religiously-divided families.67 Heather Hendershot‘s examination of Left Behind pays greater attention to the adaptation of the book into a movie. As a consequence of this focus, Hendershot is more interested in the controversy surrounding the (failed) attempt to create a Christian blockbuster and the concessions the filmmakers made to tone down the evangelical message of the books. Like CCM music that seeks to reach a non-Christian audience, filmmakers (like those behind Left Behind: The Movie) believe that messages about the need for conversion and how to bring it about would alienate audiences, although toning the message down often upsets Christian audiences. Hendershot notes that filmmakers, especially of apocalyptic movies, find themselves in a difficult situation. They want to make a significant impact with their films—warning audiences about the Rapture, for example—but they must either create a film that is evangelical in a heavy-handed way and distance a non-Christian audience from their product or they must create a film that is so devoid of evangelicalism that it alienates evangelicals and perhaps does not get the salvific message across.68

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Bivins‘s analysis, of course, is an insightful exploration of the relationship between apocalyptic fiction and conservative politics. He traces the political commitments of Tim LaHaye while also examining the role politics plays in the narratives of the series. Through the mouths of their Christian characters, who live in the near future, LaHaye and Jenkins can critique the United Nations, the media, homosexuals, abortionists and others. In their narrative, the authors, combine technology, media, and violence to create a world where Christians are marginalzed, disempowered, and attacked—much like the worldview of many contemporary conservative American Christians. As Bivins notes, the discourse of the Left Behind series ―supports contemporary political engagements while also allowing for their symbolic resolution. The authors‘ projections of and solutions to sociopolitical crises reveal the texture of their social criticism and also the fluid nature of the identity they craft.‖ Left Behind offers a lens for readers to view and understand the world and the issues facing Christians.69 One motif that is important to emphasize, however, is the role sentimentality plays in Left Behind. Frykohlm examined the complicated ideologies about gender that are at work in the series, and makes a connection between rapture fiction and Victorian culture. Her interests, however, lie elsewhere so the discussion is brief. She notes, however, the use of images of female piety that are the stock themes in trade for rapture fiction—the raptured church as the ―bride of Christ;‖ the raptured wife versus the left behind husband; the home as the realm of the feminine. She spends little time exploring these tropes in Left Behind, preferring instead to look at how gender relations in dispensational fundamentalism inform both the characters of the novels and the readers who interpret them. Bivins also picks up on Frykohlm‘s analysis and interweaves the use of gender in the novels with other ideas of gender that LaHaye and his wife have conveyed in other writings.70 The depictions of gender in Left Behind, however, reveal the ways sentimentality informs the evangelical worldview, even in militaristic, violent constructions of religiosity. As Bivins points out, the trope of the pious woman and worldly husband appears in the relationship of airplane pilot (and main character) Rayford Steele and his wife Irene. Rayford is a nominal Christian contemplating an affair when the Rapture occurs. After hearing about the disappearance of large numbers of people, Rayford realizes what has probably happened and knows that his wife Irene is among those who have disappeared. Irene is presented as a virtuous woman who was the spiritual leader of her household. She tried to convince her family

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(including the two children, college-aged Chloe and pre-teen Ray Jr.) of the truth of her faith, but she only made an impact on Ray Jr. The virtuous wife was taken to heaven; the adulterous husband was left behind.71 Gender depictions, however, are not the only ways sentimentality affects the thought of Left Behind. Not only are some women pictured as particularly pious, so are children. Like Lucado, the authors encourage ―childlike faith.‖ After Rayford prays along with a videotaped message and achieves salvation, he wanted to continue praying: ―He knew he was forgiven, but in a childlike way, he wanted God to know that he knew what kind of a person he had been.‖ The childlike faith of pre-teen Ray Jr. is also emphasized—he was also raptured. The clearest sign that the authors believe in the spiritual superiority of children is what happens to young children and infants during the rapture: ―Mr. Williams,‖ she sobbed, ―you know we lost several old people, but not all of them. And we lost several middle-aged people, but not all of them. And we lost several people your age and my age, but not all of them. We even lost some teenagers.‖ He stared at her. What was she driving at? ―Sir, we lost every child and baby on this plane.‖ ―How many were there?‖ ―More than a dozen. But all of them! Not one was left.‖72

This scene, which takes place on an aircraft, is repeated in several chapters and in several regions. Children were taken in the rapture, and not just children. Women who were pregnant before the Rapture were not pregnant after it. In one scene Rayford watches a CNN broadcast of a pregnancy home video: ―CNN reran the footage in superslow motion, showing the woman going from very pregnant to nearly flat stomached, as if she had instantaneously delivered.‖ The reason for the disappearance is made clear in an ―in-case-of-Rapture‖ video that Rayford watches. The pastor on the video (who has been Raptured as well) tells his audience, ―Up to a certain age, which is probably different for each individual, we believe God will not hold a child accountable for a decision that must be made with heart and mind, fully cognizant of the ramifications.‖ The pastor goes on to note that unborn children will probably disappear as well, noting, ―I can only imagine the pain and heartache of a world without precious children.‖ In another place children are referred to as ―innocents.‖ Children, being unable to sin, are raptured with the Christians.73 As I explained in chapter three, sentimental conceptions of children became a part of evangelicalism in the nineteenth century. Even though the rapture of children is a minor detail of the overall plotline of the Left Behind series, but it is evidence of how evangelicals have

177 internalized sentimental conceptions that have retained potency even through fundamentalism and dispensational premillennialism. Although the political aspects are most apparent because they are foregrounded, sentimentality is foundational to certain parts of the evangelical worldview. The endorsement of childlike and feminine spirituality further demonstrates the importance of the domestic sphere to LaHaye and Jenkins. Much like views of nineteenth- century evangelicals, the world of LaHaye and Jenkins is one that is bifurcated into two spheres. Irene and Ray Jr. (who Rayford had thought of as a ―mama‘s boy;‖ ―too compassionate, too sensitive, too caring‖) inhabit the private or domestic sphere. This sphere is where the mother exerts spiritual influence, primarily over the not-quite ―effeminate‖ son. The inhabitants of this sphere are the spiritual giants of the family, the ones who disappear in the Rapture. Rayford and Chloe (who takes after Rayford more than Irene) primarily live in the public sphere and retreat from the domestic sphere as much as possible. Because they spend most of their time in the public sphere, they are open to worldly influences. Rayford ponders having an affair while his wife and son are being raptured. He also has issues with alcohol. After the rapture he reminisces about getting drunk at a holiday party. Chloe too has gotten drunk before and attends a non- Christian university, Stanford. The ―masculine‖ characters of Rayford and Chloe are left behind when the feminine characters Irene and Ray Jr. are taken to heaven.74 The destruction of the domestic sphere in the Rapture awakens Rayford to his condition before God. The loss of his wife and son causes him to realize the truth of their religious worldview. The items he finds at his home that confirm their disappearance are intricately attached to the domestic sphere. He finds pajamas and a nightgown, a locket with his picture in it, Irene‘s wedding ring; these items confirm that they had been raptured. The damage done to his family also causes Rayford to realize his sinful state: ―Losing his wife and child made him realize what a vapid relationship he had been pursuing with a twenty-seven-year-old woman. . . . He felt guilty for having considered it.‖ The loss of his family also motivates Rayford to study the Bible—he wants to be able to share heaven with them. It is true that his daughter is left behind as well, but that further evidences the destruction of the domestic sphere. Because Rayford and Chloe are similar in attitude and temperament, they had withdrawn from the domestic sphere, and now that it is gone, Rayford wants both of them to try to reestablish it. Through reconnecting with his daughter and convincing her about the truth of evangelical

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Christianity, Rayford hopes to recover a semblance of what was lost.75 To reestablish the domestic sphere Rayford turns to Irene‘s evangelical faith. Since the Rapture had occurred, Irene must have been right, especially since she had been raptured as well. Rayford decides that he wants to find what she had found. In these depictions of salvation, aspects of evangelical sentimentality feature prominently. LaHaye and Jenkins attempt to divert questions about God‘s goodness and the doctrine of the Rapture to affirm that God is loving and kind and wants a relationship with human beings. When Rayford confronts his daughter with his theory that people disappeared in the Rapture, Chloe is upset: ―Daddy, what does this make God? Some sick, sadistic dictator?‖ Rayford asks Chloe to consider the possibility that he is right. She responds, ―Then God is spiteful, hateful, mean. Who wants to go to heaven with a God like that?‖ Rayford asserts that he does, if that is where his wife and son are. Chloe retorts: I want to be with them, too, Daddy! But tell me how this fits with a loving, merciful God. When I went to church, I got tired of hearing how loving God is. He never answered my prayers and I never felt like he knew me or cared about me. Now you‘re saying I was right. He didn‘t. I didn‘t qualify, so I got left behind? You‘d better hope you‘re not right.

Rayford has no answer at the time, but he is convinced of the truth of the Rapture.76 Chloe‘s assertion that the Rapture would suggest a sadistic God is a perceived objection that LaHaye and Jenkins are trying to head off. Their response is that God is a loving and forgiving God. He loves human beings and wants to have a relationship with them. In fact, for LaHaye and Jenkins, the Rapture is not an expression of God‘s sadism but of God‘s love: Strange as this may sound to you, this is God‘s final effort to get the attention of every person who has ignored or rejected him. He is allowing now a vast period of trial and tribulation to come to you who remain. He has removed his church from a corrupt world that seeks its own way, its own pleasures, its own ends. I believe God‘s purpose in this is to allow those who remain to take stock of themselves and leave their frantic search for pleasure and self-fulfillment, and turn to the Bible for truth and to Christ for salvation.77

Because fear and violence are the primary motifs of the Left Behind series, it is easy to overlook the sentimental aspects of the evangelicalism presented here. It is also not as pronounced as in the writings of Max Lucado, but it is present as something that forms the foundation for the religious thought of Left Behind. The fear and the violence serve as a warning of what LaHaye and Jenkins believe is coming for non-Christians, but the threat of fearful, violent times is meant to motivate people to seriously consider become a child of God because

179 they believe the primary way God interacts with human beings is through loving ways. The fear and violence of Left Behind is intricately connected to an evangelical core of sentiment. In pointing to the presence of sentimentality in Chick tracts and Left Behind, I am in no way discounting the presence or appeal of Bivins‘s ―religion of fear.‖ It is evident, however, that the presence of a ―religion of fear‖ does not negate a ―religion of sentiment,‖ or vice versa. As revealed by Chick tracts and Left Behind, those evangelicals who participate in ―religion of fear‖ tactics partly see what they are doing as expressions of God‘s love. They believe that if individuals will not respond to direct exclamations of God‘s love, then fear is a good motivator to drive people to God‘s love. LaHaye and Jenkins, for example, believe that the Rapture and the Tribulation are expressions of God‘s love. Fear and violence are a ―wakeup call‖ to non- Christians that God loves them so much that he will use any means necessary to get their attention and their love. The Ritualization of Sentiment in Evangelicalism and Evangelical Social Action From the middle of the nineteenth century sentimentality became a core part of evangelical practice. As evangelicals read sentimental works, heard sentimental sermons, and sang sentimental songs, nostalgia, familial love for God, and the importance of the domestic sphere became an important rhetorical part of how evangelicals understood God and the world around them. Although fundamentalists and those who espoused a ―muscular Christianity‖ (often not mutually exclusive) employed rhetoric that was antagonistic to the sentiment Christianity of the nineteenth century, they used sentimental songs in their services placing ―Blessed Assurance‖ alongside ―Onward, Christian Soldiers.‖ Unintentionally, militaristic evangelicals further incorporated the very sentimentality they deplored into the evangelical consciousness. Among contemporary evangelicals the singing of sentimental music—whether from the nineteenth century or from more modern periods—continues to reproduce a culture of emotion that evokes a rhetoric of familial and erotic love for the deity. Listening to contemporary Christian music also furthers this development. Reading popular inspirational authors like Max Lucado, Rick Warren, Joel Osteen, and others legitimizes sentimentality as the way not only that God deals with humans but also how humans are to interact with God. It also authenticates such language as the appropriate way to converse with and about God. In other words the authority evangelicals give to musicians, authors, and ministers who use sentimental rhetoric cyclically

180 proves that such languages is the ―true‖ way to understand and approach God. The very activities of singing, listening, and reading in a devotional manner often works to obscure how these activities instantiate sentimentality even more deeply into evangelicalism. As ritual theorist Catherine Bell noted, ―ritual practices are produced with an intent to order, rectify, or transform a particular situation.‖ Sentimentality in practice—as part of religious practice— replicates itself to become a vital characteristic of modern evangelicalism.78 Because sentimentality is such a crucial part of evangelical practice, it would be no surprise that it would work itself out in how evangelicals both engage the world around them and create a social world for themselves. As Bell put it, ―the purpose of ritualization is to ritualize persons, who deploy schemes of ritualization in order to dominate (shift or nuance) other, nonritualized situations to render them more coherent with the values of the ritualizing schemes and capable of molding perceptions.‖79 The issues that are stereotypically associated with evangelicals and the Religious Right demonstrate that the sentimentality which guides how evangelicals respond to God in ―religious‖ arenas also guides how evangelicals participate in the secular arena—what causes they are involved in and the reasons for being involved. Many of these issues are deeply connected to understandings of the domestic sphere and what constitutes a Christian domestic sphere. Evangelicals interpret abortion, same sex marriage, and ―school choice‖ through their understandings about the power and sanctity of the domestic sphere and what they believe the home represents to society. This conception is part of the reason evangelicals create an ―attack on the family‖ rhetoric and deploy it to activate campaigns against such issues, using both sentimentality and fear as forces to construct boundaries between the home and the ―world.‖ Victorian culture and sentiment have influenced evangelicals theologically and ecclessiologically, but it has also influenced the means and motivation for being involved in the world around them.80 There are two main ideologies behind the evangelical opposition to abortion: the sanctity of human life and the holiness of children. In his 1988 encounter with Pat Robertson‘s burgeoning presidential campaign, historian Randall Balmer mused that conservative evangelicals rallied around an anti-abortion politics because of their symbolic identification with the ―alienation and vulnerability‖ of a human fetus. By this Balmer meant that evangelicals felt alienated and vulnerable in American culture and attached themselves to an image that resonated with their feelings of displacement—an unborn fetus ―under attack‖ by pro-abortionists. While

181 this is an insightful examination of symbolic identification, Balmer overlooked the important conceptual role children have had in evangelicalism. He noted appropriately the power of Victorian notions of domesticity and feminine piety in modern evangelicalism, but ignored the Victorian spiritual ideal of the child that was just as important. Anti-abortion evangelicals are adamant to point out that the unborn fetus is a child, that is, a human life. As I discussed in chapter three, the angelic image of the child as spiritual guide, and the desire to preserve or protect this image, has been an important part of evangelicalism since the middle of the nineteenth century. This mindset, that children are ―innocents,‖ still forms the foundation for how evangelicals conceive of children, even unborn ones.81 Opposition to same sex marriages comes from a similar sentimental ideology. Victorian domesticity and an imagined past from the 1950s help construct a vision of marriage that evangelicals are trying to ―defend.‖ ―Sanctity of marriage‖ or ―destruction of marriage‖ rhetoric that evangelicals use to protest same sex marriage relies on a belief in the role that the domestic sphere (―the home‖) should play in society. In this way of thinking the home is the backbone of civilization. It is believed that as the home goes, so goes society. If the home/marriage is destroyed (as these evangelicals believe the acceptance of same sex marriage will do), the destruction of society will not be far behind. Furthermore, those who are against same sex marriage rely on the bifurcated role archetype from the nineteenth century. They believe that it is necessary for the home to have both a mother and a father because mothers and fathers have different roles in creating a stable domestic sphere. While the roles and spheres of mothers and fathers have changed since the nineteenth century, the idea that each gender must fulfill their roles in order to maintain the home and society, is still a part of evangelical domestic ideology. Closely aligned with this is a fear about what will happen to children in same sex households. Selectively using social scientific research, evangelicals, like James Dobson of Focus on the Family, appeal to studies that appear to claim that children need both fathers and mothers in their lives to succeed. From these studies, evangelicals argue that mothers and fathers (due to conceived differences in how the genders act) prepare children for adult life differently and that both are need to raise healthy, happy children to provide stability for subsequent generations.82 The same type of reasoning that leads evangelicals to protest abortion or vote against same sex marriages forms the foundation for their support of ―school choice‖ legislation, despite the question of whether such legislation breaches the wall of separation between church and

