In the responses to Part 1 of this review, many comments pointed out that I had not engaged much with the negative aspects of Shepherds for Sale. In this second part, I will include reflections on the less precise and more unhelpful things about it and take a look at some of the (warranted) objections. Many of the errors in this book damage its message, but ultimately my takeaway is still overall positive. Other reviewers and critics have pointed out factual errors in Megan Basham’s book, Shepherds for Sale, that (while understandable for this type of data-heavy book) have presented unnecessary distractions from Basham’s main thesis.¹ The reality is this book would have been subject to high scrupulosity no matter what (and has been subjected to no small amount of citation parsing). A book chronicling such progressive capture requires the utmost precision, however, both in anticipation of scrutiny and so as to be a trustworthy and helpful guide for Christians trying to parse these issues. Additionally, it would have been less confusing for those of us trying to sort through all the false claims of error made by people who simply did not like the tenor of the book.

An unfortunate reality here that I have mentioned before is that the people who could benefit the most from reading Shepherds for Sale have preemptively rejected it due to their dislike of Basham’s broad, bold approach. This book vindicates those who already took issue with popular evangelical characters like Ray Ortlund and David French (both of whom, incidentally, came out in support of Kamala Harris for president after the book was published). Those who respect and enjoy media like Christianity Today or the Gospel Coalition, however, will likely not be reached by the information in this book since their respected echelons have written Basham off as a hack, and since Basham herself has handed down aggressive character indictments on respected men like Gavin Ortlund and J. D. Greear, both of whom have published videos and articles defending themselves from her scrutiny.² Her approach leads many to ask whether or not she is worth listening to.

Basham’s book illustrates a tricky issue which those of us in the Christian world have long been debating: When do we start to recognize nuance as a linguistic cover for divergent views? J. D. Greear claims that Megan misrepresented his support for the BLM movement, saying that he did not support the movement or its official goals, even though he may have agreed with some of BLM’s points.³ To someone who is inclined to sympathize with Greear, this defense seems perfectly adequate against Basham’s scrutiny. He sees his own actions in a very positive, innocent light, and Basham sees them as part of a broader trajectory.⁴ While Greear did not endorse BLM as an official platform, it is true that he still supported core ideological points like a fundamental restructuring of the police system and the inherent nature of “oppressor” and “oppressed” racial categories in society. After carefully reading both Greear’s response and Basham’s defense of herself, I cannot come away with any other explanation for the dissonance than the fact that the two of them see the same exact events in totally different lights, and not necessarily because one or the other of them is outright lying or slandering the other person. As a common rule for all disputes, theological or otherwise, the person being accused of heresy/error/progressive capture is always going to regard their own actions in the most innocent light, and will interpret criticism through the lens of slander and jealousy. There are many popular figures on the internet to whom this applies.

Megan is aggressive in her indictments and has made several sloppy mistakes in the details, which has drawn her a large deal of criticism. But some of the negative responses to Shepherds for Sale in NAPARC are due to Basham’s friendly alliance with Doug Wilson. I understand why some would be wary of that, but not everyone who comes into contact with Wilson does so through the filter of the years of theological battles that have been waged in our denominations (i.e., on Federal Vision and theonomy). Basham, from a conservative Southern Baptist standpoint, sees Wilson as a conservative pastor who aligns with her in criticizing progressivism in the evangelical world. While I personally do not think this bears much on Basham’s book itself, I will leave it up to the reader’s individual judgement to decide how much this alliance affects the content.

With Basham’s tone in view, we can also acknowledge that it is perhaps not all that helpful to title a book “Shepherds for Sale” which includes a wide swath of left-leaning figures, some of whom are actually paid by the government to manipulate Christians, and some of whom are genuinely persuaded to support a range of liberal policy positions. One could easily turn up their nose at Basham’s brash approach, especially if they were already skeptical of her. Yet, her book voices the perspective of many conservative evangelicals who have observed shifts toward progressive expressions of Christianity in their churches. The alarms Basham raises should not be ignored. Evangelical elites can continue to blame their red-pilled and folksy congregations for their pedestrian viewpoint on culture, but eventually their congregations will become fed up and tune out.

