Zoom in on the photo accompanying this article, the one up by the headline. Go ahead. I’ll wait.

…

What do you see?

Do you see a sea of people? Lots of color? A bunch of teenagers? Large screens? Some kind of event?

Look again. Look closer. Is there anything else you see?

Do you see a mission field? Its founder does. You should, too.

The fields are ripe

Dean Kamen is a scientist and an evangelist who sees the world as his mission field. Kamen founded FIRST Robotics 35 years ago. FIRST stands for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. Though FIRST spread to 50 countries within 25 years, Kamen wants to see FIRST in every country of the world—to “just plant a seed.”

Kamen knew from what happened in the United States and those 49 other countries how robotics spreads organically. He believed if he planted the seed of robotics with just one team in each of the remaining countries of the world, each country would develop its own programs with multiple robot teams and district competitions.

Christians and students of the Bible should hear Jesus likening God’s kingdom to a seed, a powerful little thing that grows exponentially, fills the garden and produces much fruit. But as far as I know, Kamen isn’t talking about God’s kingdom.

Referring to a handful of countries where he had planted the seed of robotics, “it sort of worked,” Kamen told the crowd of tens of thousands gathered for the FIRST Robotics World Championship in Houston on April 20.

Sending them out

To fulfill his mission, Kamen gave the crowd two homework assignments.

He exhorted them to help a robotics team somewhere else in the world that needs help getting to FIRST Global—a more recent annual event Kamen envisions functioning like the Olympics. The goal of this assignment is to “help accelerate the growth of a global network of FIRST.”

“The whole point of FIRST Global is to start in every country what we are doing here, so you need to help them each grow,” Kamen said, believing FIRST Robotics will become the “universal, dominant global sport” in the lifetime of his teenage disciples.

To introduce the second homework assignment, Kamen sounded like so many pastors in the United States when he said, “We took a little bit of a hit in our growth during COVID” but since then have rebounded to about 4,000 FIRST Robotics Competition teams. Kamen wants more.

To achieve his vision of doubling the count, Kamen wants each current team to start a new team, saying he, the staff and the board of FIRST Robotics have their hands full with their own current work to grow FIRST themselves.

Christians and students of the Bible should hear Luke telling of the first deacons being tapped for service, or Jesus sending out the 12 and the 70.

Bringing in the sheaves

In past years, Kamen’s homework assignments included bringing the press, getting FIRST on TV, “get your political leaders, and you’ve done that.” Now, he wants them to bring in another 4,000 teams by January 2025.

He spurred the crowd by saying they have a vested interest in—a reason for—growing FIRST Robotics, “unless you’re not thinking FIRST is useful.”

“So, I’m asking every team here, and I don’t think it’s a big ask … every one of you … figure out how you can bring me at least one more new FIRST Robotics team. I want to have 8,000 teams next year, and I want them all to be brought in by you,” Kamen said.

He then called on teams to mentor—Christians use the verb “disciple”—the teams they start to get them up to speed by January for the 2025 season.

The altar call

Consider the evangelism and mission in Kamen’s closing remarks:

“To be clear, everybody, FIRST needs to grow, and it needs to grow at a much higher rate than a typical company would grow. The world is in desperate need of people that know how to solve problems, that know how to communicate, cooperate, respect each other.

“Things that are so powerfully part of the culture of FIRST need to be much louder in the world. And the 4,000 schools that we have are fantastic, but we need 40,000 or 400,000.

“It’s really not unreasonable to believe that if we do things right, as you people go through your college and career, the impact of the network of FIRST could have a material effect, not just on your life and your career, but on the whole progress of this human experiment we’re in.

“You people really can be an example to the rest of the world, and if we can include thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of kids in the current generation—your generation—and they can become part of the FIRST community, you will literally change the future.”

“So, please … do the homework. … Get to work!”

Keep in mind, tens of thousands of people, mostly youth, sat through and listened to most of Kamen’s more-than-20-minute appeal—what Christians might call a sermon.

Dean Kamen sees our youth as a mission field. Do you?

Making an impact

The FIRST Impact Award is FIRST Robotics’ most prestigious award. “It honors the team that best represents a model for other teams to emulate and best embodies the mission of FIRST … to [transform] the culture in ways that will inspire greater levels of respect and honor for science and technology, as well as encouraging more of today’s youth to become science and technology leaders.”

Christians are supposed to have an impact in this world, too. To have an impact, we have to be there—where the people are. FIRST Robotics is just one of those places.

We have a mission, too—to make disciples of Jesus from all people, a mission that “will literally change the future” in ways no amount of robotics, science and technology can or will.

Kamen’s mission and values are being absorbed by hundreds of thousands of young people and adults around the world, starting in elementary school with First Lego League. If we want God’s mission and values to impact all these people, we have to be there. We have to be where they are.

We can do this by forming teams. CPR Team 3663 is an example of Christians engaged in FIRST Robotics. We can serve as mentors, coaches or other volunteers for a team in our area. We can engage as individuals or groups, as churches, associations or institutions. And we should. Not to take over FIRST Robotics. To be the salt and light of Jesus within that community.

Maybe robotics isn’t your thing. Maybe you don’t want to get mixed up with FIRST. Fine. What is your thing? What will you get involved in for Christ’s sake? My hunch is it’s a ripe mission field, too—if you can see it.

Eric Black is the executive director, publisher and editor of the Baptist Standard. He can be reached at [email protected]. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.

(RNS)—In a House Committee on Education and the Workforce hearing April 17 on antisemitism on campus, U.S. Rep. Rick Allen (R-Ga.), used a passage from the Book of Genesis to intimidate the president of Columbia University.

Allen insisted American universities teach their students about “what will happen under the wrath of God” if they do not support Israel.

Allen grossly misappropriated the 12th chapter of Genesis, in which God tells Abraham, who will be the father of the Israelites, “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse.”

At one point, Allen asked the Egyptian-born President Nemat Shafik, “Do you want Columbia University to be cursed by God?”

His question not only implied divine judgment against Columbia, but it also overstepped his legislative role.

Undoubtedly, antisemitism is a horrific prejudice that has led to appalling atrocities. It must be condemned, not only at universities, but wherever it is found. I commend the House committee for its efforts to address this issue. However, I strongly condemn the use of the Bible as a tool for shaping U.S. policy or for suppressing civil political debate in academic settings.

Misuse of Genesis

When political Christians like Allen claim divine approval for their ideologies or views, they engage in what can be described as spiritual terrorism, using biblical texts to instill fear among non-Christians. This fundamentally contradicts our Christian faith.

Growing up in the West Bank, I often saw evangelical leaders deploying the ancient words of Genesis in support of the modern state of Israel. This conflation created serious confusion for me as a Christian Palestinian.

Though an expression of love for the Jewish people, their quotation of Genesis approved of a secular state that imposed oppressive military law on my family and severely restricted my access to churches in Jerusalem and other holy sites.

Israel unjustly prevented my wife, born in Gaza, from legally residing in the West Bank and hindered my wife and me from pursuing our desire to launch a ministry in Bethlehem.

