Should Progressive Christians Repent of Their Evangelism?

New Monastic Mark Van Steenwyk, general editor of the Jesus Manifesto, "a radical Christian webzine exploring the way of Jesus in our imperial context" has been running a series on whether or not imperial Christianity is oppressive.

Van Steenwyk echoes the "everything must change "mantra of Brian McLaren, et al:

"...Christianity has come to be defined in largely imperialistic ways. If the majority of human engagement with Christianity has seen it as an imperial narrative, do we simply (sic) dimiss the conclusion that it is an imperial religion? Or do we repent of such Christianity?"

Van Steenwyk makes strong points about the "Empire". Van Steenwyk also makes valid points regarding the geo-political manipulation of missionaries. The Protestant Reformation was the repentance from the Mother of all manipulation systems...Roman Catholicism. Yet, evangelical dominion theology strives to build its own version of the Vatican. Van Steenwyk shares a video that drives that point home.

The Protestant Reformation was such a repentance. But why do the Progressive Evangelicals (New Monastics, Emergents, Red Letter, etc. ) ignore church history? For the sake of the conversation and deconstruction?

Regrettably Van Steenwyk feels that Christ has not been building His church since Pentecost:

"It is no easy thing to try to follow Jesus with the weight of 2000 years of imperialism in the name of Jesus bearing upon one’s soul."

Van Steenwyk calls for a repentance from imperial evangelism. Perhaps Progressive Evangelicals should call for repentance from accepting grants from radical non-governmental organizations like the Ford Foundation and The Tide Center. Both entities fund abortion and anti-family issues around the globe.

Progressive Evangelicals who cry out for social justice while forming alliances with such immoral organizations is nothing short of fatal hypocrisy.

Perhaps Van Steenwyk could make such a call for repentance among his fellow Progressives.