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I think David French is right in the basic point, but the problem behind the problem is that false notion that there is an Evangelicalism that has leaders. We have religious entrepreneurs who represent only themselves and their organizations.
The prob won’t stop while the myth of Evangelicalism keeps being perpetuated. The desire to have something bigger than the local church for clout w/ the culture has created this mess. The strategic effort to create a movement in the mid-20th century bore this fruit.
It was a deliberate effort to elevate a voice (B. Graham), a periodical (CT), & a school (Fuller) as the “brand” of a new evangelicalism. Our culture loves celebrity & these leaders (& many others have followed them) embraced the power of big names. Pioneers of platform building.
Until the underlying prob is confronted, nothing changes. As long as you try to build an image of Evangelical influence via a movement myth, you won’t be able to stop religious entrepreneurs from positioning themselves as spokesmen for that amorphous movement. It works for them.
The reality is that Franklin Graham is damaging the credibility of BGEA, not evangelicalism (a belief system) because he is out of line w/ the belief system. But as long as evangelicals perpetuate the myth, they set themselves up to be branded along w/ their celebrity spokesmen.
