|
The following article was
written by Andre E. Johnson, PhD
On Saturday, March 5, 2016, at a
Donald Trump Rally in Orlando, Pastor Paula White continued
her longtime support of Donald Trump by giving him a ringing
endorsement testifying to his Christian graces. In a YouTube
video that is going viral, White speaks about the first time
she met Trump and learned that he was raised in a Christian
household with a strong woman of faith and a strong praying
woman.
White believes that God will
“raise up a man for such a time as this.” She shared stories
of Trump’s compassion, graciousness and strong moral
character. In one, she tells the story of how she and Trump
were at one of his golf courses and how Trump went up to a
“precious” Latino man and thanked him for “taking care of my
course.” In another, she tells the story of her friend who
secured a large donation from Trump for her work with
helping “prostitutes rehab their life back into society.”
White quotes Trump after
hearing about her ministry, “now that’s real ministry when
you take care of those who are hurting.” After a round of
applause, she then leads the audience in a call and response
with one side of the crowd shouting “Donald” and the other
side shouting “Trump.”
After this, White then said
that she, as well as other church leaders, when meeting with
Trump would all ask the same question, “Do you have a
relationship with the Lord Jesus? Are you saved? The answer,
according to White was always “emphatically yes!” After
telling the story of how she got Trump a Bible for his 60th
birthday and a letter that contained a “prophetic word” from
Billy Graham, she then tells the audience what “deeply
concerns” evangelicals—religious freedom. White, and others
like her, believe that Christianity is under attack and that
this “wholesale persecution” is coming to the United States.
However, there is one man who will protect religious liberty
and that man is Donald Trump.
While White is not alone in
her support of Trump and by far not the only pastor to come
out and support his candidacy, she is unique in that she is
a white woman who has a large African-American following.
Indeed, White is the pastor of New Destiny Christian Center
in Apopka, Florida founded by Zachary and Riva Tims. The
megachurch has a large African-American membership and many
African Americans attend her workshops, seminars and
revivals.
Moreover, arguably what
brought her to “fame” was her adaptation of an
African-American preaching style. When one sees and hears
her preaching; the rhythm, cadence, and whoop helped
substantially by the organist, one immediately recognizes
characteristics of the black preaching tradition. In an
interview with Larry King several years ago, King noticed
the black preaching aesthetic in her style and wondered why
she appealed to so many African Americans. White answered
that she had been always been comfortable around blacks as
she had been around whites.
However, I guess my concern
is not with Pastor White. She has made her decision and she
has supported and endorsed Donald Trump to be the man “for
such a time as this.” My concern is the response of her
African-American congregants and supporters. With all the
racial rhetoric spewing from Trump’s mouth, with his hedging
and hesitation in separating himself from David Duke, with
black people being physically assaulted at his rallies and
with no word of comfort or support for those abused, I
wonder what African-American supporters of White are
thinking about her association with Trump? Indeed, what do
you do when your pastor supports Donald Trump?
Dr. Andre E. Johnson serves
in the department of Communication at the University of
Memphis. He teaches in the areas of rhetoric and religion,
media studies and African American Public Address. Johnson
is also Senior Pastor, Gifts of Life Ministries; Director,
G’Life Outreach (non-profit) and Editor, Rhetoric, Race and
Religion Blog
Reprinted with permission of
Andre E. Johnson, PhD
Contact Rev. Donald Perryman, D.Min, at
drdlperryman@centerofhopebaptist.org
|