Many theologians and Christian scholars have addressed the misuse of Genesis 12:3. In Christian readings, the blessings promised to Abraham are fulfilled through Christ’s sacrifice, as the Apostle Paul teaches in his Letter to the Galatians. Jesus, the one and true seed of Abraham, embodies the ultimate realization of these blessings.

To enjoy the Abrahamic blessings, we abide in Christ’s redemptive work, rather than blindly support geopolitical strategies.

Abrahamic faiths

The harsh reality of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank did not deter me from pursuing my God-given dream. Guided by a vision to share the gospel, I founded Levant Ministries, dedicated to sharing God’s love throughout the Middle East.

On April 12, near Alexandria, the birthplace of Dr. Shafik, I addressed more than 6,000 evangelical Christians from some 300-plus churches across Egypt and other Arab countries at a prayer conference led by my dear friend Pastor Sameh Maurice.

In my address, I highlighted the plight of Christians in Gaza, including members of my wife’s family who are still sheltering at two churches in Gaza. I also consoled Palestinian families mourning the immense loss of more than 34,000 lives, predominantly women and children.

Similarly, I extended my prayers for the innocent Jewish victims of the Oct. 7 attacks, emphasizing the overwhelming majority of people in the Middle East are not antisemitic. On the contrary, we seek to live in peace with our Jewish and Muslim neighbors, striving to ensure justice for all.

Far reach of God’s promise

As a Christian leader serving across the Middle East, I am guided principally by the example of the Jewish Messiah, who consistently challenged misguided theological frameworks and denounced spiritual terrorism throughout his ministry.

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus condemned the idea of violent retaliation for disbelief, even among his own disciples, during an incident where the Samaritans denied him entry into their territories—possibly motivated by antisemitic sentiments.

When his disciples James and John suggested a deadly punishment—calling down fire from heaven to consume the Samaritans—Jesus sharply rebuked them. He firmly dismissed any notion of divine justice.

This response underscores Jesus’ approach to overcoming prejudice and animosity through reconciliation, rather than through vengeance and violence. As followers of Christ, we must adopt this attitude of grace.

It’s important to recognize God’s promise to Abraham extended far beyond a mere strip of land. Manipulating Scripture to advance political agendas under the guise of divine wrath is a betrayal of our biblical core values.

By embodying the grace Jesus showed to all, including his adversaries, we honor our commitment to God in a world plagued by animosity and strife. This is our sacred calling as followers of Christ—a solemn responsibility we must fulfill as we live out our faith in a broken and divided world.

Fares Abraham, a Palestinian American born in Bethlehem, is the CEO of Levant Ministries and an adjunct professor at the Liberty University School of Business. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.

Bethlehem Baptist Church has served as a foundation stone in the Mansfield community for more than 150 years. The church membership has found itself in the midst of many shifts in the cultural landscape of the country.

Bethlehem is one of the few churches in the North Texas region that survived the brief period of Reconstruction that took place after the Civil War and the era of Jim Crow that ravished the social climate of the southern states for the recently manumitted enslaved people and the generations that followed.

It was the Bethlehem Baptist Church referred to in the epic account Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin. He was the man who changed his complexion to mimic that of a Black man. He chronicled his experiences from the perspective of a Black man living in the segregated South during that period.

Bethlehem is also the birthplace of the movement to desegregate public schools in the South months after the May 17, 1954, Supreme Court ruling in the infamous Brown v. Board of Education that “separate but equal education” was unconstitutional.

While it took almost 10 years for the schools in Mansfield to desegregate, Bethlehem and its members played an essential role in bringing about that change through the efforts of then Deacon Chairman T.M. Moody.

It was not a hard decision for the church to facilitate conversations of racial equality and citizen’s rights that emerged after the brutal murders of Atatiana Jefferson, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. Ironically, the Floyd murder took place the same month, some 66 years following Deacon Moody’s valiant effort to desegregate the Mansfield schools.

Tumult and response

2020 was a tumultuous year. It was the year of COVID-19, mandatory closings of businesses and sports venues, mask mandates and death from a disease that plunged the world into a pandemic.

This also was the year when there were mass demonstrations around the world featuring clashes with police and local law enforcement. While many were peaceful, some were violent and deadly.

A group of local high school students wanted their voices heard. The students demanded they conduct a demonstration unsupervised by adults through the City of Mansfield. The blessing of the modern-day, 21st-century Mansfield was “things had started to change.”

Mansfield in 2020 was a far cry from Mansfield in 1956, when there was an unsuccessful attempt to desegregate the schools. I am happy to report the city leadership and local law enforcement were sensitive to the events of the day, and they were seeking to find a way to work with our youth, as opposed to doing otherwise.

It was during this time our police chief reached out to the Bethlehem team. We, in turn, invited our mayor to the table along with educators and a trusted area youth pastor. We worked together with the students of our local independent school district to conduct a peaceful demonstration.

The thought at the time was we would use the resources provided by Baylor University’s Soundings Project, along with donations from local churches and private donors, to facilitate a safety net around our students as they marched.

The support of the local community, local law enforcement and city leaders helped to conduct an incident-free event that involved more than 2,500 people.

The day culminated in front of Mansfield City Hall with an old-fashioned worship service led by a renowned national gospel recording artist, along with students from the march. Many of the participants in the march joined what became an all-out worship and praise service there.

The Soundings funding helped to cover the cost of bus transportation, water and first aid items. It was a hot summer day, but the teamwork and sincere hearts of the teens and all involved made it a day that will not be forgotten soon.

Bridging the gap

In the months that followed, students were encouraged to partner with local volunteers from the church to conduct two Zoom webcasts. With the help of the Mansfield police chief, the school district police chief, the constable and other experts in law enforcement, the Bethlehem team facilitated substantive dialogue between groups of students and the public at large.

The law enforcement professionals fielded questions from the students regarding various topics, such as the meaning of the phrase “the thin blue line” and curious questions about arrest tactics. Common ground was achieved on many of the topics broached by both groups.

I believe our students and the general public learned our local police officials already had implemented many of the changes sought throughout the country. The public also learned our local police have stellar numbers regarding the lack of racial profiling complaints against our officers.

The steps taken by the Bethlehem Baptist Church, local officials and the public now are codified in state law, Senate Bill 30.

Senate Bill 30, also known as the Community Safety Education Act, requires school districts and charter schools to provide instruction to students in grades 9 through 12 on proper interactions with peace officers during traffic stops and other interactions with law enforcement officers.

Thank God for the Soundings Project funding that helped the Bethlehem Baptist Church and the Mansfield community to be at the forefront of this legislation.

Michael Evans Sr. is senior pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Mansfield and mayor of Mansfield. Bethlehem Baptist Church participated in Baylor University’s Soundings Project. Soundings is part of Lilly Endowment Inc.’s Called to Lives of Meaning and Purpose Initiative. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.

This is Part 2 in a series written by Ellis Orozco regarding Christian civic engagement. Part 1 is available here.