There is an intellectual dissonance when we observe that pastors who teach us that “Christianity isn’t bound to a political party” are the same pastors who use that philosophy to justify voting Democrat and denounce those who vote Republican, reciting woes and judgements against political idols. Basham’s book simply points out that liberal-leaning figures are the ones making an idol out of politics. In NAPARC, this makes many of us uncomfortable because we are so averse to mixing church and politics, and a call to arms against Democratic policies is usually accompanied by a rally to support Republican ones. Although Basham herself is politically conservative and is not shy about her support for Republican political figures, her book does not serve as a means to mobilize Christians to support Republican policies. In fact, some of the principles she speaks about would make anyone hesitant to mobilize Christian voters towards specific policies due to the special, set apart nature of Christ’s church.

That being said, I wholly understand the frustration with the exaggeration and errors contained in Shepherds for Sale. Some of the errors Basham’s editors would have been responsible for catching, but some are symptoms of what I see as a formulaic and hasty approach. One example of this is her treatment of the Lilly Endowment in chapter 4, “Christian Media and the Money Men.” Basham points out that the Lilly Foundation has donated millions of dollars over the years to Christianity Today (74). Lilly has given to a wide range of organizations,⁵ not least of which is the PCA’s own seminary (Covenant Theological Seminary received a $1.19 million dollar grant from the Lilly Endowment last fall).⁶ The Lilly money is Basham’s introductory point to her discussion on Christianity Today senior staff who made donations to openly pro-abortion candidates (75), but it is not clear that the two are quite comparable. I, too, have questions about the motives behind a pharmaceutical company donating millions of dollars to “Christian Thought” and “Compelling Preaching,” but without any additional information, it is hard to substantiate that Lilly money is influencing the content and actions of its grantees. This may well be happening, and I would love to know if it is. But Lilly may be no more than a company who gives indiscriminately to “religious” causes for a hefty tax write-off. The Arcus Foundation, however, is covered later in the book (202–3), and Basham provides clear evidence that their grantees are directly influenced by the aggressive LGBT agenda behind the grants (77). Similar details are not brought forth for Lilly.

Many have claimed that this book is too divisive and conspiratorial, that it encourages Christians to battle out their social and political preferences as a result. One reviewer even describes it as “Megan Basham’s civil war.”⁷ His review, although quite moderate, argues we should consider the fact that while Basham’s criticism is broadly correct, her personal convictions as a theological and political conservative blind her to similar influence that right-wing political groups have on the church. This is a fine point in theory, but in my view, it is entirely fair for Basham to focus on left-wing politics as an obvious threat. She has proven herself to be no conspiracy theorist. It is not a bad idea, however, to be aware that there are many ways in which conservative Christians might wrongly preoccupy the church with social and political issues as well.

As a result of the kind of corruption detailed in this book, there are nowadays many ideas cropping up about how to create the perfect Christian nation, one which prevents these very issues. These discussions have consumed a large amount of airtime and attention, but rarely do I see an emphasis on the purity of the church as something that will have an effect on the world. I also lament the diminishment of Christendom, but as it stands now, we could use many more godly men and women who would improve this nation’s moral outlook even as a mere side effect of the church’s discipleship. I do believe we should exercise biblical thinking and our consciences to be good citizens. But I entreat the churchmen reading this: Do not give up your zeal for the building up and purification of Christ’s church. It is the only institution against which the gates of hell will not prevail. As J. Gresham Machen (who surely reaped the consequences of a hostile liberal takeover in his own church) says:

For if one thing is plain it is that Christianity refuses to be regarded as a mere means to a higher end. . . . Christianity will indeed accomplish many useful things in this world, but if it is accepted in order to accomplish those useful things, it is not Christianity. . . . Our Lord said: “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” But if you seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness in order that all those other things may be added unto you, you will miss both those other things and the Kingdom of God as well.⁸

Not much in Basham’s book is surprising if you have been following inter-Christian disputes, but there are many evangelical leaders cited who sidestep the plain teachings of Scripture in exchange for some kind of influence, either conscientiously or unwittingly. It is worth reflection—thinking your denomination is “influential” is usually not a path to wisdom. I can think of many a General Assembly speech where “the watching world” is invoked as a reason why the PCA should change its polity to better accommodate the world’s concerns. I would encourage us all to think carefully about the kind of prestige or even emotional satisfaction that may influence us to weigh in on issues that seem very important to the public but are actually mere preoccupations and distractions from the church’s responsibilities.

