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Cracks in Our Christianity

Let the ballot counters do their job. It’s been a comfort to see images of these ordinary people of all ages and colors doing their painstaking work. They are the nuts and bolts of democracy, and I believe in them. To do otherwise would be to give up on America altogether. That’s why I’ll offer no view of who’s going to win the presidential election. I’m much more concerned about the divisions it’s laid bare—and how the Church is no better and possibly worse, reflecting the exact same polarities of race, geography, and socioeconomic status. Let’s take a look at

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The Ginormous Blind Spot

A pastor friend of mine in Africa sent me yet another Trump prophecy video and asked what I thought. These videos really get around! This particular prophet promised a flood, fire, and lots of other bad stuff if we don’t re-elect Donald Trump as president today. Add this to the asteroid Pat Robertson prophesied even if we do re-elect Trump. Hey, why not just give up now? Surveying all of the Trump prophecy videos and articles I’ve read in the past four years, I ended up with one burning question: Where are the Black prophets? How come they’re not getting

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Beware the Prophets of Fear

Not too long ago, I was an avid reader of Charisma magazine, the voice of the Pentecostal-charismatic churches. I loved columnist J. Lee Grady, who was editor for many years and served as the conscience of my high-risk, high-reward Christian faith tradition. Take a look today, though, and here’s what you might see: A Biden win will signal the end of America as we know it. My question: Is that a bad thing? There are quite a few things I’d love to see the end of in the America I know. I’d be happy to see the end of economic

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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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Unity or We Die

I long for racial unity in the Church because I once experienced a taste of it. There was such a sense of rightness—of beauty, joy, and well-being—that I will always search for it. It is the joy set before me. There is no question that this joy lines up with the Word of God. Jesus prays in John 17 that we would be one. He doesn’t pray that God would whisk us away to a bunker where we’re safe from BLM, Antifa, and the godless Democrats. No, he says, “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that

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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,

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The Fly in the Ointment Is Race

As I listened to the Mike Pence-Kamala Harris debate, I found myself agreeing with Pence on policy far more than Harris. That’s because I’ve become more conservative in middle age, as many people do after raising kids, working hard, and realizing time is no longer on your side. Parts of the Joe Biden platform seem crazy to me. Legalizing marijuana is a terrible idea. I drew that conclusion years ago when I rode a motorcycle up into the hills of Jamaica and encountered real Rastafarians, who smoked weed, like, 24-7, and seemed to be living and cogitating in slow motion.

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

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