A different gospel
Friday Roundup for April 3, 2026
On this Good Friday, we American Christians would do well to hear again the words of the Apostle Paul to the Galatians:
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and turning to a different gospel — not that there is another gospel, but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, If any one is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed.
The majority of biblical scholars believe the New Testament epistle we know as Galatians was written between 48 and 49 CE, making it one of Paul’s earliest epistles. It likely was written shortly after his first missionary journey and before the Jerusalem Council to combat legalistic teachings in the churches of Galatia.
Paul wrote this letter after finding that churches in Galatia had “quickly deserted” the gospel of grace — less than two decades after Jesus had walked among them. Think about that. Less than 20 years after Jesus was crucified, buried and raised to life, the church founded to tell his story had lost the plot.
“Less than 20 years after Jesus was crucified, buried and raised to life, the church founded to tell his story had lost the plot.”
And we’re surprised the Christian church in America has gone astray after centuries of slowly heading in the wrong direction?
In all the assessment and soul searching about how we got to this terrible place of MAGAmerica, we cannot ignore that a huge chunk of the church has embraced “another gospel.”
Not every teaching in the Bible is clear. Not every parable of Jesus is easily understood. But some things are crystal clear because they are said plainly and repeatedly. Among those: Love your neighbor as yourself. Love God by what you do to help others, not just by what you say you believe. Humble yourself. Do not worship idols, whether made of flesh or stone or wood. God shows no partiality. Jesus came to save all people and all creation — not just some.
To preach anything other than this is to embrace “another gospel,” which Paul says isn’t a real gospel. It isn’t really “good news,” the very meaning of the word. It is, in fact, bad news because it is haughty and exclusive and demeaning and unjust.
While I have sympathy for pastors caught in “purple” churches — meaning the blending of red Republicans and blue Democrats — there are limits to what proclaiming the true gospel of Jesus Christ will allow. Acting like the politics and theology of the MAGA movement isn’t “another gospel” is one of those limits.
Sometimes the evidence of this is slap-you-in-the-face obvious. Like this week when Donald Trump compared himself to King Jesus and his phony spiritual adviser told him he had suffered and been resurrected just like Jesus.
There is no other word for this than blasphemy. And yet there beside them in the video is Southern Baptist pastor Robert Jeffress, smiling and not objecting.
Evangelicals are quick to point out the perceived heresies of others — except when they’re standing right next to the heretics and benefitting from their power. If Jeffress were a true prophet of God, he would have denounced the idol-making happening before him. But of course, he did not because he helped create the idol.
The evangelical church in America today has been captured by a “different gospel” that preaches power over submission, privilege over service and cruelty over love. These are not just political differences; they are heresies.
As Braxton Wade so beautifully expresses, the white church needs to learn from the Black Church this Good Friday and linger at the Cross a bit longer. Listen to the Seven Last Words of Christ. Don’t rush to Easter just to feel better. We’ve got to sit with the pain for a while.
“Jesus did not go to the Cross for American evangelicals to fulfill their thirst for political dominance.”
In the same way, churches cannot rush to declare peace among their politically diverse membership without acknowledging the real harm and real pain of the moment. Real people are dying. Real people are starving. Real people are being imprisoned. Real people are being persecuted for not turning a blind eye to corruption. Real families are being ripped apart. Real people are being disenfranchised from voting.
Jesus did not go to the Cross for American evangelicals to fulfill their thirst for political dominance.
Ironically, it is those on the fringes of the church or outside the evangelical church who are calling us back to the true gospel. Evangelicals weren’t at the No Kings rallies across the nation last Saturday, but more than 8 million Americans were — the largest mass protest in American history.
What became obvious to me while attending the rally in downtown Dallas is that Donald Trump is the most-despised person in America. He’s not despised like Jesus was for preaching a gospel of love and peace. Instead, he’s despised for being corrupt, arrogant, insane and dangerous. Despite what Paula White, Robert Jeffress and Franklin Graham say, Trump is the antithesis of Jesus — an actual antichrist.
He is the embodiment of “another gospel.”
Evidence of this piles up seemingly by the minute, but here are some examples from this week alone:
Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission has been assailed from the beginning as a front for advancing evangelical grievances, and now a coalition has sued to stop a forthcoming report from the body.
Last year, Paula White offered her followers seven Easter blessings for a gift of $1,000. This Holy Week, she’s using support for Israel as a motivation to give money to her.
American clergy must stand up and preach against Trump’s attack on birthright citizenship and call it what it is, civil rights activist Bishop William J. Barber II said during a rally in Washington, D.C.
For the first time in history, the U.S. Army chief of chaplains has been fired by the Secretary of Defense. This was part of yesterday’s purge of top leaders — reportedly happening in part because the Army’s chief of staff refused Pete Hegseth’s demand to derail promotions for women and Black men.
Hegseth also is waging a multi-front war against American news media outlets over negative coverage of the war in Iran and unflattering photos of him.
Stuart Lord looks to Good Friday with sorrow for the empty chairs in homes created by the Trump administration’s bombing of a girls’ school in Iran.
A Ten Commandments monument in front of the Arkansas State Capitol and the 2015 law that approved it were ruled unconstitutional by a federal court March 31.
A federal judge in Texas has dealt a serious setback to conservative Christians seeking the right to support political causes and candidates while maintaining tax-exempt status.
Brooks Potteiger, a Christian nationalist pastor who has served as a spiritual mentor to Hegseth, says Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico is an Orc who must be slain. Alan Bean explains how this dehumanizing language indicates the Republican Party is running scared of those who quote the actual words of Jesus.
