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Dear John,
This country has seen some dark days. Now the events of January 6 in Washington, D.C. have shaken the nation.
There have been moments of unbelievable despair, like we witnessed at the U.S. Capitol, when everything seems to come apart at the seams. Those are the hours when the hopelessness we see looks nothing like the nation we thought we knew.
Yet, in almost 250 years, even the worst of times have never defined us. And we can't afford to let this one either.
We are not a bitter, desolate, violent people. It's true that we are a hurting people, a frustrated and divided people. But we are not a people broken beyond repair.
I know that, because the vast majority of men and women at the rally earlier in the day weren't there to shatter windows or trash offices.
They came as peaceful, law-abiding citizens -- to air their grievances and ask for justice. Unfortunately, both will be harder to come by now.
The day after the appalling, stunning events transpired, our Executive Vice President General Jerry Boykin and I spoke on FRC's national Washington Watch radio program.
General Boykin spent 36 years in the U.S. Army faithfully serving our nation. He urged us all not to deflect or look away, but to consider the human fallout from that tragic day.
Local authorities here in Washington, D.C. later reported that 56 officers sustained injuries from rioters. One Capitol Police officer later succumbed to severe injuries and died.
"These officers were just there doing their jobs," General Boykin told me on-air. "They are our sons and daughters, our brothers and sisters. And what happened to them was wrong."
He went on. "We don't yet know the identity of every rabble rouser," said Boykin. "But it appears some people angry and frustrated with what they've seen happening in this country were the ones perpetrating this. There's never a justification for taking on officers like that."
It's a sobering and important point. The ongoing investigation of those who breached the Capitol has (so far) resulted in more than 90 arrests. Photo evidence indicates most had attended the rally hours before. General Boykin clarified how to assess these tragic events.
"I condemn absolutely no one at that rally who remained peaceful," he said. "I condemn everybody who went inside the Capitol and took part in the violence that occurred, because that was wrong. It was not only a breach of the Capitol, but a breach of the public trust."
When a three-star general delivers a hard word, we should take his wisdom to heart. News accounts of this crisis have not reflected his careful discernment... and, in claims being shared on social media, you won't likely hear that level of blunt honesty either.
Now is the time for Christians to hold fast to truth rather than partisanship. It's one reason why the voice and mission of Family Research Council is so important today.
Thanks to support from friends like you, FRC has been able to multiply our reach in recent months. Millions of Americans have access to our daily news and analysis radio show--which represents only a small part of FRC's media and grassroots work.
Can you help us start 2021 strong? We need to elevate the voice of truth in this hour!
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In the days after the attack on the Capitol Building, I've heard from pastors all across the country and from countless people who participate in their worship services.
Many people feel like they've been robbed--and, in some places, perhaps rightly so.
From a biblical worldview, we need to galvanize ourselves in light of what's happened. That doesn't mean we shrink away... and it doesn't ever mean we pick up a brick.
As believers, we go to our knees in prayer. We seek the Lord more intently and earnestly than ever before, because our children and grandchildren are watching our actions to know how to live.
One bedrock biblical principle we live by is to uphold the value of every life. And no one can resist the spirit of death when they are possessed by the spirit of death.
I thank you for joining me in praying for our nation, and for your generosity in supporting FRC so we can begin this year fully resourced to face the challenges ahead.
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