Tag Archive for: Biblical Worldview

5 Ways to Pray for the Incoming Trump Administration

On Monday, Donald Trump will take the oath of office as America’s 47th president. Christians are commanded to pray for governing officials, regardless of politics. So, as the country enters a new chapter of our history, here are five ways that Christians can pray biblically for the incoming administration.

1. Religious Freedom

First and foremost, we should establish the biblical basis for why Christians should pray for government leaders. Paul instructs his disciple Timothy, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

The context of this command is a letter focused on ordering the church and preserving the gospel, issues still central to Christian practice today. Not only does this increase our confidence in the ongoing relevance of this command, but it also leads us to infer that praying for government officials is appropriate to the context of the local church and consistent with the gospel we proclaim. This is not a distracting side issue.

Apart from a general description — “supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings” — Paul does not prescribe what or how Christians should pray for rulers, but he does explain why. These prayers are so that “we” — that is, Christians — “may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” In other words, Christians are to pray for governing officials so that the government will leave them alone to live the Christian life. This includes evangelism and discipleship, as the following verses imply (1 Timothy 2:3-4).

The incoming Trump administration is not “going to fix the problems in terms of what ails America,” said Family Research Council President Tony Perkins on “Washington Watch.” “It is not political. It’s spiritual. And so, it’s incumbent upon the church … to delve in, roll up their sleeves, and work with their neighbors and their communities.” But he added, “Where the government comes in is making sure that those people can do that in the name of Jesus, and they can live out their faith in a way that is unhindered and unrestrained by the government around them.”

The modern term that describes this situation is religious freedom. Christians should pray for governing officials so that governing officials will uphold and preserve religious freedom.

It is also worth noticing who Christians are instructed to pray for, since some Christians might be tempted to offer prayers for some leaders but not others. Some Christians might try to rationalize their prayerlessness by complaining that California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) is a petty tyrant, or that President Trump is a lying narcissist. Yet Paul urged Timothy to pray for “kings” which in its original context would have meant the famously immoral Roman emperors who persecuted the early church. And, lest we be tempted to exclude any particular rulers, Paul adds the comprehensive category, “and all who are in high positions.”

2. Economic Prosperity

Having established that Christians should pray for rulers, we can identify other biblical ways to pray for them by considering what the Bible calls upon rulers to do. Scripture recognizes that a basic concern for every governing authority is the economic prosperity of his dominion.

Of course, governing officials cannot directly create economic prosperity in most circumstances. But they do influence the factors that encourage or hinder the industrious labor of others. In Ecclesiastes 5:8-9, the preacher invites his audience to consider how economic prosperity can hardly coexist with injustice and oppression: “If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them. But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields.”

What point is the preacher — most likely Solomon — making? First, he acknowledges how common it is to see governing officials exploit those under their authority for their own personal gain; after all, they’re in a desperate struggle with others who are also trying to reach the top. Then he contrasts that self-interested official with one “committed to cultivated fields,” which is akin to economic prosperity in an agrarian economy. The preacher seems to have the following case in mind.

Consider a society with weak property rights, where the powerful regularly steal from the poor with impunity. Or consider a society with crushing taxation (or inflation, which is a subtle variation of the same), where the rulers skim off all the profits of the poor, leaving them with barely enough to live on. Such oppression leaves the industrious poor with no means by which to improve their land and labor, and it gives the rest of the poor no incentive to become industrious. In extreme circumstances, such as famine, such oppressive policies might even provoke those who can to flee their poverty-stricken situation in search of a better life in another land (see Ruth 1:1 or the U.S. southern border). The country’s situation becomes even worse as the industrious, intelligent, and wealthy jump ship.

What can forestall this downward spiral of oppression, misery, and flight? A ruler who is more concerned about making sure his people are secure and happy in the fruit of their labor than he is about lining his own pockets: “a king committed to cultivated fields.” While Christians don’t have a direct command to pray for such rulers, the preacher seems to invite such prayers, since such a “gain for a land in every way” is a gift that God can provide to the whole land in general.

3. Impartiality

Christians can also pray that government officials are impartial and unbiased in the way they carry out their official duties. (Put negatively, we might pray that they do not weaponize government for their own partisan agenda or create a two-tier system of justice.)

Impartiality is held out as an ideal for governing officials because it reflects God’s own character (Job 34:19, Romans 2:11). We see this, among other places, in Moses’s farewell speech to the people of Israel:

“So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and experienced men, and set them as heads over you, commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, commanders of fifties, commanders of tens, and officers, throughout your tribes. And I charged your judges at that time, ‘Hear the cases between your brothers, and judge righteously between a man and his brother or the alien who is with him. You shall not be partial in judgment. You shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not be intimidated by anyone, for the judgment is God’s’” (Deuteronomy 1:15-17).

Practically, impartiality requires a governing official to faithfully discharge the duties of his or her office without playing favorites. Officials tasked with prosecuting crimes should prioritize their work based on the severity of the offenses, not based on the identity of their targets. Officials who swear to uphold the U.S. Constitution must do so even if it prevents them from achieving their policy objectives or scoring political wins.

Even if Christians don’t have a direct role in making these decisions, they can pray that officials who do wield power will do so in a just and impartial manner.

4. Judgment of Evil

A particular application of this impartiality is in the deterrence, prosecution, and sentencing of crimes. Paul describes governing authorities as God-instituted servants who “are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad.” A ruler ideally acts as “an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer” (Romans 13:3-4). In a world full of sinners, fear of punishment by the state acts as a deterrent upon many people who would otherwise commit wickedness.

This is a gift of God for the good of his people, and we should pray that it continues. Recent American history provides too many examples of people escaping the consequences of their actions due to the corrupt nepotism, political expediency, or ideological extremism of government officials. Let us pray that God will sovereignly work to reverse this trend, for our good and the good of our country.

5. Advocacy for the Voiceless

Finally, the Bible counsels governing authorities to use their power for good by defending the helpless and voiceless. Instead of wasting their strength on women and wine (Proverbs 31:3-4), rulers are instructed, “Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy” (Proverbs 31:8-9).

Even in our wealthy, technologically advanced society — and perhaps in part because of it — there are many types of people who remain politically and economically powerless, or severely disadvantaged: the destitute, the fatherless, the homeless, the chronically and mentally ill. At the very least, government officials should “defend the rights” of such people and not deprive them of justice because of their inability to return the favor.

Digging deeper, we can think of even more helpless categories. Some people have been abducted, abused, and trafficked even in America, and government officials should seek to liberate them from their captivity and fear. The most helpless category of all is the unborn — who are literally voiceless. They need strong and persistent advocates against those who would take their lives in the womb — advocates not only in the church but in government too.

Christians can pray that government officials model this sort of wise leadership by thinking carefully and wisely about the best way for society to care for and protect people who are helpless, destitute, and even voiceless. We should pray most fervently for governmental advocates for those who are abused, trafficked, and targeted for death in the womb.

Conclusion

God wants his people to pray so that they would learn to rely on him in faith, and so that he might be glorified through answering their prayers. The prayers of God’s people waft up to his heavenly throne as the fragrant aroma of incense (Psalm 141:2, Revelation 5:8). The best prayers are those offered according to God’s word, when God’s people simply repeat God’s promises back to him and urge him to fulfill them (Exodus 32:13, 2 Samuel 7:25, 1 Kings 8:25). So, when we pray according to God’s word, believing with full confidence that God will do what he has said, God is glorified, and “we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him” (1 John 5:15).

Therefore, as God’s word commands, let us pray for our public officials according to God’s word, with confidence that God will be glorified and in hope that our nation might be blessed with good leadership — both from the incoming administration and from those that will succeed it.

AUTHOR

Joshua Arnold

Joshua Arnold is a senior writer at The Washington Stand.

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2025 Family Research Council.


The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

McDonald’s Walks Away from Super-Sized Wokeness

The calendar may have changed, but 2025 is picking up right where last year left off in the battle against corporate wokeness. In the biggest shocker since Walmart, fast-food icon McDonald’s announced that after years of force-feeding DEI to shareholders and customers, political neutrality is back on the menu.

For activists, the news is even more astonishing since the Golden Arches had a perfect 100% score on LGBT activism from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) just last year. But, like so many boardrooms before it, McDonald’s decided to surrender before Robby Starbuck even declared war. In a letter made public Monday, the hamburger chain announced to their owner/operators, employees, and suppliers that this new year meant turning a new leaf on diversity. Although they declare their steadfast commitment to “inclusion,” Chairman and CEO Chris Kempczinski, along with McDonald’s top leaders, spent the final half of the letter explaining that they’ve identified practices that they intend to “modify,” including:

  • The retirement of “aspirational representation goals” (i.e. diversity quotas in hiring)
  • The “pausing” of “external surveys” like HRC’s radical Corporate Equality Index
  • The end of its “Supply Chain’s Mutual Commitment to DEI pledge.”

While some of this may have been in the works, the changes were hastened by activist Robby Starbuck, who’d contacted the company on Friday and warned the marketing director that he was about to expose McDonald’s woke policies. And while there are things Starbuck wishes the company had worded differently or committed to, he acknowledges that this chain “wasn’t one of the worst to begin with.” But, he emphasized, McDonald’s was “on our list of companies, and there are many companies that we aim to change.”

“Companies need to stay out of divisive issues unless it’s related directly to the regulation of their business,” Starbuck insisted in a video on X. “They should not be involved in politics. We don’t want to know what Macy’s thinks about trans rights, okay? And do you know what? If they want to speak up and talk about it, we don’t want to spend our money there,” he said. “We have a right as customers to know how the money is being spent later. And then we can decide if we want to give our money to that company. And in many cases, now we are waking up and saying, ‘No, we don’t want to give our money to this company that hates our values and everything we believe in.’”

McDonald’s joins a ballooning list of big-name brands like Walmart, Tractor Supply, John Deere, Harley Davidson, Polaris, Indian Motorcycle, Lowe’s, Ford, Coors, Black & Decker, Jack Daniels, DeWalt tools, Craftsman, Caterpillar, Boeing, Toyota, and Nissan, who’ve all made the shift to the better business practices Americans demand.

