Monday, August 31, 2020


Kirk Franklin: On supporting COVID aid, fighting racial injustice, boycotting TBN

Michael W. Smith, left, and CeCe Winans record a performance for the “Unite to Fight Poverty” virtual concert. Photo by Jon Morgan
August 26, 2020
(RNS) — Grammy-winning gospel performer Kirk Franklin can’t be onstage these days but he’s featured virtually in an upcoming benefit to draw attention to poor children across the globe who are affected by COVID-19.
Franklin is joining World Vision, Food for the Hungry and Compassion International in the “Unite to Fight Poverty” virtual concert set to be televised and streamed online on Friday (Aug. 28) at 8:30 p.m. EDT on Daystar Television Network, FacebookYouTube and PureFlix. It is also scheduled to air at 3 p.m. EDT Saturday on Fox Business.
Franklin, who won six Stellar Gospel Music Award trophies on Sunday, joins 20 other Christian artists for the two-hour fundraiser to aid the three Christian humanitarian organizations. Those groups are working to help families experiencing extreme poverty in the wake of the pandemic and natural disasters by providing hygiene supplies and clean water.
Franklin, who has traveled across the world, also recorded a new video of his song “Strong God” for Compassion to raise awareness about the crisis. Even as he’s drawing attention to the pandemic, he acknowledged it’s hard for him to not know when he’ll be able to perform in person again.
“I miss people,” said the host of the “Sunday Best” televised singing competition. “And I’m looking forward to getting back in front of people.”
Musician Kirk Franklin in 2019. Courtesy photo
Franklin, 50, talked to Religion News Service about the global effects of the coronavirus and his calls for the church to respond to racial inequities, but he declined to comment on whether his related boycott of Trinity Broadcasting Network and the Dove Awards continues.
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

First of all, congratulations for being on Billboard’s Gospel Songwriters’ chart for 50 weeks. Is that a milestone you expected to reach?

Oh, no, no, not at all. Not at all. Not at all. And I’m really appreciative and grateful for everything I get. ’Cause I know nothing is owed to me.

This is the first time that World Vision, Compassion International and Food for the Hungry have worked together on an effort like this benefit. Why did you decide to join this joint effort?

It’s because I believe in the ideals of what they stand for. And I know that even though there are many disparities and deficiencies in America, we are still a blessed country. I’ve been blessed to travel the globe and I can totally understand how, even in the middle of this global pandemic, there are many countries and many individuals that are not able to just pivot and to diversify to survive. I can totally see why this would be such a great moment to come together because we’ve never seen anything like this in our lifetime. And it makes me so proud of them to see them unify for the same cause.

What song or songs did you perform and why did you choose those selections?

Well, my song selection was not really based on the mood or the cause of the event. I just wanted to do music I thought would make people feel good. I performed “Love Theory” and “Just for Me.” I’ve been blessed by God’s guidance to have a whole bunch of songs and at this stage of my career, whatever I pick is going to be something that just feels good. But sometimes it’s hard to pick. And so you just deal with what you’re feeling at the moment.

You went to the Dominican Republic with Compassion International. How recently did you go and how long were you there?

Believe it or not, it was right before the world shut down. It was in January. And I was there almost a week.

What is it that struck you particularly about the trip?

How many people in the world still live marginalized lives, that still live under the poverty line, and how many people are forgotten by the 1%. That is just a mystery to me. And it can make me even, at times, question God’s bigger divine plan, even though I have to choose to believe, when it’s hard to believe. But that is something that has always fascinated me.

A recording set for the “Unite to Fight Poverty” virtual concert. Courtesy photo

How has COVID-19 affected you personally?

We’ve had people we know, family members have died, people in the churches we’ve been members of have died or people have been hospitalized. So we’ve seen it firsthand, we’ve seen it up close. And then also I’m in the people business. And so many artists and churches and ministers and pastors, we’re in the job of touching people and there’s something very healing and therapeutic for the soul when we do. And we have not had the opportunity to do that for almost six months.

Has the death of George Floyd and other people, Black people in particular, in police-related incidents affected you personally?

