Four years ago, we watched as Donald Trump’s presidency filled the airwaves with outrage. Every day there was a new scandal, a new cruelty, a new reason to be appalled. And now, with his return to office, the cycle is beginning again. The media is already primed for it, ready to chase every outrageous remark, every insult, every moment of calculated chaos. But while they may not have learned anything, we have.
Let’s be clear: our church stands against pretty much everything that the Trump presidency represents. We reject the racism, the anti-LGBTQ+ policies, the anti-immigrant cruelty, the disdain for refugees, the callous disregard for Palestinian lives. We reject all of it because we follow Jesus, who calls us to love our neighbor, to welcome the stranger, to care for the oppressed.
And yet, while we stand firmly against the hatred, we refuse to be consumed by it.
Donald Trump has never been a model of Christian character, and we should not expect that to change. If we let him, he will dominate our attention, hijack our conversations, and draw us into an endless cycle of reaction and outrage. That is not our calling. That is not our mission.
As your pastor, I will not be responding to every fresh offense, every headline, every firestorm. Not because these things don’t matter – they do – but because we are called to something bigger. Following Augustine, I see our church as a school of love. That means we are here to be spiritually formed, to be shaped into people who love more deeply, who resist injustice with courage, and who embody the hope and grace found in the way of Jesus.
This doesn’t mean we’ll be silent when real moments of crisis arise. When action is needed, we will act. But we will not be baited into making Trump the center of our prayers, our energy, or our community. Our God is so much bigger than that. Our mission is so much bigger than that.
The days ahead will be challenging. The forces of hatred will not retreat quietly. But neither will we. We will not allow our spirits to be worn down by the churn of political theater. Instead, we will keep doing what we have always done – building up a bulwark of love, a community of resistance, a people shaped not by fear but by faith.
The world needs that now more than ever.
Let’s get to work.
Much love,
