Modernity—and more specifically the above cohort of educated preachers and leaders—have hijacked the message and dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for no discernable biblcal reason (Isa. 56:9-11, Jer. 23:1-2, Matt. 23:1-12).
The above ministers are Dr. Joseph Evans, Otis Moss Jr., Otis Moss III, Wright Riggins III, Barbara Williams Skinner, and Warren H. Stewart Sr. and were spoken about in the previous article titled Should Black Christians Resist MAGA Republicans?
Dr. Martin Luther King Was No Pastor
Dr. King was was a prophet specifically equipped, anointed and far from the gentle, lamb-like pastor successive generations have attempted to emulate. While pastors are local guides, prophets have a mission to speak to large numbers of people to include religious and national leadership and bring a message of justice and judgment (Jer. 1:1-5,1 Peter 5:2-3, 1 Cor. 12:10, et al).
More plainly, Dr. King’s prophetic and righteous cry for justice went global and at minimum, was heard by the 255 million citizens of the United States. Not before Dr. King or since his death has an anointed and prophetic message so stirred the soul of a nation.
What God told Jeremiah must have been true of Dr. King, “See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant” (Jeremiah 1:10).
As someone born in the 1970s, I praise the Lord God of Armies for the giant that Dr. King was! As a beneficiary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964—more specifically the desegregation of public education and equal employment opportunity—I would be a hypocrite if I failed to give honor to whom honor is due.
Yet, despite the Civil Rights Act and other legislative achievements pushed forward by the movement, modernity should be reminded that there is no flesh-based tool to solve spiritual issues (Zech. 4:6, Eph. 6:4, 2 Cor. 10:4).
Black Pastors Support Godlessness
Modern leaders claiming continuity of the Civil Rights Movement have failed to recognize that the cultural and spiritual landscape has shifted with the election of Barack Obama who, while black, actively and publicly stood for almost everything we preach against such as:
1. Support for abortion: The m*rder of children in the womb as well partial birth abortion is an abomination to the Lord (Prov. 6:16-17, Exo. 20:13).
2. Same-sex marriage: While black preachers refuse to marry same-sex couples, Obama championed its inclusion into law (Gen. 2:24, Matt. 19:4-5, Rom. 1:26-27).
3. Trans-gender equality: Few can forget President Obama lighting the White House up the color of the LGBTQ+ rainbow flag in 2015 (Deut. 22:5).
4. Erosion of religious freedoms: In fairness, Obama Care provided access to medical services for many who could not previously. However, it also forced faith-based organization, under penalty of law, to provide paid access to abortion (Acts 5:29).
Why would Bible believers support such policies and even allow its most prominent politicians access to their pulpits to vomit on God's people? This will be explained in more detail in the next article, but for brevity's sake, it increases their power, prestige, and position.
They also remain silent on the unrighteousness against lower income blacks suffering from the effects of illegal immigration. It is a fact that illegal immigration does more harm to lower income black men and women than any other demographic.
Where is the outrage from national black ministers, such those featured, at Joe Biden and Kamala Harris for using such a devastating financial weapon against our people? It also escaped notice that Democrats complete border failure hurt black job prospects, such as blacks with felony convictions, and the wide open border is further meant to replace them as a voter base!
As Trump's election proved, certain portions of the black population would rather vote for someone viewed as a tyrant rather than those who conduct tyranny in the dark of night.
On the other side of the aisle, and for the 13% of blacks who vote Republican, where is the outrage against under-funding inner-city infrastructure while granting billion-dollar contracts to the military industrial complex? Most, like Republic mouthpiece Candace Owens, constantly berate inner-city issues without offering substantial solutions.
Which of these parties should we be loyal to? Why are black religious, entertainment, and business leaders continuing to buck dance for both parties who have openly demonstrated disdain for a key voter base?
Why Pastors Vote Against the Bible
Over the last decade—accelerated by the unbiblical agenda of liberal Democrats like Obama, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris—the LGBTQ+ agenda has been forced onto at least 50% of the country, many of whom rejected it.
Shockingly, Black church leadership chooses to overlook this abomination even though the Bible speaks against it and Christian support of any form of evil. Now, through a godless call to rebellion against Trump, preachers advocate for the return of such a demonic agenda through returning Democrats to power.
Excuses like, “I do not agree with everything the Democrat Party does” despite the Bible teaching that empowering evil, in any manner is agreeing with it, does not pass the theological smell test (Gal. 1:8-9, 2 John 1:9-11).
Meanwhile, Donald Trump, through godlessness, capitalized on this silence and was elected President twice. In the last election, a significant number of Black and Latino men voted for Trump, helping to secure his presidency.
Why do Christian pastors involve themselves in the silo of politics when it produces no fruit of the Spirit, divides the Church, and there is no anointing to do so?
The answer is threefold.
First is a misplaced belief in shared anointing with Dr. Martin Luther King. Having excised the Ephesians 4 leadership model entirely from preaching, they mistakenly believe there is a nexus between Dr. King’s mission and their own (1 Cor. 12:4-11, Rom. 12:6-8).
