Two OKC churches tackle Christian nationalism, condemn the ideology

Two local churches are different in some ways, but their leaders are of one mind when it comes to a controversial ideology that blends Christianity and nationalism.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rev. John Malget recently brought their congregations together for a joint worship service where they shared the pulpit to discuss what they described as the perils of Christian nationalism.

"It's a political movement and let's face it, they're pimping out Jesus for earthly gain," Malget said at the June 23 worship service at East Sixth Street Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), 1139 NE 6, where Jackson is senior pastor.

First Christian Church of Oklahoma City (Disciples of Christ), where Malget is senior pastor, combined efforts with East Sixth Street for a series that included a Juneteenth-inspired vacation Bible school that began on the holiday on June 19.

The two churches are located in different areas of Oklahoma City, with Jackson's congregation in the northeast part of the city, while Malget's meets on its property at NW 23 and Walker Avenue. Jackson's congregation is predominantly Black, and Malget's congregation is predominantly white.

Churches had condemned Christian nationalism in the past

But both of the churches are part of the international Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), which last year approved a statement condemning Christian nationalism. The denomination described Christian nationalism as "a cultural framework that fuses a radically exclusionary form of Christian identity with the public political and civic participation of a nation's citizens."

The ideology emerged as a lightning rod issue in recent years, particularly after the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Jackson, who is Black, said he and Malget, who is white, have been friends for years, and they had been talking for some time about bringing their churches together for combined worship and other activities.

He said they chose Christian nationalism as their sermon topic because they wanted to convey to their congregations that the ideology is not Christian.

"I wish they would stop calling themselves 'Christian' because they make the rest of us look bad," Jackson said. "They are willing to be violent, as evidenced by Jan. 6, and this is the antithesis of who Jesus is. The gospel of Jesus Christ is predicated on love, period. There is no asterisk. There is no semi-colon."

Jackson also pushed back on the Christian nationalist assertion that Christians must expouse certain rhetoric and perform certain actions as a way to defend Christianity in today's world.

"Our faith does not need to be defended. Our faith needs to be lived," he said. "Folks love God, they can't stand us because of our efforts to be the 'enforcer' for God. In our efforts to do this, we have run countless people away from the church and countless people away from God."

'The Gospel is a gift — it should never be used as a weapon'

Malget told church members that he read a book called "The False White Gospel" and he felt it was important that white Christians, in particularly, hear about the danger of Christian nationalism because the ideology is connected to white supremacy.

"We have to ask what kind of people we want to be, what kind of nation do we want to be, but it needs to be heard by people that look like me," he said. "Somehow, we've forgotten what my kids learned from the movie 'High School Musical' ― that we're all in this together."

Malget spoke about the Christian nationalism that surfaced in Nazi Germany and how many Christian leaders allowed the Nazis to perpetrate atrocities on the Jews. He said while Christian nationalism right now is stronger than it's ever been, it does not reflect what Jesus taught.

"The Gospel is a gift — it should never be used as a weapon," he said.

Jackson told the combined church audience that this wouldn't be the last they heard from their ministers about Christian nationalism.

"This is not a one-time thing," he said. "If we are going to fight for the soul of Christianity, this is the time to do it. God is doing something in this space."

Several people in the pews said they enjoyed the time of fellowship between the two churches, and they thought the worship sermon focused on a timely topic.

"I love the unity, and I love that that is the message of the Disciples of Christ," said Anthony Francisco, an East Sixth Street member. "I just hope that we continue."