Why It Will Take Generations to Heal the Nation  

The decades-long political polarity between the Left and the Right has fomented a lack of trust so severe that what was once unthinkable (the Capitol breach on January 6th) is now a reality. The United States began to morally decline in the late 19th century when the Protestant Evangelical church started to abandon culture. Instead of engaging the earth, the Church began focusing on escaping it. They could not cope with the complexities present in society. These complexities included: the industrial revolution and its concomitant urban life, the horrific aftermath of the civil war, the challenge to biblical fidelity with the rise of higher criticism, mass immigration from non-protestant nations, and ideologies like Marxism and Darwinism (see more about this in my book, Understanding the Wineskin Of the Kingdom). 

Before the civil war, much of the Church’s preaching focused on manifesting the Kingdom of God on earth, similar to the messages of John the Baptist, Jesus, and Paul (Matthew 3:2, Mark 1:15, Acts 28:31). By “Kingdom of God,” I am referring to the government of God that emanates from the throne of God. The Church is not the kingdom, but the primary agent of the kingdom. Scripture says that His Kingdom rules over all (Psalm 22:28, Psalm 24, Psalm 103:19, Daniel 4:17). 

This was the impetus for much of the societal reform that transpired during the Second Great Awakening, resulting in the abolitionist movement, women’s suffrage, child labor law reform, and more. (Evangelist Charles Finney continually preached about the Kingdom of God on earth, which inspired abolitionists like Theodore Weld, feminist evangelical leaders like Phoebe Palmer, and others involved in the women’s suffrage movement.)

The horrors of the civil war, which saw approximately 750 thousand men killed in battle, was especially significant as it related to the shift away from propagating the present-day implications of  the Kingdom. Consequently, the Church lost faith in its ability to transform the world.  Unfortunately, it started focusing on the hyper-premillennial dispensational view propagated by J.N. Darby. This was made popular by the preaching of men like evangelist D.L. Moody and the Scofield bible. 

Thus, around the 1880s, Bible prophecy conferences started appearing everywhere. The Church became more and more insular, focusing more on the rapture than societal change. Hence, one generation later, in the 1920s, the Church lost societal influence in higher learning institutions. Educators like John Dewey re-framed a societal, educational view. This resulted in losing all of culture one generation later during the sexual revolution of the 1960s. The evangelical abandonment of culture, which was primarily a response dictated by environmental challenges rather than theological exegesis, made the fundamentalist evangelical Church irrelevant to culture. (See more about this in my book, Understanding the Wineskin Of the Kingdom.)

The 1880s gave birth to an expression of evangelicalism called fundamentalism, which was earmarked by a separation from the culture. This movement focused on individual salvation and getting to heaven. As a result, it greatly limited the Church’s cultural influence.

Consequently, the “Great Commission” only obligated conservative evangelicals to win souls. They viewed social engagement as a distraction from the gospel. This appealed primarily to affluent believers who had all they needed in this life (they only lacked heaven). However, it further alienated the Black American church, whose missional focus included economic improvement and improving their dire quality of life.

During the Post Reconstruction and Jim Crow era, the Black American church became the center of their community.  This caused them to take the gospel and apply it to every phase of human life (similar to what we read in Isaiah 61:3-4). Furthermore, systemic racism often hindered Blacks from going to biblically conservative bible schools. This led many to get their education from liberal schools like Union Theological Seminary in New York City. As a result, it further exacerbated the Christian divide. Unfortunately, the present-day segregation we see in the Body of Christ has also been in process for many generations.  The fundamentalist/evangelical Church’s neglect of a holistic view of the gospel has also contributed to this.  

How The Church Can Regain Cultural Influence

“The process of secularization arises not from the loss of faith but from the loss of social interest in the world of faith. It begins the moment men feel that religion is irrelevant to the common way of life and that society as such has nothing to do with the truths of faith.”- Christopher H. Dawson, Religion and World History, A Selection from the Works of Christopher Dawson

Since it took three generations to lose the culture, it will take at least one generation to turn it back to the Judeo/Christian worldview. Without the Church serving as the ground and pillar of society’s truth, cultural ethics will rapidly decline to the default position of human depravity (I Timothy 3:15). (My book, Walk in Generational Blessing, unpacks the generational call of families and churches to influence society.)

