Dear Christian friends,

While I am deeply grateful for your friendship and our sibling-hood, I feel I must warn you about what I see in our country regarding Christian Nationalism. There is a sinister influence taking place in our churches and this country and it’s affected us Christians the most. Like black mold slowly growing in the forgotten corner of your damp rental, we didn’t notice until it seemed too late. We felt it — the wheeze, the itchy skin, the headache, the red eyes and stuffy nose and lethargy. We chalked it up to the crud or allergies, all the while the mold spread behind bed frames, dressers and end tables. It sunk into the walls, infecting the drywall. But one day after your landlord came to visit, the mold disappeared. Behind a fresh coat of paint, it seemed locked away and you could get back to life. Some of your symptoms even dissipated. Every month or so your landlord showed back up and threw another coat on your walls but no matter how much paint covered the mold, it was still there growing stronger.

The quest for power and control has long dominated our Churches, blaspheming the name of Jesus. This sinister force has seduced many pastors and Church leaders for generations, whispering convincing words like, “Take and eat. You’ve earned it. You deserve it. No one will know. You’re in charge. You’re God’s best.” The Church is the vulnerable gathered, the wounded held, the forgotten included, the poor, lonely, hungry, desperate brought in to belong and be reminded they are loved. But when pastors and leaders are seduced by power and control, the Church becomes a den of robbers and a safe-house for thieves, stealing Jesus from the most vulnerable. And no matter how many coats of paint are used to hide and cover up this insidious evil, it’s been leaking out and collaborating with other forms of power and control.

The term “Christian” was first a negative slur, like it was embarrassing to be known as “Little Christs,” but those first followers of the Way of Jesus weren’t intimidated by the insults. They wore it as a badge of honor as they continued meeting together, sharing their property, food and resources with each other, while they blessed and loved their neighbors, forgave their enemies, lived a non-violent life, walked with humility while learning from their mistakes (while my glasses are sometimes rosy, I know there were severe disagreements and quests for power then, too). The way of Jesus is at the bottom of society where power and control suffocates. The way of Jesus is working for justice and loving mercy, and walking humbly with God. It’s bravely telling the hard truth of our desire for power and control and declaring we don’t want to live like that anymore and to admit we need help. The way of Jesus is gratitude, joy, peace and love.

Instead what I’m seeing are “Christian” leaders coming alongside power and control, parroting the whispered tempting words they’ve been discipled in from a voice saying, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.” (Luke 4:6-7) Basically, “I, as a powerful and influential Church leader, will give you all my followers and members if you help move our country into forced Biblical ways.”

I’m not sure if there was a cart or horse, and I’m no historian, but this marriage between politics and religion is more insidious and powerful than I thought was possible. Christian nationalism is a movement of evil that many people have been seduced by and it’s the most vulnerable in our society that will be negatively affected by it. (Google Project 2025). You might feel safe because you have the privilege of moving out of the mold-infested house. But much of the country is not people of privilege, and painting over the poison while saying this is what’s best for you will eventually kill our country. I am convinced that unless our religion is moving this country into greater ways of love for the least, humble empathy in our interactions, and love for our enemies, we are walking away from Jesus and towards satan.

Christian friends, may we bravely look closely and honestly at the ways we’ve been seduced and used by power. May we hold our leaders accountable without fear of repercussion. And may we fall on our knees in repentance and start over in Love.

With Christ’s sacrificial love,

Pastor Bethany Nass Cseh