DJT's Church photo-op

[GMDino]

Since we didn't start another thread about another shooting I thought I'd share this letter.

It is from the Pastor of the church that Trump swung by after a round of golf...to have them pray for him.

Not for the victims of the shooting...that Trump did not say anything at all about...but for him.

https://www.mcleanbible.org/prayer-president

Quote:Dear MBC Family,


Sometimes we find ourselves in situations that we didn’t see coming, and we’re faced with a decision in a moment when we don’t have the liberty of deliberation, so we do our best to glorify God. Today, I found myself in one of those situations.

At the end of my sermon at the 1:00 worship gathering, I stepped to the side for what I thought would be a couple of moments in quiet reflection as we prepared to take the Lord’s Supper. But I was immediately called backstage and told that the President of the United States was on his way to the church, would be there in a matter of minutes, and would like for us to pray for him. I immediately thought about my longing to guard the integrity of the gospel in our church. As I said in the sermon today, Christ alone unites us. I love that we have over 100 nations represented in our church family, including all kinds of people with varied personal histories and political opinions from varied socioeconomic situations. It’s clear in our church that the only reason we’re together is because we have the same King we adore, worship, fear, and follow with supreme love and absolute loyalty, and His name is Jesus.

That’s why, as soon as I heard this request backstage, the passage from God’s Word that came to my mind was 1 Timothy 2:1-6:

“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.”

Based on this text, I know that it is good, and pleasing in the sight of God, to pray for the president. So in that moment, I decided to take this unique opportunity for us as a church to pray over him together. My aim was in no way to endorse the president, his policies, or his party, but to obey God’s command to pray for our president and other leaders to govern in the way this passage portrays.

I went back out to lead the Lord’s Supper and then walked off stage, where the president was soon to arrive. In that brief moment, I prayed specifically for an opportunity to speak the gospel to him, and for faithfulness to pray the gospel over him.
While I won’t go into the details of our conversation backstage, one of our other pastors and I spoke the gospel in a way that I pray was clear, forthright, and compassionate. Then I walked back out on stage, read 1 Timothy 2:1-6, and sought to pray the Word of God over the president, other leaders, and our country. (If you would like to see the full context of my comments and prayer, I have included the video below.) After I prayed, the president walked off stage without comment, and we closed our gathering by celebrating heroes among us, a couple who has spent the last 48 years spreading the gospel in remote places where it had never gone before they came. We then recited the Great Commission as we always do, sending one another out into the city for the glory of our King.

I wanted to share all of this with you in part because I know that some within our church, for a variety of valid reasons, are hurt that I made this decision. This weighs heavy on my heart. I love every member of this church, and I only want to lead us with God’s Word in a way that transcends political party and position, heals the hurts of racial division and injustice, and honors every man and woman made in the image of God. So while I am thankful that we had an opportunity to obey 1 Timothy 2 in a unique way today, I don’t want to purposely ever do anything that undermines the unity we have in Christ.

In the end, would you pray with me for gospel seed that was sown today to bear fruit in the president’s heart? Would you also pray with me that God will help us to guard the gospel in every way as we spread the gospel everywhere? And finally, I’m guessing that all of us will face other decisions this week where we don’t have time to deliberate on what to do. I’m praying now for grace and wisdom for all of us to do exactly what we talked about in the Word today: aim for God’s glory, align with God’s purpose, and yield to God’s sovereignty.

I love you, church.

Your Pastor,

David

Make no mistake:  This was presented as a visit from the POTUS to pray for the victims.

https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-visits-virginia-church-unannounced-pray-victims-mass-shooting-1441711

Quote:President Donald Trump on Sunday stopped in briefly at a Virginia church to pray for the victims of the Virginia Beach mass shooting after spending the morning at his golf club.


In a statement, White House spokesperson Judd Deere said "President Donald J. Trump is visiting McLean Bible Church in Vienna, VA, to visit with the Pastor and pray for the victims and community of Virginia Beach."


