Testimony: Inside the Evangelical Movement That Failed a Generation

Written 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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: ChristianAudio.com
• Release date: May 9, 2023
• ISBN: 9781545923276

Reviews for Testimony

[rolandb_15 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the best books written and read on my part

[deusvitae · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The author relates his story as the child of Jesus People and witness to what they were about, how they were politicized, and how that all ended up.We discover the author's father was part of the Jesus People movement prevalent among Boomers and was in close association with C. J. Mahaney for quite some time. We read of how the author grew up in a sheltered church environment and how he would eventually break out of the constrictions in college and beyond. The author does not renounce his faith; he eventually goes into journalism and ends up working at first for conservative newspapers and then as the guy who understands conservatives and gets sent to political conservative events. Thus he is a witness to the shifts and changes in the ideology and approach of political conservatism in the 21st century.The author still maintains faith but has profoundly shifted in many respects from the instruction and perspective in his raising; those who would remain in such a perspective would say he has "gone liberal." While the author's story is of significantly higher profile than that of many others, it yet remains representative of how younger Xers and millennials were raised in conservative Christian environments and why so many have resisted and rejected the ways of their forefathers. A good read to consider how this all went down.**--galley received as part of early review program

[livelylady · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fantastic memoir tying together many threads....religion, politics, journalism and the importance, but lack of, critical thinking in today's society. I found the politics and evagelical history particularly interesting with the author's front row seat with national politics for the last 15 or so years. This would be a great book for discussion, but I am not sure who could lead it objectively. But very informative and written in an engaging manner.

[scottjpearson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Evangelicalism grew popular in the 1980s-1990s, yet many, like myself and Jon Ward, were wounded by a movement that seemed more self-interested and self-absorbed than interested in bettering the real world. Ward’s memoir/”testimony” (a common term in evangelical religion) conveys this culture clearly. A pastor’s son, he describes how some of his one-time evangelical heroes fell in notable ways in the lead-up to and during the Trump administration. Ward himself has built a notable career in political journalism over this time and laments that his evangelical faith has not moved with him. Instead, he writes about how his faith has moved in other directions, more deeply rooted in the Christian traditions.Ward’s central prism on Christianity today is built around love of God, love of neighbor, and caring for those less fortunate. When one reads the Biblical narrative in its totality, that squares up very closely with emphases across the Torah, the Prophets, the Gospels, and Paul’s letters. Ward sees these as central to evangelicalism’s center, yet he criticized evangelical leaders for being drawn away by the lure of power. Further, he criticizes the movement itself for having a hostile take on intellectualism. Personally, all of this squares very closely with my experiences in the evangelical world.For those not connected with evangelical religion, this book might not be as interesting. It alludes to many people and nuances that might not be familiar with those on the outside. Normally, readers might dismiss these as details of another religion that do not deserve public notice. Nonetheless, I contend these deserve to be exposed and explained precisely because evangelicals eye national and international dominance so ambitiously. For these very reasons, Ward’s factual account deserves consideration by those outside the movement.Ward does not deeply enter into the realm of Christian theology and thought. Most of his accounts read like newspaper articles, not the writings of Christian clergy. Thus, he does not explain evangelical theology to the masses, though he does cite many who have made it their task to do so. Most of his citations come from Internet articles of journalism, not from published books. This is unfortunate because evangelical ideas also need a proper analysis. He does, however, analyze evangelical culture, particularly through the lens of the charismatic movement. Still, this movement is not explained in depth through its modern history.Even evangelicals outside the charismatic movement will resonate with Ward’s experiences of emotional highs with ineluctable returns to reality. As documented in this book, he has turned to a more liturgical worship with a simpler – yet intense – appreciation of so-called Christian basics. Those who are recovering from an evangelical upbringing (like myself) will appreciate this memoir by a fellow journeyman. Because of evangelicals’ intense focus on political power, this book has political and national resonances as well. Ward’s writings should not be dismissed as mere religious ramblings; indeed, the rise of Trump has taught us all of evangelical dangers. Ward shows us where this movement received its foundation and shows its inherent weaknesses, which led to a national bifurcation along political lines. Thus, his “testimony” should be heard by all Americans as a way to reestablish a healthy social fabric.

