The Most Influential Evangelicals

WELL- biggest influence on me is this guy name John Bolin…His book Life Unlimited is the single most influential book of my life. And I know he’s made a huge impact on our generation and will continue too.

Andy Stanley. I don’t go to his church, but he’s a stand up guy and has really taken reins of his own in Atlanta, GA after his father, Charles Stanley (who by the way, pastors a Baptist Church). Northpoint Community is a church that really gears itself into reaching the world today. They even have a campus that is probably more a 20/30s crowd.

Chris Hodges- Birmingham- his church was recently considered one of the fastest growing churches in America.

Andrew Womack. He’s one of the most practical Christians I’ve ever heard. He reaches across the denominations and I’d say he’s a common sense guy when it comes to faith.

Rob Bell, certainly.

finally, you criticize that guy if you’d like (universal “you”) but Ted Haggard has made an impact on the Evangelical world, for better and worse. He made major mistakes at New Life- but he did start something and did reach people- if he didn’t, he wouldn’t have hurt people.

Subtract “Shane Claiborne…” you really shouldnt be impacted by nutjobs…lol

How about Joel Osteen.. only leads the largest church in the country: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Osteen

Ash- Yeah Andy Stanley is a great pastor who reaches a lot of people in the Atlanta area. I guess I’m looking at this from a national perspective and he isn’t a hugely popular author. Ted Haggard couldn’t be on this list because he isn’t influencing anyone right now. 5 years ago he might have been. But even then, I don’t see him reaching young people specifically.

Kurt- Just because you don’t like Shane doesn’t mean he isn’t influential. I have this feeling you are going to come around when you hear him at Kaleo next year.

Kirk- Joel Osteen……I’ll let someone else rag on him.

Seriously.. what’s the problem w/ Joel? Does he look cheesy? Absolutely. Does he seem to be a stereotypical Southern pastor? Guilty. However, I think there’s no one better today, and he puts Hybels to shame.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVJqwfHaGyk&feature=related

I written about Joel before if you care to read that Kirk. Just go to the search thing on the right side and type in Joel Osteen, it should bring up a few posts.

Here (to me) is why he doesn’t reach people under 30.

1. He wears a suit.
2. He hardly preaches from the Bible (I think this younger generation longs for teaching out of the Bible).
3. He is too slick. Slick isn’t cool anymore.
4. His church is enormous. Younger people are looking for relational connection. Many churches have gone to a multiple campus format…this allows for smaller groups to gather around the same teaching.

I’ll take a look.

All you say is true. Guilty as charged. But in the end, the guy can flat out preach.

Here comes Kirk being disagreeable again, but I must say..

The reasons you state for not liking Osteen are a good example of what I see wrong with the church these days. Call me a contrarian, and I’m sure I look that way, but when good message is trumped by image (i.e. he wears a suit, not cool, he’s slick, not hip, etc), how can that be a healthy thing for the church?

I would rather listen to the un-hip, square guy with the right message than the cool dude who looks good on stage, but perhaps has the wrong message. I’m not necessarily saying this is the case with you, Tyler, but I think there’s some truth behind what I say at it relates to your generation.

Kirk- Fair point. My biggest one is the Biblical teaching. He is more of a motivational speaker than a pastor to me.

How “conservative” of you, Tyler ;]

i’m pointing that ted has had an impact…esp b/c of his former status as the president of the nea. he’s also made an impact for the worse and this i’ve seen nationally. while he no longer influences anyone really…people carry in their mind what they believe of him and the evangelical world….and that’s actually a younger generation b/c that’s what he DID target…3 years ago (sooner than 5)…a bad impact can still make an impact.

I would subtract Osteen. he’s a media face and that’s about it. generationally? hardly noticed.

ps- andy’s church has a huge “young” influence on it in worship services and even one of their campuses is majority 20/30′s…maybe not in the west, but on the eastern side of the country he’s well known and respected across the board…esp w/ the influences of his church

It’s sort of sad for me to see that most on this list are all from the Emergent Church movement (there is no truth, post-modernism). I must admit Claiborne walks what he talks, but this doesn’t necessarily mean he has truth. Let’s face it I know of Buddhist that walk their talk too, but you won’t find me at the local Buddhist temple. As for Bell and Miller I see them as nothing more than the flavor of the month, a passing fad that will burn away as quick as it came onto the scene. My only concern is they will influence many young peoples away from real truth of the bible rather than their twisted post-modern take on “The Bible according to Don Miller and Rob Bell”. As for my greatest influences – well most are a part of the old dead guys club: Leonard Ravenhill, AW Tozer, Charles Grandison Finney, David Wilkerson (not dead), Winkie Pratney (not dead) and Gordon Olson. Fine Godly men who knew the scriptures and preached undiluted truth and weren’t concern with how big their churches were.

