Major Evangelical Media Outlet Employee Handbook Says Mission is to Abolish the "American Dream"
RightNow Media is a growing Evangelical media resource that dubs itself a "Netflix for Christian Bible Study." Right Now Media touts itself as the premier resource for streaming Bible studies and other Evangelical media such as conferences. In fact, Right Now media is where you will find The Gospel Coalition and ERLC resources such as the MLK50 Conference.
Thousands of Evangelical churches -- including Southern Baptist and Presbyterian churches -- subscribe to this service as a primary resource for the leadership as well as the congregation.
Familiar faces you will see on the "Netflix for Christian Bible Study" are the typical social justice pro-racialism camp including Matt Chandler, JD Greear, Tony Evans, Jackie Hill Perry, Beth Moore, Russell Moore, Thabiti Anyabwile, and many others. Interestingly, I was unable to find any resources from John MacArthur.
Several other prominent social justice agitators tied to The Gospel Coalition such as Jared C. Wilson -- who questions the salvation of historical Christian heroes like George Whitefield -- and Eric Mason, author of Woke Church are regular speakers at Right Now Media's conferences.
After some digging, it was interesting to see what Right Now Media's mission statement said -- and it lines up perfectly with the people they platform. There mission statement? Essentially, to do away with the American Dream.
In Right Now Media's Employee Handbook, the company makes clear the purpose of the company -- they want to trade the American Dream for social justice activism. The mission statement, which can be found in the Employee Handbook, page 3, available on their website, reads,
Our mission at RightNow is to help people trade in the pursuit of the American Dream for a world that desperately needs Christ.
We want people to become Traders. And while the term “trader” may be new to you, it is really just our way to express what it means to be a committed disciple of Jesus Christ.
The American Dream has been hijacked. What used to be about freedom of worship, opportunity and potential has been distorted to me, me, me and more, more, more. This self-centered, me-focused consumerism has even crept into the Church. God’s goal for all Christians, however, is not that they achieve the American Dream, but that they become like His Son, Jesus Christ (2 Cor 3:18).
We don’t want to settle for the American Dream, but relentlessly pursue “God’s Dream” for our lives. And while the world shouts at us to “look out for number one” and pursue financial and personal comfort, the Word encourages us to be godly and content instead of focusing on becoming wealthy (1 Tim 6:3–19). There’s nothing wrong with having a good job and making money, but it’s all about where your passion and heart is. If you’re focusing on the financials, then you’ll miss what’s closest to God’s heart—a world full of people who are lost and desperately need a personal relationship with Jesus Christ (2 Pet 3:9; Matt 28:18–20).
One of our main goals is to inspire Traders to be people who intentionally put “others before self, and Christ above all.” When asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus responded, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matt 22:37–39, NIV). Traders are people who know God’s Word, and then radically obey it in their everyday lives.
Strategically, the best way for RightNow to unleash millions of Christians is to serve churches who can disciple and mobilize “the people of the church” to live like Jesus in their homes, neighborhoods, at work and around the world.
At RightNow, we firmly believe The Mission of the Church Matters. Everything we do is rooted in the belief that the Church (people not buildings) can have a powerful impact on this world. Our team loves the Church.