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Christian Nationalism, Progressivism, Patriotism, and Voting

Dear Family and Friends,

Unless you live in a cave, you know that 2024 is an election year. In fact, 2024 could be called “The Election Year,” at least 70 countries around the world will have an election, including Ghana, Bangladesh, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. Sorting out the role as a Christian during this season is not an easy journey.

I’ve asked Rick Shallenberger to write an article speaking into how we as GCI walk through the elections as we are guided by the instruction of Scripture and the leading of the ever-present Holy Spirit. And we pray to the King of kings, please provide us with leaders who care for their people and countries.

Greg Williams


I have good Christ-following friends on both sides of the U.S. political aisle whom I love and respect. I may disagree with some of their political views, and I may believe they don’t see the bigger picture, but I suspect they feel the same about my political views. The important thing is that our relationships and our worldviews are not based on politics; they are based on Jesus.

Today we live with worldviews that are in contradiction to a Christian worldview and Jesus’ teachings. Both Christian Nationalism on the “right” and Progressivism on the “left” are problematic. Christian Nationalism is different than patriotism. The basic premise of Christian Nationalism is that America should be a theocracy, ruled by Christian power in government. This is not the same as cultures and governments being influenced by Christian principles, and it is different from patriotism.

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I Am My Brother’s Keeper

Greg Williams at the West African Leadership Conference

Dear GCI Family and friends,

When electrical power is lost and cell phone towers are down, our reliance on technology becomes exposed. It heightens the fear and concern we feel for our loved ones whom we cannot reach.

During Hurricane Helene’s catastrophic destruction across the southeastern U.S., my home state of North Carolina was hard hit. After the brunt of the storm had passed, it took until Sunday, September 28, before we had communication with my extended family to know that everybody was safe. There was one exception — my older brother Evan. My friend and colleague, Rick Shallenberger, was at my home, and he and I listened to the prompting of Susan to determine that rather than head to church services, the greater need was to make our way to Evan. I appreciated that Rick made the statement, “Rather than going to church, we were being the church.”

Could we even get through crippled roads, washed out bridges, downed trees and power lines? We weren’t sure, but we were determined to try. We made our way west through towns where traffic lights were out and stores had darkened windows. We got within less than a mile of Evan’s house, and we had to park because of the impassable road. After hiking in with arms laden with groceries and drinking water, we began seeing the damage — a tree laying across the roof of his detached garage, a caved in roof of his truck. And then when we got to the entrance of the main house, we saw another big tree laying across the roof of the primary bedroom with a gaping hole in the ceiling.

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US Church Restructuring

Dear Church,

In Church Administration and Development (CAD) for the U.S., we have been working for more than a year to move from a regional structure of support and supervision to a national structure.

During our summer gatherings, I shared the “5D cycle” of transformational change process: disruption, discovery, death, design, and deploy. It’s an appreciative inquiry tool, adapted from the 5D Method of Change. The newly formed U.S. CAD team has journeyed around this circle and have learned many valuable lessons. One of the most important lessons is to get each team member in his or her best fit. I think they have accomplished this.

I am proud of their hard work; they have demonstrated a yielding to the Spirit in each stage. In January 2025, the new structure will be fully implemented. Mike will give us more background, so please keep reading.

Greg Williams


GCI in the United States has been undergoing major restructuring throughout 2023 and 2024. These changes have occurred for several reasons. The main reason is a shortage of pastors and key leaders to replace our ranks. For the past 12 years, our regional system has served us well. We started with six regions. With the retirement of Ted Johnston, it went to five regions. In January 2024, Anthony Mullins left the role of Southeast regional director (RD) to plant a GCI congregation in Durham, North Carolina. Then in January 2025, Rick Shallenberger, North Central RD, and Tim Sitterley, Western RD, will both be retiring. This means Dr. Jeff Broadnax, Pam Morgan, and I will be sharing the responsibilities of overseeing the United States. I also have the responsibility of overseeing the Canadian and the Caribbean regions. We hope you can understand that we clearly needed to make some changes to manage this vast area with fewer people.

