Make Worship Great Again by Brian Kaylor and Beau Underwood for Public Witness / Word and Way
“It’s America First and Make America Great Again, and we will do it,” former President Donald Trump declared at the end of a speech on Sunday (Dec. 19).
The crowd erupted with applause and cheers. Inside the standing ovation, a chant rose up as Trump started walking away. He paused, pumped his fist, and encouraged it to grow louder.
“USA! USA! USA!”
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And then after a couple announcements, the crowd started singing, “O come let us adore him.”
That’s how the “worship” service at First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, ended for the last Sunday of Advent.
And Trump’s message wasn’t just something tacked onto the end of the Sunday gathering. From the beginning to the end, the day focused on Trump. His picture featured prominently on the bulletin along with a distant Jesus in the manger.
After seasonal instrumental music to start the service, a voice came from on high through the sanctuary’s speakers: “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the 45th president of the United States of America, President Donald J. Trump.” Trump walked into the sanctuary (late) along with the church’s pastor, Robert Jeffress, to a standing ovation. With his image and an American flag on the big screen, Trump waved while ushered to the front row as the congregation continued applauding and watching him through their cellphone screens.
Ignored was the admonition in the Book of James to avoid favoritism toward wealthy guests who take people to court to defraud them and blaspheme the name of God (maybe Jeffress missed that section as he’s not made it past Two Corinthians yet).
His explicitly Christian comments came in the script he started off by mocking, struggled to read, and often stopped to offer side comments like after reading a line about the shepherds being told that a savior had been born.