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“But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns” (Mark 8:33, NIV). 

Despite their belief in democracy, the founding fathers accepted and endorsed limits on voting.

The U.S. Constitution originally left it to states to determine who would be qualified to vote in elections. For decades, state legislatures generally restricted voting to white males who owned property. Some states also employed religious tests to ensure only Christian men could vote.

Almost 200 years of protests, political debate and judicial litigation brought voting rights to non-property owners, non-Christians, non-whites, non-English speakers, females and, in 1971, citizens as young as 18. The reasoning for the latter was if they could fight and die in Vietnam, they should be able to vote.

Along the way, numerous obstacles were devised to keep the newly approved voters away from the polls. Literacy tests, poll taxes, English-language requirements and more were aimed at suppressing the vote among people of color, immigrants, low-income populations and women. All eventually were ruled unconstitutional.

The Christian responsibility to vote

The point is your right to vote has been a long, hard-fought struggle and should be approached with a sober commitment to responsible participation.

As a Christian, that responsibility includes approaching the privilege with the spirit of Christ and from a Christ-centered perspective. Jesus is our foundation, the Bible is our roadmap, and the Holy Spirit is our guide.

I never would tell you who to vote for. Nor would I tell you which political party to support. As of November 2022, there were at least 53 distinct ballot-qualified political parties in the United States, and none of them have cornered the market on Christian values or ideals.

The Christian framework for voting & political engagement

What I will offer are three Christian-based principles that should guide your vote and serve as a framework for political engagement. I will examine the first in this article and the other two in the next and (hopefully) final installment in this series.

1. Christians should place a high value on truth-telling.

Christians profess to be a people of the truth. It is core to our faith. We proclaim to have good news that is true. We are devoted to the one who said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32, emphasis mine).

In contrast, we understand God hates lies. The New Testament word for “devil” means “slanderer, false-accuser, or liar.” Jesus called the devil “ a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). When you peddle in lies and half-truths, you align yourself against Jesus.

We always should demand clear truth-telling from ourselves, as well as all our leaders.

There is a danger in becoming so enamored with one candidate that you begin to love the candidate more than the truth. We all are guilty of hearing what we want to hear and ignoring that which might contradict our preconceived notions or damage our political persuasions.

When you agree with certain politicians on so many issues, you might be tempted to excuse them when they are less than truthful.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6, emphasis mine).

Jesus’ path to God was not tied to the Mosaic law or sacrificial system centered in Jerusalem. It was through his own personhood. That personhood—the Way—was life-giving, because it was grounded in truth.

When you choose your favorite political candidate over the truth, you have chosen him or her over Jesus. The Bible calls this idolatry.

Part of the problem is we have elevated winning above everything else. Winning becomes more important than the truth.

Gaining the world, losing your soul

Jesus said, “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” (Mark 8:36).

The occasion for that statement was his disciples’ rejection of the idea of a suffering Messiah. They didn’t want a Messiah whose earthly end was execution at the hands of the Roman Empire. They wanted a Messiah who conquered the Roman Empire. They wanted a Messiah who was a “winner.”

And Jesus asked them, “What good is it to ‘win’ against the Romans, if it means ‘losing’ the integrity of the divine mission?”

What good is it for you to post a hard-hitting zinger that destroys your political opponent, if in the process, you perpetuate a lie? It might feel good in the moment and even give you a temporary “win,” but ultimately, you are chipping away at the heart of the gospel message.

When you jettison the truth in order to win, you might win the election, but you lost your soul. In our zeal to support our candidate of choice we can fall into the trap of spreading and perpetuating lies.

Fact-checking

For instance, I consistently get emails and Facebook notices from Christian friends who forward or re-post outright lies.

It usually takes no more than three mouse clicks to confirm the post to be a complete fabrication—a poorly photoshopped lie. My question: Why didn’t the Christian fact-check it before he or she posted it?

Christians are supposed to be lovers of the truth. Make the search for the truth more important than taking your political opponent down a few notches or winning an election.

There are several good tools for spotting the lies. Snopes, Factcheck and Politifact are great places to start. FotoForensics is a website that can determine if a picture has been photoshopped or AI generated.

Put your political emotions aside and take a moment to search for the truth. Do not be a party to perpetuating lies. Your Christian witness is severely damaged when you consistently perpetuate lies and support those who lie.

Don’t sacrifice the truth for your political ideology. Nothing short of the Christian witness is at stake.

Ellis Orozco served as a pastor 30 years. He is the founder and CEO of Karooso Ministries and the public theologian in residence at Stark College & Seminary, where this article first appeared. Republished by permission.

Superman is not your pastor. Even if he was, he’d still disappoint you.

For one, kryptonite; he’s not invincible. For another, he can’t attend to your distress call when he’s attending to someone else’s. Even Superman can’t be everywhere and all powerful all the time.

The same goes for Superwoman.

Why, then, do we expect pastors to be superheroes?

From growing up around pastors, to marrying a pastor’s daughter, to being a pastor myself, to relating to hundreds of pastors in my present role, I’ve spent a lot of time around pastors. Every one of them was and is a human being. Not one of them was or is a superhero.

Even so, most of them carry or feel enormous pressure in the pastorate. Much of that pressure comes from superhuman expectations.

Superhuman expectations are a killer—literally. They can lead to depression, anxiety, high blood pressure, heart attacks or strokes. They can wear pastors down, making them vulnerable to poor decision making and even moral failures. They can drive a pastor out of ministry and a pastor’s family out of the church.

It’s long past time we adjust our expectations of pastors.

Superhuman expectations

I’ve experienced firsthand the expectation pastors somehow are superhuman. Pastors are expected to be physically, mentally, emotionally, financially and spiritually strong and healthy—all at the same time and all the time.

How do I know these things are expected? Because I’ve experienced firsthand the shock, disappointment or discomfort when a layperson saw some of a pastor’s limits.

Pastors are expected to have everything figured out, to know all the answers, always to make the right decisions, always to lead toward growth, never to need help.

How do I know these things are expected? Because I’ve experienced firsthand church members’ anxiety and diminished trust when the pastor didn’t have all the answers. I’ve heard many times pastors blamed when a church didn’t grow. I know what happens when a pastor doesn’t see eye-to-eye with the rest of the congregation, or vice versa.

I don’t know where or when this problem started. But I do know pastors and laypeople share the responsibility for it. Together, we have created a cultural expectation that the pastor is always strong, always healthy, always closer to God, always somehow “better.”

We’ve justified our expectations of pastors with the admonition those “who teach will be judged more strictly” (James 3:1), ignoring the next words: “We all stumble in many things” (James 3:2, emphasis mine).

Holding pastors to superhuman expectations often doesn’t end well—for the pastor, the pastor’s family, the church and sometimes the wider community.

Part of what makes expectations superhuman is we don’t support pastors sufficiently enough to reach that high bar. It’s long past time we adopt realistic expectations of pastors and provide the necessary support to meet those expectations.

