EDITOR’S NOTE: I am partnering with Food For the Poor to help our fellow Americans in North Carolina and East Tennessee. Click here to learn how you can help.
The Houston Chronicle and a Wisconsin-based group of atheists have declared war on a Texas mega-church pastor after he preached a sermon on how to vote like Jesus.
“Any Christian that’s got a Bible open and their brain working ought to be looking at both of the candidates we’re looking at and going, ‘Man, I see some flaws in both things I got in front of me,'” said Josh Howerton, pastor of Lakepointe Church in Rockwall.
Lakepointe has a very large footprint in the area – some 20,000 members and the pastor has about 340,000 Instagram followers. And now the Freedom From Religion Foundation is calling for the Internal Revenue Service to revoke the congregation’s tax-exempt status.
The Houston Chronicle, a newspaper with a decidedly anti-Trump and anti-Christian newsroom, bashed the church and accused the pastor of a “veiled attempt” at telling his congregation how to vote.
Here’s how they framed the pastor’s sermon:
Over the weekend, Howerton seemed to reinforce the idea that he wasn’t endorsing a candidate. Although he didn’t flat out tell the congregation he was voting Republican, he made it clear that he opposed the “unrighteous” Harris-Walz ticket and therefore believed Jesus would’ve cast his ballot for the “flawed” Trump-Walz campaign to win the election.
But anyone who heard the sermon never heard the pastor tell Christians to vote for Trump.
But he did make it very clear that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz represent an unrighteous presidential ticket. I contend there is plenty of evidence to allege that Harris and Walz represent a demonic presidential ticket.
“I am not here to seek the approval of man. I am not here to seek the approval of a party. And I am not here to seek approval of a politician. I am here on behalf of the living God,” Howerton said. “Your convictions ought to pull your either vote right or left. But ultimately, the most important thing is that your heart goes up into the kingdom of God so that the Holy Spirit can come down on your life and bless your life. That’s what matters.”
The Freedom From Religion Foundation says the pastor’s sermon violated the law and they are demanding that the Internal Revenue Service take away the nonprofit status of the church.
“Churches can’t be allowed to get away with such blatant politicking,” said FFRF’s Annie Laurie Gaylor in a statement. “They must abide by the same rules as other nonprofits — or lose their tax code privileges.”
They say the pastor is guilty of electioneering.
What I find ironic is that Vice President Kamala Harris actually preached from the pulpit of a black mega-church over the weekend. I wonder why the Freedom From Religion Foundation did not file a complaint about that?
Kudos to Pastor Howerton for giving godly counsel to his congregation. As I wrote in my new book, “Twilight’s Last Gleaming,” all of us will be required to make a decision on Election Day: do we vote for good or do we vote for evil? Choose wisely, America.
If you need a great laugh – download my new podcast. It’s available at ToddStarnes.com.