" Our use of power will always be disoriented and destructive - will result in idolatry and injustice - unless we find a way to a restored relationship with the Giver of power".
- Andy Crouch
On, June 3, 2020, the President of the United States ordered militarized police to teargas and remove peaceful protesters who were hosting a "Solidarity Prayer Vigil" near St. John's Church in Lafayette Square. He did this as a show of strength to have a photo-op with a Bible in front of the church. It was excessive use of force and brutality that played like a love letter to his religious base. This authoritarian-lite stunt is like a Russian-hooker-threeway of Trump's worst impulses; his hubris, stupidity, and small-dick-energy.
It's an interesting snapshot to examine. The President is using the church as a backdrop and Bible as a prop. It's the perfect example of what Christianity in America has become. Hollow images and symbols that should echo the ways of Jesus, but they don't. They've just become tools of a corrupt empire.
To look at leadership through the lens of Jesus, we see a very different approach to power and greatness. His selfless death on the cross is a stark contrast to someone who teargasses a peaceful crowd of volunteers and clergy. Where Jesus would say, "Black Lives Matter," but to Trump, only his life matters. It's sad to see how the faithful have been willingly duped. Are we tired of winning yet?
It's time to wake up and see the hypocrisy, lies, and empty promises. Christ calls us to engage with the world differently. Through his lens of love, humility, compassion, and vulnerability, leadership and power begin to look very different. Through walking in his example, we can begin to heal the wounds in our nation as we elevate diverse voices to seats at the collective table. We are better together than we are apart.
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