Based on the fruit produced; it is obvious they do not understand either what gifts of the Holy Spirit are much less how it applies to their calling (Eph. 4:11-13).
Second is a demonic pursuit of what black pastors desire more than even a relationship with Jesus Christ: power, prestige, and position (Ezek. 56:10-12, Jer. 5:30-31, Mark 7:6-9). They, having erred from the faith, are more concerned with achieving temporal influence than inheriting eternal life, a point I explored in Black Church Chronicles: The Hireling (1 Tim. 6:3-5, 2 Tim. 4:3-4).
Third, two decades in ministry, and being anointed to call leaders back to Jesus, has shown they reject any form of righteous challenge (Num. 22:24, Matt. 21:33-36, Matt. 23: 13-39). Black pastors tend to reject internal, legitimate rebuke yet preach, when others are wrong, “the word is for rebuke, exhortation, and instructions in righteousness so the man of God can be perfectly and thoroughly furnished in all good works” (2 Tim. 3:16-17, Titus 1:13, Heb. 4:12).
In place of edifying push-back, exist echo chambers where they are worshipped, disguised as biblical honor, and place on a pedestal none of us deserve to be on. This insulation from real, prophetic biblical accountability has allowed them to run amok despite Jesus's command on church discipline (Matt. 18:15-17).
The President Doesn't Have to be a Christian
Additionally, I continue to be shocked with how highly educated leaders can presuppose that the Lord requires a Christian president to accomplish His holy will. Aside from King Cyrus of Babylon, whom the Lord called His servant, there is no biblical evidence that a Gentile political leader must follow the Lord for His will to be fulfilled through their leadership (Isa. 44-45).
In fact, whether it was Pharaoh (in the stories of Abraham, Joseph, and Moses), Nebuchadnezzar (with the Hebrew boys and Daniel), Artaxerxes I (with Nehemiah), Ahasuerus (with Esther), or even Caesar (during Jesus’s birth), a God-fearing ruler was never a prerequisite for the manifestation of God’s glory (Gen. 12:10-20, Gen. 41:14-46, Exo. 7-14, Dan. 1-4, Neh. 2:1-7, Esth. 8:1-8, Luke 2).
This highlights the deceitfulness of leaders who equate their political choice with God’s choice (Isa. 55:8-9, 1 Cor. 2:16). This is not an issue of voting one’s biblical values because if it were, real Christians would remain separate and apart (Matt. 6:24, Philipp. 3:18-19, I Pet. 1:14-16).
Pastors are Not Anointed as Prophets
Doubling back around to Dr. King, who was a prophet—not unlike Jeremiah in gentleness—yet may have seemed like a local shepherd. This is evident because his primary message was not one of the ever-present pastoral grace to America, rather the specific duty of a prophet to demand justice.
With Holy Spirit-given anointing, Dr. King wove the prophetic declarations of Amos with the justice-centered calls of Isaiah and Jeremiah. For instance, one of his most well-known quotes, “Until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream,” comes directly from Amos 5:24.
Justice was the foundation of Dr. King’s message, and only in its pursuit were Black people called to show grace to their oppressors. If there was one over-arching theme to the entire movement, it was justice for the powerless.
Though I respect Dr. King, I disagree with his total doctrinal reliance on Mahatma Gandhi’s “turn the other cheek” philosophy. While Jesus did teach this, He didn’t practice it 100% of the time (Matt. 5:39-40, Matt. 23:13-15, John 2:14-16). Either Jesus contradicted Himself, or—as Scripture says—there is a time for everything and The Master was an expert in behavioral balance in response (Eccles. 3:1, Heb. 4:15).
Furthermore, and unlike the featured cohort of professed preachers, Dr. King was a prophet, anointed to address world leaders in a way they are not. In all of American history, no Black Christian leader—nor any white leader—has so profoundly impacted the culture and history of this nation as Dr. King. Other church leaders submitted to his authority in a way unmatched since.
King’s authority stemmed from his anointing, a God-given message, and his eventual violent death for preaching justice as had the prophets and apostles prior. His leadership is aligned with the Ephesians 4 model, which identifies prophets as one of the fivefold ministry gifts to the Church.
From an apologetics standpoint, there is no theological evidence of any pastor, from the Book of Acts until today, being sent to world leaders with a justice-centered message on behalf of millions.
Why is this distinction important?
Gifts of the Spirit
Modern pastors—whether individually or collectively—lack the prophetic anointing or gifting to achieve God’s will to shift a nation on a national scale. They are local shepherds, do not possess the apostolic gifts, and are to watch the local flock (1 Pet. 5:2-3, Acts 20:28).
More plainly, they are attempting a heart transplant but specialize in cutting and quarting a chicken. This disobedience is particularly acute in church culture because leaders have rejected church order as outlined by the apostle Paul and instead have appointed themselves as the sole authority within the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:28, Eph. 4:11, Philipp. 1:1).
Just thinking out loud, it is needful for me to write a paper on this topic because it deserves a much more robust apologetical.
In the next article, titled Black Church Leadership Worships Power Not God, I reveal the underlying motives of ministerial groups and it isn’t advancing the kingdom or loving God's people.
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