Trump's impromptu visit was made after he spent the morning golfing at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia.
During his visit, Trump on stage stood beside McLean Bible Church's Lead Pastor David Platt, who held one of his hands on a Bible and the other on the president's back as he prayed.

"We know we need your mercy. We need your grace. We need your help. We need your wisdom in our country," Platt said. "We stand right now on behalf of our president, and we pray for your grace and your mercy and your wisdom upon him." The pastor then asked God to bless Trump's family with strength and also prayed for other political leaders across the country.



Trump silently walked off the stage after the prayer and departed the event. He did not make any remarks at the church or mention the mass shooting in Virginia, which occurred earlier this week.

But who are you going to believe?  A man who lies on a daily basis or the pastor who actually said the prayer?

[Benton]

How bad of a round of golf did the guy have to ask for the power of prayer?

:Mellow:

[jj22]

It's always all about Trump. This Pastor at least spoke on it and that should be applauded.

Even D-day was about him tho according to Fox News (didn't think it was worth a new thread so sorry for adding it to yours).

"We are celebrating the anniversary, 75 years of D-Day. This is the time where we should be celebrating our President, the great achievements of America, and I don't think the American people like the constant negativity."

I will say at least Trump is willing to accept prayer for him. Even if he's not willing to ask for forgiveness.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFruUe4CEQ0

[*bfine32*]

(06-05-2019, 11:51 AM)GMDino Wrote: Since we didn't start another thread about another shooting I thought I'd share this letter.

It is from the Pastor of the church that Trump swung by after a round of golf...to have them pray for him.

Not for the victims of the shooting...that Trump did not say anything at all about...but for him.

https://www.mcleanbible.org/prayer-president



Make no mistake:  This was presented as a visit from the POTUS to pray for the victims.

https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-visits-virginia-church-unannounced-pray-victims-mass-shooting-1441711




But who are you going to believe?  A man who lies on a daily basis or the pastor who actually said the prayer?

What did Trump lie about?

[GMDino]

(06-05-2019, 05:27 PM)bfine32 Wrote: What did Trump lie about?

Which day this week?

All seriousness aside I didn't say Trump lied...did I? 

I said his spokesman (the man who speaks for Trump) said Trump was visiting to pray for the victims and the Pastor said he was told Trump was there for the Pastor to pray for him.

Take it for what you will.

One of them was lying.

Your choice.

Glad you don't support Trump though...you'd be jumping even MORE to defend him and killing your knees.  

[*bfine32*]

(06-05-2019, 05:34 PM)GMDino Wrote: Which day this week?

All seriousness aside I didn't say Trump lied...did I? 

I said his spokesman (the man who speaks for Trump) said Trump was visiting to pray for the victims and the Pastor said he was told Trump was there for the Pastor to pray for him.

Take it for what you will.

One of them was lying.

Your choice.

Glad you don't support Trump though...you'd be jumping even MORE to defend him and killing your knees.  

Yeah, this line made me assume you suggested trump was lying:

NOT TALKING ABOUT TRUMP Wrote:But who are you going to believe?  A man who lies on a daily basis or the pastor who actually said the prayer?"

No doubt I started this shiny new thread to defend him. Damn me and my obsessive behavior.

I find what POTUS did here to be a good thing. He can both be prayed for and pray too.

Anybody that pushes this as a bad thing will not find much good in anything POTUS does.

[hollodero]

Doesn't seem that awful.

I sure found it strange though that Trump himself had announced a national "special day of prayer for the president" on June 2 and shared around 1.000 tweets about that - including how folks should pray for his protection from those that want to see him fall and whatnot. That seemed a bit much.

But the real reason I post here is not any of that, but that this incident happened in Vienna. That is odd. The real Vienna needs to distance itself from that.

[BmorePat87]

Good message from the pastor. Sticks to his beliefs and explains to his congregation how his actions were not political, which I can imagine some churches try to stay away from.

The WH could argue that the president privately prayed for the victims, though... there's a lot of mental gymnastics being executed to try to argue that this was more about that and less about himself based on the firsthand account.

While he may not have been selfless in his reason for going, at least the pastor gave everyone a good message: "pray/hope that our leaders find the courage/faith/whatever to do what is right for us all... even if we don't like that person".