 The Limited Reaction of the Conservative Evangelical Church 

Unfortunately, the evangelical Church’s primary focus has continued to be the proclamation of the gospel without the proclamation of the implications of the Kingdom. Many great leaders are praying for revival, but, as we have seen, revival is not enough to save a nation if it doesn’t shift the worldview of the culture towards a biblical ethos.

For example, England was saved during the First Great awakening (through the preaching of Wesley and Whitfield) because their society already had a biblical foundation in their laws and culture. The Second Great Awakening affected all of American society for the same reason. However, none of the revivals in the 20th century moved the needle towards Christian influence in culture because the Gospel proclamation was disconnected from the Kingdom, thus failing to penetrate the larger culture (See my book, The Divided Gospel).

Revival may bring people into the Church, but true reformation only comes when Christ-followers are sent into their communities to serve and love their neighbor.

When a segment of the conservative evangelical Church finally woke up and reacted against fundamentalism, they formed the National Association of Evangelicals in 1942. However, it was too little and too late to fully influence the nation’s elite structures. Furthermore, the conservative movement made the mistake of thinking that mere political engagement was enough. After prayer was removed from public schools in the early 1960s and abortion was legalized in the 1970s, conservative evangelicals started getting engaged again en-masse in politics and policy. The Reverend Jerry Falwell Sr. founded the “Moral Majority” in 1979 and numerous national leaders initiated the “Washington For Jesus” Rally in 1980. Some believed that this was the reason Ronald Reagan won the presidency. Around the same time, Dr. Francis Schaeffer published his groundbreaking book, A Christian Manifesto, which called the Church back to cultural engagement. However, the Church made the mistake of thinking that political engagement alone can shift the culture. A top-down approach of merely shifting and advocating for morality in law is not enough to change the heart and sentiments of a nation.

While the conservative Church was focusing on mere politics, the LGBTQ community had a comprehensive plan outlined in the book, “After the Ball,” published in 1989 by Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen. This small segment of the population has demonstrated how a minority of people can shift culture in just a few decades through the hard work of infiltrating Hollywood (to influence pop culture), getting engaged politically, spending money on lobbying, altering the meaning of keywords, and influencing school boards and education at every level. They didn’t just depend upon “the Stonewall uprising” on July 3, 1969. They were committed to the long-term process that seemed to include three phases. They initially merely pushed for toleration, then for equality before the law, culminating in their leaders’ helping determine the nation’s cultural values, goals, and objectives. This would then impact the family, religion, entertainment, health, business, education, law, and policy. 

The Generational Breach of Trust Must be Healed

Finally, it will take decades for the American people to regain trust in the nation’s ideals. Many Black and Brown people have little confidence in law enforcement and the judicial system (which is the catalyst of the Black Lives Matter marches of the past year). Many conservative Trump supporters, and perhaps a majority of people in the Republican party, lost trust because they believe there was massive election fraud. Also, I have observed through the last several decades of political engagement how many elected officials, both Democrats and Republicans, have been arrested for bribes, corruption, and other misdeeds. Some of them I knew personally. Some form of malfeasance is almost expected because it became part of the ecosystem of politics long ago. Corrupt political systems and ego-driven leaders will eventually bring down the nation if there is not a turnaround. 

There are no easy solutions. Although we need divine intervention, the Church should take the lead in facilitating community wide dialogue amongst the police, elected officials, and concerned citizens in order to find common ground, work together, and rebuild a culture of trust. God gave the Church the ministry of reconciliation, which is something we should focus on more than anything else during this season (II Corinthians 5:19). The Church should also prepare their biological and spiritual children to be the future gatekeepers who will serve their communities with integrity and biblical fidelity.

