January 21, 2026
Minnesota’s Twin Cities have erupted again. A large deployment of Trump’s ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents in the area met with icy resistance. Protests escalated following the fatal shooting on January 7 of protestor Renee Good when an agent believed she was running him over.
Then on Sunday morning, January 18, protestors infiltrated the worship service of Cities Church in St. Paul on the lead that one of the pastors is acting field director for ICE in the area. The service devolved into a chaos of yelled chants, such as “Justice for Renee Good!” and “Hands up, don’t shoot!”
Picture the classic crime scene “evidence board,” with newspaper clippings mapped together with strings and thumbtacks. If there were an evidence board in the minds of those who disrupted the worship service, it might have looked like this: The killing of Renee Good . . . ICE . . . ICE-affiliated pastor . . . Cities Church. They considered the strings sturdy enough to justify crossing what for many of us is a sacred line—infiltrating and shouting down a worship service.
And it wasn’t just because of a lone leader they believed needed to be called out. Former CNN anchor Don Lemon was on site covering the protest. Later, while defending himself for his sympathetic coverage of the protest, Lemon painted the disruption as more than just a legal right—but as the right thing for them to do. Adding more clippings to the evidence board, Lemon described churches with sympathies for ICE deportations: “There is a certain degree of racism there and there’s a certain degree of entitlement.”
“They considered the strings sturdy enough to justify crossing what for many of us is a sacred line—infiltrating and shouting down a worship service.”
He continued, “That entitlement comes from supremacy, white supremacy, and they think that this country was built for them, that it is a Christian country, when actually we left England because we wanted religious freedom.” More strings: White supremacy . . . Christian nationalism . . . entitlement . . .
Politically, the other side has been quick to string together its own evidence board. Don Lemon . . . church service disrupters . . . FACE Act of 1994 . . . criminal charges. According to the New York Times, the Justice Department is investigating what happened, with Attorney General Pam Bondi saying that “attacks against law enforcement and the intimidation of Christians are being met with the full force of federal law.”
Amid this tangle of strings, thumbtacks, and crossed lines, how can church leaders discern the moment and safeguard their mission? There are many helpful takes, such as this sober synopsis from Albert Mohler of World: “In an increasingly secular America, with cultural tensions running high, a church service is no longer off limits to political disturbance or demonstration.” Joe Carter of The Gospel Coalition put together a practical guide worth your time called “The FAQs: What Should Churches Do When Protest Enters the Sanctuary?” For an introductory look at historic options when it comes to church-state interaction, see “Church and State: 4 Ways of Church-State Interaction in History.” To think through navigating slander against your faith, see “5 Biblical Responses to Anti-Christian Slander.”
“Amid this tangle of strings, thumbtacks, and crossed lines, how can church leaders discern the moment and safeguard their mission?”
When I reflect on what happened Sunday at Cities Church, here’s another takeaway worth pondering, even if your church is nothing like Cities Church:
Be aware of the strings attaching to your church.
Have you gotten honest feedback regarding your church’s reputation in the community? If your church is “enjoying the favor of all the people” as in Acts 2, then that’s wonderful, but that mood doesn’t persist as the book of Acts proceeds. The early church was called incestuous (they loved each other as brother and sister), cannibalistic (they feasted on the body and blood of their Founder), and atheistic (they denied the existence of the gods). Evidence boards are likely being constructed with your church mapped onto it. Are there unfair, unfortunate connections people are making with your church? Do you know what they are? Have you considered how to help bring clarity where there’s confusion?
Many of us know the quintessential “apologetics” verse in the New Testament, in which Peter tells us to “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15, NIV). But to what end? According to Peter, it’s so that “those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander” (1 Peter 3:16, NIV). The idea is that we make slander against us unbelievable by gently and respectfully giving answers. To do this, it sure helps to know ahead of time what slanderous word associations are latching onto the church.
But could these warnings be much ado about nothing—at least for those of us who are less politically engaged? One might respond that Cities Church was a uniquely conspicuous target for having a pastor who doubles as an ICE field agent.
“The idea is that we make slander against us unbelievable by gently and respectfully giving answers.”
It’s true that some churches are more overtly political than others and are likelier to attract those kinds of protests. While most church leaders run from the label “Christian nationalist,” there are also the Douglas Wilsons in the evangelical world. Wilson, senior pastor of Christ Church Moscow (Idaho), is becoming well known for advocating a version of theocracy for America. Another pastor of Christ Church Moscow, Joe Rigney, was also once a founding pastor of Cities Church, the church disrupted on Sunday in St. Paul’s protests. In his article “A Brazen Invasion of Christian Worship: The Left’s New Tactic Is to Disrupt the Church,” Rigney describes the struggles faced by a Christ Church Moscow church plant—Christ Church DC—which Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and his family attend. According to Rigney, “Paid professional protestors have targeted the church each week with bullhorns, chants, and harassment that runs before, during, and after the service.”
Exactly, you might think to yourself. These are churches that make themselves a target by being openly political. Perhaps your church steers clear of political debates. Perhaps you yourself are as opposite of the likes of Douglas Wilson as someone can be while still affirming the Apostles’ Creed. Perhaps you have trouble seeing how any Christian could support a man like Trump or his policies, especially ICE deportations.
Even still, your church is probably on somebody’s evidence board. If you believe in Christian sexual ethics, someone is stringing you to “preachers of hate.” If you believe the Bible recounts accurate history, someone is stringing you to anti-intellectuals and fringe thinkers. If you support global Christian missions, someone is stringing you to colonialism and imperialism. When your church is slandered—or protested or shouted down—the pressure will be on to validate their slander by an overreactive, under-Christlike response.
“When your church is slandered—or protested or shouted down—the pressure will be on to validate their slander by an overreactive, under-Christlike response.”
If, however, you are aware in advance of the unkind connections tacked onto your church by the surrounding culture, you’re more able to clarify what you do and don’t champion as a church. If there is to be ostracization by association, let’s always aim for association with the name and teachings of Jesus (Matthew 5:11-12).
And clarification requires more than just words. As 1 Peter 2:12 (NIV) puts it, “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” Sadly, good lives can’t prevent lies from being leveled against your church. But hopefully they can prevent those lies from sticking.