182 start. Those who support ―school choice‖ legislation are looking for states to provide public funds to families that choose not to enroll their children in public schools but would rather enroll their students in private schools or homeschool. The political question rests on whether the legislature can provide funds to schools that are religious in nature. The theological or ideological question for why ―school choice‖ is necessary, however, is a sentimental one, or at least rests on sentimental foundations. Just like abortion and same sex marriage, those who support ―school choice‖ are concerned about what their children might encounter in public school curriculum, particularly issues evangelicals are opposed to like homosexuality or evolution. The rhetoric supporting school choice is two-pronged. First, there are the financial considerations. ―School choice‖ advocates argue that funds to provide scholarship to private schools are neither a governmental support of religion nor do they take away from public school funding. Second, those who push for school choice contend that such options would give parents more control and force parents to be more involved in educating their children. Again the rhetoric of the defense of domesticity is vital to the appeal for ―school choice.‖ Advocates urge parents to ―protect the hearts and minds‖ of their children. Homosexuals and evolutionary scientists become the enemy in this rhetoric. They present a danger to innocents who will abandon their parents‘ values because of the indoctrination they receive if there is no opportunity for parents to school their children according to their own values.83 The ways evangelicals engage in social and political action demonstrates the importance of sentimentality (particularly nostalgia and domesticity) in understanding evangelicalism. Evangelicals rely on certain sentimental tropes to understand the world and their participation in it. Certain understandings of the home and the domestic sphere both motivate and validate certain political and social activities. Abstracting sentimentality and focusing only on evangelical belief or evangelical political rhetoric gives only part of the picture of evangelicalism and ignores how sentimentality flows through all aspects of evangelicalism and continues to be reproduced and instantiated within the movement.84 The combination of sentiment and conservative politics has important consequences for gender rhetoric and gender roles. In the selection of abortion, same sex marriage, and ―school choice‖ as indicative political identifiers, evangelicals rely on the combination of sentiment and fear to police gender roles. In this worldview, the use of fear creates a boundary between the sentimental domestic sphere and the world and attempts to trap women within that boundary. A

183 virtuous woman, in this conception, is to maintain the home and remain in it, teaching the innocent children she has brought to full term. The sentimentalizing of children, feminine piety, and the home provides justification for home schooling—with the mother expected to train the children in the sacred home. Sentimentality and fear align to create a social world ordered by evangelical principles that is also extremely fragile because of the cultural forces of chaos that wait outside the boundaries. Without fear this boundary would not exist; without sentimentality there would be no need for this type of boundary.85 Fearless: A Coda on Max Lucado, Sentimentality, and the Political Religion of Fear Many of Lucado‘s adult inspirational titles come from sermon series. One recent series, entitled ―Fearless,‖ was in preparation for a 2009 book by the same name. In the opening sermon, Lucado told his audience that fear can be a positive force in the lives of human beings. Certain fears, says Lucado, come from God. If one wakes up in a burning house, fear can motivate that individual to escape. When one approaches God, continues Lucado, a ―healthy dose of fear, reverence, and respect‖ might save a person‘s soul. Most fears, however, ultimately come from humanity‘s sinful condition.86 Such language, which appears frequently in Lucado‘s writing, combines the positive language of familial love with the evocation of something darker to his religious thought. Sentimental rhetoric serves as a mask for other beliefs in evangelicalism that seem more terrible and terrifying. Based on the previous chapters of this dissertation, it might appear that the sentimentality that Max Lucado offers stands in stark contrast to the politicized evangelical religion of fear. In some respects this is a valid assumption. Max Lucado‘s writings carry a tone that is distinct from other works like Left Behind or Chick tracts. The buzz words for Lucado‘s works are ―love‖ or ―hope‖ or even ―joy.‖ To assume this means that fear does not play a part in Lucado‘s writings, however, is an oversimplification. While he rhetorically appeals to conceptions of God‘s love and predominantly uses sentimental language, even Max Lucado‘s writing exhibits the influence of evangelical fear. In late 2001 Max Lucado released a small book meant to address the tragedy of September 11th. The book, America Looks Up, featured new writings by Lucado that directly addressed the events of September as well as selections from previous works. The language of most of the book is hopeful and trusting. Lucado tried to encourage his readers that God is still in his heaven, and all would be right with the world. Using his characteristic sentimentality,

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Lucado attempted to comfort those who had experienced the greatest effects of the destruction. Through the death, smoke, and ashes, Lucado preached of divine love that knows our pain, feels our pain, and is touched by our loss. More than that, he asserted, God is on our side. The ―our‖ in this sense is not America in a collective sense, but each individual who is hurting and grieving whether that pain is from someone who lost someone in the Towers or the Pentagon or simply the sorrow that comes from the unnecessary loss of human life taken away.87 In the middle of America Looks Up, however, is a passage that demonstrates that not even Max Lucado is untouched by the religion of fear. In his endeavor to answer why God would allow the evil of September 11th, Lucado asserts that God will allow evil to occur in order to ―[a]waken the sleeping.‖ According to Lucado, God will allow us ―to endure the consequences of our choices.‖ If we do not choose to accept God‘s love, God will allow evil to plague our lives: ―As drastic as it may appear, God will actually allow a person to experience hell on earth, in hopes of awakening his faith. A holy love makes the tough choice to release the child to the consequences of his rebellion.‖ Such occurrences are instances of God‘s discipline.88 The language Lucado uses here is similar to the language used by LaHaye and Jenkins who argued that the Rapture and the Tribulation were manifestations of God‘s love to motivate people to accept the truth of Christianity. Unlike LaHaye and Jenkins, or even Jack Chick, Lucado relies on the rhetoric of the religion of fear infrequently. Instead he seems to prefer to appeal to people through sentimentality, but he is not beyond using fear—or claiming God will intentionally use fearful actions. Lucado and the individuals that Bivins examine form a continuum when it comes to the religion of fear and sentimentality. At different points there are different mixtures of sentimentality and fear. Lucado emphasizes sentimentality and uses fear only minimally. Authors like Lucado prefer to stress God‘s love and rhetorically deemphasize fear. At the other end would be Left Behind and Chick tracts which foreground fear while relying on a sentimental foundation. Such authors will conceptualize their project in sentimental terms—they are presenting God‘s love—but will use fearful rhetoric as the chief vehicle. Sentimentality and fear are thus intertwined even in the writings of Max Lucado. Part of the reason for such a connection is rooted in ancient Christian thought. In the book of Romans the apostle Paul wrote, ―Note then the kindness and severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God‘s kindness toward you, provided you continue in his kindness.‖89 Even from the earliest times of Christianity, Christian thinkers have held that God acts both kindly and

185 strictly. Paul does not appear to try to reconcile the two in Romans, but holds them in tension. From that time Christian thinkers have attempted to believe that God is both loving and wrathful. Connected to this Christian tradition is a line of Christian thought from the late nineteenth century that has conceptualized American culture as moving away from God. As evangelicals (and then fundamentalists) experienced marginalization from the mainstream of American intellectuality, they developed an antagonistic mentality to American culture. If, as they believe, Americans are moving away from God, then the conclusion is that God will deal harshly with them. Believing that they understand the mind of God, these evangelicals have melded sentimentality and fear. Fear becomes a motivator if sentimentality will not work. Such thought has an ancient lineage but a specific historical formulation. Lucado, drawing on that theological foundation, participates in a millennia-old dialectic of love and fear, choosing to emphasize sentimental love. Although he usually chooses love, he serves as an example of how pernicious the religion of fear is. It is so much a part of evangelical thought that, even though hidden, it remains a handy tool to be used in conservative politics or sentimental rhetoric. In the rhetoric of sentiment, especially, fear has found a convenient hiding place.

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EPILOGUE

CURE FOR THE COMMON HISTORIOGRAPHY: THE FUTURE OF EVANGELICALISM AND EVANGELICAL STUDIES

People often ask me about the pronunciation of my last name. Is it Lu-KAY-doh or Lu-KAH- doh? Remember the verse in the song? ―Some say po-tay-to; some say po-tah-to.‖ The same can be sung about my name. ―Some say Lu-KAY-doh; some say Lu-KAH-doh.‖ For the record, we say ―Lu-KAY-doh.‖ (Of course, we may be wrong. When Billy Graham came to San Antonio, he referred to me as Max Lu-KAH-doh. I guess if Billy Graham says Lu-KAH-doh, it must be Lu-KAH-doh.) --Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails1

In May 2008 a group of evangelicals released ―An Evangelical Manifesto: A Declaration of Evangelical Identity and Public Commitment.‖ They claimed that it was an attempt to redefine what it means to be ―Evangelical‖ (with intentional capitalization) and to decry the politicization of evangelicalism in recent years. They argued that ―we Evangelicals should be defined theologically, and not politically, socially, or culturally.‖ These ―Evangelicals‖ offered seven beliefs that marked them as distinctive from other Christians. Among the beliefs were the dual nature of Christ as divine and human, the importance of the crucifixion for salvation (although they did not specify exactly how Jesus‘ death brings salvation), the transformation and new birth that comes from the Holy Spirit, the ―truthfulness and supreme authority‖ of the Christian Bible (here again, they do not delineate how they believe the Bible is God‘s word or whether it is inerrant), and the hope of the Second Coming. These beliefs resemble the Presbyterian ―Five Points‖ that marked fundamentalism in the early twentieth century, although the ―Five Points‖ included the veracity of miracles instead of the new birth. In addition to these five beliefs the authors also noted that ―Evangelicals‖ believe that they should be involved in both social and ecclesiastical spheres. They should be involved with ―the poor, the sick, the hungry, the oppressed,‖ as well as being environmentally conscious: ―being faithful stewards of creation and our fellow-creatures.‖ ―Evangelicals‖ should also ―know and love Christ through worship, love Christ‘s family through fellowship, grow like Christ through discipleship, serve Christ by ministering to the needs of others in his name, and share Christ with those who do not yet know him.‖2 The second purpose behind the ―Manifesto‖ was to establish the parameters for ―Evangelical‖ engagement in politics. Implicitly denouncing the Religious Right, the authors

187 claimed that as ―Evangelicals‖ they should be involved in the public sphere but not in such a way that they could be ―completely equated with a party, partisan ideology, economic system, or nationality.‖ ―The Evangelical soul is not for sale,‖ they announced, encouraging their fellow Christian to not just be concerned about the political issues of abortion or marriage but to also be active in ―engaging the global giants of conflict, racism, corruption, poverty, pandemic diseases, illiteracy, ignorance, and spiritual emptiness.‖ Noting that ―Evangelicals‖ had contributed to social movements of abolition, suffrage, ―the voluntary association,‖ as well as ―the understanding of key notions as civil society and social capital,‖ the authors pleaded for the creation of a ―civil public square,‖ by which they meant ―a vision of public life in which citizens of all faiths are free to enter and engage the public square on the basis of their faith, but within a framework of what is agreed to be just and free for other faiths too.‖ Troubled about both a completely secular public discourse and a religiously-monopolized public discourse, these authors called for a ―liberal‖ approach to the public square in which they would support the position that ―[a] right for a Christian is a right for a Jew, and a right for a secularist, and a right for a Mormon, and [a] right for a Muslim, and a right for a Scientologist, and right for all the believers in all the faiths across this wide land.‖3 The authors aimed the document at several different audiences. Although they wrote that ―[w]e speak only for ourselves,‖ they wanted other ―Evangelicals‖ to agree to their description of who evangelicals are and how evangelicals should be involved in the political arena. The authors also wanted fellow Americans to read the document and ―work with us in the urgent task of restoring liberty and civility in public life.‖ The writers also addressed ―adherents of other faiths around the world,‖ claiming that these ―Evangelicals‖ would work for their liberty and rights in the United States and asking that the peoples of other faiths work for the liberty and rights of evangelicals in other countries. They also addressed those in power asking them to recognize that ―our first allegiance is always to a higher loyalty and to standards that call all other standards into question.‖ They asked those who were concerned about the oppressed to work with them in common cause. They appealed to ―those who search for meaning and belonging‖ to consider the evangelical gospel. Finally, they addressed ―scholars, journalists, and public policy makers,‖ pleading with them to ―abandon stereotypes and adopt definitions and categories in describing us and other believers in terms that are both accurate and fair, and with a tone that you in turn would like to be applied to yourselves.‖ (Earlier in the document they

188 asserted that ―we ourselves, and not scholars, the press, or public opinion, have the right to say who understand ourselves to be. We are who we say we are, and we resist all attempts to explain us in terms of our ‗true‘ motives and our ‗real‘ agenda.‖) The document was written by the nine- person ―Evangelical Manifesto Steering Committee‖ which included businessmen, theologians, the editor-in-chief of the Christianity Today Media Group, and author Os Guinness. The ―Manifesto‖ was signed by a group of ―Charter Signatories‖ that included clergy, businesspeople (like the President of Dollar General), theologians, academics (mostly from religious institutions including historian Mark Noll), the publisher of Forbes magazine, a filmmaker, and Max Lucado.4 Lucado is an important but questionable choice as a promoter for the agenda of the ―Evangelical Manifesto.‖ As I have argued throughout this dissertation, the ministry and works of Max Lucado are important windows into the thought and practice of evangelicalism. Not only is he a popular author with evangelicals, but he also represents the culmination of some of the transitions that evangelicalism has gone through in the United States. As a best-selling author, Lucado represents a position that many accept, and that position resonates with the themes of the ―Manifesto.‖ It appears that there are many who are disturbed by the recent activity of certain evangelicals and they desire a religion that is distinct from those who have politicized evangelicalism. They want to see Christian unity, but have staked a claim on what such Christianity should represent. According to the ―Manifesto,‖ there are definite beliefs that comprise evangelicalism, and subscribing to these beliefs is the sine qua non of what it means to be evangelical. Lucado‘s signature to this document is a demonstration of his acceptance of these beliefs, most of which bear the influence of fundamentalist theology. As I have endeavored to show throughout, however, belief is a very fluid category in Lucado‘s religious thought. While he promote some concrete beliefs (Jesus as God‘s son, his substitutionary atonement, the reality of hell), he generally downplays the importance of doctrine in favor of emotional expressions and relationships. Lucado‘s evangelicalism is less about intellectual construction of doctrine than it is the management of sentiment. This reliance on sentiment has consequences for evangelicalism that I have described. My examination of Lucado has shown that sentiment has filled a void of evangelical intellectual failure. Because evangelicals have been unable to convince non-evangelicals that their view of the world is valid, they have turned to the emotions and experience for legitimacy.