The Church became a sign to the powers in the first century that demonstrated the Lordship of Jesus over all because, unlike every other empire, they were the only entity able to bring cohesion to a diverse group of people (Ephesians 3:10). In this group, there was neither slave nor free, male nor female, Jew nor Greek. Hence, their faith in Messiah transcended their ethnic gender and economic differences (Galatians 3:28). Jesus called the Church the city on a hill, the light of the world, and the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13-16). He said the Gates of Hell will not prevail against His Church (Matthew 16:18)! 

The time of depending upon a president or politics as the primary means to bring peace and harmony to nations is over. May the true Church once again proclaim the gospel of the Kingdom of God and labor for His Kingdom to come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 

Amen. 

Purchase Joseph Mattera’s latest book, “The Jesus Principles”, available now on Amazon here.

Contrasting the Kingdom of God and Christian Nationalism (Part 2)

6. The Kingdom of God views the world with a biblical lens. Nationalism views the world with a geo/political lens.

As Christians, we are called to interpret national politics through the lens of Scripture. Unfortunately, nationalists interpret the Bible through the lens of their political and national identity. This interpretation skews the way they treat people who do not politically identify with them. Thus, for nationalists, they have a narrow view of the Bible. They highlight only biblical passages that back up their ideology while ignoring the rest of Scripture that they may deem to be “uninteresting.”

7. The Kingdom of God is dependent upon neither an earthly kingdom nor an earthly ruler. Nationalism is dependent upon both the ideology of a nation and its ruler.

Some Christian nationalists act as though their choice for a leader (president, prime minister, etc.) is some Messianic figure that their nation depends upon to rescue it from the hands of evil people. While God does command us to pray for our rulers, the main focus is so there can be peace. This peace is to pave the way for the gospel to go forth so people can be saved (1 Timothy 2:1-5). In the case of the United States, no matter who ultimately gets elected as president, the nation will be in trouble unless the Church passionately seeks God for an awakening. An awakening will be the only thing that will transform our ethos.

Conservative Christians may correctly assume that a Trump presidency must maintain religious liberty for churches and Christian-owned businesses. However, what good is this liberty if Christians are not passionate about utilizing their freedom to share the gospel? The Church is growing exponentially in many nations where Christ-followers are being persecuted (i.e., China, Iran, North Korea, Nigeria, Sudan, India).

To quote the Lord Jesus, “My kingdom is not of this world” (does not emanate from this world, John 18:36).

8. Followers of the Kingdom of God are passionate about a Christ-centered global awakening. Adherents of nationalism are passionate about an ideological awakening.

I have observed that even politically active Christians can be Kingdom centered, even while they are campaigning for a leader or a cause. It is okay to be passionate about politics, policy, and the economy for the sake of our country’s well being. For example, some Christ-followers express their commitment to the Kingdom through their assignment in politics in the same way a plumber can be committed to the Kingdom while fixing pipes.

That being said, there is indeed a fine line in discerning the difference between passionately loving our country (which has more to do with being a patriot committed to the good of their nation) and an unhealthy expression of nationalism. (Nationalism is blind to everything else except reclaiming national greatness. It is dispassionate about advancing the gospel).

Consequently, even a Christian activist should have as their primary goal a spiritual awakening that will transform millions of hearts from the inside out.

9. Christ-followers are primarily identified with the Kingdom of God. Nationalists mostly derive their identity from their nation.

Christ-followers are called to derive their primary identity from their sonship with the Father (Romans 8:14-17). This makes them a partaker of the Kingdom, out of which they live and move and have their being (Acts 17:28; Colossians 1:13). This is different from those who wrap the gospel with the flag of their nation. It gives the impression that their primary identity is derived from their country, not the Kingdom. Christian nationalists are obsessed with the political causes they think will bring Christian utopia to their country. They rarely talk about Scripture unless connected to a particular reason like justice, abortion, or the family.

This contrasts with the great commandment that tells us to “love the Lord with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength”. Although the second commandment to love our neighbor can fit in the construct of political engagement, it is still second to being passionate about God (Malachi 3:16-18, Matthew 22:37-40).

May the Church put His Kingdom and His righteousness first so that God can trust believers, who genuinely represent His heart to the world, to be the gatekeepers of culture.