[GMDino]

(06-05-2019, 05:56 PM)bfine32 Wrote: Yeah, this line made me assume you suggested trump was lying:


No doubt I started this shiny new thread to defend him. Damn me and my obsessive behavior.

I find what POTUS did here to be a good thing. He can both be prayed for and pray too.

Anybody that pushes this as a bad thing will not find much good in anything POTUS does.

So you know he lies all the time and naturally associate that with him.  Good.

Oddly I said nothing was "bad" I said he showed up not to pray for the victims as his spokesperson said...but rather to have the pastor pray for him.  In other words someone lied and Trump still hasn't said anything about the shooting....or praying about it.

Definitely not you jumping to Trump's defense over things I never said about him.  Definitely.  

[GMDino]

(06-05-2019, 06:40 PM)BmorePat87 Wrote: Good message from the pastor. Sticks to his beliefs and explains to his congregation how his actions were not political, which I can imagine some churches try to stay away from.

The WH could argue that the president privately prayed for the victims, though... there's a lot of mental gymnastics being executed to try to argue that this was more about that and less about himself based on the firsthand account.

While he may not have been selfless in his reason for going, at least the pastor gave everyone a good message: "pray/hope that our leaders find the courage/faith/whatever to do what is right for us all... even if we don't like that person".

The pastor did the absolute best he could do under the circumstance and with the aftermath.

[*bfine32*]

(06-05-2019, 08:30 PM)GMDino Wrote: So you know he lies all the time and naturally associate that with him.  Good.

Oddly I said nothing was "bad" I said he showed up not to pray for the victims as his spokesperson said...but rather to have the pastor pray for him.  In other words someone lied and Trump still hasn't said anything about the shooting....or praying about it.

Definitely not you jumping to Trump's defense over things I never said about him.  Definitely.  

Nope. I know you state he lies all the time.

You can continue to be disingenuous and assert your OP was not not to point to something "bad" about Trump; but no one that reads this forum will believe it and hopefully see you for what you are.

Here's the question and if you answer it earnestly (I know) you might start to see the real problem: What was I defending Trump from? 

[GMDino]

(06-05-2019, 08:38 PM)bfine32 Wrote: Nope. I know you state he lies all the time.

So you DON'T think Trump lies all the time. Trump Defense Syndrome. Sad.

(06-05-2019, 08:38 PM)bfine32 Wrote: You can continue to be disingenuous and assert your OP was not not to point to something "bad" about Trump; but no one that reads this forum will believe it and hopefully see you for what you are.

Oh! A personal attack! Good form!

Please point out where I said it was bad. Go ahead. Quote it. Cite it. Prove it.

(06-05-2019, 08:38 PM)bfine32 Wrote: Here's the question and if you answer it earnestly (I know) you might start to see the real problem: What was I defending Trump from? 

Apparently from something that was never said?

You read someone say Trump didn't really do what his spokesperson said he was going to do and chimed in stating a bunch of stuff that was not in the OP anywhere.

I didn't say Trump lied.
I didn't say any of the praying was "bad".

And now you are defending yourself by saying you weren't defending Trump. Again.

But please...go on.

(06-05-2019, 08:38 PM)bfine32 Wrote: ...you might start to see the real problem...

It's adorable.

[*bfine32*]

(06-05-2019, 08:46 PM)GMDino Wrote: So you DON'T think Trump lies all the time.  Trump Defense Syndrome.  Sad.


Oh!  A personal attack!  Good form!

Please point out where I said it was bad.  Go ahead.  Quote it.  Cite it.  Prove it.  


Apparently from something that was never said?

You read someone say Trump didn't really do what his spokesperson said he was going to do and chimed in stating a bunch of stuff that was not in the OP anywhere.

I didn't say Trump lied.
I didn't say any of the praying was "bad".

And now you are defending yourself by saying you weren't defending Trump.  Again.

But please...go on.  It's adorable,

Why would hoping people see you for what you are be a personal insult?

