Bishop Jackson will host a roundtable of STAND state presidents to discuss how to reach and mobilize pastors and churches to challenge the spiritual and cultural issues in America in 2025.
Even though we are hearing about revival and awakenings at various locations, particularly on college campuses, it is increasingly obvious that many churches still do not deal with the issues of the day.
Some very prominent Christian leaders continue to encourage their flocks to “just share the Gospel.” They tell their parishioners to stay away from “political” issues like abortion and the LGBTQ++ lifestyle. All that’s necessary, they say, is to win souls for Christ. “You can’t argue anyone into heaven!”
I am not one to encourage Christians to start arguments, particularly with their family members and close friends. But I am also not one who would go out of my way to avoid such arguments if someone wanted to have them.
What these so-called leaders and pastors are forgetting is that most, if not all, of these “political” issues are primarily Biblical and spiritual issues. For pastors and churches to avoid confronting these issues, we are allowing the secular culture to determine, not only the discussion, but also the outcome.
If, as a pastor, I do not preach the value of every human life and the significance of our creation, I am allowing my people to be influenced by the surrounding culture of death. If I do not emphasize that life begins at conception, my people can conclude that abortion up to fifteen weeks is acceptable.
If I, as a pastor, do not preach that God created two genders, male and female, and that He designed marriage to be between one man and one woman for the primary purpose of procreation, it is easy for the congregants to assume that homosexual relationships are acceptable and might even be God-ordained. We’ve all heard homosexual men and women say that God created them that way and that it is impossible for them to change, even if they wanted to.
Then we have also heard people who call themselves Christians say that maybe God makes mistakes every once in a while, and some folks who were born male are really female inside and some who were born female are really male. So, I should accept that man in my congregation who comes to church wearing make-up and a dress, after all he’s just expressing how God made him.
The question before us is how do we convince pastors and church leaders to confront these issues head-on. When we compromise with the standards of the culture around us, James says that we are adulterers and adulteresses. In James 4:4 he writes, “Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”
It is time for men and women in leadership in the Church to step up, stand up, speak up, and refuse to back up on these and other significant issues of our time!
Joining Bishop Jackson will be Pastor Cecil Blye, Pastor Iverson Jackson, Pastor Melvin Johnson, and Pastor Leon Threatt.
Cecil Blye, Jr. is a practicing attorney and pastor of More Grace Ministries in Louisville, KY and also serves as headmaster at More Grace Christian Academy.
Iverson Jackson is a retired US Army Lt. Col. He is the pastor of Zoe Bible Church in Little Rock, AR.
Dr. M.L. Johnson is Senior Pastor of the Heart of Christ Community Church in Brazoria, TX. He has a DM in Theology from Covington School of Theology, and is the author of several books.
Dr. A. Leon Threatt is a veteran of the US Marine Corps and also served in the Charlotte, NC Police Dept. He is the pastor of Christian Faith Center in Matthews, NC. Dr. Threatt holds a Doctorate of Practical Theology from the Master’s School of Divinity.
Bishop E.W. Jackson is founder and president of Staying True to America’s National Destiny (STAND) in Chesapeake, VA, head pastor at The Called Church, also in Chesapeake, and the host of this weekly national conference call.
A Marine Corps veteran and graduate of the University of Massachusetts Boston and Harvard Law School, Bishop Jackson has authored several books and appeared as a commentator on national news networks such as C-SPAN, Fox News, and MSNBC.
He hosts a daily podcast, E.W. Jackson for America, and directs the Awakening Hearts and Minds Project, an outreach to black, Hispanic, and other minority voters. He has been a candidate for U.S. Senate, Lt. Gov. of Virginia, and, most recently, President of the United States.
E. W. and his wife Theodora have been married since 1970 and have 3 children, Earl Jr., Rebecca, and Jaquelyn, and one granddaughter.
Please join us for this stimulating, informative conversation.
