This morning while at the neighborhood HEB and watching some flaunt their careless, thoughtless lack of consideration for others by not wearing masks or trying to not run up on others in the isle, I found myself wondering about this strange time in our American culture. The current behaviors mentioned above are driven by a careless President and his followers many of who identify as evangelicals.

Growing up Baptist in Texas, I was one of the first pastors to identify myself as an evangelical. Those early years the Landmarkism movement championed in “The Trail of Blood”by James Carroll still had a hold on many Baptists. Some liked to give Baptists a different identity. We were “apart” from other mainstream Christians. Carroll traces a direct line to the apostolic times documenting(sort of) the Baptist claim to be the “only” true church. Course that was nonsense grounded in slanted research and end conclusions already drawn.

Today, the people I so easily identified with years ago are driving a movement which will take this nation to the brink. I have wondered, thought, prayed, read, trying to wrap my head around this resistance to the truth among folks who I have always been willing to name as one group of “my people.” I believe I was given some clarity this morning in the tomato juice isle at the grocery store.

This fervor of so many well intentioned folks is born of despair and desperation(not unlike the religious leaders during the time of Jesus). For many believers living in the late 70s and 80s, there appeared to be an erosion in America of respect and traditional family values. The Moral Majority burst on the scene in 1979. I was in my first church as pastor and what began to creep into our national dialogue was a seething fear and anger. Time passed and fear and anger became despair and the loss of hope.

All of this began with an elevation of a stream of reinterpreting the roots of the United States. In my opinion, and my study, the history of America was rewritten like Landmarkism of old. The conclusion was America had a special relationship with God and a destiny akin to being His Chosen People. Scripture does not support such a notion but can give us clarity to the real source of blessings and the moral issues we have faced as Americans.

Ephesians 5:25 is one of those nuggets of gold about the church nestled in a verse about husbands and wives. “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with the water through the word.” I would challenge any American believer to document the book, chapter and verse where God's Word says in the time of Christ he died for any nation, movement, or for that matter any denomination.” It simply is not there. However, what this simple verse says is that Christ loved the church, gave Himself up for the church, and has not wavered from the goals of making her holy and cleansed completely by the Word.” When that has happened to the church of the Living Christ, revival and spiritual awakening have reset the vitality of the people of God and born miracles of blessing to the culture in which that church resided. However, to see that happen, believers have to humble themselves and seek the face of God, turn from their wicked ways. (II Chronicles 7:14) The promises that flow from that verse are timeless, God will hear, God will heal, and God will heal the land. The problem is historically, that takes too long for some. Although, if God's people began in 1979 humbling themselves and calling out to God, history tells us we would be living in a different world.

So, despair is obviously palatable and Believers instead of straightening out the church house have turned to the nation. Desperation has driven the most unbelievable alliances, abuses of power, manipulation of influence and law, lack of compassion, and a reckless disregard of the neighbor in our midst. Our treatment of the poor and the immigrant grieves the heart of God.

No more likely than the President's hydroxychloroquine will cure COVID-19, will evangelicals rescue America by political effort.

Wash your hand, mind the gap, and be kind.