PRÉCIS ON DR. DANIEL GROTHE: AN AMERICAN PASTOR FINDS THE COURAGE TO STAND AGAINST A DESPOT

1. THE TEACHING

SCRIPTURE. “Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous ones; Praise is becoming and appropriate for those who are upright [in heart—those with moral integrity and godly character].” – PSALM 33:1, AMP

KEY TERM: “REJOICE!” ‘Ranan’ [רַנְּנ֣וּ]: “Give a ringing cry [for joy and triumph]!’ to shout or emit a stridulous sound; greatly make to rejoice [loudly]; occasion of exultation; also to summon when in distress; to experience joy and gladness in a high degree; to be exhilarated with lively and pleasurable sensations; to exult; ‘When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn’ Proverbs 29:2).”

QUOTATION. “When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not yet ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. ‘A WEEK is more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our destiny.’” ― PAULO COELHO, The Devil and Miss Prym, 2000; edited

COMMENTARY. “‘Rejoice in the Lord’ — Let His excellence, discovered in His works, be the matter of your praise. ‘Praise is comely for the upright’ — It well becomes them to be employed in this work of praising God, partly, because they are under great and singular obligations to Him, and have abundant occasions to do so; and partly, they will praise Him sincerely, affectionately, and with due reverence and thankfulness, as He requires and deserves to be praised; whereas ungodly men do indeed disparage and pollute the Holy Name of God while they pretend to praise it; and therefore God rejects their praises and prayers.” – JOSEPH BENSON, Notes on the Holy Bible, 5 vols., 1811-1818; edited

1. DK’S BACKGROUNDER

DR. DANIEL GROTHE is the associate senior pastor at New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he’s been for sixteen years. Daniel and his wife, Lisa, live on a hobby farm outside of the city with their three children and a small throng of critters. I have known Pastor Grothe for about ten years and used to attend his Friday Church services for several years.

When the Donald Trump matter began to impose itself upon America and her Church more and more since 2016, I found the silence of the church leaders to be increasingly uncomfortable, and eventually intolerable for me. So, I did two things, whether rightly or wrongly: I stopped attending church there; and I wrote a number of reproofs to the church over a period of about two years.

On the morning of Saturday, June 8, 2024, I found Daniel’s post below, boldly front and center on Facebook, and was immediately astonished, and then full of praise to God for having moved in this gifted young man’s heart so powerfully. What Daniel did by posting this straight ahead, no holds barred statement, is risk all that he has – position, reputation, material security, and not least of all, family – in order to do the Right Thing.

And more, he very likely contributed to the saving of many spiritual lives, the highest possible calling for a Christian leader.

So do I joyfully extend a massive hat tip to a man who found his courage in the midst of our unprecedented National and Church Crisis. May his courageous example inspire other members of the American Clergy to do likewise – ‘While it is still Day.

1. DR. GROTHE’S COMMENTARY

“‘I have waited A WEEK to say anything,’ partly to chasten my own emotions, partly to show anyone who might read this that I’m not here to seize the pulsating pathos of America’s drunk news cycle as clickbait to build a platform for myself.

I am writing as a Christian first. And I’m also writing as a pastor, as someone who has taken vows to study the scriptures, to teach the saints, to encourage, yes, even to warn, to say something when I see something.

So here I am a week later to say something. You all, by now, will have seen the verdict that came down last week. 34 felony convictions for a former US President who is maybe the frontrunner for reelection. Some of you will question the integrity of the trial. That’s not what I’m here to talk about. Many of you have taken to social media to express your glee or your gripes. That’s your prerogative.

But here’s what I’ve seen: a lot of conservative Christians posting memes comparing Donald Trump to Jesus Christ. I’ve sampled a few of them here with my own notes scribbled on them. (I’ve seen a lot from the progressive punditry as well, but that’s for another day.)

Here’s what I want to say: stop comparing Donald Trump of New York and Mar-a-Lago to Jesus Christ of Nazareth. There is simply no comparison.

When we do this, when we casually and glibly meme-ify the Messiah and make messianic claims about a man who has burned nearly every relational bridge he has ever crossed, we are taking the Lord’s Name in vain. Almost every human alive can tell you that’s one of the Ten Commandments. Don’t do it.

I used to think taking the Lord’s Name in vain was limited to someone shouting G%DD#MM^T when they were angry, or saying “Jesus Christ” as a throwaway line. Sure, that’s easy. But what seems to be less obvious to some Christians today is the dumb desecration we do to the Name of Jesus when we compare Him to some politician, to any politician.

Vote for whomever you’d like. That’s your civic responsibility. But do not marry the beautiful name and reputation of the spotless Messiah to some man or woman you want in office. Ever. We can be citizens of a country, without trying to turn that country into the Kingdom of God.”

1. AFTERTHOUGHTS

CAVEAT. There was clearly more that Dr. Grothe could have said, but don’t let that dampen our appreciation for this courageous First Step into these turgid waters. He received almost 200 overwhelmingly positive replies from the congregation of 10,000 members, but we must NOTE TWO THINGS: (1) He chose not to reply to nor refute the challenge below; (2) For whatever reasons, he also chose to delete my rather effusive praise for his courage.

A CONGREGANT REPLIES. (Carol Prentiss). Prentiss is a Donald Trump advocate and supporter of Marjorie Taylor Greene.

“Pastor Daniel, you know I love you and respect you. And you know I’m all for truth. What you believe is absolutely true – no person compares to Jesus our Messiah. No one. He alone is worthy of our worship.

But what you concluded – that the goal of memes like these is to state that Trump is like Jesus is not necessarily true. The Bible says that we will all be persecuted if we stand for righteousness and truth. Is Trump being persecuted? Yes. Should we pray for him as he takes that stand? Yes. Has Trump given up a lot to take this stand? Yes. Has he given up the same that Jesus gave up? Of course not. How could any of us?

Is Trump “a man who has burned nearly every relational bridge he has crossed.” No, that is a lie. I’m sad you stated that as truth. Possibly it was true in the past. We know that Paul killed Christians. Do you emphasize that fact every time you preach from one of his letters? Is Trump the front runner? Yes, not “maybe.” You said your post is not about the sham trial and unlawful conviction (and possible imprisonment) but it IS about it, due to the fact that these memes wouldn’t exist if those God has allowed to be in charge weren’t using lawfare against their political opponent. And why are they using lawfare? Because Trump will give justice to those doing unspeakable evil once he’s in office., unless they find a way to prevent him.

One other truth is that MSM lies. Alternate news sources are the only place to find the truth of current events. Uninformed opinions can lead to false conclusions. Mainstream media is the propaganda arm of the current oligarchy we live under. If this was still a constitutional republic we wouldn’t see lawfare. We wouldn’t see elderly grandmas sentenced to years in prison by the current regime for peacefully standing outside of an abortion clinic. God is allowing us to be under the rule of those who stand for killing babies and trafficking. I’m pretty sure our Father isn’t upset over those who want others to join them in praying for Trump and repenting of the evil we allow in this country. He knows the hearts of those who made and posted these memes. I don’t think He’s condemning them. But He’s grieved over the condition of a country that was founded on Christian principles but continues to move further away from Him. He promised that “blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” I pray we can make that be true again. So that we can continue to be His light here and in the world. Ignorance and apathy – being lukewarm – grieves God. We have got to search out the truth. Ignorance and apathy are our own worst enemies as Christians, not enthusiastic memers trying to communicate the seriousness of what’s going on in the USA. Taking the name of the Lord in vain can also mean bearing the name of Jesus and then – not doing the work of repentance, – not taking a stand for those who can’t speak for themselves, – not hating and exposing evil such as abortion and trafficking (modern slavery), – not doing something to rescue moms being lied to and rescuing God’s newly formed creation. That’s what should grieve our hearts, not those who take a stand in a way we are easily offended by.”

May YESHUA BEN DAVID closely Judge all of this and lead us all to the Truth, the whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth, so help us God!   SELAH.