Matching support to expectations

Yes, we should maintain high expectations for pastors. Pastors are spiritual leaders, after all. We also should hold pastors to high moral standards. And we must recognize, for pastors to reach those high standards and expectations, sufficient support is required.

If we are going to have high expectations for pastors, then we should provide pastors equally high support. Some of that support must come structurally from the church, some personally from church members and some from pastors themselves.

Pastors can support themselves by not believing the lie they are supposed to be superheroes. Sometimes, that lie whispers inside a pastor’s own head. Sometimes, it’s a parental expectation that’s hard to outgrow. Sometimes, it’s voiced by the church a pastor serves. Wherever it comes from, it’s a lie.

Pastors must listen to the truth they know—they are human beings like everyone else. Churches must acknowledge that truth about pastors, too.

As humans, pastors experience stresses and pressures associated with their own lives as well as the lives of those in their churches. We need to resource pastors with the time and space to face these stresses and pressures.

For example, when a pastor is grieving the death or decline of the pastor’s own family member, support looks like providing time away, covering the cost of counseling, and church members maintaining unity and putting out fires for a while instead of expecting the pastor to extinguish them all.

Support also looks like pastors giving themselves permission to take time away to breathe and decompress.

Shared burden

Churches can provide the needed support by making sure pastors are adequately compensated. A church without the financial means to provide a full-time salary with health and retirement benefits should adjust its expectations for a pastor’s availability and consider a bivocational arrangement—understanding there are unique pressures that come with that option.

Pastors should receive a sabbatical—an extended time away on a periodic basis for rest, recuperation and preparation for further ministry. A church that thinks it can’t afford to give or allow a pastor to take a sabbatical needs to think seriously about whether it cares about its pastor and whether it cares about its own vitality.

Churches also need to insist pastors engage in regular maintenance through life-giving pastoral peer groups, regular—as in weekly—downtime, ongoing counseling that allows pastors to debrief and decompress with an uninvolved third party, and continuing education. And churches need to resource pastors to engage in this regular maintenance.

These are just some of the ways we can combine our resources to support pastors to meet realistic expectations for their ministries.

Ministry is challenging on the best days. It can be grueling and even devouring on days that aren’t even the worst. Ministry takes a special person to be a pastor under these circumstances. Not a superhero. A person called by God to be a pastor.

God hasn’t called Superman or Superwoman, yet. God has called and continues to call regular people like you and me. And regular people need all the support they can get.

Eric Black is the executive director, publisher and editor of the Baptist Standard. He can be reached at [email protected]. The views expressed are those of the author.

First Baptist Church of Amarillo is privileged to join 11 other Texas churches in Baylor University’s Soundings Project to explore within each congregation a new ministry model.

In First Baptist Amarillo, that model is something not tried previously, with a view to strengthening the body of First Amarillo, perhaps meeting a human need in a new way while sharing the gospel.

A nationwide survey shows 60 percent of Americans are disengaged from their work. Eighty-five percent experience stress because of their work. The false dichotomy is: “Church is what we do on Sunday. Work is what we do Monday through Friday.”

For First Amarillo, the Soundings Project has become Bridges, the broad mission of which is to deepen and enrich the lives of Christians by equipping them to discern and live out their callings, with a focus on learning and living out the bridge between worship on Sunday and work on Monday.

Building Bridges

Bridges has been four years in development with a team led by First Amarillo Minister of Education Robby Barrett. The team includes other staff members and lay members devoted to developing curriculum to help participants discern and live out their callings in the workplace.

Initially, the focus was on younger adults as affinity group members in groups of four to six, who joined with an affinity group leader—an older adult. Over a period of seven weeks, they became acquainted with one another and journeyed through a Redeemer City-To-City six-week Bible study titled The Calling of Faith & Work.

Affinity group members have included schoolteachers and medical professionals, a hairdresser, investment advisor, banker, IT professional, insurance agent and human resources director. Some affinity group leaders are retired. Others continue in their work, all with 20 years or more in the workplace.

Affinity group leaders prepared by completing six weeks of training, working through the Bible study chapter-by-chapter and discussing ways of engaging affinity group members in meaningful conversation about integrating worship on Sunday with work on Monday.

Each group decided where and when to meet. Generally, meetings were kept to one hour weekly. Affinity group members were expected to prepare on their own time for the meeting each week to enhance the substance of discussion.

First Amarillo offered Bridges in 2022 and 2023, with plans for a fall-2024 offering.

In preparation for the 2024 session, the First Amarillo Bridges team is exploring the use of smart phone text and tablets as well as television cable channels to spread the word about the Bridges opportunity. One affinity group member has asked about the possibility of bringing the Bridges curriculum into the workplace as an on-site study.

Bridges curriculum

Questions posed by the Bridges curriculum include:

• In what ways are you discouraged, discontent or disengaged at work?
• Do you feel like an exile at work? If so, what makes you feel this way?
• How does the gospel address and redeem your attitude and circumstances?
• When you see brokenness or a hopeless situation at work, how do you typically respond?
• How do we glorify God with our work, and what impact does that glory bring to our lives and work environments?
• What particular decisions do you need to make in the coming week that require increasing wisdom and the guiding discernment of the Spirit?
• How does the possibility that your work today could last into all eternity change your perspective on the value of your work?

Additional course curricula include Tim Keller’s Every Good Endeavor and Greg Laurie’s Tell Someone, as well as the NIV Faith & Work Bible.

The Faith & Work Bible is referenced continually in The Calling of Faith & Work and incorporates on-point, personal testimonies and real-life modern-day stories appended to the Scripture to help the reader think about ways Scripture can be applied in the reader’s own workplace.

Greg Laurie’s Tell Someone lays out in practical format how each follower of Jesus can share the good news, including the venue of the workplace.

Responses to Bridges

Post-course surveys among the 50-plus affinity group members in the 2022 and 2023 classes have shown a high degree of satisfaction and utility for the Bridges experience. Those numbers are understood best in the light of testimonies from affinity group members.

“I admire this course of study, and I value the time that I invested. First, the course materials are extremely high quality. It is clear that this course was developed by professionals who really know how to design and deliver organizational training,” one affinity group member wrote.

“Second, the focus of the course was on a subject that I had never considered before. Did you ever notice that in Genesis 1, God was performing work?

“Finally, and most importantly for me, in the course I met some of my church brothers and sisters that I had never met before. … I was grateful for the opportunity to participate in this course, and I highly recommend this course to anybody who loves working and who wants to know more about the biblical topic of work,” the group member continued.

Another participant explained: “The Bridges Bible study helped me develop a biblical perspective on the work I do. In addition, the Bridges Bible study helped me see my coworkers in a different light, as we are all created in the image of God.”

The Bridges team has learned interest in this subject crosses generational lines and is not limited to an older generation mentoring a younger generation.

One affinity group member during the first session became an affinity group leader in the second session. Some affinity group members in the second session were nearing 60 years of age, having had many years already in the workplace, but wanting the fresh experience of understanding what the Bible says about living out their calling as Christians in the workplace.

In an exit survey following the first offering of Bridges, two-thirds said they are very likely or somewhat likely to participate again in Bridges.