Purchase Joseph Mattera’s latest book, “The Jesus Principles”, available now on Amazon here.

8 Things the Capitol Breach Revealed about the Nation

After the tragic (staged) events of January 6th, wherein several hundred protesters (out of hundreds of thousands), stormed the capital building, I observed several important realities.

1.Media spin takes place on both the Left and the Right.

I always attempt to read both liberal and conservative news on every major issue. This habit helps protect me from falling prey to a myopic media bias. As I watched CBS News’ coverage of the Capitol breach, I heard the newscasters and commentators lump all the protestors together. This was in spite of the fact that the vast majority of the tens of thousands who showed up did not participate in any illegal activities. They also blamed all the political leaders and Americans, who believed there was voter fraud, for the violence in Congress. (This was a ridiculous assertion.) After several hours of listening to this, I turned to conservative shows on Fox News and conservative news sites. Consequently, I listened as some Conservative pundits insinuated that the Far-Left group, Antifa, was to blame for the breach. Some Conservatives pointed out that a few busloads of Antifa activists posing as Trump supporters were allegedly identified among the protesters. It becomes discouraging when you understand the fact that we rarely get objective news reporting anymore. It is usually filtered through the propaganda the media is told to report based on their pre-determined narratives. 

2. The unity of our nation is on the brink of collapse. 

Our nation is only held together by a few important things. They are as follows: 

• Ideals and principles encapsulated by the U.S. Constitution,
• Local and national elected officials, as well as law enforcement assigned to uphold our Constitutional rights,
• Secure borders that geographically define the nation,
• Local churches and religious entities that produce millions of volunteers who serve their communities, and
• The kindness and courtesy of citizens toward one another.

All of these ideals, entities, and attitudes have been severely tested within the past several decades. This has led many to believe that the nation is on the verge of a cultural collapse. January 6th highlighted the nation’s fragility. However, the only entity that will survive in the long run is the Christ-centered remnant Church, which the “gates of hell” cannot destroy (Matthew 16:16-19). 

3. The nation is still severely divided by skin color. 

I listened to the comments of Black athletes and elected officials who said that if the protesters who breached the capitol were Black, they would have been slaughtered, or at least violently put down. A Black political commentator even said the capitol police were accessories to the breach. Then, I listened to White commentators remind people (while admitting that the Capitol’s breach was horrific) that during the nation’s civil unrest, BLM and Far-Left Antifa protestors burned down communities, robbed stores, and took over part of the city of Portland. They pointed out that while this was being done, liberal mayors, politicians, mainstream media, and even the police often looked the other way while excusing the violence. 

Although one can make a case that there is some truth in both positions, the sad reality is that our nation often interprets reality based upon a worldview related to skin color. This is another reason we are the “divided states of America,” instead of the United States of America. 

4. Staged events will usually fail to undermine local processes. 

Although many of those who attended the January 6th protest came to peacefully demonstrate against election fraud, numerous people thought that they were going to “take back the nation.” Others believed that Vice President Pence could deny the electoral vote unilaterally and force a recount. 

This illustrates the fact that many people are ignorant of the long-term process of political engagement necessary to bring about systemic change; they are merely looking for a quick fix. 

After all, it is much easier to go to a rally and storm a building than get an education, serve as an intern for an elected official, successfully run for office, or get engaged through a community board or local school boards. 

The LGBTQ community has demonstrated how a minority of people can shift the culture in just a few decades through the hard work of infiltrating Hollywood (to influence pop culture), getting engaged politically, spending money on lobbying, altering the meaning of keywords, and influencing school boards and education at every level. They didn’t just depend upon “the Stonewall uprising.” Instead, they were committed to the long-term process that often includes a multi-part process. (They initially merely push for toleration, then for equality before the law, which culminates in them becoming community leaders who then help to determine the cultural values, goals, and objectives in family, religion, entertainment, health, business, education, law, and policy.)

