There’s something profoundly unsettling about watching clergy cloak themselves in piety one minute, then drape themselves in political theater the next.
We’re not talking about bold martyrs standing against true tyranny.
No, this is about America’s growing class of sunshine pastors, those whose courage only seems to flare when the winds are warm, the cameras are rolling, and the agenda’s trending on X.
They’ve mastered the art of holy theater.
They quote Scripture not to convict, but to campaign.
They rally for justice, provided it polls well.
And perhaps most dangerous of all, they wear the robe of Christ while rendering unto Caesar only when it flatters their cause.
COVID: When Obedience Was a Virtue
Let’s rewind the tape.
During the height of the pandemic, we were told by many in the clergy that obeying mask mandates, shuttering churches, and receiving emergency-use-authorized vaccines wasn’t just civic responsibility; it was godliness.
Entire denominations fell in line, echoing CDC pronouncements with more zeal than biblical exegesis.
Pastor after pastor made headlines for shuttering their sanctuaries. “We are loving our neighbor,” they said. “We’re rendering unto Caesar,” they reminded us, all while siding with a government that told people they couldn’t bury their dead, hold a wedding, or gather to worship.
Franklin Graham even praised the COVID vaccine rollout as “an answer to prayer,” comparing it to “Jesus healing the blind.”
But now? He’s leading a religious liberty commission that casts doubt on ICE raids and Trump’s immigration crackdown.
The shift is as sudden as it is suspicious.
Sean Feucht, the guitar-slinging protest pastor, ignored COVID restrictions to host massive unmasked worship concerts in defiance of government rules. His message then: “The government can’t tell the church what to do.” But now? He’s not exactly leading prayer rallies for ICE agents securing our borders.
Apparently, some state actions are more sacrilegious than others.
Immigration: When Disobedience Became Holy
Today, as the Trump administration resumes immigration enforcement, these same pastors, many of whom shouted “Submit to authority” just four years ago, are marching in the streets, locking arms outside detention centers and issuing fiery sermons against “unjust” immigration policies.
Pastors in Los Angeles and across sanctuary cities are suddenly quoting Matthew 25 like it’s breaking news. “I was a stranger, and you welcomed me,” they thunder. They’re forming human shields to block federal officers from executing lawful deportations, decrying raids as assaults on the body of Christ.
Where were those human shields when government orders prohibited the faithful from holding hands at a funeral?
Let’s not mince words. This is not courage. It’s convenient outrage, selective theology, and a theological bait-and-switch that would make the Pharisees proud.
Obedience, but Only When Convenient
This is the problem with many of today’s high-profile clergy: they treat the words of Christ as though they come with a season pass. “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s” unless that Caesar has an R next to his name.
Then the robes come off, the microphones come out, and suddenly, Jesus was a revolutionary.
It’s not that Christian pastors shouldn’t care about justice. They absolutely should. But they don’t get to pretend Scripture is situational. If Romans 13 was valid in 2020, it’s valid in 2025. If obedience to government authority was righteous when that authority said, “Close your church,” it must also be righteous when that same government says, “Enforce the border.”
You don’t get to canonize Dr. Fauci and crucify border agents.
Not if your sermon claims to be rooted in truth.
The Good Samaritan Wasn’t a Hypocrite
Let’s talk about what these pastors aren’t preaching.
They’re not preaching personal responsibility. They’re not preaching law and order. And they sure as Sunday aren’t preaching the whole truth. The Good Samaritan helped a wounded traveler. He didn’t hide fugitives. He didn’t hurl stones at the Roman soldiers and call it ministry.
He cared for the hurting but respected the rule of law.
These modern pastors aren’t acting like Samaritans. They’re acting like activists in clerical collars, offering sanctuary to chaos while condemning those tasked with protecting the rule of law.
A Gospel of Selective Outrage
Look no further than the recent Christianity Today report: nearly 10 million Christians in America are undocumented. That number is tossed around as if it’s a moral bludgeon, a reason to halt enforcement altogether.
But it raises a deeper question: Who failed them?
Was it the government?
Or was it the Church that for years encouraged passive disobedience, looked the other way, and now pretends it’s all Caesar’s fault?
It’s hard to tell what today’s clergy believes anymore because so many of them confuse sympathy for substance and emotion for theology. They quote Christ selectively, live out Scripture sporadically, and engage Caesar only when it benefits the brand.
Final Thoughts
The faith that once produced Bonhoeffer, Wilberforce, and Tubman now gives us pastors who tweet resistance from iPads and pose for Instagram in front of ICE buses.
The courage that once stood before lions now hides behind hashtags.
There’s a word for that: sunshine Christianity.
They preach submission when it’s easy. Resistance when it’s trendy. And silence when it’s costly. But if the Church wants to be the conscience of the nation again, it must rise above this hypocrisy.
It must stop treating Scripture like a prop and remember: Christ didn’t die for your platform.
He died for the truth.
And that truth doesn’t shift with headlines.
Prayer was banned in schools, but drag queens are now publicly funded.
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