The Bridges team sees a bright future for this experience to help participants find contentment and satisfaction in the workplace, to see their coworkers as God sees them and to watch for opportunities to share Christ among work colleagues.

Bill Brian is an attorney in Amarillo and a member of First Baptist Church in Amarillo. First Baptist Amarillo participated in Baylor University’s Soundings Project. Soundings is part of Lilly Endowment Inc.’s Called to Lives of Meaning and Purpose Initiative. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.

This is Part I in a series written by Ellis Orozco regarding Christian civic engagement.

This is a national election year that promises to be unlike any other in modern presidential history. A little more than 155 million people voted in the 2020 presidential election. That was an historical high. This year’s presidential election promises to beat that number.

More Americans engaging in the political life of our country is a good thing.

However, the increased engagement also has brought a growing polarization that threatens to tear the fabric of our national political life. It seems to have created a much more toxic political discourse.

We live in an anger-filled, 24-hours-a-day, 365-days-a-year election cycle that for many has become nothing more than background noise. For others it has created a paralyzing anxiety, fostering the temptation to walk away from it all.

The question for many Christians is: How do we engage in the brawl without becoming brawlers? How do we participate in the national conversation without descending into lunacy? How do we vote from a biblical, Christ-centered worldview?

Jesus and politics

Jesus was in the Jerusalem temple one day when he was confronted by a group of elite politicians, each with their own agenda (Matthew 22:15-22). They were attempting to destroy Jesus, politically. They wanted to chip away at the hold Jesus had over the general population—the 80 percent of the people who had been abused and silenced for decades.

To that end, they asked Jesus a trick question. Should we pay taxes to Caesar? If he answered “yes,” he would lose credibility with his followers. If he answered “no,” they could charge him with treason. Jesus’ response is interesting.

He showed them a coin and asked, “Whose image is on this coin?”

They answered, “Caesar’s, of course.”

Jesus threw the coin back at them and said, “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God” (Matthew 22:21).

Modern interpreters have over-spiritualized Jesus’ question. On the day he asked it, the question actually was quite enigmatic and may have initiated a heated debate that would cause modern-day political discourse to blush.

What belongs to God? The answer, in Jesus’ day, depended on your political perspective.

The Sadducees would have said the Temple and the sacrificial system belongs to God.

The Pharisees would have been divided, some saying it was the throne of David that belongs to God, and others saying it was the Mosaic Law.

The Zealots would have screamed with one voice it was the Promised Land that belongs to God.

A few Essenes, had they happened to wander into Jerusalem that day, might have said it was the community of true Israelites that belongs to God.

Jesus’ answer was designed brilliantly to elicit such a debate. In the end, his central thesis most likely was missed in the brawl that almost surely ensued.

Jesus’ thesis: It’s all of the above. Everything belongs to God. Including the passionate debate.

A biblical foundation for voting

Let’s begin with this basic truism: Politics is not the most important thing in life.

Can you take a deep breath and just live in that for a moment? We have survived some pretty ugly political circumstances in the past, and we will survive these days as well.

This nation, as we know it, one day will cease to exist. All nations come and go, and if you think ours is any different … you’re wrong.

Jesus, however, is eternal, and our relationship with him is the most important thing in life.

Most Christians seem to understand this truism and, therefore, are tempted to wash their hands of the nasty, political climate and walk away from it all. That would be a big mistake for two reasons.

Two reasons for political engagement

1. Political decisions impact people.

The decisions we make as a country impact the lives of people all over the Earth.

We have a mandate from Jesus to stand on the side of the weak and oppressed—to fight for the rights of the vulnerable and the voiceless; to advocate for the responsible and ethical stewardship of our collective resources; to fight against corruption, hatred, violence and racism wherever we find it.

Political action is a vital way we stay true to that mandate.

2. Jesus is Lord over all things.

The central confession of the Christian church is this: Jesus Christ is Lord.

There is evidence that when confronted with the political mandate to confess, “Caesar is Lord,” some first-century Christians chose death over capitulation.

Before his ascension into heaven, Jesus said to his disciples: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18).

Christians believe Jesus has power over all things and ultimately is in control. The Bible teaches us God cares deeply about his creation—all of it. And he calls us to care for it as well (Genesis 2:15).

One of the most effective ways for us to be good stewards of the Earth God gave us is to be involved in the political process.

If the Christ ethic demands we remain involved in the political process, how then should we vote? Is there a biblical-theological framework that can guide us as we prepare to vote in 2024?

That question will be the subject of my next article.

Ellis Orozco served as a pastor 30 years. He is the founder and CEO of Karooso Ministries and the public theologian in residence at Stark College & Seminary, where this article first appeared. Republished by permission.

There’s so much in this world we do not rejoice over. So much of the news, including in the Baptist Standard, is not “rejoicing with those who rejoice,” but is “mourning with those who mourn.” There is much trouble in the world, and Christians and the church are not immune or exempt from it. There is much to mourn.

While there is a time to “mourn with those who mourn,” there also is a time to “rejoice with those who rejoice.” For at least as long as it takes you to read this editorial, this will be a time to rejoice.

‘You are what you celebrate.’

“You are what you celebrate.”

If this is true—and I believe it is—then we need to know what we’re celebrating and why we’re celebrating it. We also need to make sure we’re celebrating the right things.

For followers of Jesus, the right things include when people give their lives to Jesus, when people are baptized, and when our churches are healthy and ministering to others.

What do you celebrate? What does your church celebrate?

Stories of rejoicing

Over the last few weeks, we’ve gathered stories celebrating what God is doing in and through churches throughout Texas. I wish I could say that was on purpose.

One set of stories are opinion articles published in our Voices column. The other set of stories are news features published in our Texas column.

The opinion articles are from churches participating in Baylor University’s Soundings Project, which is part of Lilly Endowment Inc.’s Called to Lives of Meaning and Purpose Initiative.

The news articles feature churches participating in Pave, a church revitalization effort of Texas Baptists’ Center for Church Health.

We haven’t published all the stories yet. So be sure to watch for them during the next couple of weeks.

Large

Bear Creek Baptist Church in Katy isn’t a story in either category—Soundings Project or Pave. Nevertheless, theirs is a story we can celebrate. Bear Creek reported “60 baptisms since the beginning of 2024,” more than half of which were of adults.

When I shared this story on my Facebook profile April 2, Ariel Martinez—lead pastor of Del Sol Church in El Paso—commented: “We too had our 60th baptism YTD over the weekend, and we’ve got 5 more lined up for this coming Sunday!”

Math isn’t my strongest subject, but I’m pretty sure that’s more than one baptism per week.

And small

It’s not just large churches in large cities experiencing spiritual and numerical growth. We also rejoice with small churches—some urban and some rural.

For example, St. Luke Baptist Church in San Antonio had a couple dozen people attending in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The church’s future looked bleak. Then, they experienced 20 weeks of baptisms after Pastor Joe Barber led them to change part of the church’s worship service. You’ll have to read Calli Keener’s article for the whole story.