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Lucado‘s reliance on sentiment makes him a questionable representative of the position of ―An Evangelical Manifesto.‖ While he evidently ascribes to the beliefs of the work, he cultivates a type of piety that runs counter to the emphasis on evangelical belief that the authors desire. Lucado plays on and fosters non-intellectual and even anti-intellectual tendencies in his writing. For his works to succeed in creating in the emotional response Lucado wants, he relies on the audience not intellectually investigating his claims and views. Because Lucado promotes an affective evangelicalism and attempts to create an ecumenism based on sentiment, his vision of evangelicalism essentially operates counter to the cerebral evangelicalism the Evangelical Manifesto Steering Committee endorses. The ―Evangelical Manifesto,‖ however, is an important document representing certain trends in evangelicalism. The document is both revealing and problematic for the study of evangelicalism. It is revealing in that it evidences dissatisfaction with the ―religion of fear‖ and the political activities of the Religious Right in recent years. They apparently believe that certain politically-active conservatives have made Christians ―useful idiots‖ for political gain. Instead, they feel that ―[t]he politicization of faith is never a sign of strength but of weakness.‖ That other evangelicals feel the same way is apparent in the comments section on the ―Evangelical Manifesto‖ website. Many (although obviously not all) of those who commented on the document offered their wholehearted support and expressed gratitude for the presence of this stance.5 The document also reveals frustration with the equation of fundamentalism and evangelicalism. Since the post-World War II period evangelicals have tried to separate themselves from fundamentalists, attempting to bypass the stereotypes of fundamentalists. The Steering Committee recognized a connection between evangelicals and fundamentalists, but they wanted to make it clear to the readers of the ―Manifesto‖ that evangelicals are not fundamentalists: We celebrate those in the past of their worthy desire to be true to the fundamentals of the faith, but Fundamentalism has become an overlay on the Christian faith and developed into an essentially modern reaction to the modern world. As a reaction to the modern world, it tends to romanticize the past, some now-lost moment in time, and to radicalize the present, with styles of reaction that are personally and publicly militant to the point where they are sub-Christian.6

Connected with the disappointment of being labeled fundamentalists, these

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―Evangelicals‖ are also concerned about being labeled ―anti-intellectual‖: ―All too often we have disobeyed the great command to love the Lord our God with our hearts, souls, strength, and minds, and have fallen into an unbecoming anti-intellectualism that is a dire cultural handicap as well as a sin.‖ Such rhetoric displays that these evangelicals believe other evangelicals have made the movement appear moronic or unsophisticated in the public sphere. They do not specify a specific group of individuals, but they are particularly disgusted with how some evangelicals have approach science: ―[S]ome among us have betrayed the strong Christian tradition of a high view of science, epitomized in the very matrix of ideas that gave birth to modern science, and made themselves vulnerable to caricatures of the false hostility between science and faith.‖7 Although the ―Evangelical Manifesto‖ reveals important aspects of evangelicalism that are noteworthy and essential for scholars to consider in their study of evangelicalism, it is also a problematic document. It is not very useful in standardizing a definition of evangelicalism. The phrasing is generic. Most of the beliefs that are characteristic of ―Evangelicals‖ could be said of other Christian groups, although perhaps the broadness of the language is meant to allow enough diversity that a large number of Christians could be classified ―Evangelical.‖ Furthermore, these ―Evangelicals‖ argue that they should be defined theologically and not culturally. If that is correct, then the distinction between fundamentalists and evangelicals that the ―Manifesto‖ proffers is disingenuous. These ―Evangelicals‖ argue that fundamentalism is different because of militancy or separatism, but these seem to be cultural or sociological positions—not necessarily theological ones. The same theological language—―in the world, not of the world‖—could be used to support either position. The authors also deprecate those conservative Christians who have anti-intellectually pitted science against faith, but again, here is a political, social, or cultural distinction—not a completely theological one.8 This charge of anti-intellectualism that the Committee chooses to level against fundamentalists is, of course, problematic as well. As we observed in chapter two, anti- intellectualism has been a part of evangelicalism since the late nineteenth century. The evangelicals of ―An Evangelical Manifesto‖ appear to want a reunion between Christianity and science because the separation has ―unwittingly given comfort to the unbridled scientism and naturalism that are so rampant in our culture.‖ Such language makes me wonder what kind of reunion they desire. Are these ―Evangelicals‖ accepting evolution? Are they justifying Darwin? Are they taking a position similar to liberal Protestants in the nineteenth century that saw

191 evolution as God‘s mechanism for creation? Or, as I think is more likely, do these evangelicals want to recast modern science into resurgent Baconianism, in an attempt to give scientific validity to creationism or intelligent design? The appeal to ―the very matrix of ideas that gave birth to modern science‖ seems to be a veiled reference to Bacon‘s approach to nature and scripture. It is apparent, then, that the attempt to disparage those who ―have betrayed the strong Christian tradition of a high view of science‖ is really to affirm that evangelicals are intellectuals when it comes to science without parsing out what the authors mean by science or ―anti- intellectualism.‖9 The authors also level the ―anti-intellectual‖ at certain types of evangelical piety. In a section entitled ―We Must Reform Our Own Behavior,‖ the authors write, All too often we have trumpeted the gospel of Jesus, but we have replaced biblical truths with therapeutic techniques, worship with entertainment, discipleship with growth in human potential, church growth with business entrepreneurialism, concern for the church and for the local congregation with expressions of the faith that are churchless and little better than a vapid spirituality, meeting real needs with pandering to felt needs, and mission principles with marketing precepts. In the process we have become known for commercial, diluted, and feel-good gospels of health, wealth, human potential, and religious happy talk, each of which is indistinguishable from the passing fashions of the surrounding world.10

Considering Max Lucado is one of the signers of this document, I wonder what his next book will be like. While the authors of ―An Evangelical Manifesto‖ want to position evangelicalism in a positive light and hold only to the tenets that evangelicalism represents ―good news‖ and that politically evangelicalism has been involved in only positive ways—abolition, suffrage—and should only be involved in those ways in the future, the polarities they set out in this ―confession‖ of evangelical ―sins‖ are intertwined in evangelicalism, some for a very long time. Many of them date back to the time of George Whitefield, as I pointed out in chapter two. While the separation of ―biblical truths‖ from ―therapeutic techniques‖ and ―mission principles‖ from ―marketing precepts‖ may seem like an attainable goal for these ―Evangelicals,‖ the conjoining of these approaches is part of the reason evangelicalism has been so successful in the United States. It is unlikely that situation will change. Another problematic aspect of the document is its denouncing of politicized faith. The Steering Committee wants to call ―Evangelicals‖ away from ―single-issue‖ politics to broader concerns for human life in general. They want to claim that the document relates a theological

192 repositioning of evangelicalism that is above politics and committed to ending oppression and bringing justice. The fact that ―An Evangelical Manifesto‖ is essentially a political document, however, escapes the notice of the Steering Committee. Perhaps they are just concerned about the ―politicization‖ of evangelicalism in certain ways—ways that have led to ridicule and marginalization. They note that ―a politicized faith is faithless, foolish, and disastrous for the church‖ but what they are arguing for is a politicized faith, but one that is differently political than the Religious Right‘s support of the Republican Party. Any faith wanting to be actively involved in public life, especially in dealing with social issues, cannot avoid politicization. Becoming actively involved in working for social justice is a political position. Furthermore, I wonder how such a position will work out in actual practice. Would evangelicals (or ―Evangelicals‖) support a candidate that was working towards alleviating poverty, illiteracy, racisim, corruption, and abortion if that candidate supported same sex marriage?11 Finally, the document is problematic because of the role it seeks to offer scholars of evangelicalism. The authors want scholars to accept what ―Evangelicals‖ say at face value. These evangelicals reserve the right to define who they are and what their motives are: ―We are who we say we are, and we resist all attempts to explain us in terms of our ‗true‘ motives and our ‗real‘ agenda.‖12 Obviously humanist religious studies scholars cannot entirely accept such a position. It is, of course, important that we pay attention to our informants and note closely what they say, what they do, and how they live their lives. Religion, however, is not an isolated aspect of human lives. It is deeply entwined with the results of other forces like history, culture, economics, and politics, to name just a few. These very forces undergo elision so that our informants do not see them because of the nature of these forces and the often intentionally forgetful memory of groups. Because of the vantage point of the scholar, especially the scholar as outsider, these forces are visible because they are the kind of data we are hunting. We seek explanations beyond simply accepting what our informants tell us. Even evangelical scholars studying evangelicalism do not simply rely on what their informants tell them, especially if these scholars are doing historical work. In his book America’s God historian Mark Noll, one of the signers of the ―Evangelical Manifesto,‖ takes great pains to dissect the historical and cultural changes that theology experienced in the early Republic. Noll points to broad trends in Western intellectual thought as being responsible for these theological shifts, concluding that in the United States evangelicals combined their

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Protestantism, ―a republican political ideology,‖ and Scottish Common Sense to create an American theology. To the best of my knowledge, Noll had no sources declaring that this is what they were doing in describing who God was or what evangelicalism should look like in the United States. The broad view of the scholar, however, allowed Noll to outline the importance of Scottish Common Sense to antebellum evangelical thought.13 Although it is a problematic document, ―An Evangelical Manifesto‖ does reveal a difficulty in evangelical studies. The term ―evangelical‖ has become a problematic term in modern scholarly usage, primarily due to the inexact nature of definition. Who is an evangelical? Should we simply examine the Religious Right, those primarily focused on the political aspects of religion? Should we use the term ―evangelical‖ in a broad sense to describe Protestants in general? Should the terms ―evangelical‖ and ―fundamentalist‖ be interchangeable? Randall Balmer in his popular Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory somewhat facetiously noted that one way people (even scholars) think about evangelicalism is to apply Justice Potter Stewart‘s explanation of pornography: ―I can‘t define it, but I know it when I see it.‖14 The problem of defining evangelicalism is evident in the work of a variety of scholars. It often appears as if every study in evangelical historiography contains a section wherein the author delineates how they are defining ―evangelical‖ for their particular study. These definitions tend to follow a few authors who have laid out more comprehensive definitions of evangelicalism. Many scholars have tended to follow George Marsden‘s definition of evangelicalism. Evangelicalism, for Marsden and those who borrow from him, can be considered a unified whole based on a small selection of beliefs: particularly ―the Reformation doctrine of the final authority of Scripture,‖ ―the real historical character of God‘s saving work recorded in Scripture,‖ ―eternal salvation only through personal trust in Christ,‖ ―the importance of evangelism and missions,‖ and ―the importance of a spiritually transformed life.‖15 These categories are very broad for two reasons. The major reason for such a broad description is due to the variety of evangelicalism. Depending on which aspect of evangelicalism one wishes to examine there are a variety of movements that share some of these ―essentials‖ that would have other doctrines, beliefs, and practices that would separate them. Secondly, there is so much diversity that to be any more specific would cause someone interested in evangelicalism to overlook the overarching evangelical umbrella for the specificity that would isolate movements

194 from each other. Joel Carpenter in an introductory essay for Twentieth-Century Evangelicalism: A Guide to the Sources appropriates Marsden‘s definition and argues that American evangelical Christianity should be seen as a mosaic: a complex of traditions, movements and ideology that operates in such a way that it cannot be defined simplistically or with a sense of uniformity. He identifies, also following Marsden, three different senses in which the term ―evangelical‖ is used in modern popular and scholarly parlance. ―Evangelical‖ in the first sense refers to a system of doctrines that unites a group of conservative Christians. These include the beliefs I just enumerated from Marsden.16 ―Evangelical‖ in the second sense refers to ―an organic family of movements and traditions.‖ Such evangelicals have arisen, according to Carpenter, from ―the ways of revivals and awakenings that have occurred since the days of the Pietists and the Puritans.‖ Some of the individuals within these movements are hesitant to identify themselves as evangelical, but Carpenter argues that they belong to the evangelical tradition, although this makes evangelicalism extremely broad. The broadness of such a label, however, demonstrates how ―fractured‖ American evangelicalism is.17 The third sense of the term ―evangelical‖ refers to the unitary impulse of some conservative Protestants. Evangelical in this sense refers to Christianity Today, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, and other organizations and individuals who see themselves as ―post-Fundamentalist,‖ metadenominational, and self- identified as, in Marsden‘s term, ―card-carrying evangelicals.‖18 Other scholars have preferred to look to different aspects to define evangelicalism. In his study of modern British evangelicalism, David Bebbington identifies evangelicalism as being focused around four centers: conversionism, activism, biblicism, and crucicentrism. While some scholars, like Mark Noll, tend to prefer Bebbington‘s definition, in many ways it seems to be a rearrangement and reformulation of Marsden‘s categories.19 Bebbington does not specifically repeat Marsden‘s characteristics, but in many ways Bebbington‘s centers reflect Marsden‘s definition. His explanation of these centers also demonstrates the reliance on ―belief‖ to define evangelicalism. ―Conversionism‖ is not just the practice or experience of conversion; it is a practice ―bound up with major theological convictions.‖ ―Activism‖ is not about being involved in social causes or just some sort of change in one‘s attitude toward others; it is the belief that

195 one should involved in converting others. Bebbington claims that one of the principal modes for this activism was preaching. ―Biblicism‖ is not the use of the Bible, but instead, it is evangelical ―devotion to the Bible,‖ which is ―the result of their belief that all spiritual truth is to be found in its pages.‖ Furthermore, the way Bebbington describes this biblicism resonates with Marsden‘s description of Reformation beliefs about the final authority of scripture. Finally, ―curcicentrism‖ is not about the use of crosses in religious practices or religious architecture. It is not even a notion that a believer must share in the experience of Christ and ―take up one‘s cross.‖ Instead it is ―the doctrine of the cross.‖ Specifically it is the doctrine that ―Christ died as a substitute for sinful mankind.‖ While Bebbington uses different words, he essentially mirrors Marsden with perhaps slightly nuanced terms 20 Although many scholars have followed Marsden and Bebbington, Gary Dorrien has offered a slightly different way to think about evangelicalism. Dorrien divides evangelicalism into historical types. ―Classical evangelicalism,‖ for Dorrien, arose during the Reformation and should be considered as multifaceted. It has ―Reformationist‖ and ―post-Reformationist‖ phases and ―confessional‖ and ―Anabaptist‖ forms. The second category is ―pietistic evangelicalism‖ which ―derives from the eighteenth-century German and English Pietist movements and, in the United States, from the Great Awakenings.‖ ―Fundamentalist evangelicalism‖ came about in the late nineteenth and early-twentieth century as a response to the modernist controversies that occurred within Christianity at those times.21 Dorrien also notes a fourth stage known as ―neoevangelicalism‖ which arose in the 1940s specifically with the founding of Fuller Theological Seminary. This type, usually simply called ―evangelicalism‖ was a response to the derision that ―fundamentalism‖ had received. There is a primitivist slant to this type of evangelicalism that looks back to ―a classical Protestant orthodoxy that was shorn of millennialist apocalypticism and separatist ecclesiology.‖ It was an attempt for evangelicals to reengage the world.22 Dorrien‘s categories are fluid as well, despite their historicity. He notes that some traditions carry tendencies from several time periods. Yet he also takes seriously the way evangelicalism has develop and changed over the centuries. In the end, however, these four historical categories, for Dorrien, form the basis for the variety of evangelicalisms that are exhibited in modern American religion. He does overlook, though, how these types are often enmeshed so that we can understand modern evangelicalism as drawing on classical, pietist, and

196 fundamentalist strands.23 Dorrien‘s work is important in many ways, not the least of which is his attempt to demonstrate that evangelicalism cannot simply be defined as anti-modernist or anti-intellectual. His historical survey of the rise of seminaries, individuals, and theologies covers a vast breadth of material, but Dorrien fails to move the definition of evangelicalism beyond theology. While even Dorrien admits that the picture of evangelicalism as ―monolithically middle-class, Reformed, white, Republican, and preoccupied with correct doctrine‖ is an inaccurate one, he also does not offer a way to move beyond understanding evangelicalism in terms of what beliefs characterize evangelicals.24 The general trend, then, of many of these definitions is to delineate the boundaries of evangelicalism through the lens of distinctive beliefs. A group or individual can be identified as ―evangelical‖ on the basis of their holding certain beliefs. In her study of Left Behind readers, Amy Johnson Frykohlm argues that scholars must pay attention to the notion of ―belief‖ in evangelicalism. Based on her interviews Frykohlm notes how important ―belief‖ is for evangelicals, at least rhetorically. Yet, Frykohlm contextualizes ―belief‖ in ways that have been absent in other works. As she investigates the impact of apocalyptic fiction, she develops the complex relationships some evangelicals have in their assimilation of texts and the production of belief statements and understandings. Her informants read Left Behind and develop or reinforce dispensational premillennialist views (at least the ones disposed to them already) that then work themselves out in social living. As Frykohlm theorizes, however, the entire experience is not without cultural construction. The apocalyptic tenets of Left Behind are a combination of fundamentalist dispensational premillennialism with popular apocalypticism. Readers who accept the Left Behind view of eschatology do so based on (sub-)culturally-constructed understandings of evangelical fiction. They work out social living based on a view presented by the publishers—Left Behind is a good witnessing tool for unsaved friends and family. Frykohlm‘s attempt to qualify belief into a usable category is laudable and discerning. It recognizes how belief operates as an important category for many evangelicals while also appreciating how ―belief‖ is constructed in culture through relationships and symbols.25 What is disappointing concerning Frykohlm‘s work, at least for purposes here, is her refusal to define who evangelicals are. This refusal is intentional. Frykohlm does not want to ―totalize‖ her audience; she wants scholars to appreciate the diversity of people who come to Left