“We’ve now changed policy at companies worth well over $2.3 [t]rillion dollars,” Starbuck declared, “with many millions of employees who have better workplace environments as a result. Our campaigns are so effective that we’re getting the biggest companies on earth to change their policies without me even posting a story exposing their woke policies first. Companies can see that America wants sanity back. The era of wokeness is dying right in front of our eyes. The landscape of corporate America is quickly shifting to sanity and neutrality. We are the trend, not the anomaly anymore. We’re winning,” he insists, “and one by one we WILL bring sanity back to corporate America.”

In the minds of many people, including Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, this is a pivotal moment. “I do believe,” he explained on “Washington Watch” Tuesday, “that there is an open door right now.” Christians, he urged, need to be “talking truth, speaking the truth, talking about the gospel of Jesus Christ, confessing the Lord Jesus Christ, putting these things out there in the public domain, and having that discussion. This is not a time to hold back. It’s not a time to be timid. It’s time to be compassionate, kind, [and] civil in our conversation. But we need to exercise these freedoms so that we can strengthen them and keep them.”

No one knows how long commonsense Americans will have the momentum. “It could be a very short window,” Perkins acknowledged, “but we need to take it, utilize it, and make the most of it.” It’s ironic, he pointed out, because we’re living in the best of times and the worst of times. He talked about the violence, the murder and crime rates, and so many other problems the country is facing. All of that, the FRC president believes, “fed into this election. People have had enough of it.”

And right now, “People are so desperate that they’re open to moving away from the woke ideology — the leftist ideas of silencing. And this is a moment to bring truth to the table, have frank conversations, because we know the truth can bring us to a place of consensus, but also [to a place of] resolution [in] some of these issues that are facing our local communities. So again, I just can’t encourage people enough to take this moment to respectfully [and] redemptively as Ephesians 6 says, [speak] the truth in love.”

As he underscored, “We’re not trying to win a debate here. We’re trying to win hearts and minds — and we’re trying to set people free with the truth. But this is the time to have those conversations. This is that door of opportunity that I believe has been opened to our country, and to the church in particular, in the wake of the events that have occurred.”

AUTHOR

Suzanne Bowdey

Suzanne Bowdey serves as editorial director and senior writer at The Washington Stand.

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2025 Family Research Council.


The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

4 of the Biggest Challenges Facing Parents — and What to Do about Them

Raising kids in today’s radically evolving culture isn’t for the faint of heart. Younger and younger parents are realizing that their children are being exposed to ideas and people that never crossed our minds at their age. Things like: How many genders are there? Am I racist because I’m white? Am I hopelessly disadvantaged because I’m not? “Leading our kids through a world we’re trying to understand ourselves as parents isn’t simple,” FRC’s Joseph Backholm acknowledged. How should moms and dads confront this moral revolution and emerge with kids whose faith and convictions are intact?

First, Andrew Walker insists, we have to identify the challenges. He and his wife Christian, authors of “What Do I Say When? A Parent’s Guide to Navigating Cultural Chaos,” want to help parents think about these issues in a way that’s accessible and practical. Recently, the dean of Theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary stopped by the “Outstanding” podcast to point out the landmines families face and what to do about them.

1. An Increasingly Secular Culture

This isn’t your grandma’s America — or even your mom’s. The world is a different place than it was when most of us were growing up, Backholm pointed out. Walker couldn’t agree more. “And I’m not just saying that like an old fogey like, ‘Oh, things were so much better in my day.’ I really do sense that there’s been a substantive moral revolution. I graduated college in 2008. That’s seven years before Obergefell, right? … So, yeah, we do live in a different moral era. It’s not just a different moral decade. It’s a different moral era, where all of those assumptions that you and I could have taken for granted in our culture are no longer the case.”

And while Americans, based on the elections, have woken up to the dangers facing our society and our children, they need to resist the temptation to think that indoctrination or woke ideology won’t affect them. There’s this dangerous mentality out there that’s leading Christian parents to think, “It’s not going to happen to my kids.” If you live in a conservative state or community and send your kids to a faith-based school, that’s great. But it’s not enough to protect them from the slippery slope of our degenerate culture. Parents don’t have the luxury of being reactive. They have to be proactive in instilling their biblical worldview and values.

2. A Lack of Preparation and Courage

As Backholm pointed out, most parents today “didn’t equip [themselves] for battle, because we did not grow up in a battle. Therefore, we are not presently prepared to equip others for battle.” Even 20 years ago, both men agreed, the public school system and U.S. colleges weren’t nearly as hostile to conservative Christian beliefs as they are now.

“If you are parents roughly [our] age, you grew up in a [world] where you could assume certain cultural norms that were vaguely reminiscent [of] Christian norms,” Walker said. “… So I’m going to operate from the assumption that you feel overwhelmed and that you feel ill-equipped. And I think that then leads into that second problem, which is a lack of courage — that you feel like you’re facing kind of a secular tsunami, and you actually don’t have anything substantively to say to push back on this culture. And if I can really be honest with you, one of [my] driving passions … is for Christians to go on offense.”

As researcher and Family Research Council Senior Fellow George Barna has found, “Most parents have no plan for what they’re going to do to raise their children up. Less than 10% of them have any kind of spiritual development plan for their children. And that includes worldview development. And then when you look at the parents themselves, what we know is that only 2% of parents in America today actually have a biblical worldview.” In other words, “You can’t give what you don’t have. So we’re in a situation where we’ve got a lot of parents who are winging it.”

The solution, he insists, isn’t reading a million parenting books. It’s reading one: God’s word. Even if you just spent 10-15 minutes a day in the Scripture, he urges, that’s enough. “The first step is basically adopting a plan of action so that you’re systematically in the word of God. … Get [it] into your mind that your primary job in life is to raise your children to know love and serve God with all their heart, mind, strength, and soul. That is one of the things that you will be judged upon. … And so, [we] need to make sure that my children are pursuing that as well.”

In his studies and surveys, Barna has found that “parents [who] had a spiritual and worldview development plan are much more effective at raising spiritual champions. Those who are consistent with their children over the course of the 15 to 20 years they have their children [are] much more effective [at] building deep relationships with their children, which means investing a lot of time. But when you’re doing it, [you’re] not always telling them what to do or to think,” he advised, “but spending time listening to what the child is saying so that you can respond appropriately, knowing where you want to take them, hearing where they’re at, and then bringing them forward to a different place and making sure that the Bible is the foundation of your conversations.”

He found that these conversations are best centered around real-world events or examples of what your children are going through in life. “Relate biblical principles to those stories.” Don’t beat them over the head with God’s word, Barna urges, “but by asking them questions about what they believe, why they believe it, what they did, why they did it, asking if they’re familiar with different biblical principles. Do they think that might have worked in the situation? Those kinds of conversations are so critical.” But he warned, “None of it will take root, we discovered, unless you as a parent model that in your own life. That’s part of that consistency element, which was so critical.”

3. A Misunderstanding of Discipleship

One of the biggest mistakes moms and dads can make, the duo explained, is outsourcing your responsibility to parent. That didn’t necessarily happen overnight, Walker pointed out. “If your upbringing was like mine, it was the idea that discipleship is something that a youth pastor does. You offload that [duty] to Wednesday night and Sunday night. And the parents — all they’re expected to do is to bring their children to church on Sunday and Wednesday.”

Obviously, bringing your kids to church is one of the best things you can do. “That’s putting you way above a deficit from what we have today at this point.” But, Walker said, we have this misguided notion that if “the culture really isn’t that antagonistic to your faith, you don’t feel that you have to take the time and energy to build in reinforcements.”

That was a bigger deal in the 1980s and 1990s, he agreed. And it’s not like youth groups or church activities are bad. “But there has to be a higher degree of fortification” that comes from the home. There’s been a change of heart lately, he believes, where parents are more conscientious about this. “… At least in my world of Southern Baptist life, I get the sense that … evangelical parents my age, they do have more eyes wide open than perhaps [our] parents did. And I don’t say that to criticize our generation of parents, simply because that’s the culture that they grew up in. But there has been … a positive awakening, so to speak.”

4. Underestimating Technology’s Influence

This is a tricky issue for a lot of parents, both men acknowledged. Christian moms and dads, especially, wrestle with whether they should have a blanket ban on social media and cell phones or trust their kids to be mature enough emotionally and spiritually to handle the content flying at them on their own.

It’s such a difficult challenge for parents to navigate, Backholm admitted. At some point, “We have to [trust our] kids’ guidance and their ability to assess these things enough to say, ‘Is this a value to my life? … Is this enriching my spiritual life? Is this making me who God made me want to be, or who God intends me to be? Or is this not?”

But Walker’s advice, especially for parents who aren’t taking away technology early on, is doing their homework on what protections are available to them already. “Here’s my insight that I would have for listeners: Most parents don’t utilize [the controls on their children’s phones]. They simply don’t. Those controls are powerful, and they’re there.” As his teenage daughter gets older, he and Christian adapt and adjust what she can see. “She gets a little bit more leeway and room with that phone” as she grows, rather than seeing it as an all-or-nothing concept.

In technology, or anything that could have a negative influence on their lives, “It should be understood by our kids that when we say no, that’s because we’re saying yes to something better. That all of the pleasures and joys that the world offers are counterfeits, and they don’t actually deliver on their promise. And we say no to licentiousness. We say no to dishonesty. We say no to greed. We say no to corruption, because we’re saying yes to virtue and self-control and diligence and long-term gratification that comes from just obedience.”

Ultimately, Walker went on, “It’s seeing parenting not, I think, primarily as rules-focused, but as prudence-focused and principles-focused. Because oftentimes a hyper-focus on rules — ‘do this, don’t do that’ — isn’t teaching your children practical wisdom, right? It’s not teaching them how to interact in the world, how to make good decisions. And so, if you go with this approach that lends itself more towards prudence and practical reason and wisdom, I think that’s a much safer bet. And I think that that kind of works with that dimmer switch analogy rather than the hard on/off switch analogy.”

Encouragement for Parents

At the end of the day, Walker emphasized, the goal of Christian parenting is to really train them up and send them out. And a successful Christian parent will be one who has taught their children emotional maturity, social maturity, [and] has demonstrated in the home a walk with the Lord that’s integrated with the church. Ideally, they are brought up in the fear and admonition of the Lord. There’s been a salvation experience. There’s discipleship occurring in the home. And when they turn 18, it’s sad, but it’s a natural kind of letting go because they’re ready. And I think that a healthy Christian parent is going to be one that as the parents age, the grip loosens a little bit, and you’re letting them experience the world.”