5. It will take generations to shift the worldview of the nation.

The challenges leading to the bankruptcy of  American trust and integrity, culminating in the Capitol breach, did not foment overnight. The United States began to morally decline in the late 19th century when the Protestant Evangelical Church began to abandon culture. Instead of engaging the earth, they began focusing on escaping the earth. This is because they could not cope with urban life’s complexities, the aftermath of the civil war, the rise of higher criticism, mass immigration, and ideologies like Marxism and Darwinism. 

Hence, one generation later (in the 1920s), the Church lost societal influence with every institution of higher learning. The result was that we lost the entire culture to another generation, as embodied in the 1960’s sexual revolution. (For more on this, read my book, “The Wineskin of the Kingdom.”) It took three generations to lose the culture, and it will take at least one generation or more to turn it back to the Judeo/Christian worldview. 

Without the Church serving as the ground and pillar of the truth for society, cultural ethics will rapidly decline to the default position of human depravity  (1 Timothy 3:15).

6. The American people need to recover trust in the system.

We have a crisis of trust in this nation. Many Black and Brown people have little trust in law enforcement and the judicial system. This mistrust becomes the catalyst for such movements as Black Lives Matter. Many conservative Trump supporters and perhaps most people in the Republican party have lost trust in the political process because of the alleged massive election fraud. 

Also, I have observed through the last several decades of political engagement, many elected officials, both Democrats and Republicans, have been arrested for bribes, corruption, and other misdeeds. Some of them I knew personally. Some form of malfeasance is almost expected because long ago, it became part of the ecosystem of politics. However, character matters. If there is no turnaround, corrupt political systems, and ego-driven leaders will eventually bring down the nation. There are no easy solutions. We need divine intervention! 

However, the Church should take the lead in facilitating community-wide dialogue between the police, elected officials, and concerned citizens. The goals should be to find common ground, work together, and to rebuild a culture of trust. 

 7. The prophetic words about Trump were wrong.

It is time for all of the prophetic leaders who prophesied a Trump victory to submit a public apology and admit they were wrong. There is no longer any realistic possibility that Trump will remain in office, even if election fraud is proven before President-Elect Biden is sworn in. 

Admitting that they were wrong doesn’t mean they are false prophets, especially since the New Testament teaches us to test all prophetic words. (This means that present-day prophecy is not on the same level as the Old Testament prophets whose prophecies were equal to Scripture (1 Thessalonians 5:20-21).) 

This should be a time of real soul searching among these prophetic leaders who, en masse, prophesied a Trump victory. (Many others also missed it when they prophesied COVID would suddenly lift around Passover 2020.) To continue moving forward with integrity in public prophetic ministry, they will need to check their hearts, motives, honestly assess their methodology, and make themselves accountable to mature spiritual leaders. Those who sincerely do this will probably experience a greater unction for ministry upon their lives because God causes “All things to work together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).  

8. Mere politics cannot fix the maladies of the nation.

The biggest mistake the conservative Evangelical Church has made in recent years has been to invest too much of their time, energy, and focus on bringing systemic change through political means. (They focused most of their efforts on the political sphere to the neglect of the other spheres of culture.) God and His church should always be the center of our focus and our means to bring systemic change. Jesus calls the Church to operate with the keys of the kingdom, and to bind and loose His will on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 16:16-19). After all, our greatest battle is “not against flesh and blood but the spiritual forces of darkness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). Only the preaching of the Gospel has the power to change lives and shift the culture from the inside out (as opposed to mere politics that attempts to change human behavior by laws and policies). To the extent the gospel permeates culture and reflects the ethos of God’s kingdom, that is, the extent will make the political system work. Without a culture of virtue in a society, no constitution, law, or policy can sustain itself long term. 

Purchase Joseph Mattera’s latest book, “The Jesus Principles”, available now on Amazon here.

Contrasting the Kingdom of God and Christian Nationalism (Part I) 

During the past several months, there has been much talk and concern regarding Christian nationalism.

There is a fine line, an almost indiscernible line, between Christian nationalism and patriotism.

I am willing to die for my nation. I believe the United States of American is the greatest nation on the earth despite all its flaws and sins. Hence, I am a patriot. I support our right to have a strong military, and I believe God had a special plan for the nation from its very inception. I would love to see the United States build its laws upon the Scriptures’ standard of morality and justice. I am strongly pro-life and pro-biblical marriage. I also advance a biblical worldview in many of my teachings. 