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Behind—that it is not just evangelicals. Her ethnographic method, in fact, seeks to deconstruct totalizing or essentializing accounts of evangelicals and evangelicalism. She wants to see evangelicalism as ―broad and diffuse‖ throughout American culture.26 To speak only of diffusion, however, ignores the connections between evangelicals and evangelical communities. There are bonds that tie evangelicals together so that we can speak of ―evangelicals‖ as a category of people for study. Attention to diversity is important, but overlooking unity may lead to the destruction of what holds our informants together, which is often more than just ―beliefs.‖27 Based on the work of many scholars, then, ―belief‖ expresses the sine qua non of evangelicalism. Attempts to define evangelicalism and evangelicals are not generally made through other aspects of religiosity. Even in Dorrien‘s historical categories, evangelicalism (including in its pietistic and classical forms) has to do with a certain set of beliefs. As Lynn Neal notes, however, essentializing evangelicalism through the category of belief ―neglects evangelical practices, elevates the church over the home, and as a result obscures women‘s lives and the audibility of their voices.‖28 Neal further argues that codifying evangelicalism in a series of beliefs disregards the dynamic and diverse nature of the movement. Are evangelicals only what they believe or best understood only by what they believe? Is something or someone evangelical because of her/his/its connection to a series of belief statements? Neal wants to move away from evangelicalism described through beliefs in order to make audible the voices of women. This is, of course, an excellent scholarly task, but she never defines what evangelicalism is nor how she determines how her romance novels and their readers are ―evangelicals.‖ Yes, there is a lot of diversity in evangelicalism and its beliefs, but if there is no consensus to be reached, then scholars need to revise, reconceptualize, or discard the moniker, as Donald Dayton argued.29 Belief seems to be vitally important in defining evangelicalism. There does not appear to be anything inherently evangelical except as it is contextualized within a worldview of evangelical beliefs and theology. Take Neal‘s novels for example. How are they evangelical? Is it because the authors and the reader self-identify as evangelicals? Is it because such novels can be found in evangelical bookstores, are published by evangelical publishing houses, or is there some other determinant? Self-identification is, of course, problematic, especially as Marsden notes that many African Americans who would ascribe to the standard ―evangelical‖ beliefs would not self-identify as evangelicals, and many would not share

198 evangelical politics.30 Also, evangelical self-identification is problematic because many who would classify as evangelical under Marsden‘s schema would identify themselves as simply ―Christian‖ and would ignore (and perhaps even shun) the evangelical label. Self-identification could also be connected to beliefs. Why do individuals identify as ―evangelical‖? It could possibly be that they identify as evangelical because they want to connect themselves to certain beliefs, as the authors of ―An Evangelical Manifesto‖ demonstrate. Using belief as the sole lens to understand ―evangelicalism,‖ however, not only elides the voices of women but it also obscures certain larger strands within evangelicalism in general. In a historiographical article in Church History, Douglas Sweeney pointed out that many of the prominent historians within the field of evangelical history (like Mark Noll and George Marsden) approach evangelicalism from a ―Reformed model‖ which privileges belief as an expression of religiosity. In opposition to the Reformed model is the Holiness model, according to Sweeney. Holiness historians, like Donald Dayton, Leonard Sweet, and Timothy Sweet, have argued instead for a ―kaleidoscope‖ or ―mosaic‖ view of evangelicalism, with Dayton going so far as to suggest that ―evangelicalism‖ is a term that has outlived its interpretive usefulness and that scholars should abandon it. Sweeny‘s contribution in this article is not only to demonstrate the political and theological implications of defining evangelicalism but also to elucidate the presentist concerns of evangelical scholars of evangelicalism.31 Defining evangelicalism in terms of belief, therefore, participates in a struggle within evangelicalism over self-identity, as revealed in ―An Evangelical Manifesto.‖ As scholars (evangelical and not) delineate what evangelicalism is, they make political choices while attempting to make historical ones. This process conceals as much as it reveals. It also becomes very frustrating in trying to elucidate who we are discussing when we cannot even decide whom we are seeking or how we know when we find them. It is tempting to accept some of the tongue- in-cheek expressions: ―[T]he difference between an evangelical and a fundamentalist is that a fundamentalist is an evangelical who is mad about something.‖ ―An evangelical is anyone who identified with Billy Graham.‖32 Randall Balmer offers a definition of evangelicalism that incorporates facets of evangelical belief, but he also tries to include some notion of emotions. Balmer presents a ―functional‖ definition that emphasizes certain evangelical beliefs—the importance of the Bible, the need for conversion, and the duty to evangelize—but also includes the importance of a

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―spiritual piety,‖ which for Balmer refers to an emotional state. While Balmer generally deprecates sentimental expressions of religiosity, sentimentality, as I have defined it in this work, is one of the primary affective moods for this piety.33 In this dissertation I have tried to argue that sentimentality and sentimental expressions of piety are an important aspect of evangelicalism, especially in religious practice. Any definition of evangelicalism that wants to take seriously practice as a vital component must include sentimentality. Lynn Neal argued for the importance of a sentimental aesthetic, but her focus is primarily on evangelical popular culture, not a general sweep of evangelical thought or practice. As I have demonstrated, sentimentality is a broader component of evangelicalism and not limited solely to evangelical romance novels or evangelical popular culture. It is deeply embedded in how evangelicals see the world and their relationship to God.34 I am not suggesting that sentimentality explains everything in evangelicalism or that scholars can reduce evangelical thought to sentimentality. There are other vital sociological, cultural, and political facets of evangelicalism that are not connected to sentimentality. Nostalgia, familial and romantic love, and particular conceptions of the domestic sphere, however, are part of the evangelical worldview that ministers, hymn writers, authors, and others have created for evangelicals. They appeal to sentimentality to motivate their audiences to live certain types of lives, to understand God in certain ways, to worship through certain tropes, and to be involved in the world in certain political and social activities. The success of sentimental authors, the presence of sentimentality even in the most unlikely of works, and the continued use of sentimental music implies that sentimentality has integrally changed evangelicalism from the nineteenth century to the present. It would seem to be a vibrant force in the lives of many evangelicals. Max Lucado is one of the most successful, and perhaps important, purveyors of evangelical sentimentality. That he continues to use the same motifs to appeal to his audience and that he continues to successfully sell each new book is evidence that he is making an impact in evangelical culture. The presence of the same types of tropes in other successful authors may not suggest his influence, but it does suggest that Lucado and these authors have tapped into or created certain types of desires within audiences that sentimental rhetoric satisfies. The expansion of his brand into more product lines also demonstrates that his publishers and marketers believe that his writing is a viable, marketable, and profitable commodity.

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Lucado is both unique and uncommon within evangelicalism. His success, his appeal, and his branding make ―Max Lucado‖ a singular figure. The very presentation of Max Lucado as ―Max Lucado‖ exhibits that something draws people specifically to Lucado and his message. His handlers have marketed him as singular person, something new in evangelicalism. Certainly he has exceeded many other authors in terms of number of books, DVDs, and other media, sold, and the fact that his publishers have spun him off into numerous other avenues is something distinctly new in evangelicalism and demonstrative of the ways evangelicals have embraced the powers of the contemporary market and the utility of branding and advertising. Yet in many ways Max Lucado is the pinnacle of a centuries-long development of the confluence of several trends in evangelicalism. Evangelicals have embraced the market as an avenue for their message since the time of George Whitefield. Some evangelicals have been very astute in how they have exploited the market and its tools, even while others have been hesitant to involve themselves in commercializing evangelicalism. Evangelical thought has been changing and shifting for almost as long. Christians have always modified their thought and the presentation of that thought in response to audiences and the intellectual currents of their day from the time of Paul. Evangelicalism is no different. In the nineteenth century sentimentality appealed to many evangelical ministers and authors. The Beechers and Horace Bushnell may be among the most famous of sentimental authors and ministers of the mid nineteenth century, but they were not the only ones, nor did the influence of sentimentality in evangelicalism end there. The appeal to sentiment became a part of evangelical hymnody and evangelical thought. The sentimentality Lucado draws on became an important part of conservative evangelical thought with the rise of biblical criticism and Darwinism. These challenges to both scripture and evangelicalism led evangelicals to two thought types. On one hand there were theologians and ministers who returned the challenge of biblical criticism with a position of scriptural inerrancy and literalism. They denounced higher criticism as un-Christian and deceptive. They held to traditional ideas about the composition and authorship of the biblical books. They developed a fortress mentality when it came to Christianity that eventually led to a retreat from American public life, which they viewed as harmful to Christians. The other type of thought embraced sentimentality, which became a way to avoid the challenges of biblical criticism and Darwin. Revivalists like Dwight Moody appealed to individuals through sentiment not intellect. Through narratives meant to produce certain types of emotion, Moody became a

201 very successful minister and set a pattern for others to follow. Ministers and authors today who appeal to sentiment and experience also sidestep the intellectual challenges evangelicalism still faces. Lucado also represents how much evangelicals have reemerged to a highly visible presence in American culture. Not only do his works appear on general market bestseller lists, but he also appears on cable news shows and other outlets to give insight on various issues of the times. Such presence is just one part of the impact evangelicals have made on recent American culture as they have moved from the separatism of fundamentalism through postwar neo- evangelicalism to the modern engagement with American life. Evangelicals and evangelical studies, however, are at a crossroads, as evidenced by ―An Evangelical Manifesto.‖ For evangelicals, there are surely some who will continue to seek political power or political solutions to the events of the twenty-first century. They will continue to align themselves with the Republic Party and conservative politics. For other evangelicals the future presents different options. There are those dissatisfied with the politicization of their religion and the hijacking of the image of evangelicals by the Religious Right. They do not want to return to the separatism of fundamentalism, but they do not want to be removed from the public sphere. They want a voice, just not one immediately associated with fundamentalism or the Religious Right. Whether their political stance will actually amount to a position distinct from the Religious Right remains to be seen. For evangelical studies, it is time to move beyond the focus solely on what evangelicals believe or what their political positions are. This investigation of evangelical sentimentality offers new roads to think about evangelical practice. There have been relatively few studies that have examined evangelical practice, although those studies have provided important contribution to the scholarly understanding of evangelicals and American religion in general. Marie Griffith‘s God’s Daughters, John Corrigan‘s Business of the Heart, Aaron Ketchell‘s Holy Hills of the Ozarks, and Lynn Neal‘s Romancing God are a few of the recent works that accept the importance of evangelical belief but move beyond simply focusing on belief or politics. These studies take evangelical practice seriously (not that others do not) and provide examples of the plethora of observations awaiting scholars who move beyond these categories. Studies of belief and politics are important and should not be abandoned, but attention to practice and how it is related to belief and politics would fill gaps in the historiography and offer a richer picture of

202 evangelicalism in the United States, past and present.

My study of evangelical sentimentality has several shortcomings, many of them due to the consequence of the subject matter. Because my interest has been in examining the thought of Max Lucado as a window into evangelical sentimentality, I have focused primarily on complicating a narrative of white, middle-class, conservative evangelical Protestantism. I never intended to examine the presence of sentimentality in Christianity as a whole. A similar undertaking could be and in some ways has been done with respect to American Catholicism, and examinations of the Catholic domestic sphere and its impact are a rich sub-field to the study of Catholicism in the United States.35 Attention should also be paid to the use of sentimentality by African American and women authors and ministers. T. D. Jakes and Joyce Meyer are just two examples of ministers/authors who participate in evangelical sentimentality, but modify it based on their particular audiences and concerns.36 Attention to the audiences of sentimentality would also reveal changes and adaptation based on class, gender and race.37 It would also bring to light how audiences receive the rhetoric I have discussed here. I have mainly focused on how authors and others create and deploy sentimental rhetoric. The next step would be to examine how individuals and communities incorporate sentimentality into how they interact in the world. How do they put into practice in their daily lives the sentimentality that is so much a part of evangelical thought? How do they respond to the message offered by Max Lucado and others? That they respond is evident by the merchandizing of sentimentality. People continue to buy Max Lucado books. Companies continue producing hymnals with cherished sentimental hymns. New or adapted forms of evangelical culture (like fiction) continue to demonstrate that sentimentality is a foundation for how they create fictional worlds for their readers. Differences between genders and classes and among races or ethnic backgrounds could also be illustrative, but it is evident that non-white, non-middle class groups participate in evangelical sentimentality as well. Lucado‘s publishers (as well as the publishers of Rick Warren and Joel Osteen) produce Hispanic versions of his inspirational titles. Hymnals in African American churches or in churches composed of poorer congregants contain the same sentimental hymns that predominantly white, middle-class churches use. The presence of sentimentality exists, but how is it incorporated differently? Max Lucado and his works provide scholars of American religion a lens to see various

203 trends in American evangelicalism. That lens, however, also reveals other vistas to explore in evangelical studies. Evangelicalism continues to change in the United States in response to cultural trends and theological shifts. However we as scholars conceptualize it, sentimentality remains an important part of evangelicalism despite those shifts. Just as the rise of the Religious Right offered scholars new opportunities to consider the persistence of evangelicalism in the United States, which led to new and important works on evangelicalism, it is my hope that when scholars take seriously sentimental expressions of piety in evangelicalism as a dynamic part of the lives of evangelicals, they will produce the same caliber of studies that will continue to enrich evangelical historiography.

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NOTES

INTRODUCTION

1Max Lucado, Cure for the Common Life: Living in Your Sweet Spot (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2005), 83-84.

2Harry S. Stout, The Divine Dramatist: George Whitefield and the Rise of Modern Evangelicalism (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991); Frank Lambert, Pedlar in Divinity: George Whitefield and the Transatlantic Revivals, 1737-1770 (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994).

3Mark A. Noll, America’s God: From Jonathan Edwards to Abraham Lincoln (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002); idem, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994); idem, Between Faith and Criticism: Evangelicals, Scholarship, and the Bible in America (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1986).

4George Marsden, ―Evangelicals, History, and Modernity,‖ in Evangelicalism and Modern America, ed. George Marsden (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1984), 102; idem, Fundamentalism and American Culture, 2d ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006); idem, The Soul of the American University: From Protestant Establishment to Established Non-belief (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994).

5Nathan O. Hatch, ―Evangelicalism as a Democratic Movement,‖ in Evangelicalism and Modern America, 71-82; idem, The Democratization of American Christianity (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989). Although many scholars have relied on Hatch‘s picture of early republic religion, several scholars have challenged Hatch‘s assertion that evangelicalism is essentially democratic. For an overview of these challenges see Christine Leigh Heyrman, Southern Cross: The Beginnings of the Bible Belt (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997), 253-60, and Paul E. Johnson, ―Democracy, Patriarchy, and American Revivals, 1780-1830,‖ Journal of Social History 24 (Summer 1991): 843-50.

6Sara Diamond, Not by Politics Alone: The Enduring Influence of the Christian Right (New York: The Guilford Press, 1998), 3 and 9.

7Betty A. DeBerg, Ungodly Women: Gender and the First Wave of American Fundamentalism (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1990), 7.

8Aaron K. Ketchell, Holy Hills of the Ozarks: Religion and Tourism in Branson, Missouri (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007), xv, argues that the mid-twentieth- century inhabitants in Branson had a ―Christian–informed yet nebulous approach to lived ethics‖ that was based ―on ‗experience‘ rather than well-defined ‗belief‘‖ similar to the informants in Nancy T. Ammerman, ―Golden Rule Christianity: Lived Religion in the American Mainstream,‖ in Lived Religion in America: Toward a History of Practice, ed. David D. Hall (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997), 196-216. The late-twentieth-century residents of Branson

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were much more evangelical and ―rallied around‖ certain beliefs, specifically those used by David Bebbington in D. W. Bebbington, Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s (London: Unwin Hyman, 1989).

9Amanda Porterfield, The Protestant Experience in America (Westport; Greenwood Press, 2006), 93-114. Catholics in the nineteenth century often relied on the same tropes and envisioned the world in terms of domesticity. Their reasons for doing so, however, were often different, and the expressions of Catholic sentimentality often took different forms. See Ann Taves, The Household of Faith: Roman Catholic Devotions in Mid-Nineteenth-Century America (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1986).

