How do we bring Jesus back to church? When was the last time you walked out of church excited about having felt his presence? Instead, isn’t it often more about whether or not you “enjoyed” the sermon? Does the morning worship service leave you talking about less about Jesus than you do the preacher? The underlying question, of course is why do you go to church? Do you come to be entertained or do you come to truly worship? Do you sense something missing? Could it be Jesus? If so, how do we make him the heart of worship? A proper understanding of the Lord’s Supper may be the best place to begin answering that question.

Several years ago we attended a church service that scheduled the Lord’s Supper at the conclusion of the service. The denomination considers the Lord’s Supper to be a symbol, (and an apparently insignificant one at that). The elements, bread and juice, were strategically placed around the worship center. When the time came, the pastor invited us to collect them, gather in small groups and celebrate together in any way we wished. As visitors, my wife and I felt left out of what might have been an opportunity for communal worship. So, after waiting for an invitation to join a group that never materialized, the two of us prayed, chewed, swallowed and left. I still consider it the worst Holy Communion experience so far. But there have been others almost as bad. And one of the was officiated by me.

In the interest of transparency, before thinking it through, I once authorized the use of pre-packaged Communion elements for use in our chapel. The congregation I pastor is comprised of a significant percentage of folks over 75 years old. It was a disaster. About half of the folks broke the wafer into dust while trying to open the package. Several others spilled the juice on themselves or their neighbor as they worked to remove the top seal on the cup. We only used them that one time. After that, we removed the wafer and opened the juice before taking them into the chapel. Lately I have been reconsidering the Lord’s Supper.

In my faith community, Communion is typically celebrated with the reading of 1 Corinthians 11:23-29 (NIV).

[23] For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, [24] and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” [25] In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” [26] For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. [27] So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. [28] Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. [29] For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves.

When I was growing up in the church, the Lord’s Supper was a solemn occasion. It was normally conducted during the Sunday night service when most, if not all, of those in attendance were members. The thing that sticks out in my mind was the reading of verses 28 and 29 before the elements were distributed. The pastor stressed being right with God and others before partaking. We were reminded that the failure to do so was dangerous. After a time of silent introspection and prayer, the proper atmosphere had been achieved and the pastor would begin reading from verse 23. 

Recently, in our chapel as well as a church we visited, the Communion experience has felt a little like eating broccoli—just get it over with quickly. Or worse, the feeling it was tacked on to meet some sort of quota before going home. I can’t believe that was our Lord’s intent. So, I decided to take another look at what we call the Lord’s Supper, but this time from the Synoptic Gospels, starting with Mark, believed to be the earliest account of the three and proceeding through the others.

 22 And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” 23 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. 24 And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 25 Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”(Mark 14:22-25 | ESV)

18 For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. (Luke 22:18-20 | ESV)

 26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” 27 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” (Matthew 26:26-29 | ESV)

 All three read nearly identically and all were delivered with reference to God’s kingdom. Jesus held the bread and cup in his hand. His blood was still coursing through his veins and arteries. The bread and wine were still very much bread and wine. So, what was he saying? He was saying there is a spiritual linkage between him (his body and blood) and the bread and wine. It is Spirit, not DNA—a connection similar to his ministry and God’s kingdom. His Spirit would be present in Communion as his Spirit would propel the kingdom’s advance.

For 1500 years the Lord’s Supper was the centerpiece of the worship service. It all changed when the pulpit replaced the Lord’s table. But even the one who made that change continued to observe the Lord’s supper with simplicity and reverence. My friend Reed and I both go into greater detail elsewhere. My goal here is simply to suggest we reconsider how we participate in the Lord’s Supper.

Jesus intended a spiritual correlation between his flesh and blood and the bread and wine. 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. (John 6:63 | ESV) And these are the words he spoke:

 53 . . .“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. (John 6:53-56 | ESV) 

 We should be in such a condition spiritually to experience his presence as we partake. That means we must be prayed up and come expecting the miraculous. No, we will not find him in the elements themselves, but he is fully present in the sacrament as he is within all true believers. The apostle Paul reminds us in Philippians 2:9-11 (ESV):

9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

If even the unrepentant and unbelieving will one day bow at the very mention of his name, shouldn’t we take his presence in the Lord’s supper much more seriously? In the age of COVID, I suppose, prepackaged elements are ok, but what we do with them and how we do it needs to change. If we begin welcoming Jesus into our worship services again, through properly observing the Lord’s Supper, perhaps we’ll have no question about why we show up on Sunday morning. I know I’m making some changes.