In the meantime, he urged, pray for their obedience. Pray for their wisdom, their gentleness, their kindness, and their ability to put Christ first in their life. When they leave the house, pray that they surround themselves with godly friends and understand the church as something central to their lives. Then, when you’ve done all you can do, leave the rest with the ultimate Father: God.

AUTHOR

Suzanne Bowdey

Suzanne Bowdey serves as editorial director and senior writer at The Washington Stand.

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2025 Family Research Council.


The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

Public Trust in Government, Media, and the Church Has Fallen. Is There Hope for Change in 2025?

With President-elect Donald Trump’s landslide victory and a Republican majority in both the Senate and the House, 2024 seems to be ending on a high note for conservatives. And yet, polls show that there is a significant lack of public trust in government. Not only that, but Americans are increasingly losing confidence in the media. What kind of obstacles or difficulties could this bring going into 2025?

Americans are navigating “through a rapidly evolving cultural and political landscape,” guest host Jody Hice said on Thursday’s episode of “Washington Watch.” Already, “there are certain … trends that reveal that we have both challenges as well as opportunities facing us.” As Hice explained, Americans seem to be going through a bit of a mental and spiritual crisis, with “Gen Z … bucking the downward trend of Bible engagement … [and] a troubling rise in things like anxiety and depression and suicide rates.”

Hice continued, “I look at 2025 right now on the horizon, [and there’s] no doubt there are many changes that are coming.” Most notably is the Republican control of the White House during “a time when overall confidence in government is probably at historic lows.” He asked, “Is there any way that we might see an increase in trust among the American people with the government?” George Barna, senior research fellow for the Center for Biblical Worldview at Family Research Council, joined the conversation.

“Well,” he said, “there are a couple of ways of looking at that.” In one sense, it “could easily get higher because it’s so low right now. There’s not too much lower that it can drop.” However, Barna admitted that any increase in the trust Americans have in their government likely won’t come easily. “[C]an it get higher?” he asked. “Yes, it can. But it’s going to take some significant steps forward. One of those would be casting a compelling vision of the future for our nation, and describing ways in which everyone in government is going to work together to see that happen.”

“People are tired of the standstill in government, of all the obstacles that they’re seeing … the outrageous amounts of money being spent, [and] the debt that’s being piled up,” Barna noted. Many Americans “also have this perception that a huge proportion of public officials are corrupt. And so, if we want to change people’s sense of trust in their government, they’re going to have to address those issues full on. They’re going to have to see actual leadership skills demonstrated.” Hice agreed, stating how “that’s a big hill to climb in the current environment.” But beyond Congress, he added, trust in the media has dwindled as well.

In fact, Hice explained how this year saw a significant increase in people who relied on social media platforms for gathering information. With this in mind, he asked, “Is that likely to change or not change in the coming year?” According to Barna, it is unlikely to change. Rather, as he put it, “I think what we’re going to see is a continued movement away from traditional sources of media … toward independent media.” Barna argued that this is because mainstream media now comes across as more subjective and biased than before. So, Americans are “going to look elsewhere,” he argued, further asserting that this also explains why podcasts, for instance, have “skyrocketed in terms of their popularity.”

Barna added, “Is traditional media going to be able to win back their popularity and the sense of trust of Americans? I don’t really see that happening in the next three or four years at least, because people now have set their minds to the point where they’re saying, ‘I can’t trust them. There’s no reason for me to even listen to them.’”

There’s one more notable area where people seem to be losing trust, Hice observed. “I hate to even bring this up, but there’s also seemingly … an increasing distrust for churches, a lack of trust. What do you think this next year holds for the church? Is there anything that they can do to become a greater influence in our culture?”

“[I]t’s interesting,” Barna replied, “because when you look at what’s going on with churches, in some ways it’s very similar to what’s happening with government, where people have less and less trust in the leadership of their churches.” Additionally, he explained how many Christians “feel like they’re not getting real value from their churches. And as we’ve been evaluating that, one of the things that’s become clear is that, often, that’s because they feel they’re not being given practical advice, practical guidance — real, tangible value for their life. … [This] come[s] from preaching God’s word on a consistent basis and breaking it down for people so that they know how to apply God’s truth principles in their personal life.”

But if churchgoers feel that church is not serving them, the question becomes why is that the case? Barna contended that a lot of it boils down to how churches “evaluate their success in ministry … based on how many people show up, how many programs they offer, how many … people they’ve hired, how much money they’re raising, [and] how much square footage they’ve built out.” This is problematic, Barna argued, because “if you think about those five objectives that most churches in America consistently measure to evaluate their ministry effectiveness, one conclusion we can come to is … [that they’re] bound to fail as a set of measures.”

“Why?” he asked. “Because Jesus didn’t die for any of those. That’s not what His life, His ministry, [or] His teaching is all about.” At the heart of the matter, Barna contended, is that “we’ve gotten away from the Bible not only in what we’re teaching, but even in how we’re measuring success and impact in ministry. … [I]n the last five years … half of all adults in America attending a church at least once a month on average [has gone] down to roughly one third of Americans. That’s a huge drop in a short period of time. And … the reason is they’re not getting biblical value from churches.”

“Wow,” Hice sighed. “[T]his is an extremely important issue because the well-being of our whole culture ultimately comes down to the spiritual health of the culture, which ultimately obviously rests upon the health of the church.” Considering this, he asked, “What does the church need to do to get people to come back to church? What kind of changes need to be taking place within a church body to fulfill the mission that God has given them to do?”

According to Barna, it “comes back to the whole issue of worldview. Why is it that young people in particular would say that they often are struggling with fear, depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts? … [I]t comes back to their perspectives about how life works. When you’ve got a young adult who doesn’t believe that there’s a God who’s all knowing, all powerful … merciful … just … involved and engaged in their lives, [and] when you’ve got generations of people who say that they don’t believe that there’s anything that happens after they die,” he urged that “it’s imperative that if … churches or families want to be uplifting [and] … a source of strength and hope and optimism, particularly for younger adults, well, then they’ve got to get back to God’s word.”

“[O]ur entire culture [is moving] in the wrong direction,” Barna warned, “and it’s up to churches and parents to raise their children up, to understand the truths of Scripture … to trust the Bible, to know God, to trust Jesus personally, [and] to understand that we’re sinners.” People must understand that “success in life isn’t by your material goods. … It’s not by your fame. It’s not by your popularity. It’s not even by feeling good. It’s about consistent obedience to God.” Another part of this issue is due to a lack of discipleship, he argued, and disciples who aren’t properly equipping themselves.

For anyone grappling with fear, anxiety, or depression, Barna concluded that “Jesus is the antidote. … The Bible shows us an alternative way of living,” and “the more that we can address worldview issues, the more that we can not only rebuild the church, but we can bring back a sense of life and hope and optimism to all Americans.”

AUTHOR

Sarah Holliday

Sarah Holliday is a reporter at The Washington Stand.

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2024 Family Research Council.


The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

Christmas in a Violent Age

It’s the part of the Christmas story that’s usually put to the side. Almost an afterthought — and certainly never included in the kids’ Christmas pageant — is what was often depicted in Renaissance paintings as “the slaughter of the innocents.” Matthew recounts it in his gospel:

“Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:

‘A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.’” (Matthew 2:16–18, ESV)

Christmas songs like “Away in a Manger” bring to mind images of a non-crying baby laying down his sweet head, as cattle low nearby. The presence of cattle in the nativity narrative is only artistic speculation, but the presence of a very real and a very near violence is certain.

Over two millennia later, it seems like the violence is only getting worse. Just think about the past year. From the most recent incident of a terrorist driving a car into a crowded Christmas market in Germany, to the assassination attempts on Donald Trump, to the assassination of a CEO, to war in Israel and Ukraine, mass murders at American schools and in elderly communities in Haiti, to a million unborn children in the U.S. alone killed by abortion, to the bodily mutilation of children in the name of trans identity, it all seems like it’s coming toward us at an unparalleled rate.

Yet Herod’s slaughter of the innocents — collateral in an attempt to kill the Messiah — shows us that such violence is nothing new. It’s endemic to human behavior, going all the way back to Cain’s murder of his brother Abel and culminating with the cross, where the enemies of Jesus seemingly finish what Herod started three decades before.

Violence seems to follow humans wherever we go. It’s never convenient, always disruptive, and never fails to hurt more than its initial target. Jesus himself said, “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.” In an attempt to dislodge, derail, and disrupt, the enemies of God level violence against his people, his movement, and his ways.

As his people, followers of Jesus are no less immune to the violence leveled at him. Since the time of Christ, his followers have experienced persecution, and it’s still going on in the world today to various degrees. In the logic of the world, to follow a God who is followed by so much violence makes little sense. And it makes even less sense for him to become incarnate as a person most vulnerable — a baby — to violence. Jesus was laid in a manger, not a fortress. He was born to a young virgin engaged to a carpenter, not to people considered powerful in the eyes of the world.

Herod’s decree was sweeping — with a death sentence for all male children two years old and younger, none could escape. But God’s provision of protection for Jesus prior to Herod’s decree shows us that even a malevolent, violent world cannot thwart the plan of God to put violence to death. The call by an angel to Joseph to move his family to Egypt — where his people escaped from slavery and violence from the armies of Pharoah long before — must have seemed nonsensical. Yet Joseph’s obedience kept his adopted son from Herod’s seemingly foolproof massacre.

Jesus escaped murder by a king as an infant so that he as an adult might be murdered as King of Kings. The second verse of William Chatterton Dix’s 1865 carol, “What Child Is This?” makes this point in especially poignant way:

“Why lies He in such mean estate
Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christian, fear: for sinners here
The silent Word is pleading.
Nails, spear shall pierce him through,
The Cross be borne for me, for you;
Hail, hail the Word Made Flesh,
The babe, the son of Mary!”

The peaceful baby lying in a manger means little to us if he doesn’t grow into the man, crucified on the cross for our sins, buried in the grave, and risen from the dead. Only the Jesus who suffered violence for us will save us. “Nails, spear shall pierce him through, the cross be borne for me, for you.” For he himself is our peace. May he save us in this violent age.

