Caution for Christian ministries: Utilizing financial systems as weapons

Those of us who have been watching the horizon knew it was coming. Most of us thought that it would probably not come in our lifetime but could perhaps affect our children and certainly our grandchildren. Nevertheless, here it is, and it has happened with much greater rapidity than almost any of us could have ever imagined.

The “it” is the fact that large banks and corporations are now weaponizing business and financial systems against conservative faith-based organizations. Should any of us really be surprised that this movement had its origins under Barack Obama, the then-president — and perhaps current president — of the United States? “Operation Choke Point” was created under the Obama administration originally and theoretically to deter fraud, but it has also had far-reaching consequences, perhaps intentional or otherwise. Though the provisions of this government initiative were largely shut down by the Trump administration, language hidden within its provisions may have provided banks and other businesses with the opportunity to financially disenfranchise conservative Christian organizations by leveraging their own “risk tolerance” policies in order to “box out disfavored but legal business operations.”

You might recall that this sort of thing has already occurred in Canada when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also weaponized the financial system in his country to put a halt to the trucker COVID strike. It also manifested itself when J.P. Morgan Chase did the same thing to the National Committee for Religious Freedom (NCRF), a faith-based non-profit organization led by Sam Brownback, former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Religious Freedom. However, the latest effort in this regard, as reported by The Christian Post, appears to have occurred this past April when the Bank of America closed the accounts of Indigenous Advance Customer Center, LLC, a sister organization, and a church associated with the ministries. The reason given … “Upon review of [the] account(s) we have determined you’re operating in a business type we have chosen not to service at Bank of America.”

The bottom line — if someone at the top of the decision-making process determines that “it’s reputationally risky to serve Christian or other organizations that the radical Left disagrees with,” they can just cut them off from both depositing and expending funds.

Essentially the actions of Bank of America left these impoverished people in Uganda, who were already existing on a day-to-day basis, without the survival assistance they so greatly needed. By the way, for the unenlightened, Uganda is a predominantly Christian country in Africa that has been resistant to the push of the alphabet sex initiatives in the foreign policy of President Biden’s administration. So, at the risk of being overly dramatic, let me just pose the question: Do you think that the closing of accounts belonging to a conservative Christian organization that was delivering survival aid to the predominantly Christian country of Uganda that refused to submit to the Biden admin’s foreign policy regarding sexuality was intentional? As the Bible says, “He who has eyes to see, let him see.”

Now, lest you are concerned that I am nothing more than a fearmonger, this issue is also being raised by other leaders in conservative Christianity as well. At the last National Religious Broadcasters convention, my friend Franklin Graham spoke eloquently and directly about the issues facing Christ followers in America and the world when he pointed out that “the world has deteriorated quickly. We cannot be deceived, and we can’t be fooled. We need to get ready and be prepared.” In addition, plans are already in action to create Christian-based banking and financing.

Perhaps arising out of its own experience, the NCRF formed an internet presence called #ChasedAway, which has been created to assist faith-based organizations that have been disenfranchised in some way from financial commerce. Others are standing tall across America proclaiming the call of Christ on their lives and refusing to be bullied into submission by big business, big banks, or even our own big government.

At Southern Evangelical Seminary, we are about the proclamation of the Gospel message and the logical defense of our faith. That is the very foundation of our past and the destiny of our future. We will not yield our freedom to worship and serve our living Christ to lesser constructs of misguided men and women. Like so many of our brothers and sisters in Christ, we will be standing steadfast in the real truth of God’s Amazing Grace that has brought us safe this far by binding Christ’s Church together for 2,000 years and that will inevitably lead us home.

We will choose to stand and live in the mercy of the Cross and the power of Christ’s resurrection until we attain that glorious hope that will come in the clouds of the eastern sky. “Even so, come Lord Jesus!”

After a distinguished career as both a lawyer and a judge, Judge Phil Ginn retired as the Senior Resident Superior Court Judge for the 24th Judicial District in North Carolina. Over the course of his 22-year judicial career, he was privileged to hold court in almost 50% of the county seats in North Carolina. Currently, Judge Ginn serves as the president of Southern Evangelical Seminary.