Yes, yes, of course. I’ve been very outspoken. I’ve been very engaged. I’ve been very consistent in my conversations about the disparity of how these actions are in the legal system, in the systems there to protect people, but they don’t protect all people. And also been very vocal about the lack of the church’s voice in social issues that affect people that go to these churches, that sit in these pews. And the lack of information or the lack of conversation has been really deafening.

You appeared in March on Trinity Broadcasting Network, and you discussed these very issues you just spoke of. Has anything new come of that time with TBN or any new steps since then?

I can just say that my heart and my passion won’t stop in any conversation I have that has to do with social injustice or the injustices of any group of people the Bible calls Christians to be engaged in. And, until we are more visible, more visual, more outspoken and more committed to these causes, I will continue to have conversations.
So did that appearance in some way mark an end of your boycott of TBN and the Dove Awards, or is that continuing?
Musician Kirk Franklin in 2019. Courtesy photo
I will just say I will continue to have conversations until the conversations are not needed.

I’m just going to ask one more time: In October, do you expect to be on the Dove Awards?

In October, I continue to keep the narrative of God’s heart and social injustice, and the church’s lack of engagement. We should be the ones leading the narrative and until we do, I will continue to speak up and speak loud and humble and with love until there’s tangible change.

But it sounds like you’re not ready to answer the question about whether you’re going to be there or not.

I will be where I’m supposed to be with this message. I will be at whatever platform I’m called to be able to talk about how God’s love should include everybody. And, until that happens, I will continue to preach love, truth, justice and grace.

Since you are an artist of faith who performs about faith, how do you have faith as you go through this time of the coronavirus pandemic and not being able to perform the way you’d like?

I started going back to therapy and that’s been very, very good for me. I’m a Black man that goes to therapy. I talk, I pray, and they are synonymous. It has been really, really good to be able to have somebody to be able to help you as you help other people. That’s something that can be very, very encouraging. For the first time in history, we had so many pandemics that were contemporaneous: You have racial pandemics, you have political pandemics, you have economic pandemics. So those things can be very daunting for someone that is looked at to be able to try to have all the answers.
Citing Scripture, Pence switches out Jesus for the American flag in convention speech

Vice President Mike Pence salutes as he speaks on the third day of the Republican National Convention at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine in Baltimore, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
August 27, 2020

BALTIMORE (RNS) — Vice President Mike Pence closed out his speech before the Republican National Convention on Wednesday evening (Aug. 26) with a mashup of Bible references, into which he inserted American symbols and ideals.

Speaking before a crowd at Fort McHenry National Monument in Baltimore, Pence, a self-described “born-again, evangelical Catholic” known for infusing his political rhetoric with religious language, sprinkled his address with references to God and prayer.

But Pence, who accepted his party’s nomination for vice president during the speech, sparked outcry in some Christian circles as he closed out his remarks when he combined at least two Bible verses — and replaced references to Jesus with patriotic imagery.

Let Religion News Service explain.
So what did Pence say?

Here’s the full quote from Pence’s speech that has people talking:

“Let’s run the race marked out for us. Let’s fix our eyes on Old Glory and all she represents. Let’s fix our eyes on this land of heroes and let their courage inspire. And let’s fix our eyes on the author and perfecter of our faith and freedom and never forget that where the spirit of the Lord is there is freedom — and that means freedom always wins.”

That seems vaguely familiar.

That may be because Pence references two different Bible verses in his remarks.

One is 2 Corinthians 3:17, which according to the New International Version translation reads, “Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

RELATED: 5 faith facts about Vice President Mike Pence: A ‘born-again, evangelical Catholic’

The other is Hebrews 12:1-2, the version of which he quoted most closely resembling the translation in the Berean Study Bible, with some notable changes.

That passage reads:

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

What did he change?

First, Pence substituted “Old Glory” for “Jesus.” He took a similar approach in the next line, inserting an additional line: “Let’s fix our eyes on this land of heroes and let their courage inspire,” before returning to the biblical text.

He also described Jesus (or Old Glory, as the case may be) as “the author and perfecter of our faith and freedom,” adding the words “and freedom,” which do not appear in the Hebrews passage.

