Another friend from church, Evan Mazunik, posted a comment on Facebook with a link to this article, by Samuel Whitefield " Four Issues to Consider Before You Vote Trump – What is Really at Stake and said this: "I found the following article convicting & illuminating: '...a Clinton presidency is not the biggest thing at stake in this election. The biggest thing at stake in this election is the church’s prophetic voice to the culture.'"

In the article linked to, Samuel Whitefield shares his concern that “the church”, and in particular “the evangelical church” is too closely tied with politics; and again too closely tied in particular with the Republican party.

He obviously took a long time to research and write his 20 page, 9,000-word article; and I don’t have the time to react to all of it. I just have these three things to say in response:

(1)  There is no “the evangelical church”. Yes, some religious leaders or organizations have come out in public support of Trump, but evangelicals are fragmented. There is no longer a “moral majority” with political power. Even the Tea Party movement (which is not necessarily evangelical) is not unified.

    Whitefield says “Now is the time for the church to break free of every political machine in order to become a prophetic voice to the nation.”; and closely below that says “As a church we have put too little value on our call to be a prophetic witness to the nation. We have allowed the siren call of political saviors to obscure our higher calling to function in society as a voice with a single allegiance.”

To have a prophetic voice with a single allegiance, requires a unified Body of Christ. When Christians can’t even agree on what style of music leads to the most sincere worship, agreement on a highly complex political issue or candidate is a pipe dream.

(2)  America (or “the evangelical church”) is not necessarily looking for a savior. But a super majority says the country is headed in the wrong direction. The “Church” has a prophetic role to play, but it is not to inveigh against a particular candidate for president or advocate for another. Its prophetic role is to lift up Jesus as the Savior and preach that we have hope only in God leading Christians to trust in Jesus and non-Christians to see the hopelessness of trusting in any person.

(3)  Yes, there are several evangelical pastors and leaders who have endorsed Trump. They get the headlines and TV appearances. However, there is no single leader of evangelical Christians, so who does Whitefield endorse to be the “prophetic voice” that will effectively separate “the evangelical church” from the Republican party or from Trump?

In conclusion, Samuel Whitefield is a voice on the same side of the argument as John Mark Reynolds. Wayne Grudem (and others not cited) are on the opposite side. The argument is whether a Christian (or “the evangelical church”) can, should, or should not support Donald Trump. Each has an opinion, and each argument is pretty much one-sided. Each speaks for himself; none speak for me.

I’ve enjoyed the discussion, friends. Now I think I better get back to my main responsibilities.