I know what a shot in the arm baptisms are for a small church. When I was the pastor of First Baptist Church in Covington, we moved into our new facility and called a new youth pastor at roughly the same time. During that first year, the youth pastor and I baptized more than 40 people.

Reasons to rejoice

These stories share reasons to rejoice—such as an increase in baptisms and what can happen when churches connect to larger efforts. And there are more reasons to celebrate than that.

Change

Most of the churches featured in these stories had to change at least one thing. For example, Pave encourages churches to make baptisms central to their worship services. That usually means changing the order of the service. I did that once—changed the order of service. Ask me how that went.

But the change is more than when baptisms happen during the service. The change includes what leads up to and what follows each baptism. Again, you’ll have to read the stories.

In addition to celebrating baptisms, we should celebrate these churches’ courage to change.

Collaboration

For most of the churches in these stories, their revitalization or growth was catalyzed from outside the church. Some received a peer community and outside funding—such as the Lilly Endowment grant funds in the case of churches participating in Baylor University’s Soundings Project. Others—such as those who participate in Pave—receive training, resourcing and collaborative community.

In addition to revitalized congregations, we should celebrate the community and collaboration fostering new vibrancy and vitality in our churches.

Community

Most of the churches re-engaged their communities in one or more ways.

First Baptist Church in Rosebud, working together with their local ministerial alliance in fall 2023, provided a free Thanksgiving meal in the city park for anyone in the community. The alliance also is working together to provide school supplies for elementary students in the local school district. These efforts are a big deal in a small community.

In addition to celebrating how God changes lives when the church serves the community, we should celebrate when God’s people serve together in community.

‘Rejoice with those who rejoice’

To celebrate something is to reward it. It is to give our time, energy and attention to it. We are rewarding a lot of lesser things by giving them a lot of our best time, energy and attention, leaving us emptier and worse off for it.

With a shift in perspective and by joining with our brothers and sisters in Christ, we can give our best to what will enliven us and our churches. How the times need us to be enlivened again.

Celebrating doesn’t mean we ignore the struggles or sweep the problems under the rug. No, we still must face those things; we still must mourn with those who mourn.

Celebration is another kind of response to the troubles of this world. It is defiance of this world, in a way. It is to side with hope and the fact trouble will not always have its way.

The church—the body of Christ—is alive and well. His Spirit is living and moving and is at work in us and in this world. Let us rejoice with those who rejoice.

Eric Black is the executive director, publisher and editor of the Baptist Standard. He can be reached at [email protected]. The views expressed are those of the author.

Rosebud is a small town east of Temple and southeast of Waco. Consequently, ours is a small church.

It’s easy to think not much happens in small towns and small churches. Sometimes, that’s true. But big things are happening here through revitalization.

We recognized our church was flat—like a Dr Pepper that lost its fizz. Our church needed revitalization from the inside before we could proceed in any other area.

First Baptist Church in Rosebud was invited to participate in the Baylor University’s Soundings Project. We were honored and wanted to be good stewards of the money, yet we seemed overwhelmed and struggled for quite a while to determine how best to apply the grant.

We felt it should go toward spreading the gospel to further God’s kingdom. With the guidance of the Soundings Project leadership, we were able to state our goal.

Revitalizing within

Our Soundings Project goal was divided into two phases. The first phase was to revitalize our own congregation. We wanted and needed to be a healthy church, so we could address the ultimate goal of reaching out to our community with the love of Jesus Christ to further God’s kingdom.

We began with an “in-house” three-day revival. The Soundings grant allowed us to bring in an outside speaker for a Friday through Sunday event. The topic was “Recharge, Revitalize and Re-unite.” Every congregation member received a special invitation to attend. We served food, provided child care, and minimized kitchen prep and clean-up so all could hear the speaker.

The second phase involved many varied events. For example, members volunteered to place advertisement-type signs in their yards stating, “Jesus Loves You.” The church hosted several singing groups for the community, which were well attended by several church denominations. The community was invited to attend an Easter lunch provided by our church.

Revitalizing without

Our interim pastor has been instrumental in revitalizing the ministerial alliance in our community. In keeping with our Soundings goal of community outreach, our church was instrumental in the alliance organizing a free Thanksgiving meal in 2023 for anyone in our community.

Members of area churches donated the food and worked together to serve all who attended. To emphasize the meal was a ministerial-alliance sponsored event, the event was held at a city-owned property rather than at a specific church.

The ministerial alliance established a goal of providing school supplies for the 2024-2025 school year for elementary students who live in our district. This is a community-wide project well on its way to reaching its goal solely through donations. No Soundings grant money was used for the event or for the school supplies.

One of the simplest, yet powerful, events was a prayer walk that took place over several Saturday mornings. Congregation members walked the streets of Rosebud to pray over every house, church and business in the city.

We did not knock on doors; however, if people were outside, we told them who we are and asked them, “How can we pray for you?”

Advertisement-type signs stating, “How can we pray for you?” were an offshoot of the prayer walk. The signs include our church’s name and phone number. Congregation members have placed the signs in their front yards, and the signs are placed outside in front of the church as well.

Other revitalization efforts

The Soundings grant enabled us to purchase Thom Rainer’s book Autopsy of a Deceased Church:12 Ways to Keep Yours Alive. We read and discussed the book over several weeks on Sunday night during fall 2023.

Our men invited friends, family and neighbors to attend a men’s retreat in Waco in October. About half of the attendees were from our congregation, and half were from the community.

In early 2024, the Soundings grant purchased T-shirts with our church’s name for every student and adult volunteer for our Wednesday after-school program for pre-K through 6th grade. The majority are minority students and are not from our church. Students typically wear the shirt to school on Wednesdays.

First Baptist Rosebud is in the active planning stages of a church and community revival set for April 26–28. The theme of the revival is “Will You Take the Dare?—Dare to Obey, Dare to Speak Up Boldly, and Dare to Stand Strong.”

We are incorporating music in a variety of styles, some from area churches. One of the groups will be singing in Spanish and English. Soundings is providing food each night, breakfast Sunday morning, and providing for the speaker.

We are in the early planning stages of a fall 2024 women’s retreat. The goal is to reach out to community members to hear about Jesus and to spread the gospel to further God’s kingdom.

The whole church blessed

Since the Soundings Grant has been implemented, seven individuals—three adults and four young people—have made professions of faith followed by baptism. There have been six adults who have joined the church either by statement or by letter. These individuals are remaining faithful members actively serving the Lord in the church.

In addition to these, there has been a non-English-speaking individual who has made a profession of faith and is wanting to be baptized. She has been attending faithfully.

Most members of the congregation have participated in events, and most have contributed in some way to make the events possible. Consequently, most members of our congregation are aware of the Soundings grant and the blessings we have received because of it.

The Lord has blessed First Baptist Rosebud. There is fizz back in the church.

First Baptist Church in Rosebud participated in Baylor University’s Soundings Project. Soundings is part of Lilly Endowment Inc.’s Called to Lives of Meaning and Purpose Initiative. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the authors.

