A few thoughts on today.

I am grieved and overwhelmed by what I watched happen. By what we are normalizing in the open. By police officers letting them in and then letting them walk out as if it didn’t matter.

This country has its roots NOT in Christianity—as many of my friends want to believe—but in white privilege and white supremacy. Yet my pastor friends can’t use those phrases or they will lose key givers in their church… and then maybe their jobs. Thankfully, I’m no longer bound by either. I’m also keenly aware of what happens when you take on the stronghold of racism in America, as my last year can attest.

The confederate flag was seen prominently in our capital today. Shirts said “Camp Auschwitz.” And police took selfies with them. During the #blacklivesmatter protests the response was dramatically different. I was criticized harshly (only from Christians) for participating in a peaceful march last summer. And now today we want to feign surprise as to how this could happen in America. If you are surprised by what happened today and want to think that we as a country are better than this, we’re not. Just ask the minorities in America who have lived this reality their entire lives.

Friends, this is a time for repentance, for lamenting, for listening, and for a change of course. I’m not sure how so many people still cannot or will not see what is so blatantly paraded before us. When I wrote a blog in 2016 warning Christians that Trump was not in fact the Christian candidate they were making him out to be, it became the greatest controversy of my life (see: An Appeal to Christians Who Support Trump). I continue to despair over the support of Trumpism, especially from Christians. And I recently heard that my Dear Church series—in which I invited a few of my black friends to share their perspective—continues to cause issues even today, in a variety of churches too.

The white privilege and American exceptionalism are not of Jesus. They are literally antichrist. Our economy or a tax break are not worth this. And this is not (nor has ever been) about saving the lives of unborn babies either. The majority of us (primarily those of us who are white) want things to be like they are because it is in our best interest. So we’ve found ways to rationalize it to others and ourselves.

But our need to be polite or comfortable comes at a cost. And it is not a cost we can afford to pay. This is not about politics. This is about sin and strongholds and demonic forces at work. And in case you think I’m just another progressive liberal propping up the Democratic party, I predict Biden will be a disappointment to many in the months to come. That’s because we are disillusioned into putting our hopes into the American identity and all it promises us.

What grieves me most was seeing the “Jesus saves” signs and the giant cross set up today. It’s time to admit we want our Jesus to be more like Trump than the guy who was killed and didn’t fight back. As a Christian, I have a disproportionate responsibility to join the minority who are oppressed against the majority who are bothered.

This is a time for prophets. Not just to tell us some unknown future, but to explain how the future invades upon this moment now.

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