Why Trump is in Our Deconstruction Stories

The Desert Sanctuary

Why Trump is in Our Deconstruction Stories

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In the 2016 election, I couldn’t vote for either candidate, Hillary or Trump. So, I voted for the third party, and I can’t even remember his name. I was following my convictions that there had to be a better person to be the leader of our country. When Trump was elected, I decided to remain positive and hope his business experience would pay off running the country. At the time, I didn’t realize that most of his businesses had failed, and I didn’t know that he had cheated and broken the rules in most of his interactions in New York.

So, I was positive until he held that first press conference, where he berated the press. I suppose my eyes were bulging as I wondered to myself, “What have we gotten ourselves into?”

I was pastoring a small church at this time and questioning several of my core beliefs, including Hell (Eternal Conscious Torment), LGBTQ, Penal substitutionary Atonement, and generally, the demeanor of the Evangelical Church in America.

After I stepped down from my pastoral position, I took refuge at a more progressive church, and shortly thereafter, all of these things began to snowball together. The shortcomings of our new president, the practices of my denomination, and the general demeanor of fundamentalist, evangelical churchgoers caused me to begin deconstructing at a rapid pace.

My preaching had always involved love and grace, but I was now questioning God because when I looked closely, the words, practices, and beliefs embraced by my people seemed opposed to the nature of the god we worshipped. Every day, I experienced more lies by the new president and more childish behavior by him and the conservative Christians who embraced him wholeheartedly.

I was taught to measure everything by the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5. When I held up this standard to my old party (Republican) and my denomination (the SBC), they didn’t fare well. In my mind, it went something like this:

1. Love – Trump seemed to love only those who supported him, and my denomination couldn’t bear to fully accept gay people and people of color.
2. Joy – For years, I listened to angry preachers who only seemed joyful when many people came to hear them speak, gave them money, and volunteered for them. Then, they would scold them to do more. Trump was the same way, except that he lied more and played the victim card every chance he got. He exemplified white privilege, having everything but still seeing everything as rigged against him. He is so trapped in this paradigm that he can’t find joy unless he’s criticizing others, cheating at golf, cheating on his wife, or concocting illegal business schemes.
3. Peace – When we can’t love our enemies (like Jesus said), it’s hard to find peace in any circumstance. Trump, other politicians, and religious people make a living creating people to hate. For Trump, it’s anyone who doesn’t kiss his ring, but especially people of color and those who have compassion for the marginalized, which the Bible calls “The Least of These.” For religious people, it’s the “world,” which really means everyone that doesn’t think exactly like us. I see it every day in small towns. People who are almost identical give up their joy because a politician or a pastor tells them to “otherize” people who have slightly different beliefs. Trump’s other is anyone who is not wholeheartedly committed to him.
4. Patience – The church and all politicians don’t seem to have any concept of patience. They want to use their influence to force everybody to change instead of allowing people to find the truth and change their beliefs. Trump imploded because he had to sit still for a few weeks. It was really shorter than a normal work week for most Americans, but he wanted special privilege because of who he imagined himself to be: the King. This idea of influence is heavily promoted by Southern Baptist churches and others. Relying on influence avoids the normal process of human relationships. We don’t have to love and care for people if we can gain a position where we demand them to do it our way.
5. Kindness – You would think that someone who has been fined millions of dollars for being unkind would start to learn the lesson. But pastors and politicians are generally anything but kind. Trump and his supporters avoid the basic injunction by Jesus to love your neighbor, treat them fairly, and respect differing opinions. I noticed this at Trump’s first press conference, but it didn’t improve. His closest followers who long for his attention are some of the cruelest people I know. People carrying Jesus banners at the January 6^th insurrection were shouting “Hang Mike Pence” and pursued Nancy Pelosi because neither of them would comply with the illegal schemes. If you want to boil my reason for deconstruction down to one thing, it would be the unkindness of Jesus followers and the politicians they idolize.
6. Faithfulness – Trump is faithful only to himself, much like the specific doctrine that religious people adhere to. Neither is faithful to the abovementioned things, like kindness, compassion, love of enemies, and justice. They are mostly faithful to their politics which guides their theology. Because they believe they are right and God is on their side, they can justify almost anything, including genocide and murder, in their holy books. Religious people shouldn’t demonize the people who are their neighbors just because they see the world differently—remember, we might all be wrong. In a similar way, Trump should have a steadfast love for all the people he wants to lead instead of loving only those who are completely loyal and faithful to him.
7. Gentleness – With all the focus on Alpha males and such among Evangelical Christians, you would think that Jesus was a cage fighter. The times he got angry were when he was protecting the marginalized, not fighting to be idolized. I don’t see gentleness in any fiber of Trump’s being or in most popular pastors. I know they often pause and speak softly for effect, but it’s right before they come out swinging once again. I personally do not think Jesus is the supreme example of gentleness. He violated this principle as well. I think more of Gandhi, who rejected Christianity because Christians were not gentle beings.
8. Self-Control – Do we really have to go into the fact that Trump cheated on all of his wives, including at least once with an adult film star? He can’t control his mouth, actions, or propensity to cheat. Inappropriate relationships and abusive behavior among popular evangelical pastors are so pervasive that it almost seems like the norm. We almost expect leaders to behave childishly because we don’t even assume they will control themselves.

