Bishop Jackson will host a roundtable of STAND state presidents to discuss the events and the issues that most impacted America in 2025.
Even though we are hearing about revival and awakenings at various locations, particularly on college campuses, it is increasingly obvious that there are still many people who seem to be oblivious to what is happening around them.
Following the reelection of Donald J. Trump as the 47th president of the United States last year, some very important things have happened in this country and some of these things have raised questions about the direction this country is headed.
President Trump almost immediately closed the southern border. After four years of almost unlimited illegal immigration flooding the country from Mexico, the Trump administration virtually shut off the flow of illegals into the country from our neighbor to the south. Of course, the inevitable next step was the deportation of those who came in illegally, particularly those who have committed crimes. This resulted in protests in places like Los Angeles and other blue cities. Attacks on ICE agents followed.
Another significant event that followed President Trump’s return to the White House is that almost every decision he makes or policy that he attempts to implement ends up before a leftist federal judge and he is told that he doesn’t have the authority to do anything that he wants to do. Judicial overreach has become the norm. No one in the previous four years ever told the Biden administration that they couldn’t do what they wanted, but because President Trump wants to actually solve problems, and “Make America Great Again,” he is stymied by the courts.
Probably the most significant event in 2025 was the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA. Charlie was known primarily as a free speech advocate who challenged the status quo on college and university campuses, by simply conducting open dialogue with anyone who had the courage to face up to honest and open discussion. An avowed conservative and dedicated follower of Jesus Christ, Charlie challenged the norms of leftist philosophy. He had a powerful impact among young people, particularly young men, by simply standing up to whatever questions or attacks that came from his opponents.
On September 10, Charlie was gunned down by a man who apparently believed the Left’s contentions that Charlie and all other Trump supporters were Nazis and Fascists. Since Charlie’s murder, TPUSA chapters have exploded all across the country, and young people are beginning to open up to the Gospel and conservative ideas.
Another issue that is confronting us as we close out this year is the Dept. of War’s campaign against the drug cartels coming out of Venezuela and Colombia. The US military has been taking out drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, and the Left is crying “war crimes.” President Trump has given an ultimatum to Venezuelan dictator Maduro to leave the country or else. The heat is on, both for the Department of War as well as President Maduro.
We are seeing an increase in lawlessness. Health insurance CEOs can be gunned down and the killer becomes a social media hero. Two National Guard soldiers are shot on the streets of DC and the media puts the blame on the President for putting them in harm’s way. Gang activity and mass shootings are rampant in our cities.
We are seeing a rise in the influence of Islam with the election of a Muslim mayor in New York City and a Muslim Lt. Governor in Virginia. Whole communities are being taken over by Muslim populations who are attempting to institute Sharia Law instead of the US Constitution.
Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, abortion has increased across the country. Chemical abortion has become the tool of Planned Parenthood and others to continue their eugenic practices and genocide in the Black community.
The nuclear family, instituted by God at the beginning of creation, is under assault like never before. Not only same-sex “marriage,” but “shacking up” and “hooking up” have become the replacement for a monogamous two-parent stable home environment. Divorce rates continue to climb and birth rates continue to decline.
These and other events and issues lie before us as we come to the end of 2025. How will we respond? How will freedom-loving Americans and Bible-believing Christians continue to be salt and light in the midst of turmoil and division? How should the Church continue to influence the government and the culture as we move into the new year?
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. He also serves as General Counsel for STAND.
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.
Please join us for this stimulating, informative conversation.