AUTHOR

Jared Bridges

Jared Bridges is editor-in-chief of The Washington Stand.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2024 Family Research Council.


The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

Could People Starved for Hope Be Causing the Increase in Bible Sales?

There’s been a rise in two prominent areas: secularism and Bible sales. While seemingly at odds, is it possible the two go hand-in-hand?

The Wall Street Journal wrote that “Bible sales are up 22% in the U.S. through the end of October, compared with the same period last year.” According to the outlet, there are several potential factors for why this is the case. Jeff Crosby, president of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, believes “people are experiencing anxiety … related to artificial intelligence [and] election cycles.” All of which “feeds a desire for assurance that we’re going to be okay.” Maybe Crosby is right. People want to know they’re going to be okay, and so they’re turning to the Bible.

Others have speculated that the rise in Bible sales can be attributed to influencers on social media. Cely Vazquez, whom WSJ described as an artist and influencer, has used her platform to share that she “recently bought her first Bible.” Likewise, the outlet highlighted Amber Cimiotti, another social media figure who thinks podcasters and TikTokers play a major role in the growing number of people buying Bibles.

WSJ also noted how several publishing houses found the customers largely responsible for the surge in Bible sales were members of Gen Z, college students, and younger people alike. And it’s not just religious publishers seeing the Bibles fly off the shelves, but mainstream retailers too — including Amazon. Observers are puzzling over what’s causing it in light of recent surveys that have found that at least 28% of American adults claim to be religiously unaffiliated. That doesn’t exactly scream an increased demand for religious material.

Ultimately, it’s more than likely that all of these factors laid out by WSJ played a part in the increase of people buying Bibles. Rev. Blaine Crawford of Irvington Presbyterian Church told WSJ that he has seen a recent increase in Scripture study groups. He remarked that God’s word is a “grand epic story of the great questions of life. What do we do with grief or anger, what are we here for, where is the world going? The Bible provides a counterpart in a conversation about what we’re doing at this time.”

As people made in the image of God, we were never meant to be away from Him. The reigning theme in the book of Ecclesiastes is not that life has no meaning, but that apart from Christ, the source from which our purpose derives, there is no meaning. As The Post Millennial wrote, “Experts and industry insiders attribute the growth in Bible sales to societal anxieties and a search for hope.” But I don’t think the experts are the only ones who could have figured this out. Rather, Christians should understand this to be the case better than almost anyone. After all, Christians are to be the people who understand their sin and need of a Savior. We ought to be at the frontlines of an anxious culture offering them the hope of the gospel.

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins put it this way: “Obtaining a Bible is the first step; the second step is to read it and then understand it. As Philip helped the Ethiopian leader understand the Word, pray that those who are turning to the truth for hope will have others who can help them understand the Good News contained within the pages of the Bible.” Guest host Jody Hice also commented on the news that the Bible is in higher demand on Monday’s episode of “Washington Watch.” Simply put, he stated, it’s “tremendous news!”

Pastor Jay Johnson, FRC’s National Prayer Director, agreed. As he emphasized, “I certainly rejoice at that news, and [I’m] just grateful that … there’s a demand” for the word of God. “There [are]people all over looking for hope, and people are guiding them to God’s word.” But according to Johnson, “it’s not just to know the Bible [and] not just to read the Bible, but to know God. And I think that’s the beauty of God’s word.” He also referenced FRC’s Bible reading plan, Stand on the Word, noting that it’s “a great resource for people to engage in reading God’s word.”

Both agreed that it’s important to read and study the Bible, but beyond Scripture, Johnson urged that “it’s also very vital to find a church that is teaching and preaching the word of God.” It’s important “to get engaged with a local church where they can study with others.” Especially because, as Hice and Johnson agreed, it can be difficult to stay focused when reading the Bible. It can be hard to get started, particularly for people who are new to picking up God’s word like the 22% or so this year. “I just want to encourage people,” Johnson said, “to start out by praying and asking for divine guidance.”

On behalf of everyone here at FRC, we believe in the life-giving, soul-saving power of God’s word. It’s the reason we start every morning as an organization in prayer and Bible study. And so, whether you’re new to reading the Bible or have been reading it nearly your whole life, now is the time to open it up and study it, know it, and ask the Holy Spirit to write it on your heart. And as we read of the 22% increase of people who are cracking open the pages of Scripture, let us pray that God opens their eyes, ears, and hearts to the glorious truth of the gospel.

It’s no wonder this fallen world is full of broken people looking for hope, answers, and truth. And this hope, these answers, and the truth we all crave is found in the Bible. The riches are there, free of charge. All you have to do is read and, by God’s grace, believe.

AUTHOR

Sarah Holliday

Sarah Holliday is a reporter at The Washington Stand.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2024 Family Research Council.


The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

For Anyone ‘Facing Evil,’ New Bonhoeffer Movie Is Bound to ‘Inspire and Encourage’

Many of us want to believe that, in the face of severe adversity and risk, we would try to prove worthy of a memorable legacy. Indeed, should circumstances ever turn sour, we hope to fancy ourselves as brave, courageous, and willing to stand firm no matter the cost. And yet, for the vast majority of those who have not been severely challenged in such ways, how could we know for sure the way we would react? This is why examples of people who did stand firm in the midst of trial are not just important, but necessary.

Deitrich Bonhoeffer is one of those examples. Maybe you’ve heard the name — maybe you haven’t. Nonetheless, it’s a name worth knowing. Bonhoeffer was a German theologian, pastor, and author. But what makes him stand out in ways not many can is that Bonhoeffer was also a spy and an assassin who sacrificed his life to take apart Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime’s Third Reich as they sought to exterminate the Jews. Bonhoeffer’s story is powerful, and at its very heart is the call to boldly oppose what is wicked — a call applicable to all.

For these reasons (and more), a team has been working tirelessly for over a decade to create the film, “Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin.” According to one of the producers, Camille Kampouris, the hope behind this movie is “to raise up men and women, old and young, to be like Bonhoeffer, to speak out when there’s evil.” According to The Christian Post, “Releasing in theaters this Thanksgiving weekend, the movie explores the theologian’s decision to shift from preaching peace to allegedly plotting murder, a crime that could alter the course of history.”

Angel Studios has brought Bonhoeffer back to life by taking viewers on a cinematic journey of danger and determination. As Kampouris added, this movie also highlights both the failures of the church as well as “what a real Christian should be like.” Filmmaker Todd Komarnicki explained how “Bonhoeffer is unlike who we are today.” He added that this movie is not targeted specifically at a Christian audience, as Bonhoeffer’s story could impact anyone. He stated, “His singular courage, his willingness to lose everything, and he had a lot to lose, really stands out in a time where I don’t see a lot of political courage now. The way he grappled with his faith, in the way he was honest about his doubts … [and] followed his calling from God, all the way to the foot of the cross. This man’s life is so extraordinary.”

On Friday’s episode of “Washington Watch” with Family Research Council’s guest host Jody Hice, another producer of the film, John Scanlon, unpacked this striking narrative. According to Scanlon, “The movie is a beautiful production by top Hollywood talent about an amazing story.” More than that, Bonhoeffer is “an inspiring character and someone that will make you come out of the movie wishing that you could be a better version of yourself.”

Hice asked, “What was the experience like in filming a movie like this that you know is true?” For Scanlon, “[T]he experience every day of being on set was deeply spiritual.” He continued, “Bonhoeffer’s life is so rich and … he wrote so many wonderful works. … He was a very prolific author. And, of course, his experience in Harlem in the United States [and] his experience in Germany traveling around the world, all changed him and influenced his thinking.”

Ultimately, Scanlon emphasized, “the Bonhoeffer that we bring to the screen is complex. He’s a man of action as well as a man of thought and words. … I think that he can be an inspiration.” He concluded that for anyone of any worldview “who’s facing evil … I guarantee … they’ll find something in this film to inspire and encourage them. And that’s what we’re hoping for everyone in the audience.”

AUTHOR

Sarah Holliday

Sarah Holliday is a reporter at The Washington Stand.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2024 Family Research Council.


The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

How to Avoid Political Turmoil with Your Family This Thanksgiving

After every presidential election in our nation, millions of Americans are elated, while millions of others are dejected. And this year is no different.

A politically divided nation ensures that many extended families will likely face some contentious conversations this holiday. But it doesn’t have to play out that way with your family. Imagine experiencing tremendous unity this Thanksgiving, in spite of any political differences that may exist.

While you cannot control the decisions your relatives make, you can certainly do your part to avoid political turmoil and contentiousness. Pray that your family members will be accepting of one another this Thanksgiving, and that everyone will hold their tongue if tempted to gloat over the election results or to become contentious.

Once everyone has arrived on Thanksgiving, maybe someone could begin your festivities by offering the following prayers for the family: 1. Give thanks to God for all His blessings; 2. Ask God to bless the food you will enjoy that day; 3. Ask God to bless all the conversations.

Christian missionary Elisabeth Elliot (1926-2015) said, “Prayer lays hold of God’s plan and becomes the link between His will and its accomplishment on Earth.” And the Scottish evangelist and teacher Oswald Chambers (1874-1917) wrote, “God never gives us discernment in order that we may criticize, but that we may intercede.”

“God is not a God of disorder but of peace” (1 Cor. 14:33). And this is why the Holy Spirit will lead and empower followers of Christ to promote peace and order this Thanksgiving. After all, what good can come from a divisive and chaotic family gathering that spins out of control?

In addition to prayer, we can put Romans 14:19 into practice: “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.” That is to say, be intentional about avoiding political confrontations this Thanksgiving. Make every effort to build one another up with words of encouragement.

Come up with some topics to discuss on Thanksgiving that everyone will enjoy. Visit about one another’s interests, while avoiding political controversy. Family members who are agitated over the election results will likely already be on edge when they walk through the door. Followers of Christ should avoid topics that might trigger a loved one to become upset.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died” (Romans 14:15). The same thing applies to any political comments you might be tempted to make this Thanksgiving. If a relative becomes distressed because you are rubbing the election results in their face, you are no longer acting in love.

Paul wrote, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” (Ephesians 4:29). Friendly and loving conversations tend to unite, whereas political combativeness only divides.

Do you have some topics in mind to discuss this Thanksgiving? Make a list of some non-political issues that are important to your family. Visit about things that provide hope. “The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit” (Proverbs 15:4).

