Sinners in the Hands of an Angry Church

by Dean Merrill

If America is sliding into a moral swamp, what's the best Christian response? The hardball approach of the religious right? Or is there a more productive way to engage our culture? Dean Merrill, a former vice president with Focus on the Family, challenges us to transform society--and our own hearts--from the inside out. Sinners in the Hands of an Angry Church is about attitude, about living out our convictions in a Christ-like manner instead of bullying our way into the system like any other loud and selfish government lobby. Merrill shows why returning to the "good old days" is a wish based on a myth. He reveals how God has worked mightily throughout history in spite of decadent cultures, and how he can and will work today in the American culture. Far from a prescription for apathy, this book is a passionate call to Kingdom activity -- and our mission as ambassadors to a world Christ died for, not as conquerors who would remake it in our own image.

Genres: Christian

184 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Dean Merrill is a former magazine editor (Campus Life, Leadership Journal, Christian Herald) and editorial director (David C. Cook, Focus on the Family) who has written 10 books and coauthored 35 others with such voices as
• Philippine missionary survivor Gracia Burnham
• Compassion International president Wess Stafford
• Hobby Lobby founder and CEO David Green
• Brooklyn Tabernacle pastor Jim Cymbala.
Several have won Gold Medallion Awards as well as been ranked on the New York Times bestseller lists.

His most recent titles have been "Miracle Invasion" (BroadStreet, 2018) and "50 Pentecostal and Charismatic Leaders Every Christian Should Know" (Chosen, 2021).

Merrill and his wife have lived in Colorado Springs since 1991. They are the parents of three married children and have welcomed a full dozen grandchildren (ten biological, two adopted).

Reviews

[Judy McCarver]

Do you or have you ever heard someone else say "I wish it were the good old days again..." Or "Remember the good old days when everyone did the right thing....." This is a paraphrase of something I hear constantly. As if God existed in the "good old days," but clearly in this time of mayhem and corruption, He is truly absent. That could not be farther from the truth. And the problem with this fatalistic view of our world and our culture is that it immerses the church into either apocalyptic thinking and/or critical and pessimistic thinking, neither of which renders itself to sharing the love of Jesus to a fallen world. This is a fallen world that has always been fallen. This is not a new phenomenon. But if you listen to people rant for hours, days, and weeks on end about the condition of our world, you would think it has surely never been this way in the history of man. This is particularly a reckless position for Christians to adopt.

Dean Merrill points out how society and its immoral, corrupt and illegal wiles have persisted thorough the years beginning in biblical times, continuing through the first century, the middle ages, the renaissance years, and how can we forget the atrocities that happened in WWII? He reminds us of our own tarnished past in this country, oppression of races, wayward children, teen pregnancy and murder-all of which has continued on and on and on in every generation. Certainly there have been vast and sometimes sweeping changes in many areas for the good but his point is this "Christians who find a hopeful perspective on life's problems are infinitely more valuable than people who spend all of their time bemoaning, decrying, criticizing, and reproaching...Do we care about the feelings of people or only the categories of people?"

Another bold and truthful statement: "We have much to learn. Our Christian stance in a fallen world is less dependent on external conditions and working majorities than it is on the calling and purpose of the mighty God we serve. Jesus is still in the process of building his church, the gates of hell notwithstanding. He has a blueprint in mind with definite strategies. The more we align ourselves with His plan, the more work that gets done. The more we sidetrack ourselves with doing the job the way we prefer, trying to get non-Christian neighbors and acquaintances to act Christianly without the divine life of Christ inside, the more time and energy we waste."

This book just reinforces my support for separation of church and state. I don't have room here to tell you all the great points outlined in his book, but if you read the book, Merrill also gives you some eye opening truths about our founding fathers and their stance on Chrsitianity. Very very few of them were indeed christian. I have my own opinion of God's hand on our country at that time and His will for our direction and what He wanted this country to be (free!!) But don't kid yourselves into thinking all those original founding fathers of our counrty and of our constitution were super Godly men and women. Not true.

We sometimes (not all of us) have this sick notion that our faith can somehow be legislated. If only we had open prayer and bible classes in public schools... Really? We need open prayer and bible studies in our homes people. Then and only then can we be a light to our public schools, our communities and our workplace. As far as the "sky is falling" outlook and attitude for our country, our world and our life: I agree that sometimes I watch the news or listen to people whose mouths are moving but saying nonsense, and think "what kind of world do we live in?" But I can assure you I am not the first to say that and will NOT be the last. What is there for me to do then? How in the world do we reconcile our sincere gravest concerns for the world we live in and our Christianity? THIS IS IT: Serve God and serve others, as God pours into my life, I need to be pouring out into others.

This is the command of God: "He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. AND what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8

[John]

Yes. Yes. Yes.
I agreed with virtually everything that was written in this short 1997 book (so if I agreed with it, it must be a good book, right?), and I think it is even more relevant now than when it was written.
The message is this: Christians who are screaming at the world aren't doing anybody any good. And they aren't following a biblical model.
And this: The country we live in is not now, nor was it ever, a Christian country. It is absurd to expect a pre-Christian culture to live according to our rules. First, we need to introduce them to Christ.
Dean Merrill not only says it right, he says it well, far better than I'm saying it in this review. He writes in a conversational manner that is always simple but never simplistic. His arguments are compelling (largely because they're right). His illustrations are to the point.
Even his "Short 'To-Do' List for Christ Followers" at the end is invaluable. (Example: "Make friends with an abortion clinic manager in your area.")
I borrowed this book from the library. If I had purchased it, there would be highlighted sentences and paragraphs on almost every page.

[Adrienne Jones]

This book changed my life. I don't agree with every word or concept in it, but it opened new directions of religious thought and discourse for me.

I have serious problems with Focus on the Family, so I'm amazed one of its former leaders wrote a book that effected me so profoundly.

I haven't read it since the 1990s, so what was revolutionary then may seem more mainstream now (we can only hope). I am so thankful to have read this book when I did.

[David Royal]

This is a very useful book to learn not only about what not to do but why. Chapter Six - Will We See Thomas Jefferson in Heaven? well let's say my eyes were opened because they sure didn't teach that in school.

[Ronald J. Pauleus]

Interesting perspective on influence.

[Jonathan Thomas]

Excelent book, I wish I had read it sooner.