Pastors, Take Notes From Matt Walsh
If you've ever heard a Matt Walsh podcast or "car-cast," not sure what to call it, it's a breath of fresh air, yet a blunt whack to the head. Walsh is a unique mixture of preacher/pundit. He pays more attention to the political, but he does not ignore the spiritual aspect of the issue.
Initially, I was attracted to the headstrong, politically incorrect writer who stormed the beaches of liberal headquarters with pen in hand. I came back again and again because he grounds himself in spiritual truth, which most political figures lack.
I don't always see eye-to-eye with him, but our heartbeats are in unison because we connect to the same life-giving source, Christ.
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Unlike most popular Evangelical leaders, Walsh has access to millions of listeners. Walsh grabs not only the Christian audience but non-religious conservatives as well.
So, what do we make of Walsh?
He's not quite a Ben Shapiro, nor is he a John Piper. He dissects an argument well enough to be a student of C.S. Lewis, yet he can be as pessimistic as one of Lewis' most gloomy Narnian protagonist, Mr. Puddleglum.
Walsh forecasts a bleak future for our nation. A future which falls under liberal governance, to be more specific. As conservatives lose battle after battle on the social front, it's hard to disagree with his projection.
One thing I hope for pastors to pick up from Walsh is a righteous anger. As a Church, we don't hate the sin our nation indulges in. We buy into the idea of an all grace-filled God, one who doesn't punish sin. Mainstream churches have this mindset of inclusiveness, which never should have originated. The idea to reach out and embrace a sinful world while accepting its sin is unbiblical. No doubt we should welcome a broken world, we should open our doors wide for it. Although we should not stand for the sin, the world wishes to bring in.
There is not one Christian without sin, but all should hate it. There needs to exist in the depth of our spirit a longing to destroy the flesh. Pure hatred for the evil which rots away our mortal bodies. We should cry "Abba, Father," longing for new life.
Yet, what we see is pastoral leadership accepting the filth and not fighting it. If we do not draw a line in the sand concerning worldliness, the Church will fade into the mesh of culture.
If pastors were more aligned with Walsh's approach to addressing worldliness, we would have more active believers. We need leaders to ignite the fire of righteous anger. We need the Body of Christ to put its foot down. To look like Christ, we must act like Christ. We must fight the evil which knocks on the door of our heart, and the darkness looming over this nation.
A pastor must lead its flock with wisdom, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We need more lions at the helm of the congregations. Alexander the Great says it the best,
"I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion."
In James, it states the mark of genuine faith is action. According to Pew Research, 70 percent of Americans identify as Christians. This leads me to a couple of conclusions;
One, there are a lot of people who believe they are Christians but are deceiving themselves.
Two, there is a misunderstanding on what a Christian is.
If 70 percent of Americans were faithful followers of Christ, this nation would not kill millions of babies every year. We would stand by traditional marriage, and it would never have been perverted. Every child in foster care would have a home, and homelessness would go down drastically.
To put this in perspective, 70 percent of America is 227,990,000 people. We live in an age of deception, and we need leaders with a lion heart to start roaring. We need men with righteous anger to stand up and start rallying the sheep.
We need more pastors with a Walsh-like mindset. They need to give their congregation hard-ultimatums. If we expect any change to come, we need our local churches gutted of worldliness. We need leaders calling their church to action, to fulfill the great commission. I've listened to multiple pastors and have not heard one speak with as much righteous anger as Walsh.
Earlier I commented on the pessimistic attitude Walsh displays. I don't think he intends to be; he's not going out of his way to see things in a negative light. It's just hard to look at the state of our country and be optimistic. I'll say this; Christ will return and make all things new. The fact there is a coming renewal, should bring a positive attitude to all Christians; let this bring us hope.
Perhaps Walsh might be near-sighted only thinking of the present regarding restoration. More likely he doesn't mention eternal restoration, because he's focusing on political arguments (noted he works for the Daily Wire). Whatever the case, renewal will come, and even if America falls to the evils of the social left. The Church shall never fall, we shall only shine brighter in the darkest of night, awaiting the eternal dawn just beyond the horizon.