If someone throws a political grenade into the middle of your Thanksgiving celebration, maintain self-control. And if anyone expresses anger or intense animosity, remember this biblical principle: “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:4). God will help you exhibit gentleness, even in the face of aggression.

Always remember: “Love is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs” (1 Cor. 13:5). This is exactly how God loves His children whose sins are forgiven through faith in Jesus. If you are keeping a record of wrongs committed against you by any of your relatives, Thanksgiving is a perfect time to let go of grudges as you choose to “forgive each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).

Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers…” (Matthew 5:9). Will you choose to be a peacemaker this Thanksgiving, even if someone attempts to pick a political fight? The Holy Spirit will give you the self-control necessary to hold your tongue while responding to any sarcastic comments with tenderness and compassion.

David made a particular request of the Lord that you can use in your personal prayers. “Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips. Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil” (Psalm 141:3-4). Regardless of what others choose to say, you can respond with sensitivity and empathy.

Jesus gave His life on the cross so that we could be reconciled to our Father in Heaven, and then do our best to be reconciled to others in Jesus’ name. The Bible instructs us: “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).

In other words, if we refuse to live in peace with others, we are refusing to live in peace with God. Followers of Christ are “a new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17). You can love your family this Thanksgiving by speaking kind words, as well as by keeping certain thoughts to yourself. Silence is golden.

There are of course times when the Holy Spirit leads followers of Christ to visit privately with a relative about a delicate matter that needs to be addressed. In those situations, “A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver” (Proverbs 25:11).

Jesus said, “In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you” (Matthew 7:12). If you celebrate Thanksgiving prayerfully and with the right mindset, your kindness will honor the Lord and be a huge blessing to your family.

This article was originally published in The Christian Post.

AUTHOR

Daniel Delzell

Dan Delzell is the pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Papillion, Nebraska.

EDIORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2024 Family Research Council.


The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

America’s New Mental Health Crisis: Trump Derangement Syndrome

Many could see it approaching, but veteran political journalist Mark Halperin called it with clarity.

Mere weeks before the 2024 election in the middle of a two-hour interview on Tucker Carlson’s podcast, Halperin predicted that if Donald Trump won the vote, America would face a mental health crisis unparalleled in its history:

TUCKER CARLSON: A lot of Democrats, maybe the majority, believe that Trump becoming president again is the worst thing that could ever happen. So how do they respond to that?

MARK HALPERIN: I say this not flippantly, I think it will be the cause of the greatest mental health crisis in the history of the country. I think tens of millions of people will question their connection to the nation, their connection to other human beings, their connection to their vision of what their future, and the future for their children, could be like. I think it will require an enormous amount of access to mental health professionals. I think it’ll lead to trauma in the workplace. I think there will be some degree of…

CARLSON: Are you being serious?

HALPERIN: 100% serious. I think there’ll be alcoholism, broken marriages … yeah. They think he’s the worst person possible to be president. Having won by the hand of Jim Comey and a fluke in 2016, and then performed in office for four years, and denied who won the election last time, and January 6th … the fact that under a fair election, America chose by the pre-agreed rules Donald Trump again — I think it will cause the biggest mental health crisis in the history of America.

And I don’t think it will be a passing thing that, by the inauguration, we’ll be fine. I think it will be sustained, unprecedented, and hideous, and I don’t think the country’s ready for it.

This side of Election Day, Halperin’s prediction appears to be spot-on. Almost immediately after Donald Trump’s victory became apparent, countless reactions by his opponents began to circulate on social media. There was no shortage of reactions that fell into the sphere of unhinged. The ritual seemed to involve recording one’s unfavorable reaction to the election and posting it for the world to see without regard for how personally embarrassing or damaging it might be. Much screaming, crying, cursing, and angst are present in almost every video. Sometimes the expressions are accompanied by threats — to leave the country, to withhold actions, or to take retribution in some way.

Reactions in the Extreme

Some dissatisfied women (it’s unclear whether or not they voted themselves) are going on sex strikes with men to protest the election, or even giving up on men altogether. Many women are promoting South Korea’s “4B” movement as a protest against Trump and his followers. As USA Today explained:

“The ‘4B’ movement gets its name from four Korean words that all start with the letter ‘b’: bihon (heterosexual marriage), bichulsan (childbirth), biyeonae (dating) and bisekseu (sex). You join the movement by giving up all four with men.”

Not quite as extreme as 4B, but nevertheless highly visible, is the blue bracelet movement. Here, white women who voted for Kamala Harris commit to wearing a blue bracelet to show that they are a “safe space” for non-white women among a majority who voted for Trump. Whether or not these budding movements persist remains to be seen.

Reactions among the Evangelical Left-of-Center

Sometime in the past four years, the “never Trump” movement among evangelical Christians all but disappeared. Those who previously labeled themselves as such either reconciled their doubts or moved solidly past the center toward leftist ideologies. David French, Russell Moore, and Curtis Chang developed what they called the “After Party” — a collection of resources developed, they claim, to help Christians “reframe our political identity as we take the lead in healing what’s broken.”

For never-Trumpers, the 2024 election means only more brokenness. In a podcast recorded immediately after the election, Chang, French, and Moore all lamented the meaning of Trump’s victory for people like themselves. David French recounted feelings of pain:

FRENCH: It’s going to require courage. Because one thing that we know after dealing with MAGA for nine years is even engagement is painful. It’s not just painful to lose an election — that is painful, of course, but it’s often just painful to engage because you then find yourself subject to an extreme amount of cruelty.

Curtis Chang expressed feelings of anguish:

CHANG: I was just wanting to blame people for this outcome. And then I was like, ‘Oh, I’m actually feeling like anguish. I’m feeling sadness.’ I think [of] especially immigrants, the people of Ukraine. Yes — our planet in terms of our future generations, I was feeling anguish for my daughters, who I know are growing up as young women who have interpreted this election result as a rejection of women at some level and a bequeathing of them of [a] world that feels like despairing to them.

Russell Moore expressed weariness:

MOORE: I fit myself more in the exhausted category. Or maybe you fit me more in the exhausted, and I claim it. But I think that’s kind of still where I am. Especially because I know that we now have a lot of drama that is going to be […] in every American’s life all the time from now on.

Pain, anguish, sadness, despair, and exhaustion — all felt in the wake of Donald Trump’s win. The distress among these never-Trumpers is nowhere near like those who are shaving their heads for a TikTok video or swearing off men for four years, but it’s nevertheless distress.

A Relapse of an Old Disease

Solomon wrote in the book of Ecclesiastes, “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.” That maxim holds true with hatred toward today’s politicians. During the presidency of George W. Bush, when many of the president’s opponents began acting in increasingly irrational ways toward him, the late conservative commentator Charles Krauthammer coined a new term:

“It has been 25 years since I discovered a psychiatric syndrome (for the record: ‘Secondary Mania,’ Archives of General Psychiatry, November 1978), and in the interim I haven’t been looking for new ones. But it’s time to don the white coat again. A plague is abroad in the land.

“Bush Derangement Syndrome: The acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal people in reaction to the policies, the presidency — nay — the very existence of George W. Bush.”

While Bush Derangement Syndrome (BDS) may not have made an entry in the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders” (DSM), it did enter the viral public vernacular. Bush was labeled by detractors as the “worst president ever,” and if you believed their rhetoric, the nation could never recover. Thankfully, we can all rest easy that BDS wasn’t a chronic disease, and its symptoms subsided with the end of Bush’s presidency.

Not so fast. Around 2015, the virus mutated, and BDS morphed into a more sinister malady: Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS). Whereas sufferers of BDS were content simply to make public arguments, TDS patients pushed for full quarantine from anyone who had any exposure to Trump. What first began as a denial (“There’s no way he’ll ever be president!”) quickly turned to angst in November 2016 as Trump’s victory became apparent and spread during the next four years.

But unlike Bush Derangement Syndrome, TDS didn’t go away as Trump left the presidency. The long-COVID of presidential derangements, TDS symptoms didn’t go into remission during the Biden presidency. President Biden was overshadowed by his predecessor during his entire term, as during most of 2024, TDS kicked into full-blown relapse.

The above description is partly in jest, but only in part. Trump Derangement Syndrome is here, and it is sure to stay for a few years more.

Life among the Afflicted

To be clear, most people who oppose Trump are not suffering from TDS — nor will they exhibit adverse mental health symptoms. But the sheer number of vocal opponents who seemingly define their entire well-being around Donald Trump’s position of power is alarming. And it should be alarming to Christians.

It would be easy for conservative Christians to write off TDS sufferers as beyond repair and simply step aside and avoid them. Worse, we could mock these people with real problems with our own counter-memes. But Matthew tells us that when Jesus saw the crowds, “… he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Christ had compassion for the harassed, and we should follow his lead.

After all, Christians have the help that TDS sufferers need. Explaining Trump to them will not help. In fact, it will only enrage them. This doesn’t mean Trump voters need to keep quiet about their politics and tiptoe around those with TDS. Just because burn victims exist doesn’t mean you should never build a fire. But we don’t treat burn victims with more fire. The prophet Isaiah, speaking about the coming messiah, said, “a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice.”

Those with TDS may look like the enemy, but they are also captives. However misaligned their worldview, TDS sufferers are ultimately calling for justice. They’re looking in the wrong place. They won’t quench their wrath by bringing about a Trump-free world, nor will they find it by converting to MAGA.

The justice that eludes them can only be found in the wrath of God toward sin being poured out on a man who died in their place. The cure for TDS is to replace the fixation and angst against Trump with fixing their eyes on the one who for our sake God “… made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Only in him is derangement demolished.

AUTHOR

Jared Bridges

Jared Bridges is editor-in-chief of The Washington Stand.

RELATED VIDEO: This is the best video meme of President Donald J. Trump, ever!

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2024 Family Research Council.


The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

Study: Christian Voters Responsible for Trump Victory

In the wake of President-elect Donald Trump’s historic electoral victory earlier this month, media pundits and talking heads have focused on his significant gains among traditionally-Democratic voting blocs, such as young voters and both black and Hispanic men; but a new study is suggesting that it was Christian voters who were the decisive factor in Trump’s win. George Barna, senior research fellow for the Center for Biblical Worldview at Family Research Council and director of the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University, published his post-election report last week, demonstrating that Christian voters “made the difference in the race.”

