Jamin Bradley

With all of my political posts lately, there may be some need for explanation as some of you weren’t my friends last time Trump was president. I’m unsure my explanation will appease you, but I’ll try.

It was 2017, and I had published my first book, A Taste of Jesus. I was reflecting on this work during a prayer walk at my family’s cabin and found myself with a strong urge to help the church really see Jesus as he was in the Scriptures. Having grown up in the church my whole life, I can attest to the fact that the church is full of really great people who have been discipled really well in some areas, but not in others. Church people give cheerfully and love extravagantly. But if you poke them in the right spot, some of them explode. If you quote Jesus to support your poke, you’re told you’re taking the Bible out of context or that you’re a liberal.

As a pastor, I have only one hope: to lead people to Jesus. And by and large, Christians have not left space for Jesus in how they discern politics. Pastors are too afraid to do it, and that’s part of the reason we’ve ended up in this explosive situation. It is so much easier to be silent. Then people wouldn’t imply that I’m a disappointment to my dad and grandpa as a third-generation pastor. Then people wouldn’t tell me that I have a demon that drives me to speak. Then people wouldn’t tell me that I should be a better pastor. Then people wouldn’t tell me that all I’m doing is propagating hate. Then people wouldn’t tell me that I have a made up mental health issue called Trump Derangement Syndrome.

I recognized the urge I felt in 2017 as a prophetic nudge. As a kid, I always wanted to be a prophet, because they had all the supernatural experiences of God, and I wanted to experience him like that. But as a kid, I did not realize how much the prophets engaged in politics, social issues, and how they constantly called God’s people to account. I told God that no one listens to a self-proclaimed prophet and that that’s dangerous territory. I know a few of them, and they’re pretty mean. But I logged that prayer walk as a start to the conversation as I also continued to engage in social justice issues and get a degree in theology and social justice.

More spiritual affirmations came in over time, and as a supernaturalist, I did my best to follow them. The clearest one came in October of 2024 when a normal stress dream suddenly turned lucid and silent. Sensing that I was in a spiritual moment, I called out, “Is there someone I’m supposed to talk to around here?”

“Yourself,” a very surreal and loud voice spoke.

I said something in response, and then a character in the dream started talking to me. “Ezekiel 3,” he told me.

I woke up very shortly after and read the whole chapter, which, condensed down, says something like this: “I will give you the words to speak, and you are expected to speak them. If you don’t, I will hold you accountable. They won’t listen to you, but I have made you strong enough to handle that.”

Since then, I’ve been listening to myself and speaking when it seems right. God is not inspiring my words in the same way he inspired Ezekiel. Rather, I think he is asking me to continue to speak my perspective for others to hear. As a supernaturalist, I do my best to be faithful to his nudges to move forward, just as I would be faithful to any nudges to stop.

My friends, I know many of you find my posts to be annoying, but you will see more of this. Trump is not just another president to me. His personality is toxic, his insults are deadly, and his particular brand of belief in god is dangerous. After living in fear for four years the first time around and feeling like we just narrowly missed a huge societal explosion, I cannot understand how we are back here and how the church is so tangled up in this mess. Of all the presidents there have ever been, why is there more Christian religion wrapped up in Trump? It’s baffling to me.

There is something in this particular movement of Christianity that I have not seen anywhere else in my lifetime, and I will continue to make posts to address it. I appreciate your grace as I sort through this dilemma just as we all are, and I will do my best to be a good pastor to you on this topic, even if some of you feel that I’m a tool of the devil instead. Thank you for reading, and feel free to unfollow my posts if you’d like to see less of it.