Do We Really Need a Christian President?

Commander-in-chief or pastor-in-chief? Is the man or woman who takes the Oval Office essentially stepping into the pulpit? 

As Christians, we’ve searched high and low for a nominee with moral fortitude, someone who will stand on biblical values in the face of rising tides of perversion.  

But as Relevant contributor Jayson D. Bradley asked: Does America Really Need a Christian President? 

We need to be honest. It’s incredibly significant that the powers that be look at American Christians as people who would rather a candidate identify as one of them than have any understanding of foreign or domestic policy. But you know they’ve done their research, and there are hundreds of political campaign managers helping their candidates learn what to say and how to act in order to make Christians think, “He/She is a Christian just like me!”
In the meantime, evangelical leaders are being courted with state dinners and meet-and-greet events. And even if they’re not being corrupted by political graft and promises, they’re still falling victim to the deadly temptation of personal significance and influence that only powerful people can give them. At the same time, people are seeing these evangelical leader’s social media posts and thinking, “Hey! I have that guy’s study Bible. If he’s hanging around with Trump, it’s got to be a validation of Trump’s commitment to my/Jesus’ values!” 

And Trump has raked in the evangelical who’s who as his faith advisers.  

For writers and speakers like John Burton, though, the next president must be a person of faith.  

The reality is that we are absolutely electing someone to lead our nation who must be first and foremost a servant of God. If they don’t intimately know Jesus Christ, what god will they be receiving their inspiration from? The principalities and powers are drooling at the chance to be that god—the one who gives leadership to the president of the United States of America. If we don’t have a God-fearing person in office, one who exhibits the traits of a true pastor, the alternative should terrify us. 

Cultural commentator Michael Brown says the vote for a Christian is more about how a man or woman of God would demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit while leading.  

“The president has the bully pulpit—and much more—for better or for worse,” Brown writes. I am honestly not looking to elect a perfect saint as president nor am I asking the candidates how well they know the Bible or how many hours a day they pray. But I am looking for someone who, along with dealing with our budget and immigration and national security, will stand for righteousness and lead with integrity.” 

Bradley is not satisfied with professed Christianity in a leader. Rather, the writer is focused on implementing the kingdom of God here on Earth and what that means in a political realm.  

But everyone seems to forget that, even though Jesus was born into a politically volatile environment, He eschewed political discourse. All of Israel was waiting for their Messiah to kick Rome out of Jerusalem and return it to the Jews. In fact, that’s one of the first things that the disciples asked after the resurrection, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6)

Jesus’ message was that the kingdom of God had come and that borderless kingdom existed everywhere someone’s heart was submitted to Him. He wasn’t interested in improving on broken earthly governments. Instead, He was calling people to draw people to His kingdom, to build His church—and that was done through the contrast of the two kingdoms, not by His followers taking control of the kingdoms of man.
Jesus tells his people to watch out for those who appear to be sheep but are really ravenous wolves. This isn’t just about false teachers. It’s anyone who would pretend to follow Christ while using Christians to feed their appetites. Instead He reminds us not to look at the appearance or words of these sheep but to look for their fruit.
As long as Christians are being used as shills to keep politicians in power, we might as well hang it up. We’re serving no kingdom purpose.
As it is, I don’t feel any obligation to vote someone into office because they tell me they’re a Christian. That doesn’t tell me anything about how they think. Frankly, I’m not sure I want someone with a Lahaye-style Pre-Trib theological dispensationalism making decisions about the Middle East. It feels like too much U.S. involvement in Israel/Palestine turmoil is already influenced by questionable theology. 

So once again he asks: Does America really need a Christian president?