The inserted lines appeared to be references to the context Pence chose for his speech: The vice president delivered his address from Fort McHenry, where an 1814 battle inspired the national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and he was speaking on the third night of the RNC, when the theme was “Land of Heroes.”

Why are people upset about it?

Some of President Donald Trump’s evangelical advisers lauded the speech, such as Texas Pastor Jack Graham, who tweeted: “We can bend our knee to Christ in faith and stand for our flag in freedom. Thank you (Vice President Pence).”


We can bend our knee to Christ in faith and stand for our flag in freedom. Thank you @VP https://t.co/d3tAFPNXIr
— Jack Graham (@jackngraham) August 27, 2020

But many others took issue with his remarks, noting that Pence’s fusion of God and country appears to be a nod toward Christian nationalism, which asserts the United States is — or should be — a Christian nation. Political analysts say the idea has been invoked repeatedly by Trump during his 2016 campaign for president and throughout his first term, and has resonated with many conservative Christians who make up his base. It’s also an idea much older than this presidency: Mashups of religion and national identity have cropped up throughout U.S. history, although experts argue that it has emerged with particular fervor under Trump.

RELATED: With Bibles and flash grenades, Trump walks the Christian nationalist walk

Many other Christians and people of faith, however, strongly oppose Christian nationalism. In 2019, a group of Christians published a letter condemning Christian nationalism and calling it a “persistent threat to both our religious communities and our democracy.”

“As Christians, we must speak in one voice condemning Christian nationalism as a distortion of the gospel of Jesus and a threat to American democracy,” the letter read.

A number of Christian leaders publicly criticized Pence’s replacement of Jesus with the American flag in his speech, describing it as a form of “idolatry” and as blasphemous.


Glad Pence seems to know Scripture; grieved & appalled he’d believe substituting “Old Glory” for “Jesus” wasn’t blasphemous and equating the freedom Paul was referring to with civil liberties.

Christians fix our eyes on Jesus, not the flag.
Screenshot credit: @amylpeterson pic.twitter.com/hPt0lkLtcd
— Greg Jao (@GregJao) August 27, 2020

“Glad Pence seems to know Scripture; grieved & appalled he’d believe substituting ‘Old Glory’ for ‘Jesus’ wasn’t blasphemous and equating the freedom Paul was referring to with civil liberties,” tweeted Greg Jao, senior assistant to the president of InterVarsity, an evangelical Christian organization.

This is civic religion plundering scripture.

Hebrews says we are to fix our eyes on JESUS, not “Old Glory.” (There’s a big difference!)

The freedom spoken of in 2 Corinthians 4 is the new covenant, not the power to kill and dominate enemies.

This is Babylon. This is idolatry. https://t.co/kmzXaQzXtD
— Brian Zahnd (@BrianZahnd) August 27, 2020
pastor of Word of Life Church.

Alumni from Point Loma Nazarene University denounce fellow grad Natalie Harp’s RNC speech



Natalie Harp addresses the 2020 Republican National Convention,
Monday, Aug. 24, 2020. Video screengrab via C-SPAN


August 27, 2020
(RNS) — Former students from Point Loma Nazarene University, a private Christian liberal arts college in San Diego, are denouncing a speech fellow grad Natalie Harp gave at the Republican National Convention on Monday (Aug. 24).
In her speech, Harp, a California entrepreneur, lauded President Donald Trump’s restrictions on travelers from China, which she said prevented further spread of the novel coronavirus. “Millions more would have been infected,” she said.
Point Loma Nazarene University alumni rejected her comments in a letter that as of Thursday afternoon had accumulated more than 300 signatures. A LinkedIn profile shows Harp attended Point Loma Nazarene University between 2009 and 2012.
“While COVID-19 ruthlessly infects and kills more Black and Brown Americans, this administration is continuing its efforts in court to end healthcare access for hundreds of thousands of our neighbors, under the direction of this President and supported by Ms. Harp,” the letter read.
The letter also noted that “countless experts have continued to refute this President’s claim that the ‘China travel ban’ positively impacted our nation’s response to COVID-19.”
According to The Associated Press, U.S. travel restrictions that took effect Feb. 2 continued to allow travel to the U.S. from China’s Hong Kong and Macao territories.
AP reported that more than 8,000 Chinese and foreign nationals based in those territories entered the U.S. in the first three months after the travel restrictions were imposed.
Students in the letter said they were “taught to think critically” and while they recognize there are a range of political perspectives, “we cannot accept the misguided claims and dangerous comments supported by Ms. Harp.”
“Ms. Harp does not speak for us, and we hereby reject her support of this President who is unabashedly heretical, dishonest, racist, and sexist, to say the least,” the letter read.
In her speech, Harp also commended Trump for pushing for the “Right to Try Act,” a law that allows patients with life-threatening diseases to access unapproved treatments.
“Without you, I would have died waiting for them to be approved,” said Harp, a cancer survivor.
According to The Washington Post, experts have expressed doubt on her story. Harp’s description of the treatment she underwent and her timeline for receiving it “make it unlikely Trump had any effect on her case,” the newspaper reported.