10Porterfield, Protestant Experience, 113-22; DeBerg, Ungodly Women, 13-74. Marsden, Fundamentalism and American Culture, 32-39. Charles H. Lippy, Being Religious, American Style: A History of Popular Religiosity in the United States (Westport: Praeger, 1994), 181, noted that critics of the early twentieth-century novels of Lloyd Douglas (like The Robe and Magnificent Obsession) charged that they were too sentimental, but Lippy does not connect this to the sentimentality of the nineteenth century or argue that sentimentality was a force in evangelicalism from that point onward.

11Robert C. Solomon, ―In Defense of Sentimentality,‖ in In Defense of Sentimentality (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), 3.

12 Frank Burch Brown, Good Taste, Bad Taste, & Christian Taste: Aesthetics in Religious Life (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), 128-47. Lynn Neal, Romancing God: Evangelical Women and Inspirational Fiction (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2006), 101-4, delineates other critiques of sentimentality in evangelicalism.

13Porterfield, Protestant Experience, 127-30; Randall Balmer, Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey into the Evangelical Subculture in America, 4th ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 302.

14Neal, Romancing God, 33-41.

15Jennifer Rycenga, ―Dropping in for the Holidays: Christmas as Commercial Ritual at the Precious Moments Chapel,‖ in God in the Details: American Religion in Popular Culture, ed. Eric Michael Mazur and Kate McCarthy (New York: Routledge, 2001), 139-53.

16Christian Smith, Christian America?: What Evangelicals Really Want (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000).

17Balmer, Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory, 147-75.

18Linda Kintz, Between Jesus and the Market: The Emotions That Matter in Right-Wing America (Durham: Duke University Press, 1997).

206

19John Corrigan, Business of the Heart: Religion and Emotion in the Nineteenth Century (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002), especially 251-67.

20Douglas, Feminization of American Culture, particularly pages 12 and 254-5.

21Ibid., 77.

22Ibid., 253.

23Ann Braude, ―Women‘s History is American Religious History,‖ in Retelling U.S. Religious History, ed. Thomas Tweed (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997).

24Douglas, Feminization of American Culture, 255.

25Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly, in The Oxford Harriet Beecher Stowe Reader, ed Joan D. Hedrick (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999) 402, emphasis in original. For the way I am using ―emotionology‖ see Peter N. Stearns with Carol Z. Stearns, ―Emotionology: Clarifying the History of Emotions and Emotional Standards,‖ The American Historical Review 90 (October 1985): 813-36.

26Stern, Plight of Feeling, 1-4.

27Tompkins, Sensational Designs, 200.

28Ibid., particularly 126-42.

29Colleen McDannell, The Christian Home in Victorian America, 1840-1900 (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1986). The quote is on page 151.

30Lynn Neal, Romancing God: Evangelical Women and Inspirational Fiction (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2006), 100-104, and 194-5.

31Solomon, ―In Defense of Sentimentality,‖ 4.

32Ibid., 18.

33What is interesting about evangelical examples of Victorian domesticity is that the mother is often lacking. God tends to be a father in modern pictures of a Christian domestic economy, although evangelicals in the nineteenth century (like Henry Ward Beecher and Dwight Moody) sometimes emphasized God‘s motherly characteristics. Jesus is older brother (but also husband and lover—an issued addressed in chapter four). The mother, however, is often absent in these pictures. In a recent novel, however, William P. Young, The Shack: A Novel (Newberry Park: Windblown Media, 2007), the first person of the Trinity (God the Father) is presented as a motherly, African American woman. Catholic expressions of domesticity, however, have no such problem since Mary can participate in the divine economy as heavenly mother. Because of

207

evangelical demotion of Mary (from the Catholic position as ―mother of God‖), however, this is not a viable solution. In the Bible, writers present God as having motherly characteristics. In Isaiah 66:13 God states, ―As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you.‖ Jesus compares himself to a mother hen in Matthew 23:37. Yet in modern evangelicalism, evangelicals do not sing songs or pray to the divine Mother.

CHAPTER ONE

1Max Lucado, A Gentle Thunder: Hearing God Through the Storm (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 1995), 122.

2Max Lucado, God Came Near (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 1986; reprint, 2004).

3The information in this section is crafted from Cindy Crosby, ―America‘s Pastor,‖ Christianity Today (March 2004): 58-63; ―Max Lucado Biography,‖ http://maxlucado. com/press/Lucado_Bio_2007.pdf (accessed October 10, 2008); ―Max Lucado: A Publishing Timeline,‖ http://maxlucado.com/press/Lucado_Publishing_ Timeline_2007.pdf, (accessed October 10, 2008); ―Max Lucado‘s Books,‖ http://maxlucado.com/pdf/lucado. books.pdf, (accessed October 10, 2008); Max Lucado, On the Anvil (Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1985); idem, No Wonder They Call Him the Savior (Multnomah Press, 1986); idem, It’s Not About Me: Rescue from the Life We Thought Would Make Us Happy (Brentwood: Integrity Publishers, 2004) and The Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism, rev. ed. comp. Randall Balmer (Waco: Baylor University Press, 2004), s.v. ―Max Lee Lucado‖.

4Hallmark Press Room, ―Many Americans Have Found a Voice in Max Lucado,‖ http://pressroom.hallmark.com/lucado_cards.html (accessed November 10, 2005).

5―America‘s 100 Best: Connections,‖ Reader’s Digest (May 2005): 158; "Party's Schedule" New York Times, August 30, 2004, Late Edition (East Coast), http://www.proquest. com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/ (accessed March 16, 2006); Hanna Rosin, Hamil R. Harris. "President, at Prayer Breakfast, Calls for Reconciliation" The Washington Post, February 5, 1999, http://www. proquest.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/ (accessed March 16, 2006); HR 1737, 79(R) Texas House of Representatives (May, 26, 2005), http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/79R/billtext/HR01737I. HTM (accessed November 14, 2005).

6"Religion / IN BRIEF; Chevrolet Sponsorship of Music Tour Criticized" Los Angeles Times, November 2, 2002, http://www.proquest.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/ (accessed March 16, 2006); Stuart Elliott, ―G. M. Gets Criticism for Backing Tour of Christian Music Performers,‖ New York Times, October 24, 2002, Late Edition (East Coast), http://www.proquest.com.proxy. lib.fsu.edu/ (accessed March 16, 2006).

7Richard T. Hughes, Renewing the Ancient Faith: The Story of Churches of Christ in America (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996), 373; Goebel Music, Behold the Pattern (Colleyville, TX: Goebel Music Publications, 1991), 113-27.

208

8Gary McDade, ―Max Lucado: Leading the Exodus from the Church of Christ,‖ Good News From Getwell, Getwell Church of Christ (Memphis, TN), March 15, 2004, 2-3. See also, ―An Unusual Church of Christ,‖ Christianity Today (March 2004): 62.

9Lucado, Great House of God, 2-3. Picturing heaven as a divine home is not unique in sentimental literature. Elizabeth Stuart Phelps wrote several popular novels including Gates Ajar and Beyond the Gates that envisioned the world beyond as several Victorian homes. See Douglas, Feminization of American Culture, 223-26, and Amanda Porterfield, The Protestant Experience in America (Westport: Greenwood Press, 2006), 115.

10Ibid., 3, 11.

11 Lucado, In the Grip of Grace, 174.

12Lucado, A Gentle Thunder, 122.

13Max Lucado, Come Thirsty (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2004), 82.

14Ludwig Feuerbach, The Essence of Christianity, trans. George Eliot (Amherst: Prometheus Books, 1989), argued that human beings project a distilled version of human values into the heavens and create their conceptions of God. For example, love is an emotion many humans value. If God as a perfect being exists, then God must exhibit perfect love, or be all- loving.

15Lucado, No Wonder, 21.

16Max Lucado, In the Grip of Grace (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 1996), 86.

17Lucado, God Came Near, 93-94.

18Max Lucado, The Great House of God: A Home for Your Heart (Nashville: Word Publishing, 1997) 59-61.

19Lucado, In the Grip of Grace, 57-59.

20Max Lucado, The Applause of Heaven (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1990), 58-59.

21 Lucado, Great House of God, 136-7.

22Lucado, God Came Near, 115-6.

23Lucado, Come Thirsty, 47-51.

24Ibid., 51-52.

209

25Ibid., 216, 72.

26Lucado, A Gentle Thunder, 45-46.

27Lucado, God Came Near, 7.

28Ibid., 25-26.

29Max Lucado, 3:16: The Numbers of Hope (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2007), 137-38.

30Max Lucado, A Love Worth Giving: Living in the Overflow of God’s Love (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2002), 45-46.

31Max Lucado, Facing Your Giants: A David and Goliath Story for Everyday People (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2006) 101-2.

32Lucado, God Came Near, 39-40.

33Lucado, Love Worth Giving, 92-93.

34Lucado, Great House of God, 90-91.

35Max Lucado, Next Door Savior (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2003), 53.

36Lucado, Facing Your Giants, 128.

37Lucado, Come Thirsty, 35.

38Lucado, In the Grip of Grace, 104.

39Lucado, No Wonder They Call Him the Savior, 31-37.

40When W Publishing released He Chose the Nails, they also released a sixty-four page booklet of selections from the book. It is priced at $2.99 and is just the size for someone to give to a non-Christian as a tool for conversion. It is entitled He Did This Just for You.

41Susan Friend Harding, The Book of Jerry Falwell: Fundamentalist Language and Politics (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000), 88.

42Lucado, Great House of God, ix; In the Grip of Grace, viii. Colossians 4:3-4 (NRSV) reads, ―pray for us as well that God will open to us a door for the word, that we may declare the mystery of Christ, for which I am in prison, so that I may reveal it clearly, as I should.‖

210

43Max Lucado, Cure for the Common Life: Living in Your Sweet Spot (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2005), 61; Great House of God, 175; Traveling Light: Releasing the Burdens You Were Never Intended to Bear (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2001), 162; A Gentle Thunder: Hearing God Through the Storm (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 1995), 56.

44Max Lucado, When God Whispers Your Name (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 1994), 3-4.

45Max Lucado, Just Like Jesus (Nashville: Word Publishing, 1998), ix-xii.

46Stern, Plight of Feeling, 12-18.

47Jerome D. Frank and Julia B. Frank, Persuasion and Healing: A Comparative Study of Psychotherapy, 3d ed. (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991), xiii-xiv.

48Ibid., 132.

49Ibid., 133.

50Ibid., 133-4.

51Ibid., 152.

52Again, this is not to suggest there is something duplicitous about the production of a ―Max Lucado‖ that is marketed, nor is it to insinuate that the marketed ―Max Lucado‖ is inherently different from Max Lucado himself. I am, however, drawing on here ideas from Erving Goffman, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (Garden City: Doubleday, 1959), that much of the self that is presented to others as we encounter them (even when such interaction is face to face) is performative. It matters not whether ―Max Lucado‖ and Max Lucado are one in the same, but I do not want to claim that even if disparity exists that it is necessary devious.

53Hallmark Press Room, ―Many Americans Have Found a Voice in Max Lucado;‖ Crosby, ―America‘s Pastor,‖ 60; Crosby, ―Nice Guys Finish First.‖

54Lucado, Facing Your Giants, 181.

55Ibid., 89-90.

56See for example, Max Lucado, Come Thirsty (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2004), 26.

57Frank, Persuasion and Healing, 195.

58Ibid., 194-5.

211

59Lucado, Facing Your Giants, 166.

60Max Lucado, No Wonder They Call Him the Savior (Multnomah Press, 1986), 151.

61Frank, Persuasion and Healing, 94-95.

62Harding, The Book of Jerry Falwell, 104, notes that this narrative creation of problems only to solve them is a common feature of fundamentalist preaching that results in binding the audience even more closely to the minister.

63Wolfgang Iser, The Act of Reading: A Theory of Aesthetic Response (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1978), 27.

64Ibid., 34-35.

65Max Lucado, ―Prayer for Republican National Convention,‖ August 30, 2004, available at http://www.maxlucado.com/pdf/rnc.prayer.pdf, accessed June 25, 2009.

66Max Lucado, Turn: Remembering Our Foundations (Sisters, OR: Multnomah, 2005), 23-24.

67Ibid., 31.

68Ibid., 33.

69Ibid., 51.

70Ibid., 58. The quotations are not referenced.

71Ibid., 67.

72Ibid., 75.

73Ibid., 81.

74Ibid., 81-82.

75 Ibid., 82.

76Ibid., 93.

77Max Lucado, ―Pray for President-Elect Obama,‖ available online at http://www. maxlucado.com/president/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/prayerguide.pdf, accessed January, 19, 2008.

212

78Lucado, A Gentle Thunder, 54.

79Bill Broadway, ―TV Debate Delineates Christian Divide on War; Mainline Churches Against; Evangelicals For,‖ The Washington Post, March 15, 2003.

80Max Lucado, ―Why Does God Allow War,‖ available online at http://www. maxlucado.com/pdf/upwords.god.and.war.pdf, accessed February 13, 2006, 2.

81Ibid., 2-3.

82Ibid., 3-4.

83Ibid., 5.

84Ibid., 6.

85Ibid.

86Max Lucado, ―What God Says About Gay Marriage,‖ July 18, 2004, in possession of the author, accessed October 17, 2006.

87Stern, Plight of Feeling, 31.

88Ibid., 31-69.

89Tompkins, Sensational Designs, 122-46.

90Douglas, Feminization of American Culture, 8-9.

91Ibid., 22-28; Jon Butler, Awash in a Sea of Faith: Christianizing the American People (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1990); Colleen McDannell, The Christian Home in Victorian America, 1840-1900 (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1986).

92Porterfield, Protestant Experience in America, 127-30; Randall Balmer, Blessed Assurance: A History of Evangelicalism in America (Boston: Beacon Press, 1999), 94-110. For an example of this type of rhetoric see Jerry Falwell, ―An Agenda for the 1980s,‖ in Piety and Politics: Evangelicals and Fundamentalists Confront the World, ed. Richard John Neuhaus and Michael Cromartie (Washington, D. C.: Ethics and Public Policy Center, 1987), 109-23.

93Harding, The Book of Jerry Falwell, 12.

CHAPTER TWO

1Max Lucado, And the Angels Were Silent (Portland: Multnomah Press, 1992; reprint,

213

Nashville: W Publishing Group, n.d.), 153.

2The Editors, ―The Top 50 Books That Have Shaped Evangelicals,‖ Christianity Today 50 (October 2006): 51-55; Mark A. Noll, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994), 12-23.

3See, for example, E. Brooks Holifield, Theology in America: Christian Thought from the Age of the Puritans to the Civil War (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003), a comprehensive survey of the variety of American Christian theology.

4George M. Marsden, Fundamentalism and American Culture, new ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 32-39, and 130-36.

5Lisa Jardine, "Introduction" in Francis Bacon, The New Organon, ed. Lisa Jardine and Michael Silverthorne (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000), vii-xxvii.

6Charles Webster, The Great Instauration: Science, Medicine and Reform, 1626-1660 (New York: Holmes and Meier Publishers, 1975), 367, 498-514.

7Theodore Dwight Bozeman, Protestants in an Age of Science: The Baconian Ideal and Antebellum Religious Thought (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1977), 4- 21.

8Mark A. Noll, ―Common Sense Traditions and American Evangelical Thought,‖ American Quarterly 37 (Summer 1985): 216-38; Bozeman, Protestants in the Age of Science, 132-159; C. Leonard Allen, ―Baconianism and the Bible in the Disciples of Christ: James S. Lamar and ‗The Organon of Scripture,‘‖ Church History 55 (March 1986): 65-80

9John D. Woodbridge, Mark A. Noll, and Nathan O. Hatch, The Gospel in America: Themes in the Story of America’s Evangelicals (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1979), 110-13. For an examination of the acceptance of organic evolution among Protestants see Jon H. Roberts, Darwinism and the Divine in America: Protestant Intellectuals and Organic Evolution, 1859- 1900 (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988; reprint, Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 2001).

10It is questionable whether Darwin actually followed Bacon‘s inductive method or its opposite—hypothesis and deduction. See Ernst Mayr, ―The Philosophical Foundations of Darwinism,‖ Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 145 (December 2001): 488-95.

