Is the institution of the evangelical church beginning to crumble? Author Christine Wicker grew up in an evangelical setting and returned later in life to gather data about the modern church. As a religion reporter, she knew 'the strengths and glories of evangelical faith, and that story wasn't being told.' When she returned to her roots and began to look for evidence that there was more good in the evangelical world that was reported in the news, this is what she found:
'No one piece of evidence was enough on its own, but as I continued to research I found one evangelical shortfall after another, and they began to form into an astonishing pattern of fact. Just as I had finished convincing myself that the evangelical church was smarter and had more to offer than ever---I'm still convinced of that---I was hit with the growing suspicion that the entire faith might be sinking fast. Then I discovered that my suspicion was backed by the evangelicals' own statistics.' -from the introduction