Jerry Falwell Jr. resigns from Liberty University. Again.

Jerry Falwell Jr. speaks at the 2nd Annual Turning Point USA Winter Gala at the Mar-A-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, on Dec. 18, 2019. Photo by Gage Skidmore/Creative Commons
(RNS) — Jerry Falwell Jr., the embattled president of Liberty University and one of President Donald Trump's earliest and most vocal supporters, has resigned from the evangelical Christian university founded by his father.
On Monday (Aug. 24), the first day of the fall semester at Liberty, Religion News Service learned from multiple sources close to the proceedings that Falwell had resigned.
Later that evening, a statement from Liberty confirmed Falwell had agreed to resign as president and from the university's board of directors, then withdrew his resignation after media reports about it.
Monday evening, however, Falwell told the Wall Street Journal that he had, in fact, sent his letter of resignation to the board. 
Falwell already was on an indefinite leave of absence from his roles as president and chancellor of the university following controversial posts on social media.
"Since that time, additional matters came to light that made it clear that it would not be in the best interest of the University for him to return from leave and serve as President," according to the statement from Liberty.
His resignation came within hours of the publication of a news story that alleged he and his wife, Becki Falwell, had a years-long sexual relationship with a business associate.


Falwell had agreed to to resign immediately after a meeting by the board's executive committee, according to the statement, but then "instructed his attorneys not to tender the letter for immediate resignation."
A spokesman for Liberty previously told RNS the board leadership has "been in discussion with Jerry Falwell and expect to be able to make a statement on Tuesday."
After news of his resignation first broke, Falwell told a Virginia business publication that he did not plan to leave the school. He also claimed his leave from the school was his idea, more of a sabbatical than a leave of absence.
“I don’t care what you call it. I’ve been at this for so many years and under so much stress, I decided I needed a three-month break."


Falwell had agreed to an indefinite leave earlier this month after posting, then deleting, a provocative Instagram photo of him posing with his arm around a woman at a party with their zippers down and midriffs showing.
After that post, Liberty University alumni and former teaching faculty at the school called for his permanent ouster, citing a long list of offensive statements by Falwell, who has been one of President Trump's staunchest allies.
Jerry Falwell Jr., right, answers a student’s question, along with his wife, Becki, at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, on Nov. 28, 2018. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Earlier Monday, Reuters published a story saying Falwell’s onetime business partner, Giancarlo Granda, a former pool attendant at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach Hotel, had a six-year relationship that involved sex with Becki Falwell while Jerry Falwell looked on.
“Becki and I developed an intimate relationship and Jerry enjoyed watching from the corner of the room,” Granda said in the Reuters story.
The Falwells and Granda later became business partners and offered Granda a share in a Miami youth hostel.
Colby Garman, pastor of the Pillar Church in Dumfries, Virginia, and a Liberty alumnus, last week published a letter signed by 50 Liberty alumni calling on Falwell's permanent removal, saying his behavior has embarrassed the school and its reputation. He reiterated today his call for Falwell's removal.
Commenting on Twitter, he said that the allegations about the Falwells are sad and, if true, would be "a reminder of just how deeply entangling sin can become."
Falwell, who since his father's death in 2007 has been president of Liberty University, one of the nation’s largest Christian schools, has greatly expanded the school and its offerings during his tenure.
Just last week, the board of trustees at the school met and decided to delay any decision about whether Falwell would be reinstated after his leave.
The Reuters story comes one day after the Washington Examiner published a story in which Falwell said he was suffering from depression because his wife had an affair with a family friend and that friend has been threatening to expose it.
"Over the course of the last few months, this person's behavior has reached a level that we have decided the only way to stop this predatory behavior is to go public," Falwell said in a statement published by the Examiner. 
"We have categorically rejected this person’s demands while dealing with him and this particular member of the media who seemed just as obsessed with the prurient, untrue aspects of this story, however fantastic."
Falwell did not name the friend in the Examiner story. He also said he was "not involved" in his wife and Granda's affair.
Reached by phone earlier Monday, Falwell told RNS he already had given his statement to the Washington Examiner and wouldn’t comment further. 
The allegations of a sexual threesome have been swirling for some time. Last year, Falwell allegedly sought out President Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen to help prevent the release of some racy personal photos, according to published reports. Falwell then denied Cohen’s account that he flew to Florida around 2015 and got the person with the Falwell photos to agree to destroy them.


