My calling as a Christian minister: Stand up against evangelical hypocrisy
Some time ago, when I was working as a chaplain at a secular university, I had an article published condemning the hypocrisy of evangelical leadership. I was asked to stop writing things like that, or face the potential of losing my job. My answer to that was easy: I’ll keep writing what I write, and they can keep firing me. It is not my business to keep my job by sacrificing my integrity. My calling as a Christian and a minister is for something bigger, something better, something honest and true. As I continue to write for Salon and whoever else will publish my work, I know full well that it’s likely to hurt my professional career and even some personal and family relationships.
The question that was posed to me when I held that post was an important one. Why speak out against the evangelical leaders, for virtually no financial or professional gain, if it damages my professional and personal life? Why put my divisive voice (according to some) out into the public square? It’s a fair question, one I have often asked myself and one I would like to answer.
There is a time in every life when a decision must be made. One option is to buy into the structure that is in place, have a decent career, buy that home and then — if things go reasonably well — do whatever you want in retirement. The other is to blow it all up and hold onto the ideals you believe to be true. I choose to engage in my favorite type of battle: a losing battle to serve “the least of these,” because that is the true calling of every minister of Jesus Christ. As we know, it’s a calling that can lead to persecution, even to death on the cross. I write, I fight and I accept loss and defeat because my savior Jesus Christ showed me how.
My work can indeed be called divisive, and I don’t run away from that. In Luke 12:51, Jesus tells Peter, “Do you think that I came to provide peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.” In a sense, that’s the calling of a true minister of the Christian faith. Even the evangelicals have laid claim to that perspective. Many evangelical ministers preach messages of division, speaking against homosexuality, feminism, abortion, immigration and countless other things. The difference between me and those kinds of evangelical minister is not in the approach but in our understanding of the faith. In other words, the difference is that the evangelical leaders are wrong, and I am not.
That’s not mere arrogance on my part. The profound errors of evangelical teaching can be clearly defined in at least three areas. It’s like a trinity of stupidity, preached by ministers who are more interested in power and wealth than in standing up for Christ.
1. How in the hell did the Christian political voice become anti-immigrant?
The language of Donald Trump and his allies preaches hatred and fear of immigrants. That is clear enough. Some on the political right will protest that they are in favor of legal immigration. That is what I’d like to call bull***t. There has not been one single piece of legislation presented by Republicans that shows any consideration for the working-class migrants, immigrants and refugees who come to America from all over the world. Trump’s language on immigration is shameful and disgusting, which should be enough for any branch of the Christian church to reject him. Yet every major evangelical leader in America is fighting each other to stand on that stage with Trump. The Bible is clear on this: “The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt.” (Leviticus 19:34).
2. How in the hell did the Christian political voice become opposed to health care for all?
Every Christian knows that healing the sick was a huge part of the ministry of Jesus. I do not remember Jesus asking the sick whether they were employed or had any pre-existing conditions. He healed them because they were sick, and because of the love and mercy in his heart. Why should the supposed followers of Christ reject the concept of providing health insurance for all? There is not one argument that can be made to support that that comes from the teachings of Christ or from any verse in the Bible. “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them” (Matthew 4:23-24).
3. How in the hell did the Christian political voice become a celebration of the wealthy?
This is a bizarre and obviously wrong way of thinking that we encounter widely within the evangelical community. I get that American society is built on wealth and greed, but that’s not what the Christian faith teaches. Jesus was a man of the poor, the meek, the oppressed and the rejected, and now suddenly the evangelical church is run by multimillionaires with private jets, designer suits and luxurious mansions who rest easy in the power of a blatantly evil man like Donald Trump. That is not the path of a follower of Christ still less a minister of Christ. But don’t listen to me. Read the words of James, describing the ministry of Jesus:
Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves on the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.
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That speaks to the true calling of the Christian ministry: to stand up for what is right, regardless of the effect on your personal, professional or financial life. There is a greater calling than buying a home, having a 401(k) or being granted a tenured position. In the end, we are all heading for the grave. As a man who claims to be a minister for Jesus Christ, my choice is obvious, no matter what happens to me personally or professionally. This is why I continue this testimony, and why I will never stop. I have held a lot of jobs in my life. I have done stand-up comedy, been a church pastor, led mission trips to Haiti, served as a career counselor, delivered newspapers and dug ditches. But in the end, I am a minister of Jesus. That’s who I am, and that’s who I will be when I die. Christ welcomes me despite my failings, my shortcomings and my lack of talent. He provided me a voice anyway. I am grateful for this passion in my heart, and even more grateful that God qualifies who is called instead of calling only who is qualified.
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from Nathaniel Manderson