Acclaimed musician John Michael Talbot has advice for Christians as they process the results of the recent elections. “Don’t be overly exhilarated if your candidate wins, and don’t be overly depressed if they don’t,” he said.
Talbot and his brother, Terry, founded the influential Mason Proffit country-rock band in the early 1970s before pioneering contemporary Christian music, first as the Talbot Brothers and then with a solo career. He has recorded 56 albums and written more than 30 books. “Metro Voice” visited with him last weekend at Little Portion Hermitage near Eureka Springs, Ark.
“Here’s a newsflash: America is not a theocracy,” Talbot said. “It’s just not. It was founded largely on Protestant and Catholic principles. It’s built on a moral foundation that is largely Judeo-Christian. But it’s not a theocracy. In our lifetimes, those foundations have not only been eroded – they are gone. They no longer exist. If you are functioning as if those things still exist, they don’t. We are now a marginalized, sometimes demonized people. We are a smaller minority voice in a culture that largely is not like us.
“We can do what we can with government, but government reflects people. When the people are just, leaders are just. The scepter of the wicked shall not exist over the land of the just. But the other thing is, put no trust in princes and mortal man, in whom there is no help.”
Talbot believes three issues are paramount for Christians: the sanctity of life from conception to natural death; religious freedom; and protection of the traditional family.
“We have a lot of Protestants and Catholics who have voted for candidates who support the most aggressive, barbaric practice of abortion in the history of our country,” he said. “Bit by bit, we began to say, `Oh, that’s not so bad.” When we let it erode on the civic level, it also begins to erode in our churches.
“Regardless of who wins this particular election, we are on a trajectory that is a secular, godless culture. We can expect the rights of the church to be eroded and chipped away at, a little bit at a time.”
Despite the challenges of 2020, Talbot shares encouraging words for Christians as the new year approaches.
“This sounds simplistic, but focus on Jesus,” he said. “Peter steps out of the boat, walks on water with Jesus and does pretty good. Then the storms come, he looks at the storms, gets his eyes off Jesus and begins to sink. We have had a lot of storms, with COVID, the economic repercussions and the elections. We may be moving into a time period where the government itself is not friendly toward Christianity. Those are storms. You have to keep your eyes on Jesus.”
For more information about John Michael Talbot and his ministry, visit www.johnmichaeltalbot.com.
Watch for an upcoming, in depth, Metro Voice interview with Talbot.
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice