Jago Times "English Edition" Best Online Newspaper
After a Frisco pastor made national headlines for his statements during a Sunday service just days after insurrectionists stormed the U.S. Capitol, city leaders denounced his comments, and several residents expressed fears that Christian nationalism has infiltrated their community.
During the Jan. 10 sermon, KingdomLife lead pastor Brandon Burden urged his congregants to keep their guns loaded and stock up on food and water before President Joe Biden’s inauguration Wednesday. He cited “prophetic voices” who have said God told them Donald Trump would be president for eight years.
Women across the country donned pearls and chucks — elements of Kamala Harris’ signature looks –…
“We have an executive order — not from Congress or D.C., but from the desk of the CEO of heaven, the boss of the planet,” Burden said. “He said from his desk in heaven, this is my will; Trump will be in for eight years.”
Frisco residents frequently clash on any number of issues, from politics to mask-wearing during the COVID-19 pandemic, but city council members and the broader community have condemned Burden’s rhetoric.
Council member Brian Livingston told The Dallas Morning News that, despite self-identifying as one of the most conservative council members, the views of Burden and KingdomLife — which hosted a campaign event for him last year — do not align with his, or even most of Frisco’s.
“[The sermon] was an unfortunate event,” Livingston said. “But I don’t think this is anything that will change [Frisco]. While I disagree with most of his beliefs, I don’t think he is a bad person.”
Livingston has been endorsed by the Frisco Conservative Coalition, a political action committee chaired by Burden, who ran for city council in 2017. He said that he’s concerned the pastor’s remarks will overshadow the work of the coalition’s “upstanding men and women,” and that he hopes they will handle the situation.
Frisco Mayor Pro Tem Will Sowell, who has served on the council for nearly nine years, said, “Frisco is better than this,” in a Facebook post last week. He added that he has been a lifelong Republican and a Baptist deacon.
“The things happening now and being said now are not based in scripture. And certainly are not good for Frisco,” Sowell wrote on Facebook. “Nor are they based on the core principles of the Republican party.”
Shona Huffman, Frisco’s deputy mayor pro tem, wrote on Facebook that Burden’s words were “dangerous.”
“To suggest violence as an answer … to contested elections is flat-out wrong,” she wrote. “And it’s certainly time we stopped using Christianity as the defense of all things abhorrent to Christianity.”
Burden did not respond to requests for comment.
Resident Jon Bolduc, who lives near KingdomLife, said in an email that he is “freaked out” by the church’s far-right leanings. Upon hearing about the sermon, he decided to watch previous services on its website and said he was particularly taken aback by one from Dec. 6.
During the service, Burden told his church that it was time to “go to war” and “raise an army” to help Trump win the Electoral College vote over Biden. He also referred to Trump’s first presidential opponent, Hillary Clinton, as well as Democrats in general and QAnon, which started the conspiracy theory that Trump is secretly fighting a cabal of child predators and cannibals.
“I worry about the far-right, overthrow language [Burden] uses consistently,” Bolduc wrote. “I think he’s dangerous in his speech and incitement.”
Community members have flooded social media with comments about Burden’s “radical speech,” and several shared their concerns during the public comment portion of Tuesday’s city council meeting.
Resident Meghan Green’s voice shook as she told council members she fears the pastor’s message will “send a cadence of war to Washington.”
She also said he’s choosing to “weaponize religion to radicalize fellow community members” and using the Bible to foment anger. She called for council members to publicly denounce the organization and distance themselves.
“He has transitioned his right to exercise speech to becoming a threat to me and my family,” Green said. “This has now become a safety issue for your constituency. You weren’t elected to protect personal allegiances. You were elected to protect the safety of your citizens.”
Sherrie Salas, an administrator of a Frisco political page on Facebook, told the council members that they were “accountable for the company [they] keep.”
“He did not get to who he is by himself, or within a weekend, or within a week,” Salas said, referring to campaign events and other political gatherings the church has hosted.
Mendi and Chris Tackett, a Granbury couple who research Christian nationalism, started following the church about a year ago after it hosted a voter engagement event with Rafael Cruz — the father of Sen. Ted Cruz — and state Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco. Mendi Tackett recalled Cruz saying that “the separation of church and state is a myth promoted by the secular humanists.”
Chris Tackett said the Christian right is partly to blame for the Capitol riot, citing videos and livestreams that mention Jesus. A Frisco real estate agent who was arrested last week shouted, “Here we are, in the name of Jesus!” as she walked into the Capitol.
“They have this driving radicalized ideology, hyper-gun, take-our-country-back mindset,” Chris Tackett said. “It’s all the same rhetoric that ties religion to being American to being persecuted and having to fight to get your country back.”