My church dropped Jesus for Christmas. That’s right. My church chose Santa over Jesus. The lights will be off on Christmas morning and I am left to wonder why. Worshipping on Christmas Day is implied in the very name–Christ’s mass or Cristes Maesse as it was first called in 1038. Christmas, of all days, should remind us Jesus is Lord. It isn’t so much a celebration of his birth as it is why he came. Too many self-professed Christians are good with letting Jesus be their Savior, but Lord, well, not so much. 

I pastor a senior congregation in an independent living facility. Normally I would be able to preach and worship with them on Christmas Day. But this year the residents, who couldn’t wait for a Christmas service, were placed in COVID-19 lockdown. Their proactive, facility administration would not allow us to meet for corporate worship. So, I decided to go to my home church. It is where I often worship, before heading over to the facility to preach.

Imagine my surprise to learn its doors would be locked that day. The reason given was, wait for it, because Christmas Day fell on, of all days, a Sunday. Christmas on Sunday has happened six times since 1983. In a brief video my pastor told the congregation his decision was made to allow staff to enjoy the day with their families. I have attended this church for many years. Such a decision must be a recent change. I recall attending the Saturday night candlelight service and returning for the one on Christmas Sunday morning.

We burn with self-righteous indignation when we hear “Happy Holidays,” instead of “Merry Christmas,” and silently simmer because Starbucks adopted a generic cup design for the season. Yet, if we attend many, especially independent, larger, churches, the organs, drums, and guitars will be silent this Christmas morning. It has happened before. The last time Christmas fell on a Sunday was 2016.

In a Federalist article published that Christmas season, G. Shane Morris, citing a Christianity Today finding, praised Mars Hill and Willow Creek for bucking the trend by holding services on Christmas Day. Obviously, doors open on Christmas do not cover a multitude of sin. In those instances, the pastors knew to do right, but didn’t always do it. That’s a story for another day. Regardless, at least that year, their door were open on Christmas.

Morris also cited a Chicago Tribune article about a mega church pastor who gave this reason for cancelling Christmas Day services.

We don’t see it as not having church on Christmas. We see it as decentralizing the church on Christmas—hundreds of thousands of experiences going on around Christmas trees. The best way to honor the birth of Jesus is for families to have a more personal experience on that day.

Experience (smoke machines, laser lights and rock and roll worship music) is a staple of many consumer-driven mega churches. Those are the churches people attend to be entertained, but not sanctified. 

Church is not about an experience, but a relationship; vertically with God through Jesus and horizontally with brothers and sisters in Christ. We demonstrate that through our actions. It isn’t about how full the church is, but how full of Jesus the worshippers are. What good is it to have a sanctuary full of people if many of them are going to miss the cut at the final judgement because they were members, but not disciples? They know all about Jesus, but do not know him. And the pastors who pandered to their “worldliness” by “rockin’ around the Christmas tree “will have to give account to the one whose birthday they skipped to celebrate with Santa.

I just have to say I will never hear, “Keep Christ in Christmas” the same way again. Without actually admitting it, the decision of my pastors and others like them have demonstrated they have tacitly approved replacing Jesus with Santa Claus. The same folks who shake their heads 51 weeks of the year over church absenteeism for “frivolous reasons” bagged the second most holy day on the Christian calendar so families could open gifts together.

In an Op-Ed in The Christian Post, David Ruzicka, put his finger on what is really going on. “Christmas is about family, and presents, and eggnog and Santa Claus! That’s what the atheist argue. And by action (which speak louder than words) so does the church when it cancels the exact thing it does every other week of the year.” He went on to say, “We’ve bought into the secularization of Christmas and the idol of family over Jesus just like everyone else but talk a good game!”

Jesus said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26 | NIV) That one is pretty hard to hide from. But the next verse clearly explains where some draw the line. “And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:27 | NIV) Apparently, they draw their “cross-carrying” line at celebrating the birth of Jesus on the one day of the year set aside for that purpose. 