[timbazzett · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

TESTIMONY is not the kind of book I usually gravitate toward, but I found it to be a fairly compelling read. Author Jon Ward was raised in the artificial bubble of an evangelical sect which tried mightily to keep its members apart from the everyday world with its many evils and temptations. He was the oldest of seven children, and his father was, for a time, a pastor in the Covenant Life Church, an outlier Evangelical organization in DC and the surrounding Maryland suburbs. Ward pretty much toed the strict line of his religious sect throughout his childhood, adolescence and even into his early twenties, noting -"The call to surrender to God was used to strong-arm me and my peers into accepting, without question, what we were told by adults. Throw in the notion that if you do not surrender you may burn in hell, and that keeps most kids in line."As he grew older, Ward was confused about what constituted masculinity, commenting -"In our church, men were trained to be docile and submissive to the men who were leaders, and the leaders exercised influence by bending over backward to appear the most humble ... Many evangelical churches encouraged men to be assertive and dominant. We kept those without power - especially women - in places of subservience, but we did it nicely, with big smiles and lots of Christian words." Although his church overtly discouraged higher education, Ward managed to finish college, but remained mostly under the church's heavy thumb, belonging to religious youth groups and young men's study groups, the latter of which encouraged intimate discussion about how often they "stumbled" from being pure and chaste. Ward is quite frank about how emotionally and sexually stunted he was, well into his early twenties, being almost terrified of women and the temptations they represented. Years later he was not surprised when he learned of sexual abuse of children by the youth pastors of his church. On this he comments -"Amid all the controversy, one pattern emerged: pastors had encouraged church members not to involve the police in sex abuse cases because they wanted to resolve all issues within the church, in an environment that they controlled."Ward does not shy away from the political connections of the evangelical churches either, discussing frankly how they quickly latched on to abortion as the only important issue and aligning themselves staunchly with the GOP. And so, in 2016 it wasn't long before it all "boiled down to whether Trump was for it or against it."There is much here too about the leadership of Ward's church and its various changes and infighting for power. Somewhere along the way Jon Ward became disenchanted with the Covenant Life Church and managed to break free of the cult-like atmosphere of his youth. He became a journalist, first with small-fry newspapers, and later he worked, variously, for Tucker Carlson, Ruppert Murdoch, and The Washington Times, before landing his present job with YahooNews. He is appalled at what has happened in our country since Trump came into prominence and how many so-called Christians have supported him, turning a blind eye to his lies and treachery. And he is also heartsick at how friends and families have turned against each other in the present era, feeling it in his own family too.I could not help but notice as I read Ward's story how much of what he says about evangelicals applies equally to the Catholic Church - the brainwashing, private schools, the "our-church-is-the-only-true-church" teaching, guilt, the sexual abuse (and covering up of same), making abortion the only issue that matters, white supremacy, and even in its support of Trump and current criticism of Biden.Jon Ward is a fine writer who has come a long way in his search for what it means to be a true Christian and a good person, and his TESTIMONY gives one much to think about. I will recommend it to anyone who is still wrestling with questions of faith and matters of right vs. wrong.- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER

[priscillaking · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is well written. It's also fascinating to me because the author and I were in the same places at the same time, although we never met. I loved getting his view of places, people, books, music, and incidents I remember well. Ward's father, a sincere Christian, helped some friends organize what went from a home Bible study to a megachurch in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. The church was reactionary, with a minister who wrote a book positively urging more spanking for more children. As time passed, Mr. Ward's aggressive extrovert friend bullied him into resigning his ministry, in an example of the sneaky verbal abuse that created an emotionally abusive atmosphere in what was originally a fellowship of well-meaning friends. Ward escaped into a job at the Washington Times, and later moved into his current job with Yahoo News. As he and his Christian faith matured, in a move foreshadowed by a vignette of his being persuaded to help a more popular school friend steal a radio, Ward found it possible to reconcile his religious beliefs with his new associates' politics. He once was a Republican but now he's a Democrat. That's his testimony.I wish he'd thought a little harder about some of the ideas he learned from his co-workers. If the beliefs he claims to espouse as an adult had been less cliched, this book would have rated five stars.