Is he the next Ronald Reagan, and we just didn’t see it? What kind of thoughts go through your head when you see Donald Trump holding the Bible? Is this man truly fit to be our next President, and if so, why? Why is a pretty big question when it comes to understanding the reasons why Evangelicals should vote for Donald Trump. To backtrack briefly, this all started a little shocking, and frankly kind of weird. I didn’t understand why The Gospel Coalition blog writers were suddenly telling us who to vote for. Isn’t their purpose to promote the Gospel of Jesus, not the Candidate for POTUS? It completely rubbed my rhubarb! I wasn’t shocked it was a Democrat. I was shocked because this organization doesn’t need to enter the divisive world of American politics in the 21^st century. They have, however, and they jumped in with both feet.

Honestly, maybe it helped me as a lifelong Republican to be a little startled by harshness shown towards Donald Trump from this massive ministry, which sees about 65 million hits a year on their website. I actually haven’t made up my mind who I am going to vote for this fall. Yes, on a couple of occasions in the past I have voted for a Democrat, but far more often I’ve voted the Republican ticket. This year, however, everything is different. As I stated in my previous post, Why Evangelicals Should Vote for Hilary Clinton, we have a candidate with phenomenal experience, and an arsenal of people around her to pull from, including her husband, a former President of eight years. It is an incredibly difficult choice this fall. In light of this, welcome to Part 2 (of 3) of this political series, entitled Why Evangelicals Should Vote for Donald Trump. I hope this proves to be an enlightening, convicting and informative read.

First, let’s get to the obvious number one reason to vote for Donald Trump – we need CHANGE in Washington! Nothing is more important than fixing the disaster our politicians have created. Here’s a staggering number to chew on; 78% of Americans disapprove of the job Congress is doing, while 50% disapprove of the sitting President. We are not only a nation divided, we are a nation convinced our Congress is doing a horrible job, and it’s not exactly a win if half of America doesn’t approve of the President’s efforts. Instead of electing someone who has spent the past two decades in Washington, it’s time to look for a leader who brings new ideas and a new agenda to the table. This is by far the top reason to give Mr. Trump a chance, because maybe for the first time in American history, change for the sake of change might just be good enough. Our overall disapproval and distrust for our political leaders will be nearly impossible to change, unless we elect a complete outsider. Mr. Trump is an outsider, and he is one who won’t bow to special interests groups. Is it in America’s best interest to move on and get a new perspective in the White House? In the scriptures, we see King David’s passion for building the temple. As much as this was the desire of his heart, God selected King Solomon to do this, because David’s time serving the Lord was over.  God had a new man for the job. In America, it is time for the old regime of politics to move on, to enable a new type of President to create something better than we have today. Evangelicals are seeing our rights float away by the second, and this is exactly why we need a change. If things remain as they are, there will be no going back.

Second, Donald Trump is a brilliant businessman, but let’s get right to the nitty-gritty of it. According to The Millionaire Next Door the average millionaire goes bankrupt roughly 4 times. Pause on this for just a second. The number one complaint we hear about Trump when he talks about the economy is that four of his companies went bankrupt. Sure, Democrats and the media will relentlessly point out that some of his business ventures didn’t pan out, but with a net worth of 4.5 billion dollars, he has obviously been far more successful than not. He is and always has been a risk taker, and to fix the economy once and for all, we need someone who has some guts. The media and Democrats can talk all they want, but the man is brilliant and has all the tools to create a new and robust economy in America. He’s already recruited brilliant minds, such as Steven Mnuchin as his Finance Chairman and my personal friend Dean Parker, who was Ben Carson’s Finance Chief. Both of these men have the entrepreneurial skills, financial experience and leadership this country desperately needs. Trump will have zero problems getting the best minds in the nation on board to fix the overspending and lack of budgeting our politicians continue to turn out year after year after year. When the economy is strong, everything else gets so much better. Those with the greatest God-given gifts will be in place to help us show some discipline, while creating new income.

