Ten years ago, Eric Metaxas was the belle of the evangelical ball. Indeed, his evangelical bona fides were nearly impeccable. Early in his career he wrote for Veggie Tales and worked for Chuck Colson. He wrote humorously but piercingly about Christian apologetics. His biography of Bonhoeffer was named the book of the year by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. It sold more than a million copies and has been translated into 20 languages.
His keynote address to the National Prayer Breakfast in 2012 became a viral sensation. With great wit and rhetorical flourish, and with President Barack Obama sitting just a few feet away, he gave a passionate defense of the unborn. Eric Metaxas was becoming what many evangelicals claimed the movement needed: An intellectual Christian, someone who took the Bible and doctrine seriously, but who was also taken seriously in the secular public square.
Then, Donald Trump happened. After being initially skeptical of Trump, Eric Metaxas became a full-throated advocate on his then new Salem radio program, which was syndicated nationwide. He wrote two children’s books about Donald Trump. And, in an infamous incident caught on video, he punched an anti-Trump protester at a rally at the White House in August of 2020. Metaxas has gone on to use his radio program as a platform to have guests who promoted the notion that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and that the COVID vaccine is dangerous. His advocacy has also gotten him in legal trouble. Just last week a judge ruled that a defamation lawsuit against Metaxas and others can go forward.
All of this has caused a lot of Eric’s former friends and admirers to ask: “What happened to Eric Metaxas”? It’s a question Eric addresses in this conversation, a conversation that starts out talking about his 2022 book Letter To The American Church, which has recently been adapted to film and is showing, mostly in churches, around the country.
Thanks for listening in on my conversation with Eric Metaxas. His latest book is Letter to the American Church.
The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. We get database, technical, editorial, and other support from Casey Sudduth, Stephen duBarry, Christina Darnell, and Kim Roberts.
I hope you’ll join me and Natasha Cowden for our roundup of the stories we’ve been working on this week here at MinistryWatch.
Until then, may God bless you.
Ep. 357: Mica Miller Update, When Helping Hurts Haiti, KP Yohannan, Another Homeless Shelter Shut Down
Ep. 356: Celebrities For Jesus: A Conversation with Katelyn Beaty
Ep. 355 : Eric Metaxes, Gunman in Pennsylvania Church, Investigation on Mica Miller
Ep. 354: A Conversation with Aaron Renn About Life In The Negative World
Ep. 353: United Methodist Church Approves LGBTQ Clergy, Wayne Grudem Retires, Metaxas and Feucht Hit Manhattan
Ep. 352: A Conversation with Nancy French Cancer, Politics, Ghost-Writing, and Life
Ep. 351: More on Driscoll-Lindell, A Seminary Survives, and Orange’s Reggie Joiner Resigns
Ep. 350: Some Thought About The Mark Driscoll-John Lindell Controversy
Ep. 349: Mark Driscoll, Calvin University, Chuck Swindoll
Ep. 347: State Department Proposes Rules that Could Hurt Ministries Salem Media Reports Big Loss
Ep. 346: From Half-Time to Full-Time A conversation with David Bahnsen about the dignity of work
Ep. 345: T.D. Jakes, NC’s Pursuit Church, Birmingham Southern College To Close
Ep. 344: A Conversation with Andrew Peterson He talks music, writing, community, Wingfeather, and becoming a ministry leader
Ep. 343: Zoning Laws Shut Down Church Ministries, How To Navigate Crypto More SBC Drama
Ep. 342: What We Can Learn From Lent
Ep. 341: Chi Alpha, Compassion International, Child Evangelism Fellowship, and “Margin Stacking”
Ep. 340: Rickardo Bodden on Toxic Leadership
Ep. 339: American Bible Society Pivots, Trinity International University Cuts Programs, and Turning Point USA Holds Event
Ep. 338: Matt Bronleewe on the Founding of Compassion International
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