Good morning!

I’ve spent some time pondering the problem this new generation of “woke” evangelical pastors has with Donald Trump. They say it’s his style, but I think it is because he actually delivers on promises they have failed to keep.

First, here is today's Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Friday, October 23, 2020
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• During last night’s debate Democrat Joe Biden admitted he would eliminate the oil and gas industry; every Texas politician who has endorsed Biden needs to answer for that position.
   
• And those ‘Lincoln Project’ RINOs, especially, need to explain why their candidate wants to destroy the Lone Star State’s economy.

• The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee voted yesterday to proceed with the confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to be the next associate justice of the Supreme Court. 
      
• “Judge Barrett impressed the country when she testified, and I believe Judge Barrett will be Justice Barrett by the end of the week. I look forward to seeing her confirmed to the Supreme Court.” – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz

• Amid thousands of Texas families withdrawing their kids from government-run schools during government-ordered shutdowns, Jacob Asmussen reports some public schools are reportedly attempting to hinder parents’ rights to choose the best educational path for their children.
   
• A new report from the Texas Home School Coalition finds some public schools have been obstructing or even trying to stop parents from withdrawing their children in order to home-school. “Some schools required new homeschool parents to jump through hoops not required by the TEA or even told families that they could not withdraw at all from public school due to COVID-19,” the organization noted.
   
• Note: schools cannot legally stop parents from withdrawing their children.
   
• Public schools across Texas are watching thousands of families leave their system to pursue different education options, such as private schools, charter schools, or home-schooling. Just in Central Texas, the Austin Independent School District has lost 5,000 students since the end of last year, and suburban districts such as Pflugerville and Round Rock have lost 1,300 and 2,400 students, respectively.

• As it turns out, public schools’ rush to appease leftist snowflakes by locking students out during the coronavirus had the effect of showing many parents their kids would do better in an educational setting where “academics” comes before “virtue signaling.” ​

• Elections in Texas are vulnerable to fraud. In an interview by Robert Montoya, JoAnn Fleming of Grassroots America We the People describes the vulnerabilities still in place, and what citizens must do to guard the integrity of their vote.
    

• For example, there is a lack of certainty if Texas has verified everyone registered to vote in the state is legally eligible, or if non-citizens, felons, or the dead are on the rolls. Fleming said there are “active cases” of all three currently under investigation and “being prosecuted” around the state.
      

• “The way you can tell they haven’t done anything to verify the voter list is that the left is not screeching.” – JoAnn Fleming

• Three Republican justices are in contested races to keep their seats on a key North Texas appellate court that flipped from solid GOP to an 8-5 Democrat majority in 2018’s “blue wave” election. Erin Anderson has the details.
   
• Justices David Evans, John Browning, and Bill Whitehill are defending their seats on Texas’ 5th Court of Appeals in Dallas against Democrat challengers with plenty of funding—but no appellate court experience.

• One of the oldest conservative groups in Texas is also its youngest: the Young Conservatives of Texas. For more than 40 years, YCT has been advocating for, educating students about, and rating politicians on conservative reforms. As part of our continuing series on endorsements, Brandon Waltens reports on the candidates YCT is supporting this year.
      
• As the organization notes with its “principle over party” motto, YCT does not endorse all Republicans. Instead, they give their endorsement to only the truly conservative candidates – and they will never call candidates “conservative,” unless they really are.

Friday Reflection

It has become all the rage within the woke circles of evangelicalism for “conservative” pastors to take this president to task in a way they never did with previous occupants of the White House. They focus on his style, without considering results or substance.

This isn’t surprising, since that’s how many treat their ministries. They want us focused on how they play the right music, have fun social groups, or are aspiring members of the new intelligentsia. They hope we will ignore the scripturally irrelevant self-help pablum dished out from the pulpit.

The problem is that too many pastors and other church leaders are threatened by a “profane” businessman delivering on the promises that they have not.

The modern church – even the allegedly “Bible-believing, theologically conservative” brand associated with American evangelicalism – has become a sinkhole of soft leftist ideology. Too many pulpits are filled by pastors more concerned with the faint praise of the godless elite than they are in substantive reform of our culture. They are embarrassed the Trump-supporting rabble, and want to be loved the modern Pharisees. 

For decades conservatives have been urged not to see themselves as voting for a “pastor” when selecting a president. We have been told to overlook adultery in the Oval Office. We have been told to ignore unconstitutional power grabs in the name of “safety,” and to understand that funding Planned Parenthood and redefining marriage are necessary “concessions” for our so-called friends to gain political power.

But power to do what?

In 2016, conservatives finally relented. We elected someone who made a different bargain. Rather than go with the guys who pat the electorate on the head and offer some soft patter about their conversations with their ol’ pal Jesus, voters went with a straight-talking, results-promising newcomer – even if he’s occasionally crass and unabashedly self-promoting.

No one could confuse Donald Trump with a pastor. But we weren’t supposed to be electing a pastor, right?

Instead, Americans elected a man to get a job done. He made explicit promises, and seemed like a guy who would deliver.

For more than 30 years, American presidential candidates promised Christians they’d move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem; they never did it. Donald Trump did. Republicans for 50 years have run on the agenda of protecting the unborn and ending abortion, but done precious little. Donald Trump banned the use of federal dollars for abortion with the stroke of a pen, defunding Planned Parenthood. The hip pastors who preach about social justice talk a good game about prison reform, but Donald Trump actually did it.

The emasculated “men” who wring their soft hands on Facebook about how awful Donald Trump’s tone is seem incapable of looking at the results - results they have long claimed to cherish. It makes me think a great many pastors don’t actually want to solve problems, just spout moralism from their comfortable, book-lined offices.

The problem is not that Donald Trump is a morally flawed man like the rest of us. The same woke pastors who tell us we must metaphorically stone Donald Trump, nonetheless refuse to speak out against the sins of their local officials – for fear of upsetting them. They will loudly damn President Trump for his personal failings, but won’t take a state representative or city councilman to task publicly for funding abortion with tax dollars.

For years they have scammed their flocks, programmatically failing to deliver while blaming others, then lining their pockets with the proceeds of promises for “next time.” We have been told by these same pastors to tolerate professional politicians who’ve made a good living on “fighting the good fight” without ever putting a win on the board.

They can tolerate many intolerable things, but the new generation of socially woke pastors simply cannot abide by someone who actually delivers on his promises.

Donald Trump has done what he promised. He has fought for American greatness. Even when he has failed to deliver, he has not failed to fight. You don’t like Donald Trump’s attitude? Then don’t invite him to dinner. King David was a murdered and an adulterer. St. Matthew was a tax collector. Paul stoned Christians.

Rather than pander to the left, Donald Trump fights for the right. Rather than reject him, pastors should emulate his willingness to fight off the wolves in defense of his flock. Too many of them would rather be friends with the wolves.

Even as so many pastors have been unfaithful to us, Donald Trump has kept faith with America. We’ve had more than enough nice guys who don't fight, so now we've got a fighter who isn't always nice. Which has done more for liberty?

In my view, we need Donald Trump for four more years.