Christian Right Observer Weekly (Volume 18)

CROW's stories on the Christian Right that you need read this week.

1. Michael Flynn Links Up With Pastor Matt Shea, an Alleged Domestic Terrorist Who Overlapped With the Oath Keepers During the Infamous “Bundy Ranch” Standoff in 2014 

Disgraced retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, who served briefly as former president Donald Trump’s national security advisor, recently attended the premiere of his autobiographical documentary, “Flynn Movie,” at On Fire Ministries in the state of Washington. The occasion was noteworthy because On Fire Ministries’ lead pastor is former Washington state lawmaker Matt Shea, an alleged domestic terrorist.

A few weeks before the event, Right Wing Watch reported that the two men planned to link up for the premiere. 

As discussed in that report, Shea gained infamy in 2018 when he acknowledged that he had distributed a four-page manifesto called the “Biblical Basis for War,” which advocated the murder of non-Christian males who refuse to yield to the following wartime demands: 

1. “Stop all abortions” 

2. “No same-sex marriage” 

3. “No idolatry or occultism”

4. “No communism” 

5. “Must obey Biblical law”

The following year, Shea’s Republican colleagues in the state legislature expelled Shea from their caucus following the release of a lengthy House report, which concluded that Shea had participated in “domestic terrorism” and “planned, engaged in and promoted a total of three armed conflicts of political violence against the United States Government in three states outside the state of Washington over a three-year period.” 

In addition to the information in Right Wing Watch’s excellent report, it is noteworthy that the Oath Keepers were present during at least two of those conflicts: (1) the armed standoff  between supporters of Nevada Rancher Cliven Bundy and federal agents in 2014; and (2) the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in 2016 (which also involved the Bundy family).

That Shea is now involved with Flynn is cause for alarm because, as Jenny detailed for the Bucks County Beacon, Flynn was heavily involved in the so-called “Stop the Steal” movement, which culminated in a violent attack on our nation’s capital on January 6, 2021. The day before the attack, Flynn had facilitated a $100,000 donation to Code of Vets, which had tweeted on Nov. 3, 2020, that the Oath Keepers were “trained and standing by,” as shown in Jenny’s Beacon report. 

Multiple Oath Keepers, including former Oath Keepers president Stewart Rhodes, have been convicted of seditious conspiracy in connection with that attack. Flynn, however, remains free to collaborate with the likes of Matt Shea and Roger Stone, Trump’s longtime advisor who urged Trump to pardon Cliven Bundy and his sons in 2017 and hired the Florida Oath Keepers to provide “security” for a “Stop the Steal” event in December 2020. 

2. Trump Ally Robert Morris, a Texas Megachurch Pastor and School Board Culture Warrior, Resigns After Child Sex Abuse Allegation 

For years, Morris had used his pulpit to enrich himself, to promote Trump, and to facilitate the Christian fundamentalist takeover of Texas public schools

A highly influential Texas megachurch pastor, Robert Morris, has been accused of sexually molesting a 12-year-old girl in the 1980’s, as first reported by The Wartburg Watch on June 14. 

Morris has not disputed the accusation. Rather, he has admitted to “inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady” (she was 12, not a “young lady”), while emphasizing that there had been no “intercourse.” The victim, however, told the Christian Post that Morris “did touch every part of my body and inserted his fingers into me, which I understand now is considered a form of rape by instrumentation. I was an innocent 12-year-old little girl who knew nothing about sexual behavior.” 

As a result of the scandal, Morris has resigned from Gateway, the megachurch that he founded with his wife in Southlake, Texas. 

Before this shocking turn of events, Morris had spent years using his pulpit to enrich himself, telling congregants that, “If you don’t tithe, that’s an open door to demons.” “Tithing” refers to the practice of giving at least 10 percent of your income to the Church. About 100,000 people (“tithers”) reportedly attend services at Gateway’s multiple campuses on weekends, which helps explain how Morris has managed to amass an estimated net worth of $117 million. 

Before the child sex abuse scandal went public, Morris had also used his influence to promote former president Donald Trump. In 2017, Gateway was “one of nine sponsors of the Faith, Freedom and Future inaugural ball” hosted by Tony Perkins (President of the Family Research Council) to celebrate Trump’s victory, as reported by journalist Warren Throckmorton. Morris also belonged to Trump’s evangelical advisory board and was one of the 200 evangelical leaders who signed a letter criticizing Christianity Today for calling for Trump’s removal following his impeachment in 2018. In June 2020, Trump praised Morris’s “great reputation” during an event that he personally attended at Gateway. 