Churches forgoing Sunday worship will still pass the plate during the services held the week prior to Christmas. The message sent and received is that it’s all about the bottom line in the First Church of Contemporary Culture. Perhaps that is why the pastors skipping Christmas church don’t take a public stand against Christian Nationalism or a stand for Christmas Day worship. It seems pastors of such attractional churches will do whatever it takes to keep butts in pews. If they think they must compromise principles to keep the lights on, how are they any different from other small business?

Another phrase I have heard in churches that are closed on Christmas is, “The church is a hospital for sinners.” Baloney! My daughter is an emergency room physician in a trauma hospital. How likely do you think it is that her administration would lock their doors to give her and her coworkers Christmas off so they can open presents with their families? Even as a hospital chaplain, I worked Christmas Day. Of all days, Christmas is the one on which many people feel most alone. It is the day they welcome the company of strangers.  

It is possible that I am overreacting, but I believe such churches had the opportunity to stand for something, but, instead, demonstrated they have sold out to the culture. They have abdicated responsibility for being hospitals for the lost to become temples to the idol of family and consumerism. Some people have given up the habit of meeting for worship, but we must not do that. We should keep on encouraging each other, especially since you know that the day of the Lord’s coming is getting closer. (Hebrews 19:25 | CEV)

The author of that passage was writing to people who risked everything by going to church. Are we such weak Christians we cannot even arrange our schedule around an hour or so on a Christmas Sunday morning? If so, haven’t we lost the true meaning of Christmas?

The author of Hebrews warned against missing corporate worship and yet, people are not only missing church, they are leaving for good in fairly large numbers. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Hebrews 10:25 | NLT Those leaving are losing out spiritually and relationally and churches are hurting financially. What’s going on? What causes a person who has been taught the importance of Christian fellowship to walk out the back door? I would argue that there are many reasons people offer for leaving, but only one underlying cause.

The most recent reason suggested is that folks simply got out of the habit of attending church during the pandemic. Perhaps they discovered the world doesn’t end if they miss a Sunday service. Or it may be that they found it is more convenient to watch from home in their pajamas. After all, when they stay home, there is no implicit obligation to say anything to those seated around them and no one passes an offering plate. Still the doors of the church remain open. And the heat and light bills haven’t stopped. Many churches are hemorrhaging people and we, those of us who remain, must do our part to stop the bleeding. And that involves more than simply giving more money.

Even before COVID, people were leaving churches for a myriad of reasons. But the virus introduced a new one—politics. People began leaving over wearing masks, vaccinations or the fact people were too “woke,” whatever that now means. Long-standing church relationships were sacrificed on the altar of partisan politics. In his blog, N.T. Wright summed it up like this:

“Lifetime friends have divided over the past year or so with no plausible pathway to reconcile. And, of course, pastors in congregations are in the middle of the rancor and nastiness trying to hold their people together with a focus that is beyond the campaigns and election. But I know how much of a toll that takes on shepherds of the flock. In the U.S., it is not very hard to find a congregation and a pastor who is ‘on the same page’ politically. Thus, it is not unusual for people to leave their congregations because of political loyalties.

Most of those who left for political reasons did not abandon church altogether. Many left their former churches for those where most people share similar political views. They left but landed in another community of faith. I call them “sortas.” They “sorta” follow Jesus, but their actions indicate that they view politics as being more effective in achieving God’s will than prayer. And the person in the White House is more trustworthy than a prayer-answering God. We’ll come back to the “sortas” later. What about those who have left church for good? They will be the primary focus of this article.

A November 29, 2022 bulletin issued by the Office for National Statistics United Kingdom, indicating a census finding that England and Wales were no longer Christian majority countries. On December 1, 2022, the Catholic News Agency highlighted the dramatic decline in those two countries from 71.7% in 2001 to 46.2% today. Shortly thereafter, the December 2022 edition of Christianity Today included a book review by Arthur E. Farnsley II, of Nonverts: The Making of Ex-Christian America by Stephen Bullivant, an author who lives and works in Britain.

The same thing is happening in the United States. According to Pew Research Center only 65% of Americans identified as Christians in 2019, down from 77% in 2009. The situation is even worse than it might appear when considering practicing Christians. According to the Barna Group, practicing Christians are characterized by “calling oneself a Christian, strongly prioritizing faith and regular church attendance.” That number has fallen from 45% in 2000 to 25% just twenty years later. And there is little doubt that number has dropped even more in the ensuing twenty-two years.

