Gospel singer Micah Stampley among worship leaders and pastors who prayed for Trump at White House
(EEW Magazine News) Gospel singer Micah Stampley was among 50 prominent worship leaders from across America that gathered for a White House faith briefing Friday, organized by Paula White-Cain.
As previously reported by EEW Magazine Online, White-Cain, 53, is President Donald Trump’s spiritual advisor and acting chair of his evangelical advisory board.
Worship leaders gather to pray for Donald Trump (Credit: White House)
As many within the faith community strongly and loudly criticize the president who says he is a Christian, Stampley and others prayed over the commander-in-chief in the Oval Office last week as a contentious and dramatic impeachment probe unfolded on Capitol Hill.
Stampley’s White House trip comes just weeks after his 15-year-old daughter Mary Stampley died of complications from a seizure.
"All 50 of us crammed into the Oval Office. He sat at his desk and he said pray for me," Sean Feucht, a Bethel Music worship leader, told Fox News of the president’s request for intercessory prayer.
Nashville-based worship leader Kari Jobe and her husband Cody Carnes spoke highly of their experience in an emotional video posted on the White House’s official Facebook page. “We got to listen to a lot of the faith briefing of things that are going on in the White House,” said Jobe, adding, “I’ve just been in tears all day. I’m so thankful to be part of this today and see what God’s doing in our White House.”
“We’ve gotten to worship. We’ve gotten to pray for the President,” Carnes said. “I’ve been so encouraged today, because there’s so many good things happening out of this house—so many good things for the faith community.”
Trump surprised the visitors in the Cabinet Room, which is the meeting room for the cabinet secretaries and advisors serving the president. When he welcomed the group, he cracked a joke about his political rival, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, saying she prays for him daily.
"Nancy Pelosi says that she prays for me, but she doesn't tell anyone what she prays for," Trump said. "But I know you guys have come to pray for me, and I know you care about what's happening in this administration."
For black faith leaders like Stampley, it is controversial to visit the White House and appear to be an ally of a man a large majority view as racist, xenophobic, and dismissive of marginalized communities.
Pastor John Gray and Donald Trump shake hands (Credit: Associated Press)
Pastor John Gray of The Relentless Church in Greenville, SC faced severe backlash in 2018 after visiting the White House for a meeting about faith and justice reform. Among white evangelicals, however, the same stigma about supporting Trump does not exist.
In August 2019, EEW Magazine Online reported that Dr. Bernice King, youngest daughter of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., confessed that she has issues white Christian Trump supporters who “applaud what’s happening right now, the divisiveness, the divisive language that comes from the White House.”
Pew research shows roughly seven-in-ten white evangelical Protestants (69%) say they approve of the way Trump is handling his job as president.
To be fair, all the president’s supporters are not white. There is a growing coalition of young black supporters of Trump, led by Republican firebrand, Trump loyalist, and Blexit founder, Candace Owens. She has mobilized large numbers of former Democrats and convinced them to exit the party and hop aboard the Trump train.
During an October 2019 Young Black Leadership Summit where Owens spoke, Trump, 73, was warmly welcomed with hoots, cheers, and chants of “USA!” and “four more years!”
