The Political Church of God International

Over the last ten years, the Church of God International has evolved into a very political and highly partisan organization. During that period, Pastor Bill Watson has pushed that organization to adopt a radical right-wing agenda and a message that supports Republicans in general and Donald Trump in particular. In more recent times, Watson and his allies (Adrian Davis and Tony Buchert) have cast aside any pretense of objectivity or neutrality. And, if there are any voices left within that culture who disagree with Watson’s message, they have been effectively silenced and/or rendered powerless to stop it.

Even a casual perusal of that church’s website will demonstrate the pervasiveness of this transformation. Their currently featured Armor of God episode is one by Bill Watson entitled “Make America Great.” See https://www.cgi.org/armor It is interesting to note that this program was recorded in the heyday of the Trump Administration, and now appears again in the wake of Trump’s defeat in November. And Mr. Watson’s message is clear: America was doing really well under Trump and will collapse if he is forced to leave office.

Likewise, among CGI’s most recent sermons posted on their website, Tony Buchert’s “Hostile Takeover” (https://www.cgi.org/weeklysermons?sapurl=LytxNWdtL2xiL21pLyt5NGg5Mzk1P2VtYmVkPXRydWU=) is a simmering rant about political developments since their homespun local Feast of Tabernacles. Pastor Buchert talks about the “inexcusable ignorance” of folks who don’t support Trump’s agenda. He rails against the “ridiculousness” of mask wearing and complains about the infringements on his rights and freedoms. And, although there has been a great deal of discussion in recent days about educating the public about the efficacy of taking the new Covid-19 vaccine, the good pastor makes clear that he doesn’t intend to participate and suggests that everyone should resist mandatory vaccination (a straw man). He even goes on to imply that the primary motivation behind the whole thing is the monetary compensation that “big pharma” is going to receive as a consequence of the push to vaccinate the public (after all, any concern for public health is largely a hoax perpetrated by the mainstream media).

Buchert scoffs at anyone who would dare to contradict Trump’s narrative about election fraud. However, like the president whom he supports, the pastor fails to offer any evidence that Biden’s win was anything other than the consequence of a fair election. Later, Buchert even implies that folks who don’t support Trump are “traitors.” Although he professes not to have reached any personal conclusions about the matter, Buchert suggests that we may be in the process of a “hostile takeover.” He goes on to speculate that God may be chastening America right now, and that Christians should be praying hard for God to intervene and set things to right (help Trump to prevail). Before finishing, he reminds his audience that Satan attempted a coup d’état (the thought has never crossed his mind that this might be what Trump is attempting to do). He concludes by making fun of the office of President-elect.

To be sure, these folks quote a lot of scriptures, but they always employ them to buttress whatever political argument they happen to be making at the time. Watson and his allies are convinced that the United States is modern Israel. They are also convinced that Trump and Republicans represent “traditional Christian values” and are the only thing standing between them and godless socialism. Hence, although their messages are clearly a reflection of the lens through which they see current affairs, we should also be aware of the fact that a majority of folks (even other supporters of Trump) view the CGI lens/perspective as being DISTORTED! Thus, while their messages may make them and their supporters feel good, they have doomed the Church of God International to be perceived by a large slice of the American public as a collection of Trumpist, right-wing nut jobs. For a Christian Church that is ostensibly trying to proclaim Christ’s gospel to the world, that’s probably not a great image to present.

 

Lonnie Hendrix