Prior to the election, Barna had anticipated that voter turnout among Christians would be low, with as many as 40 million Christians simply choosing not to vote. While Christians did vote in fewer numbers than they did in 2020, Barna noted that the “potentially devastating impact for the Trump campaign was blunted by the even lower levels of turnout among the Harris campaign’s target segments.” Overall, 56% of self-identified Christians voted in 2024, which Barna pointed out “was barely higher than the involvement among people aligned with non-Christian faiths (53%), but significantly higher than among voting-age Americans who have no religious faith (48%).” Interestingly, Catholic voters and Christians with a biblical worldview both outperformed their 2020 turnout by three points.

“Trump was a heavy favorite among most of the three dozen Christian segments studied by the Cultural Research Center survey. The former president received a landslide 56% to 43% margin of victory among all self-identified Christians,” Barna observed. He added, “Among the approximately 75 million votes Trump garnered in the election, more than three-quarters of them — 78% — came from the Christian community.” Barna also noted that Trump’s Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, scored low among almost all Christian denominations and demographics, with the exception of “mainline and traditionally black Protestant congregations.” Overall, less than two thirds of Harris’s votes came from Christians.

The majority of Christian voters also identified their religious beliefs, the differing party platforms, and the insight of their family as the biggest impacts on their choice of candidates. “Consistent with the patterns established, Trump voters were twice as likely as Harris voters to identify their religious faith as a major influence on their candidate of choice (30% vs. 14%, respectively),” Barna noted.

In comments to The Washington Stand, Joseph Backholm, senior fellow for Biblical Worldview at FRC, explained, “Religion gives people a worldview which, among other things, gives people a way to understand what’s wrong with the world and what the solution is. Elections are one way people indicate their understanding of what’s wrong and what we need to do to fix it.” Pointing to Barna’s study, he continued, “This survey is evidence that Christians think about these questions differently than people of other faiths or no religion at all, which really shouldn’t be surprising. If anything, it might be surprising that Christians aren’t more different, but elections never offer perfect choices, and this election was more complicated than others.” Backholm added, “Christians were always going to be a significant part of this election either through what we did or did not do. In this case, tens of millions of Christians evaluated an admittedly tricky choice and reached the same conclusion, and as Robert Frost would say, that has made all the difference.”

Appearing on Monday night’s episode of “Washington Watch,” Adam Rasmussen, who worked on the post-election report with Barna, explained just how decisive a role Christians played. “What we saw is that 72% of those who came out to vote were Christians, and they have values,” Rasmussen said. He continued, “And we saw that — probably because of the platform of the Republicans and Donald Trump — Christians gave a 17 million vote advantage or cushion to Donald Trump, and because the margin between the two of them was less than that, it was insurmountable.”

Inflation and immigration were consistently ranked as top concerns among the general population heading into the election, and Barna’s post-election study found that Christian voters also placed the greatest emphasis on those issues. Overall, nearly 40% of Christian voters identified inflation as a major concern that determined who they voted for, and 34% rated immigration and border control as the same. Evangelical voters, however, placed a higher premium on immigration, with 40% identifying it as a major concern. Rasmussen said that this was likely linked to a concern over the breakdown of law. “That’s one of the major responsibilities of the federal government, is to have safe borders. How could it not? And that was a decisive factor for certain,” he said.

Addressing the issue of the 44% of Christians who chose not to vote, Rasmussen recommended that pastors and church leaders should encourage their congregations to vote in accord with Cristian principles. “We found that perhaps if there was a last-minute push, pastors and family members and churches could encourage those 32 million Christians we were calling to come out and vote,” he said. Rasmussen added, “And maybe that might push another five million into the voting polls. And we need to be more engaged in those things.”

AUTHOR

S.A. McCarthy

S.A. McCarthy serves as a news writer at The Washington Stand.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2024 Family Research Council.


The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

PERKINS: Once Again, the Sacred Fire of Liberty Is Preserved

Last Tuesday, Americans spoke loudly and clearly to keep the American experiment alive.

A few years back, I visited the National Archives here in Washington, D.C., with a Member of Congress. We had the rare privilege of seeing some of our nation’s founding documents — papers not typically on public display. It wasn’t a “National Treasure” adventure, but it was an unforgettable moment for a student of history like me. One of these documents was the original U.S. Senate’s markup of the Bill of Rights, sent over from the House in 1789.

Another was a simple but profound page: George Washington’s inaugural address, delivered on April 30, 1789. His speech was brief — only about 10 minutes — but the words were powerful. As he took his first steps as the leader of a new nation, Washington said:

“Since we ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven, can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained: And since the preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the Republican model of Government, are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally staked, on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.”

From the very beginning, our republican form of government — placing the power to govern into the hands of the people — was viewed as an “experiment.” Why? Because nothing like it had ever been tried before. Self-government, grounded in the rule of law and crafted for a nation this vast and diverse, was unprecedented. The Constitution was new, untested, and the Founders knew that true power now rested with the people, not a monarchy or ruling elite. They also understood that this experiment depended not only on good laws but on a bedrock of virtue and morality, rooted in timeless truth.

John Adams captured this reality in 1798. “Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people,” he insisted. “It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

Washington had previously stated this point in his Farewell Address in 1796. This grand experiment of ours, he reminded us, could not survive if truth and morality were ignored or discarded.

And thank God, there are still Americans who understand that reality today — who saw that what Kamala Harris offered was an agenda that would have aborted this experiment and snuffed out our hard-won freedoms.

But we can’t be lulled into complacency. The American experiment isn’t on autopilot; it is not “safe and secure.” Our work is far from over. Right now, we have an opportunity, a window, to fortify the moral foundation of this experiment — to restore, promote, and protect what Washington called the two great pillars of our political prosperity: religion and morality.

If America is to thrive, if we are to pass this precious experiment down to future generations, we must remember this: political and economic greatness cannot survive without moral goodness.

As the scriptures declare: Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.

AUTHOR

Tony Perkins

Tony Perkins is president of Family Research Council and executive editor of The Washington Stand.

RELATED VIDEO: President Donald J. Trump Pledges Educational Gamechanger By Creating The American Academy

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2024 Family Research Council.


The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

Morning in America Again: 7 Reflections from Trump’s Election

“It’s morning again in America.” — Ad for Ronald Reagan, 1984


It is official: Donald Trump is the 47th President of America. For the second time in my lifetime, Trump has stormed the political scene and won an election that many thought he could not win. By any fair measure, Trump is a political supernova, a force, a once-in-a-lifetime figure, a unique and complicated man who fought the most ferocious outbreak of woke paganism the modern world has witnessed — and triumphed.

But mark this well: Trump is not the true victor here. God is the one who has acted in immeasurable mercy toward our nation. God is the one who gets all the glory and deserves all the praise. In his magnificent kindness and common grace, God has chosen to spare us the plenteous vicissitudes of a Harris administration. The magnitude of common grace in this act is nearly unprecedented in Western history.

This is not hyperbole. We are in one of those rare moments right now when it is clear, abundantly clear, that we are at a hinge point in history. I say this because Kamala Harris represented the specter of Hades in her candidacy. This is not too strong. Death was Harris’s platform. Abortion was her cardinal value, her cherished principle, the beacon that lit her way. Killing precious babies was Harris’s policy. That’s what she ran on.

Not just that, though. Harris took on the very platform of paganism in her candidacy. Most everything that is good, Harris opposed — and opposed to the strong support of the mainstream media, Hollywood, the American academy, and the general drift of our culture. Harris wanted to normalize marijuana usage, transgenderism, the dissolution of traditional strong manhood, crippling federal debt, a truly borderless nation, a weak global presence, with Israel preyed on by a snapping pack of jackals, and much more.

Hear this clear as a bell: Kamala Harris’s campaign was an inversion campaign. In her platform, she championed the inverse of what God loves and blesses. God loves life; Harris proclaimed the liberating goodness of death. God establishes borders; Harris tried to make our country an open country, borderless and subject to a quiet invasion. God loves children; Harris sang the virtues of gender “transitions.”

Kamala Harris, lest we misunderstand, promoted the most wicked agenda we have ever witnessed in modern presidential politics. Had she won the 2024 American presidency, it is hard to see what limits could be reasonably placed on her perverse power. It is not an exaggeration or fearmongering to say that she would likely have destroyed America. And what can one say but this: if God had appointed such an end, would he not be just?

But God appointed a different outcome. He has — I repeat myself — acted in magnificent kindness and undeserved mercy to hold back evil in America. He has not done this because of us. He has done this because he decided, before there was time, to preserve America. Our country as we have known it still stands. It has been battered, it has buckled, it has barely survived, but its heart still beats. America yet lives.

We are like Britain in the summer of 1945. The powers of darkness lost World War II and would have subsumed the world in tyranny without the punishing stand of Britain (with Winston Churchill as the heroic living center of that effort). But lest we forget, Britain came out of the war in a diminished and exhausted state. So it is with us.

We have come through a nightmare, we have woken up in our beds, and it is morning in America. But we have so much to fight for, and so much work to do. With that said, let me offer seven brief reflections on the future implications of Trump’s victory for the church of Jesus Christ.

1. This election was a referendum on wokeness.

Just like that, the long horrible night of 2020-24 is over. It’s done and dusted. Wokeness just received the most severe rebuke possible. In truth, Trump’s election is not merely a rebuke but a repudiation of wokeness. Harris championed social justice in manifold ways, but we have watched as one major company after another has rolled back their noxious DEI initiatives.

I do not mean, of course, that our battle with wokeness is over. It is not over — not by a long shot. But many Americans have come to understand just how pernicious and destructive woke ideology is, as I’ve outlined in this book. This is cause for thanksgiving. This is what God has done in our midst. We praise Him for this.

2. This election was a referendum on men invading women’s spaces.

It is wrong, objectively wrong, for men to use women’s restrooms. It is wrong, objectively wrong, for men to play women’s sports. It took a little bit, but Republicans eventually started voicing these truths. They did so rightly, because Americans have increasingly grasped just how wicked it is for men to invade women’s spaces.

