When, according to Les, did Christianity begin to lose its power?
Christianity began to lose its power when congregations would not consider a man for the pulpit unless he held a doctorate. The shift made academic credentials the sole criterion for preaching and teaching the Word, sidelining the unlearned and ignorant men God had used in the past.
Les explains that Christianity started going down the tubes and lost its power when congregations reached the point of refusing to consider a man for the pulpit unless he had a doctorate. He clarifies he is not against education and admires those who have it, but when a doctorate becomes the sole criterion for being qualified to preach and teach the Word, they are out in left field. He points back to Peter and John, perceived as unlearned and ignorant men, and to Amos and David, who came off the ranch, showing God used such men. He states that God never used those kind of men in the past, and describes the early apostles as uneducated, intellectually ignorant men.