As to the rest: I didn't think you were going to be earnest. I hope those that watch in silence on posts such as yours but are quick to point to a wayward word in a thought they disagree with also see themselves for what they are. 

[GMDino]

(06-05-2019, 08:56 PM)bfine32 Wrote: Why would hoping people see you for what you are be a personal insult?

I didn't say "insult".

I said attack.

(06-05-2019, 08:56 PM)bfine32 Wrote: As to the rest: I didn't think you were going to be earnest. I hope those that watch in silence on posts such as yours but are quick to point to a wayward word in a thought they disagree with also see themselves for what they are. 

 Why indeed.  

[*bfine32*]

(06-05-2019, 08:56 PM)bfine32 Wrote: Why would hoping people see you for what you are be a personal insult?

As to the rest: I didn't think you were going to be earnest. I hope those that watch in silence on posts such as yours but are quick to point to a wayward word in a thought they disagree with also see themselves for what they are. 

(06-05-2019, 09:11 PM)GMDino Wrote: I didn't say "insult".

I said attack.

Why would it be an attack?

[fredtoast]

(06-05-2019, 08:38 PM)bfine32 Wrote:  What was I defending Trump from? 

Being held responsible for the actions of his own administration when it lied about what happened at the church.

Why don't you think he should be responsible for the actions of his own administration?  Who do you claim is REALLY in charge if it is not Trump?

[*bfine32*]

(06-05-2019, 09:20 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Being held responsible for the actions of his own administration when it lied about what happened at the church.

Why don't you think he should be responsible for the actions of his own administration?  Who do you claim is REALLY in charge if it is not Trump?

Close. I was "defending" Trump from an outright lie that the person that asserted it doesn't have the moral courage to accept. (See that's a personal attack).

As mentioned earlier we don't know if Trump prayed for the victims or not. We do know he was on stage when folks were praying for the victim. But sure he should be responsible.

You guys are your own worst enemies and have 0 clue. 

[fredtoast]

BTW I don't think they chose this church randomly.

David Platt is a powerful pastor who used to be the head of the Southern Baptist's multimillion dollar International Missionary Board (IMB).  He ruffled some feathers in the church with his commentary on dealing with refugees that included passages like this

"Much of our response to the refugee crisis seems to come from a foundation of fear, not faith. Much of it seems to flow from a view of the world that is far more American than biblical, far more concerned with the preservation of our country than the accomplishment of the Great Commission."

and this

"As we look around at all that’s going on in the world, we must remember for ourselves and we must remind the church that God is sovereign over it all.  .  .   He’s sovereign over nature, yet we know he’s also sovereign over nations. Our God charts the course of countries. He holds the rulers of the earth in the palm of his hand—and this is really good news. It’s good news to know that Assad in Syria is not sovereign over all. It’s good news to know that ISIS is not sovereign. It’s good news that Vladimir Putin is not sovereign, and neither is Donald Trump."

One of Platt's best selling books is "Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream"


Trump wanted to make a point by getting Platt to "endorse" him.  That is why they never gave Platt any notice of what was happening in advance.  That is pretty much unheard of when it comes to the Presidential appearances.

[fredtoast]

(06-05-2019, 09:25 PM)bfine32 Wrote: As mentioned earlier we don't know if Trump prayed for the victims or not. We do know he was on stage when folks were praying for the victim. But sure he should be responsible.

"We" don't know that at all, but it is funny that you do.

Because there was no mention of any victims while Trump was on the stage.  It was not about victims.  It was part of a "Pray for Trump" event organized by Franklin Graham.

[fredtoast]

(06-05-2019, 09:25 PM)bfine32 Wrote: Close. I was "defending" Trump from an outright lie that the person that asserted it doesn't have the moral courage to accept. (See that's a personal attack).

I don't consider it an outright lie at all because I hold Trump responsible for the actions of his administration.

Who do you think is responsible for the actions of the Trump administration if it is not Trump?  Who do you think is control if not Trump?  Funny how his defenders try to claim that he is just a helpless puppet who has no idea what is going on around him when shit like this comes up.