Rodney Kennedy takes a look at the use of such “imprecatory” prayers and how they are used in the Bible.
Rick Pidcock quotes from Proverbs — repeatedly — to make the case that Trump is a fool who has been elevated to power against the advice of Scripture.
Stephen Shoemaker says the Trump administration is exposing America’s heart of darkness.
And nowhere is the misguided convergence of evangelicalism and politics more evident than in Turning Point USA. We already have written about the dangers of Baylor University hosting a TPUSA rally on campus later this month. Now Baylor professor Greg Garrett weighs in with an outstanding piece on “Why the Turning Point Baylor rally Is un-Christian.”
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In a landslide week of breaking news, the U.S. Supreme Court acceded to the demands of evangelical Christians by allowing conversion therapy for minors despite mountains of evidence this practice is harmful and deadly. In an 8-1 ruling, the court said evangelical therapists have a First Amendment right to engage in this discredited practice.
There is free speech, and there is dangerous speech. The court didn’t seem to be troubled by such a dilemma.
Two BNG columnists weighed in on this decision.
Jordan Conley says the court’s decision to strike down Colorado’s ban on “conversion therapy” is a harmful setback for LGBTQ Americans. The court has failed to recognize the well-documented harm conversion therapy inflicts, the pastor says.
Cody Sanders offers churches three ideas on how to respond to the violence of conversion therapy.
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In other news this week:
An Alabama judge has dealt an unusual blow to one of the strongest arguments The United Methodist Church has made to keep churches from defecting — the “trust clause” that gives the denomination ownership of real property.
A former Miami Republican Party official has filed a lawsuit to stop Florida International University from probing into his involvement in an antisemitic and homophobic online group chat with fellow students.
The Nicaraguan government is ramping up its persecution of Baptists and other religious organizations and restricting the use and possession of Bibles, according to the international human and religious rights group CSW.
Immigration and civil rights advocates came out in force to defend birthright citizenship in advance of an April 1 U.S. Supreme Court hearing into Trump’s attempt to end the practice.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey held a ceremonial signing of Trey’s Law March 30. The law prohibits nondisclosure agreements in civil cases involving sexual abuse, sexual assault and trafficking in the interest of public safety.
The surge in faith-based protests against Trump’s immigration policies has drawn from both spontaneous activism and the reemergence of networks of religious groups, according to a panel of journalists covering the movement.
The man nominated to lead the embattled Southern Baptist Convention Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission believes “a married couple’s efforts to prevent pregnancy might be morally problematic.” Evan Lenow, an administrator at Mississippi College, is the nominee to lead the SBC’s ethics arm.
Ryan Burge has documented a truth of American news media consumption that has become gospel in the last 30 years: Republicans and conservative evangelicals are vastly more influenced by Fox News than other Americans. However, Burge unearthed another surprising data point as well.
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In other analysis and opinion this week:
Braxton Wade sat down with Lisa Dunson, president of the Alliance of Baptists, to talk about the group’s current challenges and future direction.
Mara Richards Bim went to the CPAC meeting last weekend and was stunned by what she saw and heard. She wrote one piece on 10 takeaways from her experience. And she wrote another piece on the brain rot she witnessed being dished out in workshops with provocative titles.
Robert P. Jones reports on data from PRRI’s latest national polling, showing only 35% of American adults approve of Trump’s handling of immigration.
Bill Leonard compares the current crusade of Pete Hegseth to the Crusades as promoted by Pope Urban II.
Patrick Wilson outlines 12 ways to shepherd courage in divided church communities.
Peter Demos says Christians don’t need louder voices but steadier ones.
Daniel Coffey makes a fascinating inquiry into what is lost when churches shun denominational identities. Nondenominational churches still adhere to ideals, he explains.
Liam Gent is a transgender man who mentors younger queer kids abandoned by their families and churches. He writes about four examples of those he’s learning from.
Derek Crawford says the two latest nominees to lead SBC entities show the waning influence of Al Mohler and Southern Seminary.
Luke Dowding has written an intriguing piece about how the choices made for worship styles at large Baptist gatherings illustrate the identity crisis Baptists now face. This is an important piece for anyone who cares about worship and community.
Brooke Colburn says there are days during Lent that feel less like prayer and more like hanging on. Days when hope feels distant, faith feels shaky and the waiting feels endless. These require trusting God in uncertainty.
Elizabeth Lewis Hall, Kelly M. Kapic and Jason McMartin explain why Good Friday matters as much as Resurrection Sunday.
A final word
I’m thrilled to announce we’re collaborating with Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists and Good Faith Media to bring Skye Perryman to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly in June. She will be the keynote speaker at our annual breakfast, which will be held this year on Juneteenth.
You can read all about it here and follow the link to get your tickets.
Anyone who reads BNG regularly will know Skye by name, as we quote her frequently and report on the work of her organization, Democracy Forward, almost every week. We’re thrilled to bring her to General Assembly for the first time.
One other word about General Assembly, which will be held in Jacksonville, Fla. With funding from the Prichard Family Foundation, we are sponsoring a one-day by-invitation workshop for women who would like to enrich their skills in writing opinion pieces for publication. We’re doing this in collaboration with The OpEd Project. If you are a woman interested in this opportunity and have not yet received an invitation from me, please reach out right away and I’ll be glad to tell you more.
Blessed Good Friday to all. We’ll see you next week on the other side of resurrection.
Mark Wingfield
Executive Director and Publisher
Baptist News Global