We have much more work to do on these fronts, to be sure. However, we need to see that things have well and truly flipped on the women’s issue. Evangelicals used to be the dread foe of feminists. Nowadays, whatever our standing disagreements, we are some of the only folks out there who are willing to protect girls’ spaces and girls’ sports. For those familiar with the history of feminism and evangelicalism, this is a truly stunning cultural reversal.

My hope here is that this advocacy will lead not merely to political and societal good, but to the salvation of souls. We Christians are truly pro-woman. The pro-transgenderism Left cannot make that claim any longer, and many now see this. Let’s pray for many women who have been left out in the cold by the supposedly pro-woman Left to come into the warmth of the family of God. May it be so.

3. America is no longer captive to the celebrity-media-academy complex.

It used to be that the endorsements of celebrities and Ivy League professors carried massive weight. No longer. So too with the hit-pieces and advocacy journalistic practices of elite media.

Many in America now openly distrust legacy voices and legacy institutions. There can be a downside to this, to be sure. But it is a good thing that many people have turned to more trustworthy outlets than the once-influential leftist collective of Hollywood personalities, Beltway reporters, and Harvard professors. A new and chaotic day has dawned.

4. The Left will punch back.

We should not think that Trump’s election means game over in the political arena. No, it means game on. In other words, the fight for goodness, truth, and beauty has not concluded; it has just begun. The modern Left is motivated — as I said above — by causes that are positively diabolical in many respects. This dark energy is not going away.

Satan, we recall, is a roaring lion. He roams the earth, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). He is a defeated devil, overcome by the power of the cross as I have explored in this book (Genesis 3:15; Colossians 2:13-15; 1 John 3:8). But he is still able to work terrible evil on the earth. He is not done with America.

Satan will continue to try to send many sinners to hell. He will continue to try to ruin children through gender mutilation. He will keep fanning the flames of the culture of death. He will keep working through political means to erode religious liberty and silence the preaching of the gospel. In these and many other ways, Satan will redouble his efforts in this country. Many will follow his lead. So we must be ready. (More on this in a moment.)

5. A new Christian political movement is dawning.

For about 10-15 years now, some evangelicals — particularly the leadership class — ran the “be winsome” play. They engaged the political world like it was a cocktail reception, and their chief responsibility was to be charming, likeable, and to make as many friends as possible. This had massive effects on the church’s political witness.

Chief among them: the church went largely quiet on controversial matters and fell prey to the foolish idea that the Left and Right are morally equivalent. But in the last several years, it’s like God has performed an exorcism on the church. At least, on some who formerly walked in undiscerning moral darkness.

Guilted and shamed by evangelical leaders, these Christians have come to see that they are not vile “culture warriors” because they hold biblical convictions. They have come to see that they are merely walking the faithful convictional path cut for us by God in ages past, a path trodden by figures like Joseph, Esther, David, Daniel, and many others.

So, the old has gone. The new has come. We do not yet know how Christians will regroup and reorganize in days ahead. But hear this: there is something coming. There needs to be a new movement in our midst. We cannot, for example, allow the cause of the unborn to be sidelined in the future. We must build a new coalition.

6. Christians must engage the public square.

As I am at pains to say, we evangelicals are not doing politics the old harmless way anymore. The days of a disengaged, docile, uncaring, undiscerning church are over. In days ahead, we’re not trying to be nice. We’re not going to be quiet. We’re not currying the favor of elites. We will stand boldly and unflinchingly for God’s truth.

Do not misunderstand me. We’re not going to hate our neighbor. We’re not going to approach politics as if it is a zero-sum game. Nor are we going to fall into the trap of confusing the mission of the church with the mission of the state. No, we are going to do everything we can in manner and policy to love our neighbor (Matthew 22:34-39). We want to be a people marked by just this posture: love.

But love is not the same as being seen as nice. Love has a gracious manner, definitely, but love does the hard work that needs to be done. Love motivates us, for example, to do what is genuinely good for our neighbor even if our neighbor thinks that action is hateful. How important this divine principle is for Christians living in the “negative world.”

For too long, evangelicals have tried to get a seat at the respectable Beltway table. Let us be done with those grasping efforts. So let it be said, so let it be done: the days of the church’s Washingtonian captivity are over. They are done and dusted. We are not going back to the old ways. In faith, hope, love, and iron conviction, we’re moving forward.

Let us engage our culture like never before. Here is one way this can take practical form: Christians should run for office like never before. Let this election be a wake-up call to us all. The days are fleeting, and the time is short. We must not sit back. We must not assume that someone else will show up to do the dirty work of cultural and societal engagement. In much prayer, we must do it.

7. We must pray without ceasing.

This is the key to it all. We must be a praying church once more. We must pray for the protection of President Trump. We must pray for him to love righteousness and hate evil and to know the saving grace of Christ. We must pray for the good of our country. We must pray for the church to regain its footing, to leave behind wokeness, to embrace Scripture, and to proclaim the gospel while also being salt and light.

Conclusion

There is so much more to say here. This humble essay has just barely scratched the surface about our current moment. But one thing is clear to me, and I’m guessing to many others: God has chosen in his magnificent mercy and kindness to not give us over to the darkness. We are not yet finished. We have hope. We still have time (until Christ returns, that is).

We have all lived through a long and almost unbroken nightmare. We have been forced to contemplate not only our present darkness, but the possibility of still greater unleashing of darkness through a Kamala Harris presidency. We have trembled at that reality; we have wept; we have felt great surging waves of fear, anxiety, doubt, discouragement, and hopelessness at times.

But for now, we have been granted a reprieve, a temporary stalling of evil as driven by the modern political Left. God has shown up. God has answered our prayers. Let us use this truth to keep praying, and keep hoping, and keep loving. Let us not be weary in well-doing (Galatians 6:9); by the power of the Spirit in us, let us excel still more (1 Thessalonians 4:2).

It’s morning in America.

This article was originally published on Grace & Truth.

AUTHOR

Owen Strachan

Owen Strachan is Senior Fellow for FRC’s Center for Biblical Worldview.

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2024 Family Research Council.


The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

Trump’s Win ‘Isn’t the Finish Line — It’s the Starting Point’

While it isn’t what every American wanted, the election did deliver something every American needed: clarity. The results that handed Donald Trump his second term supplied exactly what this weary and fractured country had to have to move forward — an unambiguous winner. A straightforward path. A fresh chance to be the nation its people, and the world, deserve. But none of that will matter, some are pointing out, if we don’t seize the reprieve God has granted.

“We can’t squander this moment,” former Congressman Jody Hice said emotionally. “Underneath all of this, God is giving America a window of mercy. This has to be a moment that the body of Christ responds with gratitude and repentance. We cannot throw away this time of grace that God has given us.” Yes, there were tremendous victories that took place, he acknowledged, “but may we respond humbly and steward this moment appropriately going forward — and in greater reliance upon Him.”

What happened Tuesday was incredibly significant, he underscored. “It does restore hope in the American people that they realize the direction our country was going — and they rejected it. They don’t want the woke policies. They don’t want all this misunderstanding of gender and of loss of parental rights and a horrible economy and an open border and on and on and on. … [T]hey want more common-sense government. They want authentic leadership around the world, as well as right here in our own country. And I believe that message came through loud and clear.”

But to those conservatives who think they can just sit back and coast for four years now that Republicans have a firm grip on key levers of power, think again. “Regardless of how this election goes,” Family Research Council President Tony Perkins wanted people to know, “our work has just begun.” We shouldn’t think that Trump’s election means game over in the political arena, FRC’s Owen Strachan insisted. “No, it means game on.”

Obviously, there’s enormous relief at this opportunity to close our borders, restore biological sanity, make life affordable again, and become a respected voice on the global stage — and that’s worth celebrating. But if the disappointments of the GOP platform are any indication, there will be some uncomfortable times ahead. And those times must be met with our unbendable conviction that biblical principles matter — regardless of their political expedience.

“Let me tell you something … we can learn from [Democrats],” Princeton Professor Robert George explained. “Something I admire about them [is] they do not let their politicians deviate. They do not let their politicians adopt a view for the purposes of [winning an election]. They do not accept the argument that, ‘Well, our view is now in a minority and it’s electorally dangerous for us to come out in favor of that view.’ … The Left understands that that doesn’t work in the long run to the advantage of the causes that they believe in.”

Whatever the narrative may be about this election — whether the GOP’s disconcerting step back from the life issue helped or hurt — it’s the Christians’ job to cut through that noise to the truth. And frankly, if the church had engaged from a point of moral clarity sooner, we might not have gotten to the point where fundamental values like this one are suddenly negotiable. The bottom line is, we can’t vote and walk away. “Part of being a disciple,” Pastor Jack Hibbs wanted people to know, “is getting involved in this remarkable republic that the Lord has given us.”

We aren’t Minutemen like they had in the Revolutionary War, Perkins stressed. “They would drop their pitchforks, grab their rifles, and they would run to the battle. And then they would go back home, and they would pick up their pitchforks. You know, I always thought, ‘Well, we just kind of respond, and we take a pro-life stand, and then it’s over and we go back to our life as it was before.’”

But that’s not our calling as Christians, he insisted. “This is our life. This is what Ephesians 6 talks about [when it explains] the battle that we’re in and [urges us] to continue to stand. So the battle is never done this side of heaven. We have to continue to perpetually stand for the truth.”

The good news is that there’s unbelievable momentum right now to do exactly that. If the sea of red from Tuesday is any indication, Americans are energized as never before to put this country back on the right track. As FRC’s Mary Szoch said after voters knocked off three radical pro-abortion ballot initiatives, this is the opening believers have been waiting for. On Tuesday, “Americans … re-elected the most pro-life president in the history of America,” she emphasized. “Now is the time for us to work together to promote strong, faith-filled marriages, strengthen families, and create a society that values every single person from the moment they come into existence. The opportunity to build a culture of life in America is great, and we cannot waste it.”

Pro-lifers saw what could be accomplished when they pushed back on Trump’s reluctance to challenge the Left’s abortion agenda in Florida: he listened. Where would the amendment be today if conservatives hadn’t held the former president accountable? Fortunately, we’ll never know.

We also need to remember, Hibbs said on Pray Vote Stand: Decision 2024, “The church needs a revival. We will still wake up tomorrow [knowing that the church needs to turn] back to Scripture — and pulpits … [need to address] through the Scripture the issues that shape our congregants and their life, their worldview. And so, we need a revival. We pray that this election is a little part of that, but the bottom line is the answer is really in God’s people stepping up. And that’s what we hope we see tonight, is God’s people getting involved.”

