Everything rises and falls on leadership

It would be difficult to overstate the importance of wartime leadership; just ask the British.

During the darkest days of Nazi aggression against the British Empire, Prime Minister Winston Churchill rallied the British people with his inspiring speeches that kept morale high and motivated the nation to defy Hitler’s Germany.

Additionally, Churchill’s planning, decision-making, determination, and strong personality solidified the alliance between Britain, Russia, and the United States, ultimately defeating the Axis powers and preserving civilization.

It appears that Churchill’s tenacity and never-surrender attitude have inspired President Donald Trump, who displayed a bust of “The British Bulldog” in the Oval Office during his previous term. Since taking office less than 90 days ago, the new president has positioned himself as a wartime leader, swiftly taking action based on the mandate given to him by the American public this past November.

Here are three such actions that give American Christians hope for the coming years:

▶ Trump pardoned 23 pro-lifers targeted by the previous administration’s Department of Justice under the FACE Act. In the summer of 2020, ANTIFA and Black Lives Matter activists were allowed to burn American cities with few or no criminal charges against them. Yet, under the Biden administration, Christians who were ministering and praying at abortion clinics were targeted, and some of these individuals received prison sentences of up to two years. (See p. 7.)

▶ Trump reversed President Joe Biden’s first executive order signed January 20, 2021. The order was officially named Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. According to the Trump administration, the Biden order “forced illegal and immoral discrimination programs, going by the name ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ (DEI), into virtually all aspects of the Federal Government.” Trump signed his own executive order exactly four years later and characterized his action as “ending radical and wasteful government programs and preferencing.”

▶Trump issued an executive order titled Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government. In short, President Trump affirmed that the federal government will only recognize two genders. (See p. 22.) The executive order declared that:

Across the country, ideologues who deny the biological reality of sex have increasingly used legal and other socially coercive means to permit men to self-identify as women and gain access to intimate single-sex spaces and activities designed for women, from women’s domestic abuse shelters to women’s workplace showers. This is wrong. … Basing Federal policy on truth is critical to scientific inquiry, public safety, morale, and trust in government itself.

Author, speaker, and pastor John Maxwell is credited with coining the phrase, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.”

My papa, AFA Founder Don Wildmon, shared that quote with me many times during my beginning days here at AFA, and he took it to heart himself as he led AFA.

I reflected on Papa’s leadership and legacy as my family and I were surrounded by Christian leaders at the Christian Inaugural Gala and Watch Party in Washington, D.C. Being in our nation’s capital during a presidential inauguration was everything you could imagine. But being among hundreds of other Christian leaders was that much sweeter.

Leadership at all levels is crucial to a nation’s well-being. That’s why Paul exhorts Christians in 1 Timothy 2:1-2 to offer “prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings … for kings and all who are in authority.” 

To guide your prayers, we have produced a bookmark that includes a prayer for President Trump. Packs of 10 bookmarks are available at resources.afa.net for a suggested donation of $5 per pack to help cover printing and postage.

As Easter approaches, let us be thankful for God’s mercy on our nation and in our lives. And let us be reminded that everything truly does rise and fall on leadership. May this season of positive change continue as America regains her greatness and God is honored.