Preaching in the Age of Donald Trump

Preach the Word! Be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound teaching, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves preachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths.

II Timothy 4:2-4

Dad died twelve years ago today.

Part of his spiritual discipline was a regular reading of Oswald Chambers’ classic devotional, “My Utmost for His Highest.”

In his commentary on these verses, Chambers quotes from the King James Version: “This verse says, ‘Preach the Word! Be ready in season and out of season.’ In other words, we should ‘be ready’ whether we feel like it or not.” And then he observes, “If we do only what we feel inclined to do, some of us would never do anything. . . The proof that our relationship is right with God is that we do our best whether we feel inspired or not.”

Dad was a United Methodist pastor and he was always ready to preach the Word. He was persistent and faithful “in season and out.”

But it is perhaps just as well that he is not preaching in the age of Donald Trump.

This is not an easy time to be a Christian pastor. For that matter, it’s not an easy time to be a Christian. It’s hard to be faithful without appearing to be intensely and explicitly political.

Of course, the Gospel is a political document, but it transcends partisan politics. And although Jesus, like the Hebrew prophets before him, proclaimed an undeniably political message, we should not identify that message with one party or candidate.

It’s hard not to appear partisan in the age of Trump because he has done so many explicitly anti-Christian things. We will pause now in silent remembrance. We could start with teargassing children, or separating families, but it’s a very long list. And it seems to just keep getting longer.

There is nothing partisan about those issues, but it is hard to address them without some folks seeing it in partisan terms.

Dad always worried less than I do about appearing partisan. Actually, he didn’t worry about appearances at all. To say that he was outspoken would be an understatement. And to his credit, he never counted the cost of his witness in personal terms.

I never ask myself what Dad would say about this, because I already know.

For Dad, it was always about justice. He looked for the practical application of the gospel in contemporary life. And he was never afraid to tell you what he saw. In his mind, he had no choice.

Dad served in the Navy during World War II, and then again during the Korean War. In March of 1945, as soon as he turned 17, he received his High School diploma early and enlisted. But as a pastor, he was deeply committed to world peace.

On Veterans Day in 1966, when our church was hosting the American Legion, Dad felt he had no choice but to preach about how war generally, and the Vietnam War specifically, was a denial of everything Christ taught.

Not surprisingly, it did not go over that well.

His outspoken witness often got him into trouble, but that never kept him quiet.

If parishioners were upset with him, he would listen patiently, and explain gently. And then he would say that he was sorry, but he had no choice. He was just doing what he had to do. It was his job to preach, in season and out.

Sometimes they would agree to disagree. Sometimes his persistent witness would win them over. And other times they would leave to look for another church, with a preacher who had the good sense not to meddle in “politics.”

As a pastor in the age of Trump, I find myself trying to thread the needle; to be faithful without giving offense. But the truth is that I probably worry too much about the second part and too little about the first.

Thank you for reading. Your thoughts and comments are always welcome. Please feel free to share on social media as you wish. 

The Metrics of Ministry

Proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. ³For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, ⁴and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths.

II Timothy 4:2-4

In the late 1960’s, Bill Ziegler was appointed to serve one of the largest churches in New England. He was widely regarded at the time as the best United Methodist preacher in the region, and one of the finest in the nation. Wherever he served, the churches grew and the congregations loved him. But he arrived in this new city at a difficult time. In the city, racial tensions and unrest played out against a national background of conflict. Locally, there was a case of police brutality which had brought tensions to the boiling point.

Bill dived into the conflict. He immediately became involved in civic affairs. And in his sermons he addressed these issues with honesty and compassion. Bill was always known as a “prophetic preacher,” who, like the Hebrew prophets, and like Jesus, lifted up God’s call for justice. He named the demon of racism. He talked about the need for reconciliation. And he proclaimed the Gospel in the context of the tension.

It was uncomfortable. And dissension grew in the congregation. A group of prominent parishioners gathered and sent a delegation to see the Bishop. They told the Bishop that Bill was dividing the church, that members were staying home and some were withholding contributions. The Bishop sent a District Superintendent to talk with Bill.

It was a short conversation. The District Superintendent explained the complaints and said that the Bishop wanted Bill to stop upsetting people with controversial issues. Bill asked his visitor, “Do you think I’m not preaching the Gospel?” No, he had not meant to imply that. “Does the Bishop think I’m not preaching the Gospel?” Again, the answer was no. “Then get out of my office,” said Bill, “My job is to preach the Gospel.”

As I write this, United Methodist lay and clergy delegates from around the world are gathering in Tampa, Florida for General Conference. Over the next ten days they will discuss and debate a variety of issues including an ambitious plan to restructure our general agencies and boards. Within that plan is a provision that would eliminate the guaranteed appointment of clergy.

Those who favor eliminating the guaranteed appointment say that it is necessary in order to deal with ineffective clergy. And that is a real concern. But the purpose of the guaranteed appointment is to defend the “freedom of the pulpit,” one of the most treasured pieces of our United Methodist heritage. Pastors can be moved, but they cannot be fired.

The truth is that over the years few pastors have been as fearless as we are supposed to be in our preaching. But it is hard to see how that will improve when effectiveness is defined by a set of metrics measuring attendance, finances, baptisms, and church growth. Those measures are important. But our first responsibility is to be faithful. We follow someone, after all, whose invitation was to “take up the cross daily and follow me.”