My visit to the White House

In early spring, I was invited to the White House to meet with dozens of Christian leaders from around the country. The White House Faith Office organized the event, and it was held in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building – just a stone’s throw from the Oval Office. This was only my second invitation to the White House, and I was looking forward to the opportunity.

 However, having been in ministry and in the political world for over a decade, I’ve learned that meetings like these are often not worth my time. They are usually a one-way sales pitch with very few, if any, points of action to follow up on.

This meeting was different.

When I arrived, roughly 75 pastors and ministry leaders were gathered. There were some familiar faces in the crowd, people I had worked with before on various issues.

We began with a time of worship. Yes, we worshipped in the White House complex! We sang “How Great Thou Art” and “Great Are You Lord,” among other songs.

After worship, the remaining time was spent hearing from various White House officials. Here is a summary of a few of the topics that were discussed during the briefing. 

▶ Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to President Donald Trump and senior director for counterterrorism within the White House National Security Council, briefed us on the administration’s efforts to combat Islamic terrorism at home and abroad. He discussed this topic in view of the direct threat that Islamic ideology poses to human rights and religious freedom.

▶ Trump’s position on in vitro fertilization (IVF) was discussed during a productive Q&A session. Attendees expressed moral and ethical concerns regarding IVF, specifically about unregulated IVF. Anyone who has done their due diligence on this topic understands that embryos (babies) are often carelessly destroyed through this process. (See The Stand, January/February 2025.) A White House representative told us that faith leaders have already been brought in to better explain the objections to conventional IVF and that work is being done to get these concerns directly to Trump so that he is fully briefed on this matter.

▶ Leo Terrell, the Justice Department’s senior counsel to the assistant attorney general for civil rights and head of the multi-agency Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, briefed us on the administration’s efforts to get rid of antisemitic harassment in schools and on college campuses. Since the brutal, Hamas-led attack on Israel in October 2023, there have been pro-Hamas marches, almost monthly, on campuses around the country. Trump is taking this threat seriously and has already announced funding freezes to multiple universities for failing to halt these major, and sometimes illegal, disruptions to classes and campus activities.

▶ The president’s effort to prevent abortion providers from receiving taxpayer dollars was also addressed during the Q&A session. The White House representatives agreed that withholding taxpayer funding from abortion providers (such as Planned Parenthood) was a good approach. Then, only weeks after this meeting, the Trump administration announced a funding freeze, amounting to tens of millions of federal dollars, for Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers.

As I reflect on my time at the White House and think back on Trump’s first term, it is evident, in my opinion, that the second Trump administration is far more prepared and focused than the first. I believe God has given our country a reprieve.

It’s incredible to see born-again believers positioned throughout the White House and executive agencies. God is using His people to bring about righteous governing in our country, and it is our responsibility to pray for, encourage, and challenge Trump as he and his administration seek to bring about change for the good of our country and its people.