Giddy with power, evangelicals leaders who brought us Donald Trump now want to turn the page on the nightmare that was the 2016 campaign. Greg Laurie started a call for Christians to ignore the bad news all around us with Franklin Graham, Eric Metaxas, James Dobson and other Trump (and some never-Trumps) supporters signing on.
The Year of Good News
In a time of bad news, distracting news, divisive news, disorderly news, and, sometimes, depressing news we—as Christians and as leaders—want to recommit ourselves to making sure that the Good News of Jesus cuts through it all. We call upon Christians in America to make 2017 “The Year of Good News.”
The first month of the Trump administration has been chaotic with assaults on basic liberties, including religious freedom. After a year of telling people in the pews that they need to get involved in politics to elect Donald Trump, now these leaders are telling us we need to rise above politics.
Therefore, we commit to preach louder than our nation’s politics, and we aim to make the message of Jesus Christ transcend the monopoly of our media. We confess our only hope of unity is on the level ground at the foot of the cross of Jesus, and our only hope of healing is in the victory achieved through his empty tomb.
Reactions to the Religious News Service article about the effort are worth looking at.
I guess having the Executive branch of the US government working on your behalf and special interests would be good news to you. Not such good news for the rest of us citizens.
This doesn’t sound right: Fellow believers are to “make 2017 the ‘Year of Good News'” – why again? Let’s all proclaim “the Good News that God loved us so much He sent His Son to this earth on a rescue mission” – for what compelling reason? It’s all because of: “the monopoly of our media … fake news, distracting news, divisive news, disorderly news, and, sometimes, depressing news … the divisions and distractions dividing our nation and disorienting our culture … our political, racial, and cultural divisions”?! (Harvest Christian Fellowship, Feb. 28, 2017)
No, thanks, I don’t do it for political reasons, or out of political motivation – post-election time! Who do they think they are?!
Now I am waiting for these leaders to tell Trump that they don’t want the Johnson Amendment eliminated. If they are going to focus on the Gospel, then no need to intertwine the Gospel with politics is there?
So now that they won, they want the rest of us to ignore the consequences. I suppose I would too.
The initial signers:
