Jack Graham, senior pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church, urged Christians who backed Donald Trump to embrace humility and prayer after his reelection as the 47th president.
In remarks reported by The Christian Post, Graham emphasized the importance of prayer for unity in a deeply divided nation. “The posture for Christians should be on our knees, the posture should be prayer, and we should pray for unity in the country,” he stated.
Graham, who leads a congregation of approximately 50,000 members and previously served as president of the Southern Baptist Convention noted that this moment presents an opportunity for Christians to govern well and respond with grace. He stated, “If you supported the election of President Trump, as I do, it is our opportunity to now, with the president and our government, to govern well and to respond with grace.”
However, he criticized what he sees as a cultural shift towards overt celebrations of political victories, suggesting that such actions do little to mend societal divides. “Now, everybody dances in the end zone, spikes the ball, jumps up and down, struts, flips the bat,” Graham remarked, adding that “in my era, we tried to win with a little more grace and humility.”
Highlighting the role of Christians as witnesses and ambassadors of their faith, Graham called for a display of humility and integrity while praying for leaders and living out Christian values. He expressed his desire for spiritual revival and awakening, noting, “Christians need to show a great deal of humility and integrity, and in praying for our leaders and living the Christian life.”
“We need to pray for spiritual revival; we need to do what we've always been called to do, which is to proclaim the Gospel, to witness to our neighbors and the nations. We can make a difference by living out our faith and praying for spiritual revival and spiritual awakening in our country. That, in the end, is what I'm most interested in.”
Additionally, Graham has been a vocal supporter of Trump and Senator J.D. Vance, R-Ohio. Before the election, Graham participated in prayer over Trump at the National Faith Advisory Board summit in Georgia alongside televangelist Paula White.
Throughout his lengthy church leadership, Graham has observed the Body of Christ engage with contentious issues, such as marriage. He reiterated the biblical view on gender, stating, “The Bible is clear on male and female; He created them. So, we're not going to be flying rainbow flags in the church that's reaching families for Christ, because it is an opposition to the Bible.”
He also expressed a need for Christians to understand Scripture, emphasizing the importance of encouraging individuals to open their Bibles and learn.
“We have to deal with it. We have to give people a reason to believe and a reason to know, but people don't know their Bibles,” he said. “That's why I keep getting back to the Bible. People just don't know what the Bible says. So we go by our feelings, or we go by culture, we go by what our friends are saying, or even maybe what our parents said. We're just trying to get people to open their Bibles and to help explain what the Bible says about all these issues,” he stated.
Graham, who also hosts “The Bible in a Year with Jack Graham” podcast, reaffirmed that Christians have a biblical obligation to support Israel, citing the profound connection between Christianity and Judaism. “For Christians, we do have a biblical obligation to love Israel,” he asserted.
He expressed concern over rising antisemitism and genocide, stating, “But [we support] the people and their right to exist. What you have now is this movement of genocide and antisemitism that's rising, not only in the Middle East but in Europe and America. And so, we must stand against that hatred at our church.”