Those who study U.S. evangelicals said that while churches and other institutions may look the other way when it comes to race, money or politics, sexual sins are not tolerated within that subculture. Many Christian schools, such as Liberty University, have honor codes that spell out what they consider to be Christian standards for sexual conduct.
"I don’t see how Falwell survives this," John Fea, a professor of American history at Messiah University and a frequent commentator on evangelicalism, said before news of Falwell's resignation broke. "He's done."
A group of students and alumni blamed the crisis in leadership on the school's board, saying it had been "derelict" in its duties in allowing Falwell to damage the spiritual vitality, academic quality and national reputation of the school. The group, called "Save71," suggested the school begin by removing the "beneficiaries of Falwell's inappropriate nepotism." It also proposed an independent investigation of claims of financial corruption. 
Falwell also made headlines when photos of Falwell and members of his family partying at a Miami Beach nightclub in 2014 surfaced. 
More recently, he apologized after tweeting images of a politician in blackface and Ku Klux Klan imagery.
(This story has been updated with additional statements from Falwell and Liberty.)


The fall of Falwell: A timeline of the ups, downs and scandals of his Liberty University presidency


August 25, 2020

Emily McFarlan Miller
Jack Jenkins


(RNS) — News that Jerry Falwell Jr. resigned as president of Liberty University, which came on the heels of reports that he and his wife, Becki, were involved in a sexual tryst with a younger man, may have caught some by surprise: How could the successful scion of a renowned evangelical preacher abandon his post at the school his father founded?


But Falwell’s resignation is but the resolution of years of smaller scandals, some of which are directly connected to the circumstances surrounding his decision to step down as Liberty’s president.


Religion News Service takes a look back at some of these controversies, chronicling the rise and fall of Falwell’s career as president of Liberty University.


May 2007 — Jerry Falwell Jr. takes over
Falwell becomes president and chancellor of Liberty University after his father, the Rev. Jerry Falwell Sr., dies at his desk. The elder Falwell, a prominent televangelist and political figure, had founded the evangelical Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia.


2012 — The Falwells meet Granda
Jerry Falwell Jr. and Becki Falwell reportedly meet Giancarlo Granda, then a 21-year-old pool attendant and Florida International University student, while vacationing in Miami. The Falwells go into business with Granda, purchasing a South Beach youth hostel.


September 2013 — Growth at Liberty
Spurred in part by a shift to online education, Falwell steadily builds up Liberty’s financial prowess, eventually accumulating an endowment of more than $1 billion. Largely due to massive enrollment in the online program, the school eventually claims the mantle of the largest Christian university in the country until it was dethroned by Grand Canyon University in 2018.