Christians in other denominations have been deceived or have even willingly appropriated funds in order to support political movements that were clothed in gospel language. Not everyone suffers from a debilitating desire for approval from the secular media; but remember that even the most powerful institutions are not above this. Former Christianity Today editor-in-chief Mark Galli reported once that the staff of Christianity Today is highly motivated by the appearance of respectability among mainstream publications (76). Not only did they “hunger for worldly respectability,” but they also published very selective coverage on topics in their magazine, never explicitly endorsing things like egalitarianism and theistic evolution, but only giving favorable coverage to those topics (77).

Even in our indictments of bad theology, we should reserve compassion for those who have had their compassion and empathy manipulated. Whether it be compassion towards minorities, a desire for good stewardship of creation, empathy for abuse, or a tender heart for Christians suffering from the temptations of same-sex attraction, many of the people who have “fallen for” progressive ideologies in the church have done so due to a soft conscience and poor judgement. As Christians, it can often be difficult to protect our hearts from the captivity of “philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ” (Col 2:8). Although targeted toward pastors and leaders, this book is a warning for us all to exercise more discretion before jumping on the bandwagon of trendy philosophies, especially those clothed in the language of Christianity.

Shepherds for Sale proves that each of us who has a faithful, local pastor, unallured by the riches of public approval, should be overwhelmingly grateful. In the Reformed tradition, we sometimes have to balance the competing realities of the ordinary means of grace and our favorite ministers on the conference circuit. If there is any wisdom to take from this rigorous exposé of ministers who (intentionally or not) have destroyed their own credibility by platforming progressive political ideologies, or even from recent tragic stories of ministers falling from grace into egregious sin, it is the fact that if you have the true gospel preached to you every Sunday by a faithful local minister, you are far more privileged than you can possibly imagine.

My ultimate takeaway is that no hot social issue can obscure the reality that is the power of the Holy Spirit ministering to your soul through the preached Word and sacraments. Basham’s own testimony (232–8) is powerful here, testifying to the fact that the gospel is not only powerful and effective, but serves as a warning to those pastors who are leaving behind the very purpose for their ministry. Basham is understandably angry at the fact that sinners like herself are walking into churches everywhere and encountering vain political philosophies instead of the piercing power of the Word of God.

If I had walked into that church and heard the same lessons I was getting in my Feminist Theory class or my therapist’s office dressed up in spiritual jargon, I would have had little reason to stay, and if I had stayed, no understanding of how to live my life differently. The pastors might have congratulated themselves for their sophistication, for helping me understand the injustice that had oppressed me, but I would still have been in bondage. (238)

Churches and ministers who preach a social gospel are the reason Basham says, “We should certainly pray for weary, wounded sinners who are coming to the Church in need of the transcendent power of the eternal and who are, instead, given temporal preoccupations with social issues” (xxvii).

Notes

1. Bethel McGrew, “How the Evangelical Elite Failed Their Flock,” First Things, August 23, 2024,
2. Gavin Ortlund, “Megan Basham’s Shepherds For Sale: Problems With This Book,” YouTube, July 31, 2024; J.D. Greear, “An Open Response to Megan Basham’s Shepherds for Sale,” JD Greear Ministries, August 13, 2024.
3. Greear, “An Open Response.”
4. Megan Basham, “Megan Basham: My Response to JD Greear,” Clear Truth Media, August 13, 2024.
5. “Compelling Preaching Initiative,” Lilly Endowment, January 9, 2024.
6. Megan Fowler, “Covenant Seminary Receives Lilly Endowment Grant,” byFaith, November 7, 2023.
7. Hunter Baker, “Megan Basham’s Civil War,” Public Discourse, September 3, 2024.
8. J. Gresham Machen, Christianity & Liberalism (Philadelphia: Westminster Seminary Press, 2019), 156.

©Zoe Miller. All Rights Reserved.

Megan Basham, Shepherds for Sale: How Evangelical Leaders Traded the Truth for a Leftist Agenda (Northampton, MA: Broadside Books, 2024).

You can find this whole series here.

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Post authored by:

• Zoe Miller

  

  Zoe is a missionary kid, pastor’s wife, and enthusiastically Presbyterian lady. Zoe and her husband Seth live in Couer d’Alene, ID, where he is the planting pastor at Immanuel Presbyterian Church (PCA). A freelance journalist and writer, Zoe occasionally appears in World Magazine, Presbyterian Polity, and other publications. In her spare time, she enjoys cohosting the Presbygirls podcast with her friend Sarah Morris, enjoying beautiful Northern Idaho outdoors, and haranguing her friends on the website formerly known as Twitter.

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