Wolves guarding the flock

Jeff Sharlet, author of 2008’s The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power, found his work in the spotlight this year after very public affairs by three politicians and “kill the gays” legislation in the African nation of Uganda. He’s the go-to guy to understand the inner workings of The Fellowship, a behind-the-scenes Christian group that operates in Washington, D.C., and around the world. In C Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy, Sharlet expands his original work (which included a first-person account of his time as a member) into a history of The Fellowship, sponsors of the apparently innocent National Prayer Breakfast. Sharlet explains their odd interpretation of evangelism, in which they are not to minister to the sheep but to the wolves, seeking out the powerful and working through them. This is scary stuff; it’s even scarier once Sharlet shows just how powerful this group has become.