11Particularly insightful about the origins of fundamentalism is Michael Lienesch, In the Beginning: Fundamentalism, the Scopes Trial, and the Making of the Antievolution Movement (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2007). Lienesch applies social theory to fundamentalism to detail how fundamentalists self-consciously created fundamentalism particularly around the issue of evolution by how they framed the ideas that challenged Baconian Common sense philosophies of science. Noll, Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, 24, commented

214

that ―Fundamentalism, dispensational premillennialism, the Higher Life movement, and Pentecostalism were all evangelical strategies of survival in response to the religious crises of the late nineteenth century. In different ways each preserved something essential of the Christian faith. But together they were a disaster for the life of the mind.‖

12For example, see J. Gresham Machen, Christianity and Liberalism (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1923). For an intellectual survey of the rise and acceptance of liberal theology see William R. Hutchison, The Modernist Impulse in American Protestantism (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1976; reprint, Durham: Duke University Press, 1992).

13Marsden, Fundamentalism and American Culture, 109-18, quotes from 111 and 114.

14Hutchison, Modernist Impulse, 196-206 and Marsden, Fundamentalism and American Culture, 118-23.

15The now-standard text on the Scopes Trial is Edward J. Larson, Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion (New York: Basic Books, 1997). The Bryan quote comes from page 7. For the impact of the Scopes Trial on fundamentalism see Marsden, Fundamentalism and American Culture, 184-95.

16Randall Balmer, Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey into the Evangelical Subculture in America, 4th ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 131-34. George M. Marsden, Reforming Fundamentalism: Fuller Seminary and the New Evangelicalism (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987), uses the creation of Fuller Seminary as a self-consciously evangelical institution to demonstrate that despite the intent of neo-evangelicals to create an identity separate from fundamentalism, neo-evangelicalism arose from the foundation of fundamentalist theology and is heavily indebted to it.

17For a comprehensive survey of the changes and challenges of creationisms, see Ronald L. Numbers, The Creationists: From Scientific Creationism to Intelligent Design, expanded ed. (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2006).

18Ibid., 268-85.

19Ibid., 373-98. A good overview of the legal challenges of creationism, intelligent design and evolution is Edward J. Larson, Trial and Error: The American Controversy Over Creation and Evolution, 3d ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003). For a critique about whether intelligent design is scientific or not, see Matt Young and Taner Edis, eds., Why Intelligent Design Fails: A Scientific Critique of the New Creationism (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2004).

20Henry M. Morris, Creation and the Modern Christian (El Cajon: Master Book Publishers, 1985), 145-47.

215

21 Charles Colson and Anne Morse, "Verdict that demands evidence: it is Darwinists, not Christians, who are stonewalling the facts," Christianity Today 49 (April 2005): 112(1), Academic ASAP, Gale, Florida State University, accessed February 25, 2009.

22Marsden, 32-39; Robert F. Martin, Hero of the Heartland: Billy Sunday and the Transformation of American Society, 1862-1935 (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2002), 83-85, 106-09; Joel A. Carpenter, Revive Us Again: The Reawakening of American Fundamentalism (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997), 221-23. John G. Turner, Bill Bright & Campus Crusade for Christ: The Renewal of Evangelicalism in Postwar America (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2008), 36-37, tells a similar narrative of Bill Bright who founded the popular college ministry Campus Crusade for Christ. Bright, a student at Fuller Seminary, decided that education and evangelism were incompatible. He was failing several courses at the time.

23Max Lucado, No Wonder They Call Him the Savior (Portland: Multnomah Press, 1986), 34-35.

24Max Lucado, In the Grip of Grace (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 1996), 25-33.

25Nathan O. Hatch, The Democratization of American Christianity (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989).

26See Richard T. Hughes, Reviving the Ancient Faith: The Story of Churches of Christ in America (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996), especially chapter 2; C. Leonard Allen, Things Unseen: Churches of Christ in (and After) the Modern Age (Siloam Springs: Leafwood Publishers, 2004), 45-98; M. Eugene Boring, Disciples and the Bible: A History of Disciples Biblical Interpretation in North America (St. Louis: Chalice Press, 1997), 55-112.

27Hughes, Reviving the Ancient Faith, 22-28; Boring, Disciples and the Bible, 101-12.

28Max Lucado, On the Anvil: Thoughts on Being Shaped into God’s Image (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers Inc., 1985), 134; idem, No Wonder They Call Him the Savior, 104; idem, And the Angels Were Silent, 96.

29Alexander Campbell, "Reply," The Christian Baptist 3 (April 1826): 229.

30See Theodore Dwight Bozeman, To Live Ancient Lives: The Primitivist Dimension in Puritanism (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1988); Sidney E. Mead, The Lively Experiment: The Shaping of Christianity in America (New York: Harper & Row, 1963; reprint, 1976), 108-13; Holifield, Theology in America. Historian Richard T. Hughes has especially attempted to map out a comparative approach to primitivism. See Richard T. Hughes and C. Leonard Allen, Illusions of Innocence: Protestant Primitivism in America, 1630-1875 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1988); Richard T. Hughes, ed., The American Quest for the Primitive Church (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1988); and idem, ed., The Primitive Church in the Modern World (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1995). Laurie F. Maffly-

216

Kipp, Religion and Society in Frontier California (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994), 54, also argues that ―historylessness‖ was the main myth that guided the settlement of the western United States. Evangelicals and others believed that they could go to the West and completely start anew. Maffly-Kipp noted, however, that ―historylessness‖ proved to be a double-edged sword for evangelicals. They were concerned that some settlers of California abstracted morality along with history as they reinterpreted their lives in the ―new‖ land of the West, since the ―softening influences of society‖ would be absent.

31Mark Noll, America’s God: From Jonathan Edwards to Abraham Lincoln (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002); idem, ―Common Sense Traditions‖; Allen, ―Baconianism and the Bible‖; Marsden, Fundamentalism and American Culture

32Max Lucado, Come Thirsty (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2004), 14; idem, Every Day Deserves a Chance (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2007), 86.

33―For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.‖ (NRSV)

34Max Lucado, 3:16: The Numbers of Hope (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2007), 65-72.

35Max Lucado, The Great House of God: A Home for Your Heart (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1997), 135-36.

36Max Lucado, A Gentle Thunder: Hearing God Through the Storm (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 1995), 126.

37Ibid., 159-60.

38Ibid., 164-5.

39Philip N. Mulder, A Controversial Spirit: Evangelical Awakenings in the South (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002). Quotes are from pages 8 and 170.

40Hughes, Reviving the Ancient Faith, 22-29. Hughes suggests that as early as 1830 two different strands had developed with in the Campbell movement: one committed to Christian unity, the other committed to restorationism. While he identifies the unity strand with the Disciples of Christ and restorationism with the Churches of Christ, there were elements of both strands in the two movements that developed out of Campbell‘s teaching.

41Max Lucado, Cure for the Common Life: Living in Your Sweet Spot (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2005), 65.

42Lucado, Come Thirsty, 23.

43Max Lucado, Next Door Savior (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2003), 135.

217

44Max Lucado, When Christ Comes: The Beginning of the Very Best (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 1999), xvi-xix.

45Ibid., 5.

46Lucado, No Wonder They Call Him the Savior, 101-4.

47Ibid., 125-27.

48Information taken from the Oak Hills Church website, available online at http://www. oakhillschurchsa.org, accessed December 23, 2008.

49Lucado, And the Angels Were Silent, 47-49.

50See Balmer, Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory, 277-92; R. Laurence Moore, Selling God: American Religion in the Marketplace of Culture (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994), 245-50; Janice Peck, The Gods of Televangelism: The Crisis of Meaning and the Appeal of Religious Television (Cresskill: Hampton Press Inc., 1993); Bobby C. Alexander, Televangelism Reconsidered: Ritual in the Search for Human Community, vol. 68, American Academy of Religion Studies in Religion (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1994); David John Marley, Pat Robertson: An American Life (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2007).

51Cindy Crosby, ―Nice Guys Finish First,‖ Publishers Weekly 250 (September 8, 2003): 44

52Balmer, Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory, 290.

53Cindy Crosby, ―America‘s Pastor,‖ Christianity Today (March 2004): 58; idem, ―Nice Guys Finish First,‖ 48.

54Max Lucado, God Came Near (Portland: Multnomah, 1986; reprint, Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2004), 81-84.

55Christian Smith, Christian America: What Do Evangelicals Really Want? (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000); see also Christian Smith, et. al., American Evangelicalism: Embattled and Thriving (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1998).

56Lucado, A Gentle Thunder, 41.

57Ibid., 39-40.

58Lucado, In the Grip of Grace, 162.

59Ibid.

218

60Ibid., 165.

61Colleen McDannell, ―Beyond Dr. Dobson: Women, Girls, and Focus on the Family,‖ in Women and Twentieth-Century Protestantism, ed. Margaret Lamberts Bendroth and Virginia Lieson Brereton (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2002), 128-29.

62Max Lucado, When God Whispers Your Name (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 1994), 11-14.

63Ibid., 17.

64 Ibid., 18.

65Lucado, A Gentle Thunder, 113-16.

66In And the Angels Were Silent, 149, Lucado describes Pilate as ―a puppy hearing two voices. He steps toward one, then stops, and steps toward the other.‖

67Lucado, Next Door Savior, 73-76.

68On the importance of the doctrine of biblical inerrancy see Marsden, Fundamentalism and American Culture; idem, Reforming Fundamentalism: Fuller Seminary and the New Evangelicalism (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987); idem, Understanding Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991) Mark A. Noll, Between Faith and Criticism: Evangelicals, Scholarship, and the Bible in America (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1986); Woodbridge, Noll, and Hatch, The Gospel in America, chapter four. Several of Randall Balmer‘s ethnographic vignettes in Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory also focus on literalistic interpretations of the Bible. Many scholars of evangelicalism have pointed to the evangelical conception of the Bible as a key identifying marker of evangelicalism. Most follow George Marsden, ―The Evangelical Denomination,‖ in Evangelicalism and Modern America, ed. George Marsden (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1984), ix-x: ―Evangelicals . . . are Christians who typically emphasize 1) the Reformation doctrine of the final authority of Scripture; 2) the real, historical character of God‘s saving work recorded in Scripture . . .‖ Marsden lists three other qualities that mark evangelicalism as a unified whole, but it is interesting that his first two characteristics are related to the authority of scripture and the belief in the factuality of it. Many other scholars attempting to define who evangelicals are have picked up on Marsden‘s five points and used them as a boundary line for evangelicalism. Sentimentalizing biblical narrative, however, brings into question how important this doctrine is. For the complex evangelical attitudes toward the Bible see Gary Dorrien, The Remaking of Evangelical Theology (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998).

69Max Lucado, Just Like Jesus (Nashville: Word Publishing, 1998), 71 (Mother Teresa); idem, Cure for the Common Life, 11 (Carver), 25 (Graham); idem, In the Eye of the Storm

219

(Dallas: Word Publishing, 1991), 35 (appendectomy), 205 (Newton); idem, 3:16, 25 (FOP), 35 (Matheson); idem, And the Angels Were Silent, 5 (Eisenhower); idem, He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2000), 51-52 (Booth); idem, Come Thirsty, 133-4 (Hitchcock); idem, A Love Worth Giving: Living in the Overflow of God’s Love (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2002), 87-88 (garbage barge); idem, Gentle Thunder, 15-16 (seagull); idem, In the Grip of Grace, 149-50 ($1 a week).

70Lucado, In the Grip of Grace, 35-36.

71Ibid., 41.

72Lucado, Come Thirsty, 107-8.

73Rick Reilly, "The Play of the Year," Sports Illustrated 97.20 (Nov 18, 2002): 108, General OneFile, Gale, Florida State University, available online at http://find. galegroup.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/itx/start.do?prodId=ITOF, accessed January 7, 2009.

74Max Lucado, Facing Your Giants (Nashville: W Publishing, 2006), 142, quoting San Antonio Express News, ―Does Texan have a prayer of trading domain name?‖ April 23, 2005. I was unable to find this specific reference. I did, however, find a corresponding article in The Washington Post (David McGuire, ―Fla. Man Secured BenedictXVI.com Weeks Ago,‖ The Washington Post, April 19, 2005, available online at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp- dyn/articles/A2061-2005Apr19. html, accessed March 20, 2007). Cadenhead has authored several books and started a website called the Drudge Retort, a liberal response to the Drudge Report. His request is also available on his blog (http://www.cadenhead.org/workbench/news/ 2553/habemus-domini.htm, accessed March 20, 2007) where he also asks for a papal blurb for his book Movable Type 3 Bible Desktop Edition and world peace.

75Lucado, Facing Your Giants, 142.

76Ibid., 146.

77Ibid., 148.

78Susan Friend Harding, The Book of Jerry Falwell: Fundamentalist Language and Politics (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000), 59-60.

79Lucado, When Christ Comes, 117-18.

80Lucado, 3:16, 96-97.

81Ibid., 100.

82Lucado, When Christ Comes, 122-23.

220

83Ibid., 119, 121, and 125; Lucado, 3:16, 99.

84See, for example, R. Marie Griffith, God’s Daughters: Evangelical Women and the Power of Submission (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997); idem, Born Again Bodies: Flesh and Spirit in American Christianity (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004); Catherine A. Brekus, Stangers & Pilgrims: Female Preaching in America, 1740-1845 (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1998); Lynn Neal, Romancing God: Evangelical Women and Inspirational Fiction (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2006); Margaret Lamberts Bendroth and Virginia Lieson Brereton, eds., Women and Twentieth-Century Protestantism(Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2002); Margaret Lamberts Bendroth, Fundamentalism and Gender, 1875 to the Present (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1993)

85Some scholars, however, have picked up on this interesting dynamic in evangelical thought. In his work on Protestant approaches to child-rearing, Philip Greven, The Protestant Temperament: Patterns of Child-Rearing, Religious Experience, and the Self in Early America (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1977), notes the tension in colonial American evangelicalism over the idea of being ―Soldiers for Christ‖ while being ―Brides of Christ.‖

86There has been a boom in recent years of Christian literature focused on men‘s issues, perhaps due to the Promise Keepers‘ Movement of the 1990s. See advice books like Steve Farrar, Point Man: How a Man Can Lead a Family (Portland: Multnomah, 1990); John Eldredge, Wild at Heart: Discovering the Passionate Soul of a Man (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2001); T. D. Jakes, He-motions: Even Strong Men Struggle (New York: Putnam, 2004). Scholars have also taken notice of male spirituality and the idea of masculinity in religion in recent years, most often due to Promise Keepers. See, for example, Rhys Williams, ed., Promise Keepers and the New Masculinity: Private Lives and Public Morality (Lanham: Lexington Books, 2001) and Charles H. Lippy, Do Real Men Pray?: Images of the Christian Man and Male Spirituality in White Protestant America (Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press, 2005). John Corrigan, Business of the Heart: Religion and Emotion in the Nineteenth Century (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002), 256-67, has an insightful epilogue to his study of the nineteenth-century Businessmen‘s revival where he notes that the complex negotiations of spirituality, gender, ethnicity, and economics that formed the foundation for male emotion in the mid-nineteenth century became a hallmark trait of later religious movement‘s among men including the Men and Religion Forward Movement, the ―muscular Christianity‖ of the early twentieth century, and the Promise Keepers of the late twentieth century. Corrigan‘s subjects evidenced porous boundaries between gender identity and religion in response to the economic instability of antebellum American culture. The importance and impact of women (both physically and conceptually) in the thought and practice of male spirituality should not be overlooked. The belief that women were more spiritual has led some Christian men to emphasize the importance of taking on feminine characteristics for an increased relationship with God.

87Lucado, Next Door Savior, 47; idem, Just Like Jesus, 67.

88Lucado, When Christ Comes, xiii.

221

89Ibid., 141-43.

90Ibid., 143-44.

91Ibid., 144.

92Max Lucado, When God Whispers Your Name (Dallas: Word Publishers, 1994; reprint, Nashville: W Publishing Group, 1999), 168.

93Lucado, When Christ Comes, 145-48.

94Sigmund Freud, Totem and Taboo: Resemblances Between the Psychic Lives of Savages and Neurotics, trans. A. A. Brill (London: George Rutledge and Sons, 1919), Google Books, http://books.google.com/books?id=EQMuAAAAIAAJ&printsec= frontcover&dq= totem+and+taboo#PPR3,M1, accessed January 27, 2009. While Freud most likely did not believe that his myth of the primal father was based on an actual event, he did want to emphasize the psychic impact of the internalization of a father figure.

