Weak, Disengaged Pastors and Churches are Responsible for America's Tribulation

If you find that your pastors spend more time scolding you for engaging others on the issues of the day than driving you to impacting change, you should find a new church that admires your grit.

I came across a “note” (the equivalent of a “tweet”) here on SubStack this week from a guy named Tyler Braun that made my blood boil:

It says, “Most Christians would greatly aid their witness if they embraced the spiritual discipline of silence when it comes to politics.”

Now, I’m sure Tyler is a nice guy, and from a brief look around the Internet, he appears to be a pastor from Oregon. I pride myself on asking questions and making vivid examples to defend my points when feeling compelled to comment on such a reckless proposal. Here is what I said in reply:

I’d be interested to know if you celebrate the 4th of July like most Christians trying to come off as apolitical - a rebellion (politics) against tyranny.

Weak Christians and their tax haven churches are the primary reason we are in a season of politics that is “ugly.”

Those who understood the rights of men as dignified created beings established this country and I believe the opposite of you - that Christians who fail to oppose evil in society when granted a Republic are major contributors to the growing depravity.

And before everyone gets self righteous - I said what I said without expressing support for any party or person. Given a Republic, why would you NOT be involved?

My post received no response, and maybe that’s for the best. You may also know that this personal journal of mine isn’t intended to be about politics, and I will stick to the spirit of that proclamation by recalling my piece, “Free Men Engage Government.” We can dive deep into this topic, spurred by Mr. Braun’s post, without endorsing a party, platform, or one single candidate, thereby making this more about your civic engagement than about the overused complaining of timid pastors regarding the standard political affiliations of those in their congregations. In that article, I wrote:

God intends for governments of men to uphold his brand of justice and honor the natural rights of free people. Anything short of that requires the people to take a stand. While reflecting on your duty to be an engaged citizen, get a copy of The Doctrine of the Lesser Magistrates for those in your life who constantly have an opinion or grievance, but do little else in the way of being involved and leading others to follow suit.

If you value freedom and believe it is worth defending, then you have no choice but to courageously engage in the sphere of government. Your leadership will bring others to the front with you and make your goals achievable.

Excluding pastors who internally possess an anti-freedom ideological base (I don’t have cause to believe this is Braun’s issue), I think ignorance is to blame for most of the mealy-mouthed, weak church leaders and their willful dulling of the flock’s collective mind. After all, if everyone is busy making predictions about end times, why then should anyone worry about polishing the brass on a sinking ship and wading into the ugly world of civic discourse, where you may find someone who disagrees with you to the point of saying nasty things, or even worse? If you believe God had no purpose in designing man with the burning desire for freedom in his heart, then of course you’ll default to the citizen of heaven excuse and sit back on your hands while society goes to hell, all while you hedge your bets that maybe it won’t go to hell by sending your kids to school and preparing them for their careers or ministerial callings.

Here's a personal story:

A decade ago, my family started going to church at a church in northwest Houston that seemed family oriented and Biblically sound. There were plenty of small groups to choose from, young families in attendance, and a laid-back atmosphere that made coming to church fun. This church didn’t get involved in educating churchgoers on their responsibilities as citizens (to be engaged, inform themselves, and vote in accordance with their values), but spent a lot of time complaining about the ills that plague society, particularly perceived racial barriers and the scourge of human trafficking. Within the year, a certain political candidate emerged who has since changed human history, and the church immediately went for woke, made everything about race and white guilt, and spent more time browbeating men than they did teaching the Gospel. Within a few years, the church leadership team fell apart. There I was thinking shutting down borders would be a good way to keep many traffickers out, and produce more jobs from the minorities who lost them to our “visitors,” but it wasn’t solutions they wanted - it was outrage.

The entire time, I tried to explain to these high-minded church leaders that if they have such an issue with Americans defending American liberties and advocating for political reforms that will end injustice, then they should also stop wearing their red, white, and blue aprons at the grill every Fourth of July, and put an end to the fireworks displays, because in doing so, they were celebrating a violent revolution (politics) against injustice, which happened to terminate in American independence and the recognition of such by the British in 1783.

This didn’t register.

Then I went for the fact that the abolitionists of Britain, our old foe, lobbied government so hard and for so long that they finally banned slavery throughout the entire empire in 1833 as the abolition debate raged intensely in the United States in the prelude to the American Civil War. Again, acts of government, first with the Emancipation Proclamation from President Lincon in 1863 and then with the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865, did away with slavery in the United States.

Every single one of these high-minded pastors has no problem not only railing against slavery (rightfully so) but going so far as to shame white men today for something they, nor their parents, nor their parents, and in many cases, their parents before them were alive to see in any capacity. Practically none of them will point out to their flocks that it was citizen outrage expressed through civic discourse and engagement with government that finally prevailed and moved the needle sufficiently to remove a great injustice from the young nation that had been with it since colonial times.

Who are these pastors to say citizens should suffer silently and leave the world of government engagement to the wicked, who control most of the money, production, media, and bribed officials used to direct policy? Did God make us to dwell on Earth, sip lattes on Sunday morning, and cower before demons who wish to glorify infanticide, jeopardize the most vulnerable by refusing to defend our national borders, and coercively tax us to fund unjust wars on foreign soil?

I think not. I want more Steve Cassells in this world (make sure you subscribe to his journal today), pastors who are willing to take on the criminality of the state and do so citing faith, not running from it. Daniel said to the king of Babylon:

…we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up. Daniel 3:18 (NIV)

Too many in the Western world who claim a Christian faith are led by blind guides who couldn’t lead a starving dog to a meat wagon, let alone a believer to productive Earthly actions. A man many of these pastors like to point to as an example of perpetual suffering is the Apostle Paul (formerly Saul the Pharisee), who happened to be a Roman citizen and a man who asserted his rights, knowing full well how to wield them with expert precision. Paul said this to early Christians in Ephesus (modern Turkey):

Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. Ephesians 5:11 (NIV)

So, no, Mr. Braun – Christians should not sit down and shut up when it comes to “politics.” Politics isn’t the right word anyway – your congregation should be able to express its opinions and vent its anger against injustice in this world by lobbying and pressuring government and exposing the wickedness around them without being shamed by the man who is supposed to lead the flock to good works and abundance of life. In fact, your home state of Oregon is one of the most spiritually dark places in the Western world largely because the church has sat on its hands and refused to stand up for the most vulnerable, like the babies who are aborted up to birth as you scoff at your congregation for opposing it through their activities and by their choice of political candidates.

The story goes that Elizabeth Powel, one of President Washington’s confidantes, spotted Benjamin Franklin at the end of the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and asked him what kind of government the people would have. Franklin said:

A Republic, if you can keep it.

Keeping it means engaging with it, holding corrupt officials accountable (exposing them, as Paul said), and being willing to refute the foolish and reckless opinions of those in your spheres of influence at the risk of offending them, and having them call you racists, Nazis, xenophobes, misogynists, and every other outrage name under the sun. Losing it means doing exactly what these squeaky-clean, high-minded pastors do by dodging anything that may cause professional disruptors to run to their podcasts and papers and say a bad thing that may cause contributions to the 501c3 to stop.

My advice - if you find a pastor who wants you to shrug off your obligation to engage in your form of government - find a new church.

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Seth Keshel, MBA, is a former Army Captain of Military Intelligence and Afghanistan veteran. He is intent on living life as fully as possible, taking adventures, and finding new ways to appreciate the road less traveled in pursuit of Freedom.