Two local churches differ in some ways, but their leaders agree on a controversial ideology that combines Christianity and nationalism.
Reverend Jesse Jackson and Reverend John Malgett recently brought their congregations together for a joint worship service, sharing the pulpit to discuss what they called the dangers of Christian nationalism.
“It’s a political movement and let’s face it, they’re taking advantage of Jesus for earthly gain,” Malget said during the June 23 church service at East Sixth Street Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), 1139 NE 6, where Jackson is senior pastor.
More: How does Christian nationalism relate to our state?
First Christian Church of Oklahoma City (Disciples of Christ), where Malget is senior pastor, combined efforts with East Sixth Street for a series that includes a Juneteenth-inspired vacation Bible school that began during the holiday on June 19.
The two churches are located in different areas of Oklahoma City, with Jackson’s congregation in the northeast part of the city, while Malget’s meets at the site at NW 23rd and Walker Avenue. Jackson’s congregation is predominantly black, and Malget’s is predominantly white.
Churches have historically condemned Christian nationalism
But both churches are part of the international Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), which last year adopted a statement condemning Christian nationalism. The denomination described Christian nationalism as “a cultural framework that combines a radically exclusionary form of Christian identity with the public political and civic participation of a country’s citizens.”
Ideology has emerged as a lightning rod problem in recent years, especially after the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Jackson, who is black, said he and Malget, who is white, have been friends for years, and had talked for some time about bringing their churches together for combined worship and other activities.
More: Christian denominations took positions on issues such as transgender care and Christian nationalism
He said they chose Christian nationalism as the subject of their sermon because they wanted to make it clear to their congregations that this ideology is not Christian.
“I wish they would stop calling themselves ‘Christian’ because they make the rest of us look bad,” Jackson said. “They are willing to be violent, as evidenced on January 6, and this is the opposite of who Jesus is. The gospel of Jesus Christ is based on love, period. There is no asterisk. There is no semicolon.”
Jackson also opposed the Christian nationalist claim that Christians must express certain rhetoric and take certain actions to defend Christianity in today’s world.
“Our faith does not need to be defended. Our faith must be lived,” he said. “People love God, they can’t stand us because of our efforts to be the ‘enforcer’ for God. In our efforts to do this, we have driven countless people away from the church and countless people walked away from God.”
‘The Gospel is a gift – it should never be used as a weapon’
Malget told church members that he had read a book called “The False White Gospel” and that he felt it was important for white Christians in particular to hear about the dangers of Christian nationalism because the ideology is linked to white supremacy.
“We have to ask ourselves what kind of people we want to be, what kind of nation we want to be, but it has to be heard by people who look like me,” he said. “Somehow we’ve forgotten what my kids learned from the movie ‘High School Musical’: that we’re all in this together.”
Malget spoke about the Christian nationalism that emerged in Nazi Germany and how many Christian leaders allowed the Nazis to commit atrocities against the Jews. He said that while Christian nationalism is stronger today than ever before, it does not reflect what Jesus taught.
“The Gospel is a gift, it should never be used as a weapon,” he said.
Jackson told the assembled church audience that this would not be the last time they would hear about Christian nationalism from their pastors.
“This is not a one-time thing,” he said. “If we’re going to fight for the soul of Christianity, now is the time to do it. God is doing something in this room.”
Several people in the pews said they enjoyed the time of fellowship between the two churches, and they felt the worship sermon was on a timely topic.
“I love the unity, and I love that that’s the message of the Disciples of Christ,” said Anthony Francisco, a member from East Sixth Street. “I just hope we keep going.”
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Two OKC congregations held a joint service on Christian nationalism
