I compiled a thread on Twitter of responses to Mark Galli's Christianity Today editorial calling for Trump's removal on December 19, 2019. Here is the end of the thread.
Also, here is a PDF of the thread (and the last few tweets are not included).
Download Reaction to CT editorial PDF
On Friday, December 6th, a number of worship leaders gathered at the White House for an hour of worship, a "faith briefing" with Mike Pence, and then a prayer and photo with President Donald Trump. Australian Hillsong Church pastor Brian Houston and worship leaders Kari Jobe and Cody Carnes raved about all President Trump is accomplishing on videos posted to the White House Twitter and Instagram accounts.
Here is a partial list of those who were there thanks to lots of people tagging one another in Instagram:
Corrections and additions welcome in the comments.
See also list of "evangelical leaders" who have met with Trump at the White House.
Note Bill and Brian Johnson, and Frank and Brian Houston, are similar to other Trump supporters who pass down their ministries / businesses to their children: Jerry Falwell and Jerry Fallwell Jr. (and his children), Paula White-Cain and Brad Knight, Billy and Franklin Graham (and all his children), and Fred Trump and Donald Trump (and his children).
Commentary:
This is a similar situation to people being asked to pray for the President that we saw this summer with Franklin Graham's call to pray. It is entirely appropriate to pray for a president. The problem is if the powerful person "receiving prayer" is primarily using the pray-er to reach their constituency on his behalf. In other words, there likely was not an opportunity to speak truth to power to President Trump. But rather, the strategy is to sell these worship leaders (who have big Instagram followings) with a one-sided "Look at what Trump is doing for evangelicals!" so that they then turn and communicate to their fans: "President Trump and his administration are people passionate about worship and prayer, just like you! And therefore, you should defend President Trump and try to see the good in what he does. And you should vote for him!"
It is of course initially exciting to get an offer to visit the White House and pray for President Trump and disappointing when people criticize you for leading worship (!), but it should be sobering to realize that you are being used to boost President Trump's popularity.
The historical context from this first week of December in 2019 is that President Trump is in the midst of an impeachment proceeding because of his own misbehavior—because he ignored all advice about Ukraine from his foreign policy advisers. On December 4, 2019, three constitutional law professors testified before the House Judiciary Committee about what the Constitution says about impeachment. On December 5th, Nancy Pelosi announced impeachment articles would be drafted. On December 6th, when the worship leaders were at the White House, the Trump administration announced they would not participate in the House's impeachment proceedings.
Moreover, though Kari Jobe and Cody Carnes mention his work on human trafficking, that contribution is exaggerated. They also mention Trump's concern for the marginalized, but on Dec 4th President Trump slashed access to food assistance to 700,000 Americans.
More broadly, yes, evangelicals vote Republican for "pro-life" but the abortion rate has been falling fast especially in Democratic administrations due to more access to contraceptives. It is fine to worry about the excesses of a Democratic administration with regard to religious freedom or other issues, but it is another thing to be part of an operation that is focused on promoting President Trump.
Moreover, Paula White-Cain, who organized the gathering, is not a model of financial and moral integrity.
In summary, as Amy Sullivan points out in this thread, a president should have a variety of representative and thoughtful religious leaders come to the White House and listen to, argue with, and learn from them. But that is different from inviting fawning or naive independent evangelicals who are contacts of Johnnie Moore and Paula White-Cain to (as they said in August 2018) "speak love to power," promote how Trump is fighting for evangelicals, pray, take photos, and then rave about the experience to CBN and Fox News.
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More links and reaction and theological and sociological reflection in this Twitter thread.
Here is a PDF of the thread: Download Thread by @AndyRowell_ Here is a list of the worship leaders who met with President Trump at the White House on Friday December 6 2019.
Here is my response to Franklin Graham's latest Facebook post:
https://www.facebook.com/FranklinGraham/posts/2888977351158427?comment_id=541666359715224
Mr. Graham,
The impeachment proceedings are not unbelievable. The witnesses who appeared before the intelligence committee testified to what they observed in their professional capacities with regard to Ukraine. Other witnesses have not been allowed to testify by the President. Today, four experts in constitutional law testified about the legal and historic reasons to impeach a president.
You are the first I have heard calling any of this "lying—and spinning the lies." I do not hear other supporters of President Trump characterizing what is going on that way.
It is indeed appropriate to ask questions about Hunter Biden and Joe Biden and Ukraine. It is also appropriate to investigate them. But President Trump did not just "ask questions" about them publicly or through official appropriate channels such as the State Department or Department of Defense or Senate Intelligence Committee but rather demanded through his personal lawyer Rudy Gulliani and through EU ambassador Gordon Sondland that Ukraine announce an investigation into Joe Biden in exchange for a White House meeting and also military aid approved by Congress. Two people in the Office of Management and Budget quit because of this improper order. Multiple people reported the situation to National Security Council and White House lawyers because they understood Trump's actions to be illegal. There have been no witnesses from the White House who have come forward to give an innocuous explanation for what occurred. All have said that they recognized it was improper to secretly pressure Ukraine for political favors and morally wrong to deprive an ally of support in the midst of a war.
Recall that as Trump began as president in January 2017, he only reluctantly fired Michael Flynn as National Security Advisor even after he had been warned that Flynn was lying publicly that he had not talked with the Russians when wiretaps of Russians made clear he had. In May 2017, Trump fired FBI Director James Comey who had refused to pledge his loyalty to Trump saying to both Lester Holt and Russians in the Oval Office that he had done so to stop investigations into his involvement with Russia. So, yes, there have been those who have been concerned with Trump's behavior since his first days in office.
It is hard to understand what you mean by what "they're doing to our country." Trump could have avoided criticism by acting with integrity. It likely does seem to you that he is being attacked from many sides. But it is not for his protection of religious freedom or even for his appointment of conservative judges (except for the ones that are very controversial because of their lack of qualifications) or even for his tax cut. Today too he cut access to food stamps. These are normal political controversies that Mike Pence also would face. I understand you think President Trump was a good businessman but in fact his history is that of receiving an inheritance from his father, cheating on taxes, bankruptcies, a fictional reality show, branding, and almost certainly, money laundering (though we are unsure because he has hidden his financial information). He has also been a serial adulterer. This immoral greediness has been the way he has continued to operate in the White House. This is why it seems like he is being attacked so often. He surrounded himself with others who were willing to operate without scruples. Many supporters have now been indicted for their crimes. As president, impeachment is the only way to hold a president accountable because the Department of Justice policy against indicting a sitting president.
You are right that it is unlikely that 67 senators will vote to remove the president in the Senate impeachment trial. Still, this process is the legal, constitutional way to make a president feel some pressure to operate ethically out of fear that it is possible 67 Senators might remove him in office and elevate Mike Pence to the presidency.
As far as I know, Democrats do not have a clear idea of the "calendar." Some want this to be over quickly so that the Democratic primary candidates can campaign and they worry that a long drawn-out process hurts them. Others, do think that the impeachment process should go slower in case the Supreme Court rules that Don McGahn and others in the White House must testify and that Trump's financial records must be turned over to Congress. So, it is not true that everyone "knows" this is just a ploy to damage Trump politically before the next election. Again, this is the Constitutional means to give a president some sense of accountability.
I agree that our hope is in God. May God give us wisdom and bring truth and light.