According to Farnsley, in the first part of his two-part book, Bullivant describes the experiences of “nones,” those who had left Christianity and now consider themselves as having no religious affiliation. This is a very different group from those he calls “cradle nones,” people who have never had a church affiliation. The second part of the book describes why and how the church exodus occurred. He noted many of those who have left organized religion did so for strong, often emotional or painful reasons.

I want to focus on a statement Farnsley makes. “If you pay attention to much religious journalism, you can correctly guess what soured ex-Mormons, ex mainliners, exvangelicals, and ex Catholics on the religion of their youth.” What I have read fairly coincides with my experience. But we should keep in mind that not everybody who leaves church, leaves Jesus behind. As a chaplain I have heard many reasons folks have left the church of their youth, but they generally fall into four categories: the Bible, the money, the people, and/or the message.

For some it was the incongruence between science and biblical accounts. This typically occurs when literal meaning is the test for inerrancy. Essentially, those who leave for this reason are saying, “If I can’t believe in Jonah, I can’t believe in Jesus.” They fail to recognize that the Bible was not written to be a science textbook. It is an ancient text written to an ancient people containing many literary genres.

Must we accept, literally, a passage such as this? You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.Isaiah 55:12 | NIV Obviously, mountains don’t have voices and trees lack arms and hands. We, as Bible teachers, have an obligation to identify and explain the hyperbole and genre contained in the passages we are teaching and allow, when appropriate, for alternative interpretations.

Another frequently cited reason people leave is money. Whether it is the consistent pleas for people to give or the lack of transparency regarding how contributions are distributed, money is often a friction point. And it has been throughout the history of the Church. And the larger the church the more of a problem it is.

The rationale for giving should be included in the discipleship process, but not part of the evangelistic outreach. That presents a problem in seeker-sensitive churches that lack an effective discipleship process. Giving is a family matter best left to a venue that includes members and regular attenders, not first or second-time visitors. And when it comes to money, absolute transparency is key. Jesus, not the light bill, is the message. Fixing this disconnect is the responsibility of church leadership (e.g., deacons, elders, session, etc.).

Finally, the most frequently cited reason for leaving church for good is the people, or rather, the “hypocrites” who warm the pews of every church. And, brothers and sisters, those hypocrites are us. By far, the greatest disincentive to Christian affiliation is the behavior of other Christians. Is our church defined by what we are for, rather than what we are against?

How encouraging have we been to one another? Instead of befriending and lifting people up as they enter the front door, are are pushing them out the back door? Apparently that is the case, especially with younger prople. Why can’t we see that we are the reason they left? We are all sinners and pharisees in recovery. Can’t we just take off our masks and allow others to see the person God sees?

Those who leave because of our phoniness know they are not the perfect people many of us are pretending to be. They must be let in on our dirty, little secret. And that secret is we are all on the same journey. We all stumble. We all fall. But as members of one body, we rely on others to reach down and help us back on our feet. It is our failure to acknowledge our own weakness that comes across as hypocrisy. And it is our reluctance to extend a hand to help that makes them feel unwelcome and alone.

It is time we Jesus-followers become vulnerable and make our churches feel more like a hospital for sinners, rather than a sanctuary for saints. People hungering for something to believe in don’t come to church to feel isolated, inferior, or to play yet another role in life. They just want to be seen, heard, and understood. This can only be corrected when we keep our eyes on Jesus and follow the leading of his Spirit in our interactions with others both inside and outside the church.

Finally, and I believe this is the underlying reason people, including the “sortas” leave the church, regardless of any other rationale they might offer. They leave because they have never had a genuine, personal encounter with Jesus. They have never recognized and admitted they are sinners, repented and accepted God’s offer of grace and reconciliation. They have no relationship with a living, loving God. Their god is religion. Religion is what remains when we take our eyes off Jesus and go through the motions of church. It points to never having fully surrendered to him by making him both lord and savior.

When the focus is on flawed people and flawed institutions rather than Jesus, disillusionment is inevitable. Jesus must be our sole focus. We must be all in, completely surrendered, to him. Anyone or anything else is an idol that erects a wall between us and God.

If we hold anything back, if we allow ourselves to worry or be afraid about anything, we are not followers. We are still “sortas,” worshipping idols. When totally surrendered, it doesn’t matter who sits next to us, how the church money is raised and spent or whether we believe the world was created in seven, 24-hour days. All that matters is our unshakable faith in Jesus and our desire to be more like him.

The only time we should leave a community of faith is unbiblical teaching or the leading of the Spirit to service elsewhere. It is time started walking our talk and we changed our focus, not our church.

It’s the message not the messsenger. We must not focus on the garbage and miss the “pearl of great price.” Sex scandals in the church are not new. Media reports and public awareness of them goes back at least as far as the 1920’s. The most unusual of which was the month-long disappearance of Aimee Semple McPherson, whose explanation remains suspect even today. Other Pentecostals who, according to media reports, have been engaged in inappropriate behavior include Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart. But it isn’t just Pentecostals. Baptist pastors Jerry Falwell, Jr., Donald Foose, Coy Privette, Garry Evans and Joe Barron are among those who have been disgraced over allegations of sexual misconduct.

Reports of lawsuit payouts for abusive Roman Catholic priests seem to be in the news with great regularity these days. But they are not alone. The Southern Baptist Convention, SBC, came under fire for covering up inappropriate activities by clergy. According to a New Yorker article published May 26, 2022, “Last year, pastors belonging to the Southern Baptist Convention, which has nearly fourteen million members and is the largest Protestant denomination in the United States, decided that the problem of sexual abuse within its ranks had to be addressed.”

The list of pastors reportedly engaged in sexual misconduct includes both the well-known and the unknown. Nothing would be gained by repeating the sordid allegations against those listed or the many others. That information is readily available online. But I hope I have made the point that pastors are sinners just like the rest of us. They sometimes yield to temptation. Frankly, because of their position, they may be a bigger target for Satan than we are. When they are disgraced, the Church is often painted with the same scandalous brush, especially in the minds of unbelievers. And that hampers our ability to make disciples.

It is easy to question our faith when someone we have admired fails. The news concerning Ravi Zacharias hurt me deeply. I can only imagine what I would be feeling if I had come to faith as a result of his ministry. Yet, I can promise you this, if you are genuinely following Jesus, your experience is real even if his life was a facade. Until Zacharias, the two falls from grace that most shook my faith were Jimmy Swaggart and Bill Hybels. I listened to Jimmy Swaggart daily on my commute to college as an undergraduate and attended several of Bill Hybels’s Willow Creek Leadership Summits. Still, I wept when I heard the disturbing news of Ravi Zacharias’s moral falure, just as I did last May when his death was reported. I recall reading many of the media tributes lauding him as a leading Christian apologist and agreeing that his passing was a mighty blow against Christianity.

On September 30, 2020, Christianity Today published a follow-up on a story it did on May 19, 2020 that had started off as a tribute listing his many accomplishments, but cast a tiny shadow over his ministry. The article described what many believed to be Zacharias’s mischaracterization of honorary doctorate awards as academic achievement. In addition and hidden near the end of the article, the author, Daniel Silliman wrote, “Zacharias was also involved in a legal dispute over “sexually explicit” communication with a woman he met through his speaking ministry. Her lawyer said Zacharias had groomed and exploited her. Zacharias sued, and the lawsuit was settled out of court with a non-disclosure agreement.”

We have since learned the famed apologist was deeply engaged in sexual misconduct. He used his power and position to prey on women. His fall from grace was even more painful for me than that of Swaggart and Hybels. I admit the truth about his conduct broke my heart. But I was determined that his failure would not destroy my faith. Christianity is about the message not the messenger. And the message is, God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die. (John 3:16 | CEV) The behavior of those listed, plus the hundreds of other Christian leaders concealing sin in their lives should not rock our spiritual boat. And it won’t as long as our eyes are firmly set on Jesus and our faith is in his finished work on the cross. I confess I held Swaggart, Hybels and Zacharias in higher regard than I should have. They came close, if not in fact becoming, my religious idols. I have learned my lesson and repented.

We can’t condone such behavior, nor should we allow their failure to cause us to give up on Jesus. When another human, no matter how famous or highly placed he or she may be, commits sin, that should remain between them, God and those to whom they are accountable. And we should not simply write them off as sinners. God would no more give up on them than he would you or me. Just as it is for us, confession and repentance is necessary for them to restore their relationship with God. If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just [true to His own nature and promises], and will forgive our sins and cleanse us continually from all unrighteousness [our wrongdoing, everything not in conformity with His will and purpose] (1 John 1:9 | AMP)

When we consider how we have been tested and failed, it is not hard to imagine the greater temptations faced by those who speak to hundreds, if not thousands, about Jesus and other matters of faith. So, who are we to sit in judgment of them? Instead, we can do something positive. We can pray that if they have not yet gone to God in heartfelt confession that they soon will. We can also pray for our own pastors. Not only are they held to a higher standard by the world, God also expects more of them. Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. (James 3:1 | ESV)

Join me in committing to add our prayers to those of our our pastors that God will give them the strength to stand against any temptation they may encounter.

Are you a unifier or divider? Are you allowing political objectives to becom an idol in your life? How have your political opinions impacted your relationships? This week I read two articles that echoed what I have been saying for months. The first was from Aaron Earles of Lifeway Research entitled, “Half of U.S. Protestant Pastors Hear Conspiracy Theories in Their Churches.” The other was by Jaweed Kaleem from the LA Times entitled, “QAnon and Other Conspiracy Theories are Taking Hold in Churches. Pastors are Fighting Back.” I encourage you to read both. In his comic strip, Pogo, cartoonist Walt Kelly sums up both articles in just nine words. “We have met the enemy and he is us.”

Kaleem highlights the negative pushback pastors are experiencing when they call out conspiracies as “dabbling in darkness.” He asserts, “Trump’s false insistence that he won the 2020 election may have incited the mob, but it also pointed to a dangerous intersection of God and politics.” Another pastor laments congregants replacing Jesus with Trump. A quarter of evangelicals believe in the QAnonsense and 60 percent believe Trump won the last general election, according to the American Enterprise Institute.

Our Christian brothers and sisters not only believe the lies, but they are helping to spread them. Lifeway Research, an arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, indicated that 49% of Protestant pastors often hear congregants repeating conspiracies about national events. Only other believers can stop the damage being done to the Church by the lies and conspiracy theories. For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases. (Proverbs 26:20 | ESV) We need to treat political lies the same way we do other gossip and mindless babble—confirming what we hear before believing it and refusing to repeat what we hear, period. If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. (James 1:26 | ESV)

The folks behind the stolen election and other QAnonsense will only be persuaded by the truth when sincere Christians speak the truth to them in love. But, the messaging today is so divisive we need to exercise discretion. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. … (Ephesians 4:2-3 | NIV) Ironically, the man who popularized the term “fake news” is using fake conspiracies to destroy friendships, families, churches and, even our democratic norms.

His assertion of a stolen election is a lie that Trump began spreading months before the election to set the stage for his January 6th failed coup. However, the courts, including the US Supreme Court have made it clear the evidence doesn’t support his lie. And rational people are beginning to see the lie for what it is. Still, some people want to believe the Justice Department and Supreme Court are part of some conspiracy. Hearing that reminds me of the mother watching her boy marching at his army basic training graduation who exclaimed, “Look everybody is out of step, but my Donnie.”

The QAnon pizza pedophile cannibal conspiracy, likewise, has no basis in fact. It originated in the same place as the Jewish space laser behind the California wildfires story did. Frankly, if the preposterous conspiracies weren’t so dangerous they would be comical. The spiritual danger, however, is they have led people to quit trusting Jesus and start expecting Donald Trump to protect the Church. And sadly, the craziness has been abetted by some very influential pastors who seem to have forgotten the Church will suffer if it does its job of evangelism, but not for being a hypocritical, morality mob. Friends don’t let friends fall for dangerous, dumb stuff. If you are really serious about making America great again, work to stop the spread of misinformation. Believing a lie is bad enough, but sharing one is a sin. “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak . . .” (Matthew 12:36 | ESV)

There are no perfect churches because churches are people and no one is perfect. Statistics show the problems we see in what we call the “world” exist in the same percentages in the Body of Christ. Is it any wonder those outside the church see us as phonies? The primary reason we need to avoid Christian Nationalism is its basic objective; exclusion. They want to exclude everyone who is not like them. And that contradicts the underlying premise of Christianity. Everyone is welcomed into the family of God. Furthermore, our goal in this life is to be like Jesus. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. (Ephesians 4:14-15 NIV)

In its support of ex-President Trump, compromise has been embraced for the “greater good.” God does not need our help or, even Donald Trump’s to accomplish his will. With Fox News complicity Christian Nationalists have sold Jesus-followers a scare-tactic fiction that is easier to believe than the truth.