95Lucado, Next Door Savior, 90-92.

96Candy Gunther Brown, The Word in the World: Evangelical Writing, Publishing, and Reading in America, 1789-1880 (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2004), 7- 11.

CHAPTER THREE

1Max Lucado, Every Day Deserves a Chance: Wake Up to the Gift of 24 Hours (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2007), 86.

2Scholars usually refer to these changes as the ―market revolution,‖ but in recent historiography some scholars have questioned the accuracy of this terminology. Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007), 5, argues that it would be more appropriate to speak of a ―market evolution‖ because these changes were more of a process than a spontaneous occurrence.

3R. Laurence Moore, Selling God: American Religion in the Marketplace of Culture (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994), 7; Frank Lambert, “Pedlar in Divinity”: George Whitefield and the Transatlantic Revivals, 1737-1770 (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994), 8.

4Candy Gunther Brown, The Word in the World: Evangelical Writing, Publishing, and Reading in America, 1789-1880 (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2004).

5David Paul Nord, Faith in Reading: Religious Publishing and the Birth of Mass Media

222

in America (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004). Although Daniel Walker Howe has challenged the utility of the ―market revolution‖ hypothesis for understanding changes in the eighteenth century, he does put forth a ―communications revolution‖ hypothesis for changes in the way American communicated ideas with each other (See Howe, What Hath God Wrought, 5- 7, and 690-98).

6Amanda Porterfield, The Protestant Experience in America (Westport: Greenwood Press, 2006), 125-26; Colleen McDannell, The Christian Home in Victorian America, 1840-1900 (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1986), 38.

7Bruce Evensen, God's Man for the Gilded Age: D. L. Moody and the Rise of Modern Mass Evangelism (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003).

8George M. Marsden, Fundamentalism and American Culture, new ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 35-39.

9Ibid., 72-80.

10Douglas Frank, Less Than Conquerors: How Evangelicals Entered the Twentieth Century (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986), 103-66; Charles H. Lippy, Being Religious, American Style: A History of Popular Religiosity in the United States (Westport: Praeger, 1994), 132-34. Betty DeBerg, Ungodly Women: Gender and the First Wave of American Fundamentalism (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1990),9 and 145-47, challenges Frank for not including gender in his analysis of the Keswick movement but acknowledges the impact Keswick had on evangelicalism and fundamentalism.

11Frank, Less Than Conquerors, 193.

12Robert F. Martin, Hero of the Heartland: Billy Sunday and the Transformation of American Society, 1862-1935 (Bloomington: Indiana University Press), 106. Many scholars have focused on Sunday‘s promulgation of ―muscular Christianity.‖ While it is true that Sunday targeted men and couched his message in masculine terms, he was also very appealing to women as well and often held ―women only‖ meetings during his revivals (See Margaret Bendroth, ―Why Women Loved Billy Sunday: Urban Revivalism and Popular Entertainment in Early Twentieth-Century American Culture,‖ Religion and American Culture 14 (Summer 2004): 251- 271).

13Martin, Hero of the Heartland, 45-65.

14Douglas Carl Adams, Selling the Old-Time Religion: American Fundamentalists and Mass Culture, 1920-1940 (Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 2001), 11-39

15Moore, Selling God, 210-20.

16Tona J. Hangen, Redeeming the Dial: Radio, Religion, & Popular Culture in America

223

(Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2002), 80-111; quote is from 89-91. See also Gary Dorrien, The Remaking of Evangelical Theology (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998), 49-101 and George M. Marsden, Reforming Fundamentalism: Fuller Seminary and the New Evangelicalism (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987).

17Lippy, Being Religious, American Style, 197-99.

18Ibid., 201.

19Carol V. R. George, God’s Salesman: Norman Vincent Peale & the Power of Positive Thinking (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), 128-59.

20Colleen McDannell, Material Christianity: Religion and Popular Culture in America (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995), 222-69.

21―Thomas Nelson Inc. Releases Results of Lucado Market Research Project,‖ email from Thomas Nelson.

22Ibid.

23Ibid.

24Kevin Lane Keller, ―Conceptualizing, Measuring, and Managing Customer-Based Brand Equity,‖ Journal of Marketing 57 (January 1993): 1.

25Ibid., 2.

26Cindy Crosby, ―Nice Guys Finish First,‖ Publishers’ Weekly (September 8, 2003), 49.

27Daniel Radosh, ―The Good Book Business,‖ The New Yorker (December 18, 2006), http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/12/18/061218fa_fact1?currentPage=all, accessed April 8, 2009.

28Kevin Lane Keller, ―Brand Synthesis: The Multidimensionality of Brand Knowledge,‖ Journal of Consumer Research 29 (March 2003): 596.

29Crosby, ―Nice Guys Finish First;‖ 49; Max Lucado, Facing Your Giants (Nashville: W Publishing, 2006), xi.

30Hallmark Press Room, ―Many Americans Have Found a Voice in Max Lucado,‖ http://pressroom.hallmark.com/lucado_cards.html, accessed -November 10, 2005. Cindy Crosby, ―America‘s Pastor,‖ Christianity Today (March 2004): 58; ―America‘s 100 Best: Connections,‖ Reader’s Digest (May 2005): 158

224

31McDannell, Material Christianity, 1-66.

32Hallmark Press Room, ―Many Americans Have Found a Voice in Max Lucado.‖

33Ibid.

34Cards in the author‘s possession.

35Jennifer Rycenga, ―Dropping in for the Holidays: Christmas as Commercial Ritual at the Precious Moments Chapel,‖ in God in the Details: American Religion in Popular Culture, ed. Eric Michael Mazur and Kate McCarthy (New York: Routledge, 2001), 139-53, argues something similar about Precious Moments figurines.

36McDannell, Material Christianity, 67-102.

37Max Lucado, ed., The Devotional Bible: Experiencing the Heart of Jesus (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Bibles, 2003), v.

38Ibid., 1290-92.

39Ibid., vi-vii.

40Ibid., vi.

41Ibid., 346-48.

42McDannell, Material Christianity, 274.

43http://www.maxlucado.com/pdf/UpWords.USA.today.pdf?f=/maxlucado/sermons/septe mber11.message2.rm, accessed April 14, 2006.

44Max Lucado, Traveling Light: Releasing the Burdens You Were Never Intended to Bear (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2001), 4-5.

45Ibid., 90.

46CNN.com invited Lucado to do an online chat in October 2001 concerning the events of September and the impact on religion. Many of the questions Lucado received also had to do with finding religious answers in the face of terrorism. See ―Max Lucado: Turning to Religion During Bad Times,‖ CNN.com http://archives.cnn.com/2001/COMMUNITY/10/01/ lucado/index.html, accessed July 6, 2009.

47Max Lucado, America Looks Up: Reaching toward Heaven for Hope and Healing (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2001), was a combination of material specifically written after the events of September 11th and a culling of previous books for appropriate sections. Less than

225

a hundred pages, America Looks Up included Lucado‘s prayer for America Prays, a national prayer vigil held on September 15, 2001.

48Max Lucado, Cure for the Common Life: living in Your Sweet Spot (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2005), 2-6.

49Ibid., 26-27.

50Ibid., 32.

51Ibid., 34.

52Ibid., 97-98.

53Ibid., 100.

54Ibid., 115.

55Lucado, Facing Your Giants, 2-3.

56Ibid., 3-4.

57Ibid., 6, emphasis [and bad joke] in original.

58Ibid., emphasis in original.

59Ibid., 9, emphasis in original.

60In Cure for the Common Life, for example, Lucado notes that it is important to ―join God‘s family of friends.‖ This is a ―permanent family‖ where there are ―no nobodies,‖ and everyone makes a contribution. But the chapters before and after ―Join God‘s Family of Friends‖ are focused on the individual, and the community is only mentioned in passing. (See Lucado, Cure for the Common Life, 77-82).

61Lippy, Being Religious, 133, 201.

62 Colleen McDannell, The Christian Home in Victorian America, 1840-1900 (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1986).

63 Jacqueline S. Reinier, From Virtue to Character: American Childhood, 1775-1850 (New York: Twayne Publishers, 1996).

64See Reinier, From Virtue to Character, chapter four. For Little Eva as spiritual guide, see Jane Tompkins, Sensational Designs: The Cultural Work of American Fiction, 1790-1860

226

(New York: Oxford University Press, 1985), 122-46. For the ways changing conceptions of children were reflected in religious movements developing in the nineteenth century see Todd M. Brenneman, ―A Child Shall Lead Them: Children and New Religious Groups in the Early Republic,‖ in Children and Youth in a New Nation ed. James Marten (New York: NYU Press, 2009), 108-26.

65Margaret Lamberts Bendroth, Growing Up Protestant: Parents, Children, and Mainline Churches (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2002).

66Tompkins, Sensational Designs, 128; J. B. McClure, ed., D. L . Moody’s Child Stories Related by Him in His Revival Work in Europe and America, with Pictorial Illustrations (Chicago: Rhodes & McClure, 1877), 41-44, Google Books http://books.google.com/books?id= cSM3AAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=d.+l.++moody%27s+child+stories, accessed March 10, 2009; Marsden, Fundamentalism and American Culture, 37.

67Charles Fuller, "The Spirit-filled Christian Home" 50 min. 9 sec., Old Fashioned Revival Hour Broadcast-Biblebelievers.com, available through itunes (accessed July 28, 2009); Betty A. DeBerg, Ungodly Women: Gender and the First Wave of American Fundamentalism (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1990), 59-74; Margaret Lamberts Bendroth, Fundamentalism & Gender, 1875 to the Present (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1993), 97-117.

68Max Lucado, Just In Case You Ever Wonder (Nashville: Tommy Nelson, 1992; reprint, 2001).

69Max Lucado, Small Gifts in God’s Hands (Nashville: Tommy Nelson, 2000). Only the Johannine version of the feeding of the five thousand [John 6:1-14] claims that the bread and fish came from a boy.

70Max Lucado, All You Ever Need (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2000).

71See ibid., 21-25. In the opening pages of the story Julian is referred to as the (uncapitalized) ―son‖ of the Watermaster.

72John‘s gospel, particular chapters 4 and 7, metaphorically describes the spiritual water that Jesus claims to provide.

73―Hermie & Friends: News‖ available online at http://hermieandfriends.com/ index.asp?view=news, accessed January 19, 2008.

74Max Lucado, Hermie: A Common Caterpillar (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2002).

75Max Lucado, You are Special (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1997).

76Ann M. Trousdale, ―‗And What Do the Children Say?‘ Children‘s Reponses to Books

227

About Spiritual Matters,‖ in Spiritual Education: Literary, Empirical and Pedagogical Approaches, ed. Cathy Ota and Clive Erricker (Brighton: Sussex Academic Press, 2005), 33-36.

77Ibid., 27-30.

78Max Lucado, In the Grip of Grace (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 1996), 171-72; idem, Come Thirsty (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2004), 52; idem, When God Whispers Your Name (Dallas: Word Publishers, 1994; Nashville: W Publishing Group, 1999), 91-92; idem, The Applause of Heaven (Portland: Multnomah, 1990; reprint, Dallas: Word Publishing, 1996), 55- 57.

79Lucado, The Applause of Heaven, 91-94.

80 Heather Hendershot, Shaking the World for Jesus: Media and Conservative Evangelical Culture (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004), makes a similar argument about evangelical popular culture.

81Aaron K. Ketchell, Holy Hills of the Ozarks: Religion and Tourism in Branson, Missouri (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007), xvi-xvii.

CHAPTER FOUR

1Max Lucado, The Great House of God: A Home for Your Heart (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1997), 135.

2J[ack] T. C[hick], ―Somebody Loves Me,‖ (Ontario, CA: Chick Publications, 2005).

3Candy Gunther Brown, The Word in the World: Evangelical Writing, Publishing, and Reading in America, 1789-1880 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2004).

4Christian Smith, et. al., American Evangelicalism: Embattled and Thriving (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1998), 9-10. See also, Joel A. Carpenter, Revive Us Again: The Reawakening of American Fundamentalism (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997), 206-10.

5Smith, American Evangelicalism, 11; Sydney Ahlstrom, A Religious History of the American People (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1972), 957-58; George M. Marsden, Reforming Fundamentalism: Fuller Seminary and the New Evangelicalism (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987), 47-50.

6Marsden, Reforming Fundamentalism, 24.

7Carpenter, Revive Us Again, 161-65; John G. Turner, Bill Bright & Campus Crusade for Christ: The Renewal of Evangelicalism in Postwar America (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2008), 22-23

228

8Carpenter, Revive Us Again, 217-26.

9Turner, Bill Bright, 13-68. The quote is from page 24.

10Marsden, Reforming Fundamentalism, 153-71; Turner, Bill Bright, 76-92.

11Michael G. Long, Billy Graham and the Beloved Community (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006); D. Michael Lindsay, Faith in the Halls of Power: How Evangelicals Joined the American Elite (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007), 53-54, 66; Turner, Bill Bright, 98- 121; Gary Dorrien, The Remaking of Evangelical Theology (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1998) 103-52

12See, for example, Sara Diamond, Not By Politics Alone: The Enduring Influence of the Christian Right (New York: The Guilford Press, 1998); Lindsay, Faith in the Halls of Power; Jon A. Shields, The Democratic Virtues of the Christian Right (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009); Christian Smith, Christian America?: What Evangelicals Really Want (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000).

13Stephen Prothero, American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003), 124-32.

14Ibid., 129-44; Colleen McDannell, Material Christianity: Religion and Popular Culture in America (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995), 247-56.

15Turner, Bill Bright, 138-46; Prothero, American Jesus, 145-46; Randall Balmer, Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey into the Evangelical Subculture in America, 4th ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 12-30. For Billy Graham‘s contemporary assessment of the Jesus Movement, see Billy Graham, The Jesus Generation (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1971). Prothero, 153, also credits the Jesus Movement as the origins of ―the megachurch phenomenon.‖

16Prothero, 143-44.

17David John Marley, Pat Robertson: An American Life (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2007), not only chronicle‘s Pat Robertson‘s life but also Robertson‘s interactions with other televangelists like Swaggart, Jerry Falwell, and Jim Bakker.

18June Hadden Hobbs, “I Sing for I Cannot Silent”: The Feminization of American Hymnody, 1870-1920 (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1997), 10; see also Brown, Word in the World, 190-208.

19Ibid., 34-69; Charles H. Lippy, Being Religious, American Style: A History of Popular Religiosity in the United States (Westport: Praeger, 1994), 98.

229

20Hobbs, I Sing, 10-11, 146-47. Hobbs claimed that Crosby used at least 204 pseudonyms in her writing.

21―Tell Me the Story of Jesus,‖ lyrics by Fanny J. Crosby, 1880. The Worship Hymnal (Nashville: LifeWay Worship, 2008). Dates for Crosby‘s hymns come from Stephen Marini‘s list of frequent Protestant hymns which is an appendix to Richard J. Mouw and Mark A. Noll, ed., Wonderful Words of Life: Hymns in American Protestant History and Theology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004), 251-64.

22―Jesus is Tenderly Calling,‖ lyrics by Fanny J. Crosby, 1869. The Worship Hymnal.

23Hobbs, I Sing, 78. Will L. Thompson evokes similar imagery in his 1880 hymn ―Softly and Tenderly.‖ Thompson writes that ―Softly and tenderly/ Jesus is calling/Calling for you and for me/See, on the portals/He‘s waiting and watching/Watching for you and for me.‖ Jesus is ―Calling, O sinner, come home.‖

24―I Am Thine, O Lord,‖ lyrics by Fanny J. Crosby, 1875. The Worship Hymnal.

25Ibid. See also Hobbs, I Sing, 85-91, for examples of other hymns that evoke sexual surrender of the believer to God.

26Kevin Kee, ―Marketing the Gospel: Music in English-Canadian Protestant Revivalism, 1884-1957,‖ in Wonderful Words of Life, 99-100; David W. Stowe, How Sweet the Sound: Music in the Spiritual Lives of Americans (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2004), 105; Lippy, Being Religious, 109-10.

27Prothero, American Jesus, 74-79.

28Hobbs, I Sing, 144-45; ―Blessed Assurance,‖ lyrics by Fanny J. Crosby, 1873. The Worship Hymnal.

