“Christians should, of course, not stir up controversies or dissension over minor or disputable matters, but where clear distortion of Scripture is taking place, we are not permitted to ignore it.”(240)
This quote, from the conclusion of Megan Bashum’s book Shepherds for Sale, acts as a great summary for what this book does. This book is a well-researched, captivatingly written, and necessarily bold work that exposes the ways that the liberal agenda has been welcomed into the church. And I don’t use “welcomed” lightly. The things that Bashum writes of in this book show that, indeed, evangelical leaders have been more than careless or naïve about the ways that these lies have entered the church. They have been intentional and overt. Why? Often, as Bashum traces in the book, because of money. There is money – and lots of it – coming from liberal billionaires and leftist political groups into the church. And money like that always has strings attached. In this case: acceptance and promulgation of these liberal agendas. The sheep of American churches are not being shepherded and guarded. They are being sold to the wolves bringing in liberal ideas. Dressed in “Christianese” like “love your neighbor” or “be good stewards” or “pursue justice,” the liberal ideas are accepted by the average layperson because they come from ostensibly trustworthy leaders and institutions. But the results are frightening.
My friend called this book “enlightening and discouraging at the same time.” These are good words to describe the book. With every page I read, I was disturbed and shaken. And yet, I couldn’t put it down.
Megan Bashum is a reporter for the Daily Wire (and before that, for World News Group, which is where I first encountered her work). This book is a work of excellent reporting. Bashum has done her research. Footnotes citing her sources abound. She notes where she tried to press for more information and was stonewalled. She notes where she requested interviews with the leaders she mentions and was denied. She notes where she attempted to get clarification or explanation and found none. She is not cherry-picking provocative statements from major evangelical leaders in hopes of “bringing them down.” She has done her journalistic due diligence. And what’s more, she (as a Christian herself) doesn’t want to cast shade on the church or its leaders. She wants to expose the wrongs so that they can be righted. After finishing the book, I sincerely believe that Bashum wants to see the church reform. She would be overjoyed if every leader mentioned in this book would have their consciences pierced and would repent of the ways that they have fed lies to their sheep and been unfaithful to their God.
Bashum knows the bible and she knows truth. She is able to spot error when she sees it. And she is not afraid to call it out. I was incredibly helped by this book. I was shocked and shaken by the ways that I have been led astray in my own thinking on several of the issues addressed in this book (particularly Immigration, Covid, and CRT). I have not been discerning in who I listen to. I am incredibly thankful for the protection of my husband’s discernment, which has in the past year brought me back to orthodoxy where I had strayed before. I am also thankful for the work that Bashum has done in writing this book and getting this information into the hands of laypeople like me so that we can learn to better discern truth from error and guard against the liberal ideas filtering into our churches.
I sincerely recommend that every Christian read this book – leaders and laypeople alike. You probably will be rubbed the wrong way by some of the evidence she presents. You may find leaders and institutions you have trusted have been caught up in this mess. But you will, I believe, come out better able to discern where the lies of liberalism have seeped into the church and, perhaps, into your own thoughts as well.