One option was to move our more experienced pastors from their current congregations to the role of RD, but this would put these large, healthy congregations at risk. Robbing Peter to pay Paul is never a good strategy for growth nor sustainable health. So, the Holy Spirit has been leading us to think differently and guiding us to implement a new strategy. However, this new strategy has required incredibly challenging and painful decisions and even more difficult conversations with our pastors and facilitators.

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Know Your Enemy

Greg and Susan Williams
Greg and Susan Williams

Dear GCI Family and Friends,

My pastor recently gave a sermon about Jesus the great shepherd from John 10. He emphasized how Jesus loves us, pursues us (even leaving the 99 to come after us), and saves us. Then he emphasized how important it is for us to listen and recognize the voice of our shepherd. Thank God we have this wonderful shepherd in Jesus.

In this same passage, Jesus says that there is a thief. This thief’s motives are to steal, kill, and destroy. The apostle Peter makes a similar reference in his letter to the church.

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8 NIV)

If our enemy is on the prowl and seeking to devour and destroy us, it behooves us to understand his tactics, and then to be sober-minded and alert. Deception, division and distraction are his best and most-often-used tools.

Deceit

The apostle John, who identifies the devil as a thief, gives us more insight.

You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44 NIV)

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Living a Gospel Lifestyle

Greg and Susan Williams
Greg and Susan Williams

Dear GCI Family and Friends,

I hope the title caught your attention. I also hope that it didn’t frighten or intimidate you.

Often, when we talk about the Christian life, we need to break it down and simplify it. Dr. Barry Corey does a great job of this in his book, Love Kindness. Allow me to share an enlightening section.

Living a life of radical kindness, a life that others are watching, means owning up to the fact that our lives are messy and uncertain, our roads are crooked. We don’t have it all together. The kind life acknowledges that we have little true certainty, a claim that seems so countercultural. The wonder in which we live as people of the Spirit is that the wind of the Spirit – as the Gospel of John says – “blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit” (3:8). It blows without our logic and where it pleases. As my home church pastor said, “God is totally reliable but hardly predictable.” (p. 30)

What I take from the wisdom of John, Barry, and Barry’s pastor, is that I am in a relational journey with Jesus and guided by the Spirit. My idea of getting from point A to point B is not typically the map the Spirit has in mind. A recent example was when I was on a three-day golf vacation with a group of professional people ranging from doctors to lawyers, and business owners to politicians. A neighborhood friend invited me to participate. Three of us were on the balcony one night, observing the stars and anticipating the solar eclipse that was to happen in a few days.

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Developing Ministry Leaders

Greg and Susan Williams
Greg and Susan Williams

Dear GCI Family and Friends,

Development is the greatest need for GCI, especially for the preparation of future ministry leaders, pastors, and church planters. We have long understood our need for training and development, and we believe Ministry Training Centers (MTCs) are essential for our future. The development of MTCs is part of our vital strategy to reach the younger generation. We want to invest in them, to equip them, to bless them, and to empower them to populate our churches, which are positioned for renewal, with fresh leadership. The MTC strategy also includes maintaining an intentional focus on planting new churches. We will celebrate the day a church with an MTC gives birth to a daughter church.

Our Development Coordinator is Cara Garrity. Her responsibilities include overseeing MTC sites across all six GCI regions to maintain alignment with the Home Office. She had this to say about the key ingredients needed to establish an MTC: “If you are baking a cake and you leave out the salt, baking powder, or any key ingredient, you will not end up with a cake.”

We believe that the following are key ingredients for MTCs:

We understand that an MTC must grow out of a church body that is in renewal displaying healthy ministry.

It is important to understand that it is a church that has an MTC and not a fledgling MTC that aspires to be a church. This foundation is vital to the overall vision. Renewal is measured by the presence of the following three components:

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Altar of Communion

Greg and Susan Williams
Greg and Susan Williams

Dear GCI Family and Friends,

When we read through the Old Testament, we see many occasions where an altar was built. These altars symbolized meaningful encounters with God and were often places of sacrifice and communion with him.

