A Christian Apology to Gina Welch

Dear Gina Welch,

I need to begin this open letter to you with a few upfront admissions:

1. My maternal grandparents were huge fans of Jerry Falwell and had more “Jesus First” pins than one could count. They also supported the “Old Time Gospel Hour” for an untold amount of money while they were still alive.
2. My father while he was a children’s pastor at a Texas church once picked up and delivered back Jerry Falwell from the airport. You will have to ask my mom for his impression of him as my dad died in 2000.
3. I once wore a “Jesus First” pin every day my junior year in high school as a type of reminder that my first priority was Jesus and not the difficulty of going to my third high school in three years … most preachers and their families move around a lot!
4. I began to struggle with Jerry Falwell and his message about the time he took the giant slide down Jim and Tammy Faye’s water slide as I felt he betrayed the dignity of his position. I also began to notice about that time that all of his sermons were about political issues with a gospel thought stapled onto the end of his sermon and right before he asked for more money.

So as I began to read your book – In the Land of Believers – I wanted to give you a chance because of my own personal disillusionment with Falwell and the so-called Moral Majority movement (BTW – I am still a dedicated, evangelical, socially conservative, well-educated believer in Jesus as well as a missionary to the Jewish people). I also was prepared to lambast you for your deception and self-perceived view that you must be smarter than those “yokels” who believe in Jesus and turn to Him for answers in their life.

I finished your book frustrated. Frustrated because you laid out on the table for examination some of the very same problems I see in American Christendom. Frustrated because even though you came to love those people and even considered “faking” it for the rest of your life, you still showed a level of condescension in your words. Frustrated that what you saw, hypocrisy and confusion, only pulled you farther away from the truth of Messiah Jesus.

Therefore, I want to offer an apology for the fact that you could not see the truth of Jesus in the lives of those with whom you came into contact. I want to apologize for the shoddy decision counseling you were given and the fact that you were allowed to be baptized after several months of not attending church. I want to apologize for the lack of discipleship you were offered. I want to apologize for the fact that your mother (p. 254) was absolutely right that many times evangelicals “pad” their numbers in order to satisfy some self-perceived statistic that does not bring joy to Jesus but only sadness. Sadness because we have failed as evangelicals and Christians to understand that a newly saved soul is not about anything we have done but only what He has done through us. He does the saving (yes, through our witnessing testimony), we are to do the discipling.

So, Gina, if you are interested, I would like to share with you the Jesus I know. The Jesus who came first for the Jewish people because He was one of you – regardless of whether you are religious or not. The Jesus who preferred to be around you “Pagan” folks than the religious folks. The Jesus, who while knowing that many of His own people would reject Him, still begged for their forgiveness on the cross.

Finally, Gina, I would like to thank you. Thank you for reminding me that in order to reach the world for Jesus, we must be in the world but not a part of it. Thank you for reminding me that “Christian-speak” is useless to those who did not have a decoder ring. Thank you for reminding me that I must adjust my method of sharing the Gospel while not compromising its message. Thank you for leading the small child in Alaska to the Lord. She will eternally thank you for sharing Jesus with her, even if you couldn’t see it for yourself.

Acts 20:24,

Amy Downey