The National Association of Evangelicals has issued a press release:
âElections inevitably produce winners and losers,â said NAE President Walter Kim. âWe pray for Godâs guidance and blessing on those who have won, that they will be good stewards of the responsibilities entrusted to them, and that they will listen and speak to all Americans, including those who feel left out or unheard. We pray for consolation for those who lost their races, as they seek new ways to constructively bless the nation with their time and talents.â
As the process of counting votes and certifying results continues, the National Association of Evangelicals thanks officials and workers who administered our electoral systems with diligent and faithful service even in the face of security threats.
The NAE calls on fellow citizens who are disappointed in some or all of the election results to express themselves peacefully, looking to build bridges of understanding rather than fanning the flames of division. The NAEâs new podcast series, Difficult Conversations, is a resource for rebuilding relationships that have been strained or broken by political disagreements.
âAs evangelical Christians we pray for all our leaders, whether they received our votes or not. With the prophet Jeremiah, we pray for the peace and prosperity of the nation in which we live (Jeremiah 29:7),â Kim said. âWe seek to live at peace with our neighbors, to speak truth to those in power, to care for those in need, to protect the vulnerable and to love all people made in Godâs image, including those with whom we may have profoundly different perspectives.â
***
Christianity Today asked global evangelical leaders to respond to the election of Donald Trump. Read the whole piece here. Some highlights:
James Akinyele, secretary general of the Nigerian Evangelical Fellowship, hopes that Trump will become “less controversial in his rhetoric and personal conduct.”
Moss Ntlha, general secretary of the Evangelical Alliance of South Africa, says that “Trump’s win is a sad day for evangelicalism around the world.”
An unnamed house pastor in China says that Trump’s tariffs will put economic pressure on Chinese Christians and make it difficult for them to support the Christian church.
Vijayesh Lal, general secretary of the Evangelical Fellowship of India, says that “the church in India doesn’t place its hopes in political leadership, whether in the US or in India.”
Noel Pantoja, national director of the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches, says the Philippine church is celebrating Trump’s victory “with joyful hearts.”
Vitaly Vlasenko, general secretary of the Russian Evangelical Alliance, is hoping Trump will end the war in Ukraine.
Gavin Claver, CEO of the United Kingdom’s Evangelical Alliance, writes: “We will once again have to respond to accusations from those who assume that British evangelicals marry politics and faith in the same way as those who carry the label of evangelical in the US.”
Taras M. Dyatlik, engagement director of Scholar Leaders in Ukraine, writes: “It is troubling for me to see some Western evangelical leaders embracing narratives that minimize or justify Russian aggression, often stemming from sophisticated Russian propaganda campaigns.”
***
Katelyn Beaty thinks that Trump’s election will “accelerate women’s departure from evangelicalism.” The piece seems oblivious to social class. Working class women overwhelmingly voted for Trump. Many of these, I imagine, were evangelicals. I don’t think they are departing evangelicalism anytime soon.
***
It has become fashionable in MAGA evangelical circles to take shots at Russell Moore and David French. It is, in fact, a mark of MAGA evangelical solidarity (negative solidarity, as James Davison Hunter calls it) to oppose these guys. Here is Mike Sabo at the American Reformer:
Additionally, evangelicals who feel alienated from Big Evaâs poor political thinking could end up leaving the evangelical church altogether. Keller-esque rhetoric that âAmerica is Babylonâ and Christians are âexiles in a strange landâ no longer has purchase power for them. More and more, they understand that the effect of bad biblical exegesis from evangelical elites (and those outside of evangelicalism) sows confusion and second-guessing, dampens political involvement, makes ambiguity a central value, and shifts the indefensible to being an acceptable position. And they see how often the elites use thinly-veiled platitudes as a method to get their own way.
More organizations like the Center for Baptist Leadership that hold to orthodoxy and are politically savvy are needed to hold Big Eva accountable and ultimately replace them. The Russell Moores and David Frenches of evangelicalism, along with their After Party cronies and movements like Evangelicals for Harris, need to be marginalized. Fortunately, that already seems to be happeningâthe 2024 election is another example of their waning influence over the evangelicals they purport to be leading.
***
Over at Christianity Today, Justin Giboney reminds us that “power without integrity destroys us.” Here is a taste:
Accountability also means Trumpâs disparagement of and threats toward suffering immigrants and his embarrassing lack of a health-care plan cannot be dismissed as minor discrepancies. Again, Democrats have their problems, but they do not negate the responsibilities of Trumpâs evangelical voters. Christians must take immigration and health-care policies seriously because they are directly related to our care for the orphan, the widow, the stranger, and our neighbors more generally. Christians cannot be faithful in the public square while rationalizing the rhetoric and policies that neglect or violate these groups.
And if Trumpâs economic policies are more influenced by Elon Musk than Vice Presidentâelect JD Vanceâif theyâre friendlier to big business than to the working classâthen his Christian supporters must call that out. That would mean Trump lied to his working-class voters and will increase the economic pain he promised to alleviate. Christians who served as Trumpâs sword and shield should start weighing in on these matters now.
Towards the end of his piece, Giboney warns that if evangelicals do not hold the Trump presidency accountable it will destroy the witness of the church:
If Christian Trump voters neglect their responsibility here, overlooking his errors, it will have a devastating impact on the American church in general and evangelicalism in particular. Without a doubt, Trumpâs first term served to discredit the churchâs moral authority and caused many Christians to question their faith altogether. If Trumpâs Christian supporters want to avoid that kind of damage to the churchâs credibility in his second and final term, they must acknowledge his wrongdoing and relentlessly use their influence to hold him to account.
I think it’s probably too late to invoke the “damage to the church’s moral authority” argument at this point.
***
What are evangelicals saying on X:
Curtis Chang is very upset about Trump’s victory:
Megan Basham can’t let go. What would happen to her brand and platform if these guys stopped podcasting?:
Ryan Helfenbein of Liberty University’s Standing for Freedom Center joins the chorus condemning remarks from John Piper:
Christianity Today podcaster Mike Cosper responds to an evangelical critic:
Sean Feucht is excited about joining the court evangelicals:
Assassins can’t stop the will of God:
Andrew T. Walker gives everyone permission:
Owen:
Owen is a fan of “global peace through strength”:
Skye and the Holy Post gang are processing:
Phil Vischer on Trump’s possible pick for Attorney General:
Shane sees a country in distress:
Franklin is worried about Trump getting assassinated:
So is Eric Metaxas:
Tony Perkins on women voters:
Based on this tweet, I am guessing Eric supports Rick Scott for Senate majority leader:
Without conspiracy theories like this, Metaxas loses his platform. He’s got to keep these theories alive:
Is this a prayer or a prophecy, Lance?:
Ralph Reed calls a press conference to take credit. That’s new! ;-):
“God’s providential hand”: