“It’s time for an Evangelical reckoning on Trump” says head of Billy Graham Center

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Ed Stetzer, head of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College has publically asserted that white Evangelicals should consider whether their behavior in supporting President Donald Trump contributed to fuelling the Capitol insurrection last week.

Sharing his thoughts both in an opinion piece for USA Today and during an interview with NPR, Stetzer asserted: “We must live up to our calling as Evangelicals: to proclaim Jesus Christ to the world, rather than betray Him to sustain worldly power.”

Reaching out to the evangelical community of which he is part, Stetzer begins by acknowledging: “No one likes to admit they were fooled. It’s tough to admit we were wrong.” However, he says, Evangelicals must ask themselves: “How did we get here?” “How were we so easily fooled by conspiracy theories?” According to Stetzer, “It’s time for an evangelical reckoning.”

Stetzer emphasizes that he is “thankful” for the Supreme Court Justices which Trump appointed, and for Trump’s pro-life stance and religious liberty concerns. At the same time, Stetzer says, the president “has burned down the Republican Party, emboldened white supremacists, mainstreamed conspiracy theorists and more.”

Nevertheless, Stetzer’s greater concern is the impact Trump has had on the evangelical movement. “Tempted by power and trapped within a culture war theology, too many evangelicals tied their fate to a man who embodied neither their faith nor their vision of political character,” Stetzer attests. “I think we just need to be honest. A big part of this evangelical reckoning is a lot of people sold out their beliefs,” Stetzer told NPR’s Rachel Martin.

Going forward, Stetzer says evangelicals “must be clear” on three reasons why their community has arrived at this point: 1) “Far too many tolerated egregious behavior. The past half-decade has offered near daily examples of people co-opting the Gospel for sinful ends. Racism, nationalism, sexism and a host of other sins have found purchase within the evangelical movement in both overt and subtle expressions.” 2) “Far too many failed to live up to their promise of speaking truth to power. When evangelicals finally had access to the White House, they seemed unable or unwilling to use their prophetic voice to speak truth to power.” 3) “All of us have failed to foster healthy political discipleship. The foundation of our reckoning was laid far before Trump. The result of this discipleship failure has led us to a place where not only our people but also many of our leaders were easily fooled and co-opted by a movement that ended with the storming of the US Capitol.” Stetzer says.

Concluding his piece for USA Today, Stetzers writes: “If the evangelical movement is to flourish in the coming generations, we must face (and even embrace) this reckoning. As leaders and members, we must acknowledge our failings but also understand the habits and idols that drew us to Trump in the first place. That we have failed and been fooled is disheartening but not surprising. The true test will be how we respond when our idols are revealed. Will we look inside and repent when needed, or will we double down? Every political and cultural instinct will pull us to the latter, but God calls us to the former. Into this temptation, we hear the words of Jesus: “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:26).”

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