After living on this planet for almost 60 years, I am now beginning to reevaluate everything. My religion, my political stances, and my personal ethos for life are all under scrutiny and being slowly purified and deconstructed. What I’m looking for in leaders is very simply some integrity, not a specific stance on a popular issue. I ask questions like, “Is this person honest? Do they care for the little people, and would they sacrifice for those struggling?”

Maybe it’s a fool’s errand to look for those people in politics and religion. The nature of politics and religion is to defend your current position, not to keep exploring to find the better truth. Occasionally, someone will demonstrate a moment of integrity like Liz Cheney and they are quickly run over by the machines of religion and politics.

We have to learn timeless lessons over and over again. The only person we can control is ourselves. I can be a person of integrity. I can tell the truth. I can be kind to my neighbor. I can be present and authentic without running over my enemies.

I learned long ago that politicians, much like our clergy, are just representatives of us. The ones that reflect us in the most spectacular way are the ones we elect and allow to lead our churches and governments. So, the only way to make politicians more honest is for us to be more truthful and kinder and authentic and gentle. Then, hopefully, at the grassroots level, we will begin to elect people with integrity who are honest and gentle instead of pushing people who are not even qualified into those positions because they are “on our side.”

I see Trump in the same light as mega-church pastors—they are essentially toddlers. When a toddler or teenager throws a fit, screaming, “It’s not fair” (it’s rigged) and “I hate you,” we don’t give them their way. We tell them we understand how they feel, give them time to cool off and tell them “No.” Mega-church pastors and Trump have never been restrained, and they always continue their quest to get their way.

To Trump and the other Patriarchal attention seekers, I say directly, “I understand how you feel. I felt the same way, but I have learned there is a better way. Instead of controlling people, circumstances, and situations, try listening and feeling what normal people feel.”

For the rest of us, why don’t we employ the simple things we know to be good, like truthfulness, kindness, empathy, understanding, listening, and patience? We know what to do, and we don’t need politicians and clergy to tell us who to hate.

Let’s keep evolving, growing, learning, and moving ahead, knowing that politics and religion will always lag behind.

Be where you are, be who you are, be at peace,

Karl Forehand

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Karl Forehand is a former pastor, podcaster, and award-winning author. His books include Out into the Desert, Leaning Forward, Apparent Faith: What Fatherhood Taught Me About the Father’s Heart, The Tea Shop and Being: A Journey Toward Presence and Authenticity. He is the creator of The Desert Sanctuary podcast and community. He is married to his wife Laura of 35 years and has one dog named Winston. His three children are grown and are beginning to multiply! You can read more about the author here.