These beliefs do not make me a Christian nationalist. 

I am more committed to advancing the Gospel of the Kingdom of God than a set of policies of a particular political party. While being a patriot is a noble thing, it’s more important for a person to be “born from above” and become part of the Kingdom of God (John 3:3-8).

I am first a Christian, secondarily an American. As a Christ-follower, I am a citizen of the world; my concern is global. I desire for God’s kingdom to influence every nation, not just the United States. 

In the context of this article, most of the recent concerns about the rise of Christian nationalism are coming from the radical Left. This is primarily because most Evangelicals support President Trump’s policies. The radical Left utilizes a lens of interpretation skewed against anything for what Conservative Evangelicals stand. However, there are also important concerns coming from Conservative Evangelicals. Joel McDurmon criticized Trump supporters for desiring top-down power and control. Although I thought the article in which Joel criticized Trump raised some crucial issues, Joel failed to mention that it is the radical Left themselves who seek top-down control. It is the Left themselves who promote laws and celebrate court decisions that most Americans would never vote for (e.g. abortion and gay marriage). 

Some in the Body of Christ have done an excellent job addressing Christian nationalism. (My dear friend, Dr. Michael Brown, has written about Christian nationalism). 

The purpose of this article is to further clarify the issue by contrasting the Kingdom of God from Christian nationalism. 

1. The Kingdom of God focuses on the advancement of the Gospel. Nationalism focuses on the advancement of the politics of the nation. 

As much as I believe politics and economics are vital and, to an extent, can represent biblical ethics, I am much more committed to making disciples and seeing humanity change. (It is also possible for a committed Christian to be a faithful witness for Jesus while serving in public life as an elected official.)  For me, anything that potentially distracts my energy and focus away from advancing the Gospel takes a backseat in my personal life and ministry. 

2. The Kingdom of God produces loyalty to Christ above all else. Nationalism produces loyalty to the nation above all else.

I have studied the behavior and writings of Christians for many years. In some cases, I have concluded that some Christians are more committed to their nation and ethnic heritage than they are to God. The Kingdom of God transcends all nations and ethnic identities (Psalm 103:19).

In the mid-20th century, we witnessed Christian nationalists turn a blind eye to the 3rd Reich when most of the German churches aligned themselves with Hitler. If it happened once, it can and will continue to happen again, especially to a non-discerning church. 

3. The Kingdom of God produces martyrs for the cause of Christ. Nationalism produces citizens who are willing to die for their nation. 

Although I am willing to defend my neighbor and die for my nation, I believe the greatest honor is to die for the sake of Christ and His kingdom. (Some may argue that I am a better citizen not because I am willing to die for my nation, but because of my faith in God.) Hence, it has to do with motive, not merely actions.

4. The Kingdom of God raises the banner of Jesus above all else. Nationalism raises the national flag above all else. 

During this acerbic political season, I have witnessed Christians fighting on social media, becoming irate and condescending towards those with a different political view. (Consequently, Christians are jeopardizing the eternity of unbelievers who may be the recipients of their political rants!) 

We are called to walk in the ideals set forth by Jesus in the “Sermon on the Mount”  and aspire to represent His Kingdom. We must be the “salt of the earth and light of the world” (Matthew 5-7). 

5. The Kingdom of God promotes the interests of God above the world. Nationalism promotes the interests of the nation above the Kingdom. 

In the Old Testament, we have seen many times that prophets like Jeremiah, Amos, Jonah, Isaiah, Elijah, and more, declared words from the Lord that were not always good for Israel. They risked their lives because their first allegiance was to His Kingdom rather than the nation of Israel. Jesus even corrected Peter because he was more interested in the things of men rather than the things of God (Mark 8:33). Consequently, we in the Kingdom of God should have our essential allegiance to Christ and His gospel, even if it does not comport with our nation’s rank and file, and the policies they espouse. 

Purchase Joseph Mattera’s latest book, “The Jesus Principles”, available now on Amazon here.