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Why Black Christians Aren’t Voting for Trump

A couple godly friends repeated to me President Donald Trump’s assertion that he has done more for the Black community than any president since Abraham Lincoln. These friends are white, and I know they sincerely believe this statement, which Trump made again in last week’s debate. So how does one reconcile this with the fact that Black people are streaming to the polls in record numbers to vote overwhelmingly against Trump? Why are they lining up for as long as eight hours in a pandemic that disproportionately affects them to cast votes all over the country? Are they ungrateful? Are

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Revisiting the Trump Prophecies

One of the more remarkable aspects of Donald Trump’s rise to the presidency is that at least two prominent Pentecostal-charismatic ministers publicly foretold it. Another individual, a retired fireman, also prophesied that Trump would become president, and his “word” circulated widely in Pentecostal circles. Since that time, we’ve seen many leading Pentecostal-charismatic figures become deeply entwined in Trump’s presidency. Preacher, pastor, and author Paula White; Robert Morris, pastor of Gateway Church, the biggest Pentecostal-charismatic church in the Dallas-Fort Worth area; Cindy Jacobs, who leads a Red Oak, Texas-based prophetic ministry with an international profile; and Lance Wallnau, a Dallas-based author

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Just Give Me Jesus…I Mean Right-Wing Politics

A couple friends sent me a link to The Return prayer gathering in Washington a week and a half ago. I tuned in on September 26, attracted by the event’s billing as a national call to repentance. Repentance is always good, right? Same with prayer. How can you go wrong with prayer? Rabbi Jonathan Cahn, a Messianic Jew, was already on the stage at the National Mall when I got online. I respect Cahn, author of The Harbinger and The Paradigm, two bestselling books that have circulated widely in Pentecostal-charismatic circles. I listened to his ardent prayer for this nation,

An American Tragedy

I was about to sit down to write today, and then I noticed this Facebook post from Dr. Shawn Okpebholo, Professor of Music Theory and Composition at Wheaton College. “Dr. O” expresses his thoughts about today’s biggest headline better than I ever could. Shawn is one of my son’s music professors, and I served with him in a South Sudanese refugee settlement in 2019. I can tell you that he is a man after God’s own heart. This post is used with permission. Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, have tested positive for COVID-19. Those who know me understand that

The Cost of Your Support for Donald Trump

No need to brace yourself: I’m not going to tell you how to vote. But you need to be aware of the price of your support for Donald Trump. The costs have been piling up for the last four years, and it doesn’t seem that President Trump’s Christian supporters are in the right places to see it. By the way, I find no need to write a post about the cost of supporting Joe Biden, because Christian media are all over that one. So let’s add up the spiritual and human costs of your support for Trump: 1. It’s a

Trump America

Looting. Rioting. Burning Cities. These are the realities of a Biden America. See his future for yourself & ensure it’s not ours. Click here: bit.ly/3aRNxsl I received this text on the second day of the Republican National Convention. At the time, it clicked through to the official website for the campaign to re-elect President Donald Trump. Don’t bother trying it now, because the link no longer works. I have a couple questions for you: Did you receive this text? Do you approve of the message? If you’re sensing that my questions are a trap, you are wrong. I’m curious who

My Experience With Racism

My experience with racism is embarrassing, because I was the perpetrator. I was about eight years old. Just a kid growing up in the Midwest in the early 1970s. My dad had invited a Black man and his family to dinner at our home in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He served with this man in Vietnam, and that’s all I know. This gentleman came to our house with his wife and two girls. Today, I wonder what was going through his mind. That was a risky venture for sure. White people so often blow past all of the sensitivities, focused instead

Jesus Wept

As I write these words, the latest video has emerged of police putting a white hood on an obviously mentally ill, handcuffed, naked, and unarmed black man, then shoving his face into the asphalt as he suffocates to the point of unconsciousness. I apologize if these words provoke additional trauma. Those who have seen the video will recognize that mine is an abbreviated account; I left out several ugly details. These events happened on March 23 in Rochester, New York. Daniel Prude, a human being, died seven days later. Let me stop for a moment and identify myself. I am

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