Can We Justify Toxic Evangelism if Lots of People Got Baptized?

Written By Pastor Marcos

Can we justify toxic evangelism if lots of people got baptized in the end?

I recently had a discussion where the name of a very toxic evangelist came up (he's since passed, but shall remain unnamed). This guy was the poster boy of high-control fundamentalist Adventism and has caused so much division, harm, and headaches for pastors it’s hard to overstate how damaging his ministry was.

But in the midst of processing this, one person spoke up and said, "Yeah, but I've never met a critic of his who brought more people to Jesus than he did."

Let's pause there for a second.

What this person is saying is, "Yeah, he might have been a bit off... BUT... look how many people he brought to Jesus!"

As if bringing lots of people to Jesus somehow balances out the harmful theology he was preaching...

I say, not so fast.

It's no secret that high-control religions tend to grow faster than most other religions. And it’s no secret that if you market your high-control religion to the right groups of people, you will have a ton of baptisms and converts in your scorecard.

This is due to a combination of sociological, psychological, and strategic factors. It has nothing to do with the Holy Spirit being at work. It has a whole lot more to do with emotionally dysregulated folk trauma-bonding with the hyper-strict, us-vs-them, reductionary dogma of high-control religion.

I once read about an old-school, fire-and-brimstone evangelist who ended one of his sermons like this: “Come back tomorrow night, and I’ll name three pastors in this very city who aren’t going to heaven.”

Now let me ask you: Who do you think is going to show up the next night?

Is it your relational, compassionate, emotionally regulated, critical-thinking professionals?

Or is it emotionally dysregulated folk who need counselling and support... not the shame-based theology this guy is preaching?

I think the answer is obvious.

When people experience emotional, spiritual, or psychological turmoil, they become vulnerable to religions that offer safety in rules, certainty in an oversimplified view of reality, and meaning in "group-think." It doesn't matter if those environments are controlling or abusive. So long as the emotional anxieties feel soothed, people will join up.

It doesn't mean they came to Jesus. It doesn't mean they were born again. It doesn't mean they are healing. In my experience, having worked in high-control churches where people were brought in through high-control evangelism... I can promise you they aren't healing. Instead, they are doubling down on toxic and controlling behaviors fueled by a theology that tells them God approves of their harmful social rhythms.

So why am I saying this? Because the ends do not justify the means. You can't justify an evangelist's toxicity because he "brought lots of people to Jesus." He did not. He brought lots of people into religion. He brought lots of people into a group, a herd, a system. One that took advantage of their anxieties by offering them a black-and-white, reductionary, controlling framework through which to navigate a complex, constantly changing world with multiple shades of grey. That's not the same as bringing people to Jesus.

In fact, Jesus himself criticized the religious leaders of his day for doing the same thing.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.” —Matthew 23:15

In this verse, Jesus critiques the religious leaders' evangelistic zeal not because they’re passionate... but because they convert people into something even more distorted and enslaved than before. In other words: not all conversions lead to freedom; some lead deeper into bondage, even if wrapped in spiritual language. Justifying harmful evangelism in the name of "but look at how many were baptized" is not it. We have got to do better.

Because you know what happens when we don't? At first, things look awesome. Lots of new people at church. Lots of baptisms. You might even get legend status for your incredible evangelistic work. And then those people you brought in with toxic theology join the local church, and all they want to do is argue. They see a devil under every bush. They see a conspiracy under every smile. They see an evil agenda hidden behind every attempt at creativity and innovation.

Young people leave the church. Pastors are exasperated. New generations called to ministry increasingly shy away from local church work because they don't want to waste their youth fighting the toxic cultures that were calcified by the high-control gurus we adored. And all of a sudden, we realize that what once looked like growth was nothing more than cancer metastasizing into the whole, until the body finds itself beyond repair.

The answer? A healing theology. A message of love, grace, and transformation. It can lead to fewer baptisms than the toxic approach, yes. Your church might not grow as fast. But it’s an investment in the long game of impacting the world with the goodness of God's heart rather than chasing quick wins that come back to haunt us.

Because the world doesn't need a bigger church or a larger denomination. It needs a new humanity that moves to the rhythms of Jesus’ heart and lifts him up as the answer to the hearts need.

With belonging, warmth, and enthusiasm.

With imagination, wonder, and creativity.

Let's invest in that.

Is your local church in need of revival?

Check out these resources:

Pastor Marcos https://www.thestorychurchproject.com
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