The Democrats will not turn this country into a godless, socialist nation allowing immigrants will take over what rightfully belongs to white Christians. That “right,” by the way, is also a fiction. We are not helpless victims whose only hope is Trump’s GOP. The independent vote will always be a tie-breaker. And thanks to Trump, there are many more of us today than there was four years ago. The GOP has even sunk so far that they had a Golden Trump at the CPAC convention in Florida last month. (The Golden calf must have been unavailable.) I am going to say it as plainly as possible.  Christian Nationalism is idolatry.

America is not now, nor has it ever been a Christian nation. It can be, but it won’t be accomplished at the ballot box or on Capitol Hill. It will become a Christian nation by focusing on the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. The Church, not America, matters to God. But we have brought Baal into the sanctuary by mixing faith with politics, no matter how lofty our ideals might have been. How can we believe God considers American Christians any differently than he does Christians from another nation?

Patriotism has its place in public life. Politics, likewise gives us a small voice in governance. Yet neither plays a role in the Kingdom of God. My prayer is those who are striving to make America Christian again would do it the old fashioned way; by sharing the Good News of the gospel, living a life that honors God and recognizes, even the unbeliever is God’s image-bearer, regardless of race, faith, gender, nationality or  sexual orientation. Christ and his teaching about love and unity is missing from Christian Nationalism. If you consider yourself a Jesus-follower, run, don’t walk, away from it’s ungodly influence.

The inevitable insurrection occurred on January 6, 2021 when America witnessed the first attack on the U.S. Capitol since the British did it in 1814, during the War of 1812. It was the first, organized insider attack against our nation since cannons fired on Fort Sumter to begin the American Civil War in 1861. Many believe president Trump, along with other, prominent politicians and religious figures were responsible. An impeachment trial will likely not punish the most guilty. No doubt the members of the mob who are identified will have their day in court, but those most responsible will slink back into the shadows.

A Senate trial is, by definition, a toothless, political sideshow, especially now, given the fear GOP politicians have of the former president’s supporters. In fact, the vote to call the process unconstitutional was their cowardly way of avoiding responsibility and guilt by association. They would rather debate the process than adopt a moral position. The party of Lincoln has proven to be more like the party of Nixon, except that GOP finally had enough. Certainly, we cannot expect them to take their Senate juror oath any more seriously than they have their oaths of office. You’d be wrong to conclude Republicans fear the former president. They do not fear Donald Trump. They fear the mob behind him. And that is the Presidents most potent weapon.

Homeland Security issued a national domestic terror alert this week because the threat persists. And it persists because the lies and cover-up persist. House leader McCarthy tried to blame all Americans for the insurrection, but that is simply a smoke screen intended to conceal his party’s culpability. If we conservative Christians share any responsibility at all, it is our lack of outrage and silence in the aftermath of the insurrection.

That mob has been conditioned from both the bully pulpit and the church pulpit to believe they are doing the right thing, indeed, the will of God. Sociologists refer to the unholy view of Christianity that so obviously perverts the teaching of Jesus, Christian Nationalism. Some folks, who call themselves followers of Jesus, have taken their eyes off him and placed their trust in politics and politicians. It is up to us to lovingly guide our brothers and sisters back into a Church that practices, not just praises, the teaching of Jesus.

Admittedly, I was angry as I watched people carrying Bibles and the banner of Jesus while yelling obscenities and making murderous threats against elected officials, including the vice-president. This is what I wish our ex-president and the weak-kneed GOP members of Congress would hear from the Church. You do not have the privilege of encouraging others to kick down our door, attack our family, bust up our furniture, steal our tv and then blame us. Yet, that is exactly what representative Kevin McCarthy did. Nor do they have the standing to tell us to forgive, forget and move on as many Trump-supporting politicians have done. I suspect most of us have already forgiven, but I doubt we will ever forget. It was a knife to the heart of our nation akin to 9/11.

Genuine followers of Jesus are not the ones pouring gas on the fire intemperate words and actions ignited. But the fire is still raging and GOP elected officials pretend not to see anything—just as they pretended not to see the ex-president’s immoral  actions. Until he, and others who perpetuated the stolen election lies admit responsibility and take public action to restore confidence in our electoral process, the rift in our nation will remain an open wound.