Third, imagine you’re on a base in Iraq that has been under attack on and off for years. Everywhere you look are worn out, discouraged and injured military men and women. Morale is beyond low. Suddenly, word comes in that the new Commander in Chief is on their way now to visit them. I have a question. When the President of the United States walks into the room to look in the eyes of beleaguered military men and women, who do they want it to be? Who would rally the troops? Who would the troops believe would rain terror on the terrorists unabashedly and put fear into their hearts like never before? Who is the POTUS who can bring them the best resources, including opportunities for them to provide for their families when they get home? With an approval rating among the military almost doubling that of Hilary Clinton, Trump has their vote and won’t lose it. Donald Trump will be aggressive with the terrorists, while building a strong sense of safety here at home. We have to take our national security more seriously. If you don’t believe this is important to God, you must have skipped the Old Testament.

Fourth, as much as he talks, Donald Trump will listen, because frankly, he will have to. He will do what any good businessman does, which is to surround himself with the best and brightest on his cabinet. I am quite confident, as I mentioned earlier, a Trump Presidency will place some of the greatest minds in our country together to start making decisions and get us on the right track. Trump will utilize every resource available to him. He also won’t want to make mistakes, so as POTUS I’m convinced we will see a much more humble and focused Trump. He will be big on execution, and getting the most gifted hands working in the right places for our government. The Bible explicitly talks about our spiritual gifts and the importance of using them. Will we be like the servants who doubled their talents, or will we go bury them in the sand? There’s been too much burying in America, and it’s time to dig them up and get to work. A Trump Presidency gets people working and moving.

Fifth, what the world thinks of Donald Trump isn’t as important as the media wants you to believe. Bill Clinton was mocked all over the world for the Lewinsky scandal, in case folks forgot. That scandal made a global joke of American politics for over a year and was the beginning of our downfall from a world-wide perspective. Globally, the murder of innocents has run amuck and obeying the scriptures isn’t an international priority, so do we really want to base our vote on what the rest of the world wants us to do? Is there any chance they are concerned because they are merely uncomfortable with Donald Trump? Terrorists absolutely don’t want him to get elected for obvious reasons. He would be a powerful force in the UN.

Sixth, on June 21^st Donald Trump is meeting in New York with five hundred Christian leaders from across the country. He wants to hear what they have to say and what their objectives are. This is unheard of, and at no time has any other candidate asked to meet with so many different Christian leaders. We have his ear, and if he is elected, we will very likely continue to have it in the future. Until we hear more about this meeting, we have to assume Mr. Trump wants not only to get the Evangelicals support, but also get working on their agenda. We need more interaction between the government and faith based organizations, and this could provide an amazing start.

Seventh, and finally, a few years ago Mr. Trump changed his view and is pro-life. Just like Ronald Reagan and George Bush Sr. before him, Donald was pro-choice for most of his life, but has now had a change of view, and rightly so. Reagan’s and Bush’s sincerity in this change of position was questioned. If you read the quotes in context from interviews he has done, Mr. Trump makes a compelling case for his position and gives Evangelicals the best shot of putting an end to the genocide of unborn babies. He will likely put together a task force to deal with Planned Parenthood, the leading organization providing abortions in America, and then hopefully create a plan to end abortion once and for all and create new alternatives for women. It’s our job as Christians to be optimistic about the work God is doing in the lives of other Evangelicals, which Donald claims to be. Would you rather choose an openly pro-choice candidate who has nothing but a history of supporting Planned Parenthood, or would you support a candidate who is pro-life? For more, here is link to some statements Donald Trump has made regarding his pro-life stance. http://www.ontheissues.org/2016/Donald_Trump_Abortion.htm

Finally, let me send a blunt message to the Evangelicals reading this. It isn’t your job to question whether or not Mr. Trump, or anyone for that matter, is a Christian. Mr. Trump says he is and we as Christians need to be supportive and encouraging to anyone who claims to love, know, and obey Jesus. Haven’t we seen ministers and elders we’ve respected have anger problems, commit adultery, cheat people out of money, speak inappropriately or gossip? Before we start throwing a bunch of stones at Donald Trump, let’s make sure Jesus wouldn’t walk up, draw a line in the sand, and ask us about our sin. I would encourage caution here. It’s okay to address a sin as the Gospels state, but it’s not okay to slander someone or doubt the work of the Holy Spirit.

My final installment in this series will post Saturday morning. It’s titled “Why Evangelicals Should Vote for (blank)!”