Parenting is difficult. Some parenting situations are very difficult and require outside help.

When a parent goes to counseling with a child, some powerful words from the counselor can stick with them.

We had more than one counselor over a period of 25 years, but these words stuck with us. We hope if parenting is your present calling, they might help you, too.

Advice we found helpful

Even though your child is rebelling now, the odds are great he will turn out to be a lot like you. Actually, the odds are he will be just like you.

Your anxiety is raising your child’s anxiety level. Work on your own stress, anger and depression.

Your child shows you her negative feelings or hyperactivity because you are her safe place.

Most children on medication are medicated to behave at school. Medication may be worn off when the child gets home after school. Be prepared, and help your child understand this change.

The educational system is designed for “average” students in the middle of the ability continuum. It is likely one-third to two-thirds of our children do not fit in that range and will have special needs or learning disabilities addressed in school.

If your child has special needs, get all the help for him you can. Learn to advocate for your child. Educational attorneys can advise, as can the special-ed administrators in your school district. The law is powerful, and it is your ally here.

Some problems are meant for you to fix. Other problems are meant for doctors, agencies and even the government and courts to fix. Know what problem is yours.

Understand and graciously accept you may have to let others take over. Be grateful you have help. You did not fail.

When what you are doing isn’t working, try something else. Surprise your child with an unexpected reaction. You at least will have their attention.

Children and teens may not listen to what you say, but they are aware of what you do. Action is powerful.

More advice we found helpful

Remember, you as a parent always have power. If you have the family money and car, you can control a lot more than you realize. Hold onto your power, no matter how your child acts out.

Do not be afraid to walk away from a scene or abusive language. Do not be afraid to leave church and take your child with you.

Do not parent to please others. Other people have different children.

Safety must come first. Do whatever you have to do to keep everyone in the family safe.

Call the police if you must. They have seen family conflict before and are trained to handle your child, at least temporarily, and give you sound advice. Some officers bring teddy bears for young children in family crisis.

Always be honest with counselors and helpers. If you did or said something you regret, admit it. We are human, and parenting can be extremely stressful, with ongoing and escalating pressure. Perfection does not exist.

Give your child opportunity in counseling to learn calming skills and anger management strategies. Learning to deep breathe, count to 10 before reacting, visualizing a happy place, utilizing affirmative self-talk, all empower children and parents.

Most of us can learn to achieve internal self-control, which will help us all through life. Staying in peace with others, and out of trouble, is a definite life skill.

When in doubt, get help—especially if depression and/or risky behaviors are taking place. It always is better to err on the side of caution than to ignore a problem.

Lastly, when a child is in treatment, the whole family is in treatment. All members need to be open to change that will improve family life, agreeing on a beneficial plan and committing to our part of family healing.

When you need more than advice

When advice that “should work” doesn’t work, you may be dealing with psychiatric, emotional or brain chemistry/brain development problems, not just usual childhood or teen rebellion.

Doctors may not always agree on the diagnosis or medication for a pediatric or teen patient. Some trial and error with medications is usual, along with talk therapy and feedback about symptoms. Form an alliance with your medical team and work together on solutions.

Because we parent with biblical principles, we know the importance of marriage, parenting, harmony and love in the home, obedience and leadership, consequences of poor decisions, faith and salvation always will be true and irreplaceable.

The best advice we can give is to pray and never give up. Remain faithful to the parenting call. It can take decades to see the fruitful results of God’s work in the life of your child. We may not see it until heaven.

Family life is meant to be a blessing, not constant pain. Don’t settle for ongoing pain. Act now to seek help and learn strategies that will bring us greater harmony.

Ruth Cook is a cancer survivor and crime victim. Joe Cook is a counseling professor at Liberty University. He holds a Doctor of Ministry from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from Regent University. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the authors.

As a pastor, I always looked forward to Vacation Bible School. It was a great opportunity to interact with the children and adults in our church, reach families in our community and share the gospel. It was one of my favorite weeks of the year.

That being said, there are some good reasons not to do Vacation Bible School. Here are just a few.

1. Don’t do Vacation Bible School unless you are ready to welcome children and families from your community.

Vacation Bible School is a great week for the children and families in your church, but it is also a great opportunity to invite children from the community to come get to know you better and learn God’s word in the process. If that is not something your church is ready to do, you should consider whether you really want to do it.

2. Don’t do Vacation Bible School if you are just going to engage people who already are working in your children’s ministry.

People who work with children every week in Sunday school or other children’s programs sometimes get burned out. VBS is a great time to involve other people in your church family who may not work with children on a regular basis but may be a great resource for that week and beyond.

3. Don’t do Vacation Bible School if you don’t have anything to offer the children after the week is over.

The week of VBS should be a good introduction to other ministries the church offers children and not just a standalone exception to an otherwise inactive children’s ministry. It is an ideal time to invite children back for Sunday school, children’s worship or other activities.

4. Don’t do Vacation Bible School if you don’t plan to share the gospel with the children and their families.

As great as it is to have lots of children participating in VBS, it is a lost opportunity if we don’t make an intentional effort to share the gospel in an age-appropriate way for children to hear and respond to. As a pastor, I knew every year I would have the chance to talk with children about their understanding of the gospel and see some of them baptized as a result.

5. Don’t do Vacation Bible School if you aren’t going to make it fun.

VBS is a great time of active worship, recreation and interactive learning that should be fun for the adults and the children. Where else do children get to play games and see adults in such an informal setting doing things they don’t normally do in church and wearing something other than church clothes? It should be fun for everyone.

6. Don’t do Vacation Bible School if it is just about the decorations and fun theme songs instead of teaching God’s word.

We cannot lose sight of the goal of teaching children the truth of God’s word through this week. It can be easy to get caught up in all the décor and theme and forget why we are there. This is where good teacher and worker training makes a huge difference.

7. Don’t do Vacation Bible School if that is the week the pastor or staff plan to go on vacation.

I always was surprised to hear pastors and other staff members joke they were planning to be gone on vacation during the week of Vacation Bible School. I was shocked even more to find out they really meant it.

VBS is a team effort. It is important that the pastor and staff are visible during the week so children can see people they see up front on Sundays working as part of the team.

8. Don’t do Vacation Bible School if you aren’t going to train and screen the workers to prevent sexual abuse.

As wonderful as it is to have involved new people working with children during the week of Vacation Bible School, it also presents a dangerous opportunity for those who want to abuse or harm children.

It is imperative that everyone who works in VBS go through the same background checks, screening and training in how to prevent sexual abuse as those who may work in children’s ministry throughout the year. In addition, the church should have clear policies and guidelines for workers that will protect children and minimize risk.

9. Don’t do Vacation Bible School if you aren’t going to follow up afterwards with the children and families who attend.

After VBS is over, every family who had a child attend should receive a thank-you letter, an invitation to upcoming children’s activities, and/or a phone call or contact from someone in the church. The more personal this follow-up is, the better.

