--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There were three kinds of evangelical…" description: "\"There were three kinds of evangelical leaders: The dumb or idealistic ones who really believed. The out-and-out charlatans. And the smart ones who stil..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5a/frank-schaeffer-8107_charlatans_there-were-three-kinds-of-evangelical-le_2004035.png" --- # There were three kinds of evangelical leaders: The dumb or… ![“There were three kinds of evangelical leaders: The dumb or idealistic ones who really believed. The out-and-out charlatans. And the smart ones who still believed – sort of – but knew that the evangelical world was sh*t, but who couldn't figure out any way to earn as good a living anywhere else.” quote by Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5a/frank-schaeffer-8107_charlatans_there-were-three-kinds-of-evangelical-le_2004035.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5a/frank-schaeffer-8107_charlatans_there-were-three-kinds-of-evangelical-le_2004035.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5a/frank-schaeffer-8107_charlatans_there-were-three-kinds-of-evangelical-le_2004035.png) > “There were three kinds of evangelical leaders: The dumb or idealistic ones who really believed. The out-and-out charlatans. And the smart ones who still believed – sort of – but knew that the evangelical world was sh\*t, but who couldn't figure out any way to earn as good a living anywhere else.” [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote categorizes evangelical leaders into three types: naive believers, outright frauds, and cynical believers who recognize the movement’s flaws but lack alternatives for livelihood. **In simple terms:** Three types of leaders: naive, fraudulent, cynical but stuck. Key Takeaway Recognize and address systemic issues to create ethical paths. Themes leadership integrity religion career ethics Mood critical reflective Type analytical thought‑provoking When to use this quote - church leadership - career counseling - nonprofit reform - personal ethics - faith community Key Concepts Cynicism disillusionment survival strategy Questions to Reflect On - How can one maintain integrity while earning a living? - What alternatives exist for disillusioned leaders? A Different Perspective The “smart” group may be rationalizing complicity rather than seeking change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Charlatans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/charlatans/) [Dumb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dumb/) [Evangelical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evangelical/) [Evangelical Leaders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evangelical-leaders-429605/) [Evangelical World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evangelical-world-3542862/) [Figures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/figures/) [Idealistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idealistic/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Kinds Evangelical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kinds-evangelical-3542860/) [Knew Evangelical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knew-evangelical-3542861/) [Leader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leader/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smart/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Three](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [When evangelical leaders can persuade the president to be concerned about what's happening in Sudan, or sex trafficking around the world, or HIV-AIDS, that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-wallis/when-evangelical-leaders-can-persuade-the-president-to-be-concerned/) [Jim Wallis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-wallis/) > [“Many Americans resent evangelicals because they perceive us as thinking we have a right to rule them. That perception is not always unreasonable in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-forster/many-americans-resent-evangelicals-because-they-perceive-us-as/) [Greg Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-forster/) > [New Rule: There is no devil, so stop blaming your screw-ups on him. Last week, one of the biggest evangelical leaders in America, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/new-rule-there-is-no-devil-so-stop-blaming-your-screw-ups-on-him-last/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [I started to have almost a realization that a lot of the evangelical leaders I looked up to and found hope in - I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-mineo/i-started-to-have-almost-a-realization-that-a-lot-of-the-evangelical/) [Andy Mineo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-mineo/) > [I thought the evangelical church was living out true unity in Christ without regard for race. That has certainly been my experience in every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-macarthur/i-thought-the-evangelical-church-was-living-out-true-unity-in-christ/) [John MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-macarthur/) > [There is a breeze blowing. I see it in the deep discontent that is being voiced with the threadbare state of the evangelical world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-wells/there-is-a-breeze-blowing-i-see-it-in-the-deep-discontent-that-is/) [David F. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-wells/) > [“In the evangelical world, prying can be an indicator of compassion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-roose/in-the-evangelical-world-prying-can-be-an-indicator-of-compassion/) [Kevin Roose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-roose/) > [“There is a great superficiality in today's evangelical world. Many Bible-believing Christians share the contemporary case for self-gratification, emotionalism, and anti-intellectualism. Many people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-edward-veith-jr/there-is-a-great-superficiality-in-today-s-evangelical-world-many/) [Gene Edward Veith Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-edward-veith-jr/) > [I felt like I was in a unique position, or I am in a unique position, to show the evangelical world in a way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-holmes/i-felt-like-i-was-in-a-unique-position-or-i-am-in-a-unique-position/) [Pete Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-holmes/) > [In my opinion, there's nothing new in the theatre, ever. Theatre-makers are thieves, in the honourable tradition of charlatans. They fake it very, very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mcburney/in-my-opinion-there-s-nothing-new-in-the-theatre-ever-theatre-makers/) [Simon McBurney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mcburney/) > [“Here's to the charlatans, the pretenders, the pawns and the knights. For without them, this play would have no kings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atticus/here-s-to-the-charlatans-the-pretenders-the-pawns-and-the-knights-for/) [Atticus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atticus/) > [Theatre artists are essentially sort of charlatans and thieves, I mean that's the tradition that we come from, so I have absolutely no, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mcburney/theatre-artists-are-essentially-sort-of-charlatans-and-thieves-i-mean/) [Simon McBurney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mcburney/) > [If I did only one thing at a time I'd think I was wasting my time. If, for example, I only wrote novels I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ackroyd/if-i-did-only-one-thing-at-a-time-i-d-think-i-was-wasting-my-time-if/) [Peter Ackroyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ackroyd/) > [ The most recent incarnation of \[Bob\] Dylan has been the traveling journeyman/ charlatan who sings roots music, snarls dark lyrics that make "All Along… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/the-most-recent-incarnation-of-bob-dylan-has-been-the-traveling/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [I realized early on that the academy and the literary world alike - and I don't think there really is a distinction between the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/i-realized-early-on-that-the-academy-and-the-literary-world-alike-and/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) ## More by Frank Schaeffer > [We don't just change our minds, we change the way we see things. That's one reason I'm a better grandfather than I was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/we-don-t-just-change-our-minds-we-change-the-way-we-see-things-that-s/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [“The last thing I crave is to be exposed to the sort of grandstanding preachers that so many evangelical churches seem to breed with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/the-last-thing-i-crave-is-to-be-exposed-to-the-sort-of-grandstanding/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [The secular humanist, although he would never dream of committing the social faux pas of calling a black man a negro, feels perfectly free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/the-secular-humanist-although-he-would-never-dream-of-committing-the/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [Donald Trump is not a very bright or nice man. Bad combination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/donald-trump-is-not-a-very-bright-or-nice-man-bad-combination/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [“I don’t view you as a market segment. I view you as my partner, an individual reader, a friend as complex and maybe even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/i-don-t-view-you-as-a-market-segment-i-view-you-as-my-partner-an/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [“We are part of nature yet we have decided to be nicer than nature.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/we-are-part-of-nature-yet-we-have-decided-to-be-nicer-than-nature/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [“Some people who helped lead that movement—including me—were very much like Hunka Munka and Tom Thumb. We lived lives informed by beliefs that were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/some-people-who-helped-lead-that-movement-including-me-were-very-much/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [I think that unlike W Bush who was an actual evangelical and sincerely so (my family knew the Bush family), of course Trump will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/i-think-that-unlike-w-bush-who-was-an-actual-evangelical-and/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [“who is actually delusional? Who is actually following Jesus: fundamentalist Christians rejecting gay men and lesbians’ right to marry, or atheist humanists treating men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/who-is-actually-delusional-who-is-actually-following-jesus/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [“Labels don’t mean anything. Who cares about labels when someone is slapping you in the face? Who cares about labels when someone is saving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/labels-don-t-mean-anything-who-cares-about-labels-when-someone-is/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [We are not evolved but evolving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/we-are-not-evolved-but-evolving/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [“Luckily for the people she helped, my mother was gloriously inconsistent. She lived according to the more enlightened parts of the Bible and ignored…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/luckily-for-the-people-she-helped-my-mother-was-gloriously/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [“education and money. I go to