Robert Jeffress and others urge Christian conservatives to get involved in politics

Christian conservatives took aim at COVID-19 mandates, big government, critical race theory and LGBTQ issues at a ‘cultural engagement summit’ on Saturday, urging each other to engage in politics through things like voter registration drives, running for office, and running for conservative values.

“Right now, Christians are worried that our culture is collapsing much faster than expected, but they are also worried about what their response to this collapse should be,” said Robert Jeffress, senior pastor of First Baptist Dallas and religious. adviser to former President Donald Trump.

Jeffress preached that “Jesus said, ‘You are the salt of the earth'” and that the primary function of salt was once to serve as a preservative. One of the reasons God left Christians on earth is to “repel evil,” to delay the collapse of the world, Jeffress said.

“Unfortunately, there are too many Christians today who have become passive towards the evil in our culture…the real reason is that they are afraid, they are cowards, and that is why they do not want to involved,” Jeffress said.

After:Mark Meadows and other GOP leaders rally Republicans in Memphis

After:State disputes residence of House candidate Lee Mills, says home is in Fayette County

Jeffress also discussed how the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule this summer on a Mississippi court case that could effectively end Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that ruled that a state law banning abortion was unconstitutional.

This challenge to Roe is “because of the results of an election in 2016, the election of Donald J. Trump as President of the United States,” Jeffress said.

In electing Trump, Christians “were not voting for a pastor or a pope, they were voting for a president,” Jeffress said. “Elections make the difference.

Saturday’s event at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary was hosted by the Citizens for America Foundation, a nonprofit that advocates conservative Christian principles, and had about 300 attendees. This coincided with the foundation’s move from Boone, North Carolina to Memphis.

A day earlier, the Conservative Baptist Network also held an event at the seminary, drawing between 115 and 150 people to the seminary campus for worship and preaching.

Other speakers on Saturday expressed the theory debunked that President Joe Biden “stole” the 2020 election, called LGBTQ people “groomers,” and warned against the infiltration of Marxism on college campuses.

Suggested breakout session topics ranged from “Pro-life 101” to “Cancellation Culture on College Campuses” to “How Coffee Can Help Fund Your Ministry.”

Rick Green, former Texas state representative and founder of the Patriot Academy, said the United States was “certainly not more than a generation away from losing its freedom.”

“We live in a time when every little thing you do in your community, your church and your family could make a difference as we swing between freedom and tyranny. Everything you do in your family, your church and your family could be the difference that pushes us between freedom and tyranny,” Green said.

He has strongly opposed COVID-19 mandates, calling masks “face layers” and calling the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the “Center for Demented Confusion.”

“Demonic,” someone shouted in the audience.

“It’s been an absolutely out of control federal government,” Green said, describing walking through the airport during the federal mask mandate without wearing a mask.

“I was Katniss from The Hunger Games, I just showed my sign of defiance,” he said, raising his hand in The Hunger Games’ three-finger salute. “You’re kind of giving them three middle fingers, kind of saying I won’t comply.”

Mark Meadows, former congressman and Trump’s chief of staff, spoke about the iconic battle of 1776 when George Washington moved his troops through Delaware under cover of fog.

“Most said it was the hand of God protecting those who were willing to fight for freedom,” Meadows said. “I am here today to tell you that the fog is lifting here in this country for the patriots who are ready to get in the boat and row one by one. So my question for you is are you ready to get on the boat? Are you ready to row without knowing the result? »

Meadows is currently resisting a subpoena to appear before the Jan. 6 committee, citing executive privilege. In December, the United States House voted to hold Meadows in contempt of Congress for defying the subpoena. It has also appeared frequently in the news in recent weeks, as text messages revealed the extent of communication between Trump’s inner circle as they discussed the election results following Biden’s 2020 victory. A recent court filing also alleged that Meadows had been warned of possible violence. on January 6, 2021.

For subscribers:The Jan. 6 committee is targeting June hearings on the Capitol attack. Will they affect the 2022 elections?

Meadows did not address the controversies, but Jim DeMint, a former U.S. senator and president of the Conservative Partnership Institute, said Meadows was “under attack every day.”

“The attacks are not about Mark Meadows at all,” DeMint said. “This is about you and every Christian who dares to get involved in.. politics or the public square at home. They want to intimidate everyone to watch the attacks and say I never want to be part of it. »

In other news:How to find your polling place — which may have changed — for Tuesday’s Shelby County primary

After:Mark Meadows and other GOP leaders rally Republicans in Memphis

Ryan Helfenbein, executive director of Liberty University’s Standing for Freedom Center, quoted Jeremiah 29:4-7, when God said to the Israelites, “Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile…for in its well-being you find your well-being.

“God’s people, wherever they are in the world, are called to seek the welfare of the city,” Helfenbein said. “I believe that Christians should build hospitals, orphanages, schools. I believe that Christians should disciple those in government. I believe Christians should build hardware stores, sell chicken sandwiches, and bake cakes.

Katherine Burgess covers county government and religion. She can be reached at [email protected], 901-529-2799 or followed on Twitter @kathsburgess.