Morris’s influence extended to local politics as well. Starting in 2021, he facilitated the Christian fundamentalist takeover of the Carroll ISD school board in Southlake, Texas, by displaying the names of desired candidates during sermons (while professing to not “endorse” anyone). New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) leader Lance Wallnau would later brag about the takeover of Southlake, gleefully describing how they had duped the media by calling it a community initiative, rather than a church initiative.

Despite professing outrage that Democrats are supposedly “grooming” children in public schools, Wallnau is not apparently outraged by Morris’s alleged sexual molestation of a 12-year-old girl. Instead, he has wrongly implied that digital penetration isn’t “rape” under Texas law and suggested that public criticism of Morris could result in “exile” from the Seven Mountains “utopia” that Wallnau expects to bring with help from Trump. 

3. Should Prophets Be in Politics?

In her recent Spirit of Faith Political Prophetics podcast video, Oklahoma Christian Dominionist and New Apostolic Reformation Apostle and Prophet Dr. Paula Price asks NAR Apostle and Prophet Lance Wallnau this exact question. Most of our readers know that Wallnau is involved in politics, but few know that Prophet Price is involved in politics, too.

In fact, Prophet Price is in a leadership position within the Oklahoma GOP as Chairman of Faith and Community Outreach. In an unlisted video on the OKGOP Faith page, Prophet Price has another prophet pray “To put the God in America in power again” at an OK GOP rollout training where attendees were told to take her prophetic trainings and pick a leadership role. 

She told attendees that she prophecized that Trump would win the 2020 election. She now prophecized that Trump will be at the inauguration this election. She emphasized that the OK GOP must have Unity through Uniformity. She will hold classes, host daily broadcasts, and teach at precincts across the state on how to be Spirit filled.

“The Ekklesia founded government in the United States…Christianity is still the strongest muscle in the land.”

Prophet Price exercised her NAR five-fold muscle in her first podcast laying out the “war plan” for her upcoming podcasts. Her first politician guest was Oklahoma State Senator Nathan Dahm, who appointed her to the OK GOP position. Their topic? The Truth Behind Separation of Church and State. Dahm: “They bought into the lies of separation of church and state.”

Prophet Price and Dahm share a NAR Christian Dominionist organization in common: City Elders. Dahm spoke at Theonomy Seeking City Elders back in June 2022 where he said “If the church gets engaged, we can make a difference.”

Dahm is certainly making a difference as head of OK GOP by having Prophet Price in an appointed position. Prophet Price has a direct endorsement by NAR Apostle C. Peter Wagner in her book, The Prophet's Handbook:

“Dr. Paula Price is one of today’s blue ribbon Christian leaders. Here is a person whose extensive experience, both in the business and church worlds, has equipped her to see and to understand the big picture with more insight than most others. I love to watch her creative mind discerning what the Spirit is saying to the churches and then moving boldly ahead to open new frontiers for the kingdom. I am privileged to be associated with Dr. Price and to have benefited greatly from her apostolic and prophetic gifts.”

And Apostle Price has indeed opened new frontiers for the kingdom with meetings with Governor Kevin Stitt, former Vice President Mike Pence, and Senator James Lankford. 

“The Lord has suffered heinously under this big attack and the regime that's been working to dislodge him as the founding God of America. I would love for you to join me. As we worship Him every day, we began to prepare his people to engage his enemies in his future.” -Apostle Price, May 20, 2023

4. RFK Jr. Campaign Dog Whistling Christian Nationalism

Could Christian nationalists have another presidential candidate to vote for besides convicted felon Donald Trump? RFK Jr.’s running mate Nicole Shanahan is apparently planting her metaphorical Appeal to Heaven flag in the ground. Rolling Stone’s Tim Dickinson published an article this week “RFK Jr. Running Mate Decries ‘Demonic’ Influence in Government” which documents how the billionaire anti-vaxxer is flirting with QAnon and Christian Nationalist rhetoric. He notes:

“In a written address to the gathering that Shanahan posted to X, she declared that ‘Bobby Kennedy can win this next election’ because he ‘understands the deeply troubling, almost demonic forces that have overtaken our agencies, and our culture.’”

Read the full article here at Rolling Stone, or here archived.