church with the kids for the same reason Genie and I play our grandchildren classical music and litter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/education-and-money-i-go-to-church-with-the-kids-for-the-same-reason/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [“If we wait for correct ideas to save us—theological or otherwise—we’ll never be saved, even from ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/if-we-wait-for-correct-ideas-to-save-us-theological-or-otherwise-we/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [Of course as soon as I say something or write it that sounds like I believe it, and really I'm never entirely sure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/of-course-as-soon-as-i-say-something-or-write-it-that-sounds-like-i/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) [Explore all 84 Frank Schaeffer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) ## More Charlatans quotes > [I realized early on that the academy and the literary world alike - and I don't think there really is a distinction between the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/i-realized-early-on-that-the-academy-and-the-literary-world-alike-and/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [ The most recent incarnation of \[Bob\] Dylan has been the traveling journeyman/ charlatan who sings roots music, snarls dark lyrics that make "All Along… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/the-most-recent-incarnation-of-bob-dylan-has-been-the-traveling/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [If I did only one thing at a time I'd think I was wasting my time. If, for example, I only wrote novels I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ackroyd/if-i-did-only-one-thing-at-a-time-i-d-think-i-was-wasting-my-time-if/) [Peter Ackroyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ackroyd/) > [Theatre artists are essentially sort of charlatans and thieves, I mean that's the tradition that we come from, so I have absolutely no, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mcburney/theatre-artists-are-essentially-sort-of-charlatans-and-thieves-i-mean/) [Simon McBurney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mcburney/) > [“Here's to the charlatans, the pretenders, the pawns and the knights. For without them, this play would have no kings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atticus/here-s-to-the-charlatans-the-pretenders-the-pawns-and-the-knights-for/) [Atticus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atticus/) > [In my opinion, there's nothing new in the theatre, ever. Theatre-makers are thieves, in the honourable tradition of charlatans. They fake it very, very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mcburney/in-my-opinion-there-s-nothing-new-in-the-theatre-ever-theatre-makers/) [Simon McBurney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mcburney/) > [I will go wherever the truth leads me. It is secular scholarship, Rebbe; it is not the scholarship of tradition. In secular scholarship there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/i-will-go-wherever-the-truth-leads-me-it-is-secular-scholarship-rebbe/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [The greater the mental charlatan, the more definite his insistence on the wickedness and weaknesses of human nature. Yet how can anyone speak of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/the-greater-the-mental-charlatan-the-more-definite-his-insistence-on/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [We can't possibly have a summer love. So many people have tried that the name's become proverbial. Summer is only the unfulfilled promise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/we-can-t-possibly-have-a-summer-love-so-many-people-have-tried-that/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [To be a person who sees a political ad on television and takes the statements in it as fact, how can you exist in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-sittenfeld/to-be-a-person-who-sees-a-political-ad-on-television-and-takes-the/) [Curtis Sittenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-sittenfeld/) > [“The old stars-and-moons act was a good way to farm the unduly trusting. But the need to raise money in the first place seemed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/the-old-stars-and-moons-act-was-a-good-way-to-farm-the-unduly/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [My first meeting with you only confirmed what I first suspected. You are a fraud, a charlatan and a shyster. My favourite kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/my-first-meeting-with-you-only-confirmed-what-i-first-suspected-you/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [I have been saying for many years that we are using the word 'guru' only because 'charlatan' is too long to fit into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/i-have-been-saying-for-many-years-that-we-are-using-the-word-guru/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [The soldier's business is to take life. For that he is paid by the State, eulogized by political charlatans and upheld by public hysteria.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/the-soldier-s-business-is-to-take-life-for-that-he-is-paid-by-the/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Scientific literacy is an intellectual vaccine against the claims of charlatans who would exploit ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/scientific-literacy-is-an-intellectual-vaccine-against-the-claims-of/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) [Browse all 110 Charlatans quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/charlatans/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There were three kinds of evangelical leaders: The dumb or idealistic ones who really believed. The out-and-out charlatans. 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