Another thing Christians need to realize, former Congresswoman Michele Bachmann said, is that “we have a lot to be grateful for.” The Trump campaign is in a “good place,” she acknowledged, “[but that’s] in the natural. I felt like the Lord was saying to me early on in this campaign that this [race] won’t be won in the natural, it will be won in the supernatural. And I truly believe that we need to just keep leaning in [with] prayer and what we’re [doing]. Where Scripture has taken me this week is [to Exodus] where Moses is standing when the Israelites are battling with the Amalekites — and then Hur and Aaron are holding up Moses’s arms — all while Joshua was on the field at the battle. And so it’s both: it’s prayer, and it’s action.”

When the church does both, she explained, “then we see victory.” “… But we can never, ever take it for granted.” The reality is, Michele pointed out, “Four years is going to go fast. And again, we only have two years until the next midterm, so … we’ve got to get to work. … It’s like there was a party and the furniture is all broken and the drapes are torn down from the windows, and we’ve got to get America’s house back in order fast and do what the American public believes that Donald Trump and a Republican Senate and a Republican House can do.”

That takes work, it takes commitment, and it takes an army of men and women determined to pay the price to speak up — and stand up. Whatever happens from here, Tony urged, “Election 2024 must not be the finish line for Christians in America; I pray it is a starting point. It’s time for the church to arise. Our hurting nation needs a revival that only God can provide.”

AUTHOR

Suzanne Bowdey

Suzanne Bowdey serves as editorial director and senior writer at The Washington Stand.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2024 Family Research Council.


The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

‘Jesus Is King’: J.D. Vance, Kamala Harris, and the Church’s Future

You could not get a starker contrast of worldviews. At a recent Kamala Harris presidential rally, someone shouted out “Jesus is Lord!” and Vice President Harris snapped back: “Oh, you guys are at the wrong rally. No, I think you meant to go to the smaller one down the street.” Harris’s hearers boisterously applauded her dismissive retort.

Measure that against the quick reply of vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance at a different event. Just days after Harris’s put-down, someone shouted “Christ is king!” while Vance spoke, and he calmly but boldly said, “That’s right, Jesus is King.” The crowd went wild.

In the span of a few hours, Harris and Vance showed us how Christianity is received by the two major parties in America today. In one rally, Christianity is not welcome; in the other, Christianity is affirmed (albeit quickly). Rarely have we gotten a clearer demonstration of the divide in American politics and American culture than this.

In noting this divide, we do not make the mistake of equating Christianity with the Republican Party. Further, zooming out from this particular moment, we evangelicals know that there are no perfect candidates in this fallen world. Jesus is not on the ballot and never will be. This truth, however, is not a defeatist principle. It is a liberating reality. Because we are under no pressure to choose the perfect candidate, we are freed to choose the best possible candidate.

We can operate in this freedom because we Christians are not voting to elect a national pastor. We are trying to honor good and oppose evil, and elect those who we believe will best carry out this mission (see Romans 13:1-7). In such a posture, we believers seek to be “salt and light” as Christ called us to be (Matthew 5:13-16). Salt, we remember, is preservative. In love for our neighbor (Matthew 22:39), we believers do what we can to preserve what is good in our nation.

We do this in dark days, to be sure. But Christianity, we recall, is a faith that is made for the darkness. As such, we Christians cannot abandon the public square. Scripture gives us no such mandate. In fact, the Old and New Testament alike summon us in the opposite direction. For example, the following figures show us powerful examples of faith in action — faith applied to politics.

In righteous Joseph, we see a man thrust in the center of a kingdom, doing great good for many through careful leadership. In courageous Esther, we see a woman who used all her God-given agency to save the Jewish people, those murderously opposed and targeted by wicked Haman. In uncompromising Daniel, we see a man given great influence in Babylon, yet who refused to live by pagan lies. In the prophet John the Baptist, we see a man who called out a ruler for his sexual sin and became the first Christian martyr for doing so. In Paul the apostle, we see a man who used his Roman citizenship to go on preaching the gospel when others tried to stop him.

All of these figures applied their faith to a fallen world. They did not have perfect political choices before them. Several of them, in fact, worked in pagan administrations and did so by the providential direction of God. (Note that Esther was involuntarily married to a pagan king — how’s that for an opportunity for cultural engagement?) Yet these brave men and women of God honored God in difficult circumstances. Placed in the fire by God, they did not run away from the smoke; they ran toward it.

These believers give us a marvelous example for our own day. They summon the modern church to moral action. Like them, we are not responsible for making the world sinless and painless. We cannot do so; only Jesus can (and Jesus surely will). We are responsible, instead, for doing all we can to love our neighbor. In a democracy like ours, which allows us the God-given privilege of voting, I believe that this entails that we are free to vote for the best possible candidate and party before us. In sum, we are freed to practice political realism in order to do what good we can.

This leads us back to where we started. One presidential candidate has declared that Jesus has no place in her rally. What a startling and frightening response Kamala Harris gave. We tremble for her soul. By contrast, J.D. Vance affirmed the kingship of Jesus. These starkly different responses clarify where we are in our society today. The church has just been given a visceral picture of its impending future. Tragically, one party is openly hostile to the Christian faith; the other is openly welcoming. May this reality wake us up and move us to act as we can.

But let us also remember this: there will come a day when the gathering of God’s people will not be small. Then, the people of God will be gathered in one glorious throng to honor and worship the King, Jesus Christ, the lamb slain before the foundation of the earth (Revelation 5). On that day, no one will be holding a counter-rally, no one will be mocking Christ, and no one will be able to hold back the action of his arm, an arm that is mighty to save, and terrifying in its power to judge.

AUTHOR

Owen Strachan

Owen Strachan is Senior Fellow for FRC’s Center for Biblical Worldview.

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2024 Family Research Council.


The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

Truth Breeds Trust, Deceit Breeds Destruction

Americans’ trust in mass media has stumbled to 31%, the lowest measurement since Gallup first asked the question in 1972, while those with absolutely no trust in the media has climbed to 36%. Trust in the media is higher among Democrats (54%) than Republicans (12%) and among senior citizens (43%) than those aged 18-29 (26%), but the media is now the least trusted of all civic and political institutions included in the survey.

How could this happen? If you’re reading The Washington Stand, you likely already know. Mass media, as an institution, lost Americans’ trust by behaving less like the neutral arbiters of objective information they claimed to be and more like partisan organs dedicated to getting candidates who shared their ideology elected.

In other words, they lied — or at least significantly misrepresented themselves. If the media were open about their biases and allowed consumers to reach they own conclusions, they might enjoy greater public trust than they do today.

In fact, the media’s problem with accurate reporting was “highlighted this week,” noted Family Research Council Action President Jody Hice on “Washington Watch,” in a “CBS news interview with [Vice President] Kamala Harris and … an interview with [House] Speaker [Mike] Johnson.” On one hand, CBS News faced accusations of selectively editing Harris’ answers, as well as giving her multiple chances to respond to the same question when her first attempt was unsatisfactory. On the other hand, Johnson accused CBS News of selectively cutting out the most persuasive parts of his interview.

While the media may be the worst offender, Americans’ distrust of institutions is not confined to the evening paper. “Trust in our institutions is eroding” more broadly, warned David Closson, director of Family Research Council’s Center for Biblical Worldview, “whether it’s the courts, whether it’s our school system, even the military.”

“Why is that?” Closson asked. “It’s because of decisions that our leaders have made.”

“Thinking of the military,” he continued, “why are recruitment levels so low? Well, think of the woke ideology that’s been introduced into our service branches.” The military is not supposed to be a partisan or ideological entity. Yet servicemembers were subjected to critical race theory trainings, celebration of transgenderism, and DEI performance objectives. Not only was the military drifting away from its critical mission, it was also becoming unmoored from objective reality and truth.

Or, “think about the thousands of service members that were discharged because they didn’t want to get the COVID-19 shot,” Closson added. In fact, public officials in many arenas squandered trust profligately during the COVID pandemic. “Think of all of us that were told to wear masks, and how none of that was actually based on science,” recalled Closson.

Indeed, the brazen lies and arbitrary orders issuing from public institutions during COVID created a “run” on public trust that went beyond just the issues at hand. Backed by the media and powerful government agencies, public health officials demanded that citizens comply with draconian mandates, including stay-at-home orders, mask mandates, vaccine passports, and social distancing farces. These officials traded on their scientific reputation as public health experts, when in fact few to none of the recommendations they issued were based on science.

As a result, Americans jaded by their COVID-era interactions with government are more willing to question the government on unrelated points. If public health officials were willing to lie about the efficacy of the COVID jabs, for example, then why should they be trusted on the rest of the recommended vaccine regimen? This, combined with a wide-open southern border — another example of gaslighting — has led to the resurgence of diseases once on the verge of eradication. Drug companies are now paying for advertisements that aren’t selling new products, but which are simply begging Americans not to turn their backs on longstanding vaccine recommendations. Building trust takes much longer than destroying it.

The collapse of public trust in America holds lessons for Christians to take to heart. “As Christians, we believe in an objective order, right and wrong,” concluded Closson. “And we believe in speaking the truth in love. And, too often, people in positions of power are abusing their authority, and that is eroding trust we have. And that’s not sustainable for any society in the long term.”

Three thousand years ago, David lamented that “Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak” (Psalms 12:2). But, rather than giving in to despair, David placed his trust in the Lord. “The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times” (Psalm 12:6).

Because God speaks the truth, his children should also be known for their truthfulness. Paul describes how God has given the church pastors and teachers to “equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,” so that we may not be misled “by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ” (Ephesians 4:12, 14-15).

The goal is unity and mutual edification (Ephesians 4:16), but the means are truth and love. Truth fosters trust, but deceit leads to destruction. This holds as true for the church as it does for the society at large. So, rather than be discouraged and disillusioned by the maelstrom of brazen lies swirling through our public discourse, Christians should consider in what ways they are walking in the truth, and how that can contribute to building up the body of Christ.

AUTHOR

Joshua Arnold

Joshua Arnold is a senior writer at The Washington Stand.

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2024 Family Research Council.


The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.