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Evangelical Elitists
The exclusive church where Washington's conservative power brokers pray very consciously aims its ministry at the ruling class

...There are no overhead projectors or Good News Bibles at The Falls Church. And that liquid in the communion chalice is Taylor's Vintage Port, not the grape juice they serve down the street at the Baptist church. "This isn't a watered-down mega church," observes Joseph Loconte, a Heritage Foundation fellow who has attended the church. "Theologically and aesthetically, it draws a certain kind of believer." One parishioner told me that, before discovering The Falls Church, "I had been to a number of evangelical churches, but frankly, I didn't relate to the people." Another confided that evangelical churches can be "kind of wacky," but that The Falls Church stands out because "the faith is more intellectually grounded."...

...The stress, however, is often on the power. While liberal churches preach about the dispossessed and evangelical churches focus on the unsaved, The Falls Church very consciously aims its ministry at the ruling class. Among other things, the church sponsors a fellowship program for recent college graduates that combines theological coursework with internships at lobbying firms and think tanks like the Heritage Foundation. On the Sunday after the election, the rector, Rev. John Yates, gave a sermon on the idea that Christians are called to live their faith not only in private, but in their professional roles as well. The theme is central to the church's theology, if not the entire Christian conservative movement. "[Congregants] have a broader view of calling and vocation," says Loconte. "The committed Christian person is not necessarily called to work as a missionary or as a pastor, but perhaps is putting in 70-hour weeks at the White House."...