2015 — Liberty becomes a popular conservative speaking spot
Liberty emerges as a popular spot for conservative speakers and presidential hopefuls in 2015, beginning when Texas Sen. Ted Cruz launches his White House bid from the school’s campus. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush speaks a few months later at Liberty’s commencement, and Trump makes a stop early the following year. The trend continues into Trump’s first term, with the president speaking at the school multiple times. Although Democratic candidate and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders also addresses at the school in 2015, some students grow frustrated with the mostly Republican slate of speakers.


December 2015 — ‘End those Muslims’
After the San Bernardino, California, shootings, Falwell sparks one of his first national controversies after encouraging students to carry concealed weapons during the school’s weekly Convocation and expressing anti-Muslim sentiments. “I’ve always thought if more good people had concealed carry permits, then we could end those Muslims before they walked in,” he says.


January 2016 — Trump endorsement
Falwell becomes one of Donald Trump’s earliest and most outspoken evangelical supporters when he endorses Trump’s presidential campaign. The endorsement comes a week after Trump’s appearance at Liberty, during which Falwell compared him to his father, saying both were men who spoke their minds, often in fearlessly brash ways. A longtime Liberty board member resigns over the endorsement and a number of students publish a statement expressing their disappointment — foreshadowing future departures and statements from Liberty students, staff and alumni.



2016 — Athletic center deal
Falwell reportedly signs a deal selling an 18-acre athletic center on Liberty property to the Falwells’ personal fitness trainer, Benjamin Crosswhite. The Falwells reportedly had had personal training sessions with Crosswhite since 2011, when he was a 23-year-old Liberty graduate. The deal raises some eyebrows, according to Reuters, because Liberty adjusted the price and financed the purchase for Crosswhite, which it has defended as beneficial to the university.



April 2019 — Protests and censorship
Opposition to Falwell’s affiliation with Trump grows so fevered that an evangelical author, Jonathan Martin, calls for a prayer protest of Liberty University and Falwell. When Martin is arrested at Liberty and removed by campus police while visiting a band, evangelicals host a “Red Letter Revival” demonstration in Lynchburg, Virginia. Liberty student journalists attempt to cover the rally but say they are personally censored by Falwell, preventing them from doing so. News of the censorship reportedly results in Liberty officials taking full control of the student newspaper.



May 2019 — Michael Cohen and photos
Former Trump fixer Michael Cohen claims he was asked by Falwell to help him destroy racy photos described as images typically kept “between husband and wife.” The photos were reportedly kept by a third party who destroyed them after Cohen intervened on Falwell’s behalf. However, Cohen is recorded saying he kept one of the images. Falwell denies such compromising photos exist

.
October 2019 — Settlement with Bello
Falwell reportedly settles a lawsuit with Gordon Bello, who claimed the Falwells promised him and a family member a stake in a Miami hostel business venture that the Liberty president and his wife purchased in 2013. Also involved in the hostel was Granda, and the lawsuit reportedly devolved into a debate over compromising photographs that could be used as leverage against the Falwells.


May 2020 — Blackface/Northam tweet and fallout
Falwell tweets an image of a mask emblazoned with a picture of Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam in blackface. Several African American faculty members and student athletes leave in protest, citing what they describe as the school’s long-standing issues with race and sexuality. Falwell later apologizes.


Aug. 7, 2020 — Instagram scandal(s)
Falwell agrees to an indefinite leave of absence from his roles as president and chancellor of Liberty after posting — and then quickly deleting — a photo on Instagram with his arm around a woman who was not his wife, pants unzipped, midriffs and underwear visible, glass of what he described as “black water” in hand. Falwell says the photo was “meant in good fun,” but it isn’t his only controversial activity on social media. Instances of him “liking” Instagram photos of women in bikinis come to light over the following days. He also previously called a Liberty parent a “dummy” in a tweet. Demands for him to resign or be removed intensify.


Aug. 24, 2020 — Falwell resigns. Eventually.
Falwell resigns after a bombshell report in Reuters alleges a past sexual relationship involving Falwell, Becki Falwell and Granda. The day before, Jerry Falwell had released a statement to the Washington Examiner claiming Becki Falwell had an affair with Granda “in which I was not involved.” In a daylong tug of war with the university, Falwell withdraws his resignation before submitting it again late that night.