29Thomas E. Bergler, ―‗I Found My Thrill‘: The Youth for Christ Movement and American Congregational Singing, 1940-1970,‖ in Wonderful Words of Life, 123-49.

30For an overview of the issues surrounding ―sacred‖ and ―secular‖ in the realm of CCM (as well as the question of the utility of those categories), see Shaun Horton, ―Redemptive Media: The Professionalization of the Contemporary Christian Music Industry‖ (MA thesis, Florida State University, 2007).

31For a historical overview of the rise of ―Jesus rock‖ and CCM, see Heather Hendershot, Shaking the World for Jesus: Media and Conservative Evangelical Culture (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2004), 55-57; Prothero, American Jesus, 136-39 and 151-53; Balmer, Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory, 297-300.

230

32Hendershot, Shaking the World, 64-73.

34―The dc Talk story,‖ available online at http://www.dctalk.com/story.html, accessed May 19, 2009.

35―Love Song,‖ lyrics by Mac Powell, ©1996 Provident Music Group, LLC. Third Day recorded this song for their first album (a self-titled release), but it also appears on 3:16: Songs of Hope, a CCM companion album to Max Lucado‘s 3:16: The Numbers of Hope.

36―Sea of Faces,‖ lyrics by Aaron Sprinkle, James Mead, Jon Micah Sumrall, Kyle Mitchell, and Ryan Shrout, © 2004 BEC Recordings. Lyrics available online at http://www. kutless.com/songsSea.aspx, accessed May 20, 2009.

37―Who We Are,‖ available online at http://www.lifeway.com/lwc/article_main_page/ 0%2C1703%2CA%25253D164492%252526M%25253D201042%2C00.html; accessed May 23, 2009. In order to make sure that I was getting at music that was widely used among evangelicals, I supplemented songs from The Worship Hymnal with information from CCLI, a copyright license clearinghouse that allows churches to distribute and perform songs that may not be in their hymnals. Two of the songs I examine—―Breathe‖ and ―Beautiful One‖—were CCLI‘s Top 25 royalty payout songs for February 2009 (covering April-September 2009). This means that these two songs were among the twenty-five songs most copied by churches during this period. ―CCLI Top 25 Songs (February 2009),‖ available online at http://www.ccli.com/ LicenseHolder/Top25Lists.aspx, accessed May 23, 2009.

41Bruce H. Wilkinson with David Kopp, The Prayer of Jabez: Breaking Through to the Blessed Life (Sisters, OR: Multnomah, 2000), 7. Max Lucado‘s first book was published by Multnomah.

42Ibid., 17.

231

43Ibid., 27-29.

44Ibid., 47.

45Ibid., 51-52.

46Shayne Lee and Phillip Luke Sinitiere, Holy Mavericks: Evangelical Innovators and the Spiritual Marketplace (New York: New York University Press, 2009), 129-48; Balmer, Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory, 322-34.

47Rick Warren, The Purpose Drive® Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002), 5.

48Like Lucado, Warren also tells his readers that he has been praying for them while preparing The Purpose Driven Life: ―As I wrote this book, I often prayed that you would experience the incredible hope, energy, and joy that comes from discovering what God put you on this planet to do. . . .I am excited because I know all the great things that are going to happen to you‖ (11-12).

49Ibid., 22-23.

50Ibid., 23-24.

51Ibid., 34, 183, and 161. Warren summarizes the message of God in the following way: ―God has never made a person he didn‘t love. Everybody matters to him. When Jesus stretched his arms out wide on the cross, he was saying, ―I love you this much!‖ (294)

52Ibid., 290-91.

53Lee and Sinitiere, Holy Mavericks, 25-51.

54Joel Osteen, Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential (New York: Warner Faith, 2004), x.

55Ibid., 6-11.

56Ibid., 38-39.

57Ibid., 44-47.

58Ibid., 57-58.

59Ibid., 34 and 77-79 .

232

60See for example, David van Biema and Jeff Chu, ―Does God Want You to Be Rich?‖ Time, September 10, 2006, available online at http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/ 0,9171,1533448,00.html, accessed May 26, 2009. This article was the cover story for the print version of Time. See also Ted Olsen, comp., ―Weblog: Joel Osteen vs. Rick Warren on Prosperity Gospel,‖ ChristianityToday.com, September 14, 2006, available online at http://www. christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/septemberweb-only/137-41.0.html#prosperity, accessed May 26, 2009.

61Osteen, Your Best Life Now, 63.

62Jason C. Bivins, Religion of Fear: The Politics of Horror in Conservative Evangelicalism (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), 15-17.

63Ibid., 41 and 47; ―Complete list of Chick cartoon gospel tracts,‖ available online at http://www.chick.com/catalog/tractlist.asp, accessed May 27, 2009. The tracts are also available for online reading.

64Chick, ―Somebody Loves Me.‖

65Bivins, 56-66; Mark S. Massa, Anti-Catholicism in America: The Last Acceptable Prejudice (New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company, 2003), 100-120.

66J[ack] T. C[hick], ―The Present‖ (Ontario, CA: Chick Publications, 1993).

67Amy Johnson Frykohlm, Rapture Culture: Left Behind in Evangelical America (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002).

68Hendershot, Shaking the World, 176-209. Hendershot, 214, appears to question whether the creation of media by evangelicals can actually reach non-evangelical audiences. Quite often the product comes across as ―confused in that it wants to convert outsiders, but ultimately only preaches to the choir.‖

69Bivins, Religion of Fear, 169-211.

70Frykohlm, Rapture Culture, 97-101; Bivins, Religion of Fear, 193-97.

71Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, Left Behind: A Novel of the Earth’s Last Days (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1995), 48, 75, 125; Bivins, Religion of Fear, 194.

72LaHaye and Jenkins, Left Behind, 216, 125 and 37.

73Ibid., 47, 211, and 62.

74Ibid., 103, 97-98, and 144.

233

75Ibid., 66-68, 73-76, 89, and 165.

76Ibid., 165-66.

77Ibid., 200-1, 212.

78Catherine Bell, Ritual Theory, Ritual Practice (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992), 108.

79Ibid.

80Grant Wacker, ―Searching for Norman Rockwell,‖ in Piety and Politics: Evangelicals and Fundamentalists Confront the World, ed. Richard John Neuhaus and Michael Cromartie (Washington, D.C.: Ethics and Public Policy Center, 1987), 345-47.

81Balmer, Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory, 159-160; Sara Diamond, Not by Politics Alone, 131-55. For examples of this rhetoric of children, spirituality, and innocence, see the National Right to Life Committee‘s mission statement: ―NRLC Mission Statement,‖ available online at http://www. nrlc.org/Missionstatement.htm, accessed May 28, 2009; articles on the American Family Association‘s website: Pat Centner, ―Life: A Miraculous Gift,‖ AFA Journal, January 2003, available online at http://www.afa.net/journal/january/2003/prolife_issues.asp, accessed May 28, 2009; Ed Vitagliano, ―Murder: So What?‖ AFA Journal, Nov.-Dec. 2004, available online at http://afajournal.org/2004/nov-dec/11-1204pro-life.asp, accessed May 28, 2009; and articles from James Dobson‘s Focus on the Family and his action site CitizenLink: Randy Alcorn, ―I'm Not Voting for a Man, I'm Voting for Generations of Children and Their Right to Live,‖ Citizenlink.com, October 27, 2008, available online at http://www.citizenlink. org/content/A000008537.cfm, accessed May 28, 2009; Devon Williams, ―Grand Jury Refuse to Indict Abortionist Tiller,‖ Citizenlink.com, July 3, 2008, available online at http://www. citizenlink.org/content/A000007764.cfm, accessed May 28, 2009; and Tom Minnery, ―Our Father Knows Best,‖ Focus on the Family, January 2006, available online at http://www2. focusonthefamily.com/focusmagazine/publicpolicy/A000000189.cfm, accessed May 28, 2009.

82See, for example, Glenn T. Stanton, ―Debate-Tested Sound Bites on Defending Marriage,‖ available online at http://www.citizenlink.org/FOSI/marriage/ssuap/A000000984. cfm, accessed May 28, 2009; idem, ―Why Children Need Father-Love and Mother-Love,‖ available online at http://www.citizenlink.org/FOSI/marriage/ssuap/A000000993.cfm, accessed May 28, 2009; and James Dobson, ―Marriage on the Ropes,‖ available online at http://www2. focusonthefamily.com/docstudy/newsletters/A000000771.cfm, accessed May 28, 2009. Diamond, Not By Politics Alone, 168-71.

83Randall Balmer, Thy Kingdom Come: How the Religious Right Distorts the Faith and Threatens America, An Evangelical’s Lament (New York: Basic Books, 2006), 71-108. For examples of ―school choice‖ rhetoric, see Marc Fey and Focus on the Family Research Team, ―Dr. Dobson‘s (Comparatively) Liberal Views on Public Education,‖ available online at

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http://www.citizenlink.org/FOSI/education/pe/A000001423.cfm, accessed May 28, 2009; Charles Glenn, ―Does School Choice Harm Children?‖ available online at http://www. citizenlink.org/FOSI/education/sc/A000001475.cfm, accessed May 28, 2009; ―Focus on the Family‘s Parental Rights Statement,‖ available online at http://www.citizenlink.org/FOSI/ education/pe/A000001425.cfm, accessed May 28, 2009.

84Linda Kintz, Between Jesus and the Market: The Emotions That Matter in Right-Wing America (Durham: Duke University Press, 1997), noted the importance of domestic emotion (particularly concerning ideals of motherhood) to understanding evangelical political rhetoric, but did not connect this to larger trends in evangelicalism.

85The intersection between gender and politics in evangelicalism is a rich field to explore. Several excellent works provide important contributions to evangelical historiography. See, for example, Diamond, Not by Politics Alone; Kintz, Between Jesus and the Market; R. Marie Griffith, God’s Daughters: Evangelical Women and the Power of Submission (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997); and idem, Born Again Bodies: Flesh and Spirit in American Christianity (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004).

86Max Lucado, Max Lucado Podcast—43: “Fear LESS” Intro—Why Are You Afraid? 28 mins.; 47 sec., available from itunes (accessed August 2, 2008).

87Max Lucado, America Looks Up: Reaching toward Heaven for Hope and Healing (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2001).

88Ibid., 37-40.

89Romans 11:34, NRSV.

EPILOGUE

1Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2000), 111.

2Evangelical Manifesto Steering Committee, ―An Evangelical Manifesto: A Declaration of Evangelical Identity and Public Commitment,‖ http://www.anevangelicalmanifesto.com/docs/ Evangelical_Manifesto.pdf (accessed June 8, 2009), 5-6.

3 Ibid., 13-17.

4Ibid., 4, 19-20; The Steering Committee list is available online at http://www. anevangelicalmanifesto.com (accessed June 8, 2009). The Charter Signatories list is available at http://www.anevangelicalmanifesto.com/sign.php, accessed June 8, 2009. On that page, there is a list of other people who have signed the ―Manifesto‖ as well as the opportunity for website visitors to sign as well.

235

5―Evangelical Manifesto,‖ 15. Comments on the ―Manifesto‖ are available online at http://www.anevangelicalmanifesto.com/talk.php, accessed June 8, 2009.

6―Evangelical Manifesto,‖ 9.

7Ibid., 13.

8Ibid., 4, 9, 13.

9Ibid., 12.

10 Ibid., 11.

11Ibid., 15.

12Ibid., 4. It is interesting that the authors want the right of self-definition, but deny it to others. On page 17, they make a clear distinction between Christians and Mormons. Latter-day Saints, however, identify themselves as Christians. These ―Evangelicals‖ evidently do not view Mormons as Christians, probably due to both the history of the movement as well as its Christology. If scholars should accept the self-definition of evangelicals, should the authors of this document not do the same? Evidently they believe that there other ―true‖ or ―real‖ aspects behind Mormonism to distinguish it from Christianity.

13Mark A. Noll, America’s God: From Jonathan Edwards to Abraham Lincoln (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), 9.

14Randall Balmer, Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey into the Evangelical Subculture in America, expanded edition (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), xiii.

15George Marsden, ―The Evangelical Denomination,‖ in Evangelicalism and Modern America, ed. George Marsden (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1984), ix-x.

16Joel A. Carpenter, ―Introduction: Researching American Evangelicals,‖ in Twentieth- Century Evangelicalism: A Guide to the Sources, ed. Edith L. Blumhofer and Joel Carpenter (New York: Garland Publishing, 1990), x.

17Ibid., xi.

18Ibid.

19See Noll, America’s God, 5; and Mark A. Noll, David Bebbington, and George A. Rawlyk, eds., Evangelicalism: Comparative Studies of Popular Protestantism in North America, the British Isles, and Beyond, 1700-1990 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994), 6.

236

20D. W. Bebbington, Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s (London: Unwin Hyman, 1989), 2-17.

21Gary Dorrien, The Remaking of Evangelical Theology (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press), 2-3.

22Ibid., 6-7.

23Ibid., 3.

24Ibid., 153.

25Amy Johnson Frykohlm, Rapture Culture: Left Behind in Evangelical America (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002).

26Ibid., 183.

27Ibid., 184-87.

28Lynn S. Neal, Romancing God: Evangelical Women and Inspirational Fiction (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2006), 10.

29Donald W. Dayton, ―Some Doubts About the Usefulness of the Category ‗Evangelical,‘‖ in The Variety of American Evangelicalism, ed. Donald W. Dayton and Robert K. Johnston (Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press, 1991; reprint, 2001), 245-51.

30Marsden, ―The Evangelical Denomination,‖ xv.

31Douglas A. Sweeny, ―The Essential Evangelicalism Dialectic: The Historiography of Neo-Evangelicalism and the Observer-Participant Dilemma,‖ Church History 60 (March 1991): 70-84.

32Balmer, Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory, 112; George M. Marsden, Fundamentalism and American Culture, new ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 234.

33Randall Balmer, Thy Kingdom Come: How the Religious Right Distorts the Faith and Threatens America, An Evangelical’s Lament (New York: Basic Books, 2006), xviii-xix; idem, Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory, xiv.

34Neal, Romancing God, 194.

35See for example, Ann Taves, The Household of Faith: Roman Catholic Devotions in Mid-Nineteenth Century America (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1986); Robert A. Orsi, The Madonna of 115th Street: Faith and Community in Italian Harlem, 2d ed. (New

237

Haven: Yale University Press, 2002); James O‘Toole, ed., Habits of Devotion: Catholic Religious Practice in Twentieth-Century America (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2004), and Colleen McDannell, The Christian Home in Victorian America, 1840-1900 (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1986).

36See for example T. D. Jakes, He-motions: Even Strong Men Struggle (New York: G. P. Putnam‘s Sons, 2004) [with a foreword written by Max Lucado]; and Joyce Meyer, Beauty for Ashes: Receiving Emotional Healing, rev. ed. (New York: Warner Faith, 2003). Shayne Lee and Phillip Luke Sinitiere, Holy Mavericks: Evangelical Innovators and the Spiritual Marketplace (New York: New York University Press, 2009), 66-67, and Shayne Lee, T. D. Jakes: America’s New Preacher (New York: New York University Press, 2005), 123-39, examines the way Jakes employs gendered language and often contradicts his position as a ―feminist,‖ but it also reveals insight into how Jakes uses some of the same sentimental tropes that Lucado uses.

37Tracy Fessenden, Culture and Redemption: Religion, the Secular, and American Literature (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2007), 84-107, noted sentimental authors in the nineteenth century attempted to pass off middle-class, white, feminine values as universals, applicable to all of society. Modern sentimental authors attempt to do the same thing, but perhaps with more success and with more of a foundation to do so. As sentimentality became a part of evangelical practice through music and stock rhetorical tropes, other non-white, non- middle class audiences imbibed this language and incorporated it into how they discuss the world both in worship and outside of it.

238

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Todd Brenneman graduated with his first Master‘s degree in the history of Christianity from Harding University Graduate School of Religion in 2001. He matriculated to Florida State University in 2004 to pursue a Master‘s in American Religious History (2005). He followed that by enrolling in the doctorate program in American Religious History also at FSU. His research interests include American evangelicalism, children and religion, the interrelationship between religious thought and religious practice, and religion and popular culture.

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