10. Don’t do Vacation Bible School if you aren’t going to bathe it in prayer.

Our church has a prayer team that prays for the teachers, workers, children and families through the week of Vacation Bible School. It is yet another opportunity for people to be involved who may not be able to participate in any other way. Prayer is an essential part of the spiritual outcomes we hope to see through Vacation Bible School.

I hope your church will do Vacation Bible School in whatever way is best for your church and community. Whether that is in the morning, at night, with another outreach effort like sports or music, or even through the summer on a weeknight, it is worth all the effort it takes.

Vacation Bible School is a lot of work and requires a lot of resources both in terms of people and finances, but that is not one of the reasons not to do it. All of that pales in comparison with reaching children with the gospel.

David Johnson is executive director of Arizona Mission Network of Southern Baptists. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.

(RNS)—I grew up in a conservative, evangelical Christian household and attended private evangelical schools where we pledged allegiance to the Christian flag alongside the American flag every morning. We would belt out “God Bless America” with gusto.

My teachers, classmates and I were attached to a somewhat mythological story of America’s Christian heritage. We were the type of sentimental Christian nationalists Donald Trump is targeting with his recent turn as a Bible salesman.

But the primary way we applied our ideals came when we voted like any of our neighbors. We didn’t menace American democracy. But today, at the other end of the Christian nationalism spectrum, is a more perilous style of Christian politics, presented by hard-line, programmatic Christians who aim to dominate society.

Situating Christian nationalism

If you’re unacquainted, Christian nationalism refers to how some—not all—American Christians blend their religious devotion with nationalistic ardor, aiming to refashion America as a Christian nation.

Some conservative Christians have begun pushing back on this phrase, claiming “Christian nationalist” is a slur, representing a progressive effort to make the idea of Christians involved in politics sound scary.

As a scholar who’s studied American Christianity for years, I can state confidently the term is not an insult. Rather, it’s descriptive: When people blur any religious identity with their partisan political identities, we call that “religious nationalism.”

It’s an extremely common phenomenon, occurring in numerous modern nations, from India to Turkey to Brazil. “Christian nationalism” is just the Christian variety.

Yes, some commentators do paint with too broad a brush in how they categorize or describe Christian nationalism. As with me and my schoolmates, some forms of Christian nationalism pose no imminent threat to American democracy.

The new breed

But there is a new breed of chauvinistic, theologically bull-headed Christian nationalists who might better be called “Christian supremacists.”

These hard-liners believe Christianity deserves a privileged space in American society—that Christians, being better than other human beings, should be entitled to a superior form of citizenship. They claim Christians even are destined by God to rule over society.

What is hazy nostalgia to the “God Bless America” crowd is an organized theological and political program for the Christian supremacists. They are deadly serious.

There are at least two major strands of Christian supremacy operating in the United States today: the highbrow Calvinists and the populist charismatics. Both groups are Protestant, and both have theological roots in an obscure group of Reformed (Calvinist) American theologians called the “Christian Reconstructionists,” who emerged in the 1960s and 1970s.

The Reconstructionists draw inspiration from 16th-century theologian John Calvin’s Geneva, a theocratic city-state where unrepentant heretics could be executed by a government that enforced orthodoxy.

Though certainly not representative of all Calvinists, today’s Reconstructionists have embraced a vision of what they call “dominion theology.” They interpret certain Bible passages to mean Christians must “take dominion” over every society and remake it into the kingdom of God. Today, they hold conferences with titles such as “Blueprints for Christendom 2.0” and talk about how they will help Jesus the “warrior-king” to “dominion-ize” this world.

Calvinist and charismatic

These theological intellectuals of the Christian far right are radicalizing more run-of-the-mill Christian nationalists. Reconstructionist luminaries today include people like Stephen Wolfe, a scholar with a Ph.D. in political theory who argues full-throatedly in his book The Case for Christian Nationalism that “Non-Christians … are not entitled to political equality.”

Like good Calvinists, the Reconstructionists are intellectual and systematic, imagining detailed programs by which Christians can re-Christianize America and, ultimately, the world. They hope their heady ideas will help trigger such a global crusade, while recognizing their high-octane Calvinist theology will never be everyone’s cup of tea.

So, beginning in the 1980s, the Reconstructionist theologians intentionally spread their ideas into other Christian communities and networks, sometimes with the more rigid Calvinist casing shaved off. They especially cross-pollinated with a rapidly growing segment of American Christianity that gets little media coverage: nondenominational charismatic Christians.

Charismatic Christians are those trying to restore the more supernatural dimensions of early Christianity—speaking in tongues, performing miracles and believing in modern prophecies. This is the world of next-gen televangelism, ecstatic megachurches and itinerant prophets. Nondenominational charismatics are the energetic, tech-savvy, insurgent populists of American Christianity.

Seven Mountain Mandate

Many of these nondenominational charismatics eagerly embraced the Reconstructionists’ dominion ideas, if not their formal Calvinism, giving rise to the populist charismatic style of Christian supremacy.

At the front of this pack is a pastor, sometimes referred to as prophet, named Lance Wallnau, who has taken some of these dominion theology ideas and rebranded them as a prophecy called the Seven Mountain Mandate.

Wallnau’s vision of Christian supremacy entails dividing society up into seven “mountains” or arenas of influence—religion, family, government, education, media, entertainment and commerce—and urging Christians to conquer the top of every mountain in their community or nation so Christian influence will trickle down into society.

These Seven Mountains programs are fueling many local conservative Christian groups to take over city councils or school boards, making the dominion program tactical and marketable.

Wallnau also is a leader in a nondenominational movement called the New Apostolic Reformation, which has helped spread this Seven Mountains prophecy everywhere within evangelical circles.

Not coincidentally, Wallnau also was one of the first Christian leaders to endorse Donald Trump in the 2016 campaign cycle. Wallnau is the author of some of the prophecies and theology that now customarily present Christian support for Trump, not merely in terms of achieving conservative Christian goals or choosing the lesser of two evils, but as a positive good, ordained by God to be president again.

Wallnau used prophetic propaganda to galvanize and mobilize charismatic Christians to endorse Trump’s election lies. In this sense, he was one of the principal theological architects of the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol, and he even was there at the Capitol that day to speak at one of the instigating rallies.

Caution and call

This all goes beyond a baseless slur. I recommend to those Christians of the kind I grew up with that you might get over the sting of being labeled, perhaps unfairly, as a Christian nationalist.

Christianity is slowly losing its privileged place in American society, and I understand that feels strange, but you should be far more concerned about the real-life religious extremism burbling up in your midst, causing many to cross the line from “God Bless America” Christian nationalists to ardent Christian supremacists.

Some of the most beautiful and treasured parts of American democracy—the equality of all citizens, the separation of church and state, and freedom to believe in and practice any (or no) religion—are the targets of the Christian supremacists, who seek not comity but domination, not peace but a sword. They are plotting the end of America as we know it. Openly.

Matthew D. Taylor is a senior scholar at the Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies in Baltimore and is the author of the forthcoming book The Violent Take It by Force: The Christian Movement That Is Threatening Our Democracy. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.