Genesis is filled with examples of altars built by the patriarchs:

A place of sacrifice and thanksgiving — The first altar recorded in Scripture was built by Noah after he and his family left the ark. The Bible says the offering was a pleasing aroma to God, who responded by promising to never again curse the ground because of humankind (Genesis 8).

A place of promise, leading to covenant — We read about several altars that Abraham built, each seemingly with a different purpose, but all leading to the covenant God made with Abraham. Here are some places where he built altars:

      1. Shechem — Here the Lord first promised Abraham that his offspring would inhabit the land that was currently inhabited by the Canaanites (Genesis 12). This could be called an altar of hope.
      2. Mamre in Hebron — Abraham followed God’s lead and left his family land and went where God led him. Here God expanded his promise by promising Abraham that his offspring would own all the land he could see (Genesis 13). This could be called an altar of faith.
      3. Moriah — Here Abraham built an altar to sacrifice his son Isaac. Of course, God never intended Isaac to die and was confirming to Abraham that he was different than the pagan gods. He is a God who fulfills his promises. Here Abraham earned the name, friend of God (Genesis 22). This proved to be an altar of love.
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What Shall We Do?

Greg and Susan Williams
Greg and Susan Williams

Dear GCI Family and Friends,

Dr. Jeff Broadnax has been representing GCI with racial reconciliation initiatives held by the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE). I recently asked Jeff to represent me at a gathering in Montgomery, Alabama. His letter below gives the details of this visit. We have strategically placed his letter in this issue of Update as a good introduction to the similarity training that will be held at each of the Regional Gatherings this summer. Thank you, Jeff, for your instructive and inspirational insights.


I was honored to represent GCI, along with more than sixty leaders and ministry members, on the NAE’s Racial Justice and Reconciliation Collaborative. For two days, we interactively discussed the Christian church’s response to racism, injustice, and social, cultural, and political division in America.

We gathered in Montgomery at the Legacy Sites established by the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI). Fueling our discussions and reflections were messages from NAE President, Dr. Walter Kim, Dr. Bernice King (daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.), Dr. Christina Edmonson, and EJI Founder, Bryan Stevenson. We toured the Legacy Museum, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice (devoted to the victims of racial terror lynchings) and the newly opened Freedom Monument Sculpture Park [pictured above].

I felt like one of the pilgrims in Jerusalem on Pentecost. Peter’s compelling witness about the life and ministry of Jesus went beyond simply reciting teachings received as Jesus’ disciple. Peter’s narrative recounted his freshly baptized and restorative experience of Jesus’ calling, ministry, crucifixion, resurrection, and personalized sending.

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Character, Credibility, and Calling

Greg and Susan Williams
Greg and Susan Williams

Dear GCI Family and Friends,

In my term as GCI President, I have worked with many of our longtime leaders helping to process them into retirement. It has been a privilege to come alongside these fine people. Whatever role you play in the life of the church, please realize you perform this service for a season. That’s an important lesson that I have learned. We are all interim servants. Yes, the ranges of time vary, but eventually, we will all be replaced.

Can we think about transitions with advanced planning and preparation? Succession may not be immediate, yet I suggest that it is urgent. It deserves our attention and care.

Whether you are a pastor, a ministry Avenue champion, or another position of leadership, what would advance planning and preparation look like? The critical question is, “Who are you bringing along beside you?” What traits are you looking for? Let’s consider what Paul wrote to his young protégé Timothy.

The saying is sure: whoever aspires to the office of bishop desires a noble task. Now a bishop must be above reproach, married only once, temperate, sensible, respectable, hospitable, an apt teacher, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, and not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, keeping his children submissive and respectful in every way— for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how can he take care of God’s church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may be puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace and the snare of the devil. 1 Tim 3:1-7 NRSVA

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