Testimony

Inside the Evangelical Movement That Failed a Generation

By: Jon Ward

Narrated by: Jon Ward

Jon Ward's life is divided in half: two decades inside the evangelical Christian bubble and two decades outside of it.

In Testimony, Ward tells the engaging story of his upbringing in, and eventual break from, an influential evangelical church in the 1980s and 1990s. Ward sheds light on the evangelical movement's troubling political and cultural dimensions, tracing the ways in which the Jesus People movement was seduced by materialism and other factors to become politically captive rather than prophetic.

A respected journalist, Ward asks uncomfortable but necessary questions, calling those inside and outside conservative Christian circles to embrace truth, complexity, and nuance. He recounts his growing alarm and grief over the last several years as evangelical conservatives attacked truth, rejected personal character, and embraced authoritarianism and conspiracism. He shares his search for a faith that embodies the values he was taught as a child.

Ward's experience and reflections will resonate with many listeners who grew up in the evangelical movement as well as all those who have an interest in the health of the church and its impact on American life.

©2023 Jon Ward (P)2023 eChristian

A well articulated ground level account

As an “old” millennial born in the 80’s and raised in a very conservative home, Jon’s story really resonated with me. His account of the non denominal church’s changes mirrored my own experience very closely. Though I’ve since left the faith, I very much appreciate Jon’s obvious pursuit of truth and dedication to honest seeking. Highly recommend.

A honest look at the modern evangelical church

Jon Ward gives an honest review of the downward spiral of the evangelical church. At one time I saw the rabid support of Trump as the genesis of this phenomenon. I’m coming to the realization it’s only the product of generations of wrong teaching and lazy exegesis to “tickle the ears” of sinful, blind churchgoers. May God have mercy on us.

Best book I’ve read regarding current issues with the evangelical church

So many of the author’s experiences struck a chord with me. And his faith is still intact. It is now much clearer to me why I had to shift from an evangelical church to a more traditional and historically grounded church.

SURPRISINGLY GOOD

Was not expecting the raw honesty about the current church from evangelical Christian. It rips the bandaid off and addresses how the church has sought power over discipleship and salvation. I just wish someone would be honest about the foundation of racism and oppression the whole movement is founded on. Blaming the lies of the current leadership is not the root cause for how they are leading a whole generation to hell.

A great account that many of us identify with.

This is a therapeutic read for someone who feels disappointed and abandoned by the church over recent years. I may never understand why the church changed into what it is now, but this book clearly outlines the events that brought us here.

Read it for the SGM commentary...

...Stayed for the thoughtful critique of western evangelicalism and Trumpism. Just a few years younger than the author, I grew up in the same era of sovereign grace churches and experienced spiritual abuse as a woman in that context that I'm still recovering from. It is validating and healing to hear other's stories, and in turn, part of my story told. I appreciated how he wove together his personal story with the larger narrative occurring historically and politically. Great read!

Was Jesus Conservative or Democrat?

I like the wide ranging analysis of the pitfalls of fundamentalism and the exploration of what it really means to live as a Christian and take the Bible seriously. Not just in verse by verse application but it’s full message. Jesus was partly Democrat - served the poor, supported the marginalized loved all to brung the too Him. And Conservative never ever supporting sin. Abortion should not be the only important value. Providing education about relationships and the self worth of a sexually moral life would go far.
Thank you Jon
I don’t live in the US so it was good to hear a “local” address a phenomenon which seems incomprehensible.

Captivating

i listened to this book on my 2 1/2 hours (each way) to visit my sister in Richmond. Loved it; it was honest, eye opening and heart changing. and the narration by the author was perfect. highly recommend. I didn’t come away with any negative feelings toward the family members mentioned. i actually came away with more love and admiration for them, more insight into politics and religion, as well as a fresh desire to be more like Christ in how I treat everyone! thank you for this book jonathan! great work!

Politics and religion need to be separated.

This book describes how the evangelical Christians were taken advantage of by the political right. It is a reasonable look at how returning to Christian values can right this wrong.

Outstanding and needed story about how evangelicalism went astray

As a Christian who has been incredibly frustrated by the evangelical church since 2016, I thought this was an outstanding memoir and analysis by a distinguished journalist who himself grew up in the charismatic Pentecostal church. I hope the book finds a wide audience among Christians and others. Sometimes when people are inside a movement, they don’t realize how they are being led astray. I will recommend this book to many friends and am grateful for the author sharing his insights, analysis and personal story.