Preston- Only my inclusion of the “Emergent Village” is an “emergent thing here.” Everyone else is welcomed by evangelicals. You have to make a distinction between what some might call “emerging” and “emergent”. You have to. There is a big difference there. I have read lots of Don Miller’s stuff…there is no reason to say he has no real truth in his message. Again this is a list of influences for people under 30. And again to say something is post modern is a cultural statement, not a statement on a Christian movement.

look people, the word “emergent” is the overplayed song on the radio…i hear it one more time and i’m gonna (imagine my shaking a fist here)….it’s a word that becomes increasingly irrelevant when everyone uses it to describe their view of the newest thing w/ all the hype…sigh. (wink)

Tyler,
I agree with your list being very influential. And, as some have mentioned, you don’t have to have truth to be influential. Like them or not, Miller and Bell are getting into people’s heads and getting noticed.

Much of the influence comes from their ability to communicate in a way that people can grasp, esp. young people. Easily digestible chunks and authenticity draws people in.

Driscoll (whom I’ve heard more from recently) does have a different style that will appeal to some folks in the over 30 crowd that have more life experiences but is not “inclusive” enough for most of the under-30 folks.

And I think Andy Stanley should be in your “Honorable Mention” list. He’s got several books with his name on them, a growing following in a major metropolitan area, and an increasing internet ministry via podcast series.

Thanks for putting this list together and getting a conversation going.

I would beg to differ from your top five, esp saying the mastermind behind Tomlin and others is ANOTHER MAN, I thought it was God who gets the credit for their music!

Anyhow, here are my top five:

No. 1 John Piper, pastor/Author / bible teacher – He is one of the most passionate men after God’s heart you will find this side of heaven. He is a faithful preacher of the word of God, loves God, loves people and his deepest passion is for people to love God too.
No. 2 Paul Washer – preacher / teacher – now here is a man who knows his God and does great exploits as a result. Fearless in presenting the wonderful riches and expectings of Christ Jesus. He is not a man pleaser, like many evangeli-fish we have today.
N0 3 Pastor John MacArthur – Pastor, author, bible teacher. John’s ministry is global, it is deeply rooted in the unchanging word of God. He continues to be a strong anchor in the wishy washy evangelical sea of confusion. Consistant with truth for say 50yrs now, we wont get that from Joel Austin!
N0. 4 Mark Driscoll – so what if he is a little abrashive….so was Jesus!
N0. 5 Garry Brotherston – converted lifer, sinner and rascel. preacher & songwriter – a young man with a passion for the lost and a deep desire to see Jesus have His church back! Watch this space to see how God uses this weapon of grace.

Well, that’s mine in. I will finish by saying lets look to God and not man in 2009 or we will be sorely disappointed.

Brian – Scotland

God is the reason behind all these people on the list Brian. I’m not trying to put men over God. I’m saying God has allowed these men to be more influential. Also…my list is for the evangelicals who are influential to younger audiences. John MacArthur is not, John Piper is maybe for a few, and the other two other than Mark Driscoll I have never heard of maybe they are from Europe?

Our small group recently went through Andy Stanley’s GO FISH DVD series. I have been to numerous men’s retreats and conferences. Nothing has impacted or gripped me more than Andy Stanley. He has a very unique standing approach and reaches many people that may otherwise not be. God has truly given him a unique gift of communication and story telling.

I vote Matt Chandler, The Village Church in Denton, Dallas, and Flower Mound, TX. He’s young, relevant and dead-on with scripture. Also incredibly quick-witted and razor-tongued. You won’t leave his church with any delusions about “prosperity” or God being ok with our narcissism.

I agree with Jenny. I’ve been listening to Chandler’s podcasts for about a year now, and I connected with him right from the beginning. Love his style, his words, and the way He brings it straight back to scripture.