Pastor Jack Hibbs of Calvary Chapel in Chino Hills, California, has hit the headlines a lot lately. This past weekend, his church hosted “Come Back California,” an event designed to help people understand current issues as they relate to biblical values.
And the weekend before that, the church baptized nearly 1,000 people in the ocean. That’s incredible news, and perhaps even more incredible because of California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s restrictive bans on churches gathering for worship. I invited Jack, an unashamed Trump supporter who appeared in the recent documentary Trump 2024, onto my God, Trump and the 2020 Election podcast recently to discuss why it’s so essential for Christians turn out in November to support Donald Trump’s reelection.
Jack addressed the old but still-repeated issue of how Christians can support someone like Trump who, in the past has had a fairly questionable lifestyle.
“Nobody criticized him while he was a Democrat,” Jack said. “I find that interesting. He was Donald Trump. He was the real estate mogul. He was the billionaire. He was the successful man, and a very, very generous contributor to the Democratic Party and to Hillary Clinton. Then he becomes a Republican, and the same crew that once tolerated his lifestyle went after his lifestyle.”
And Jack made what I consider a crucial point. “I was immoral before I came to know Jesus Christ, and we all have a past. Every single one of us has a past,” he said. “Here’s the great thing about Donald Trump. The people who want to beat that drum, they’re beating a very old, worn-out drum, because he has been faithful to his wife, and he has been faithful to his family for a long time now. So yes: Is he guilty of those sins in the past? Absolutely. Is he the same man today? He absolutely is not. And so, when you look at his children, for example, their commitment to him and his commitment to them, the love of that family, it’s quite remarkable.”
Jack also reiterated what many have said: “As citizens, we’re not voting for our messiah. … I make mention in that documentary [Trump 2024] that we are not looking for the Messiah to arrive on Air Force One. We’re voting for a president. … We’re voting for a man who can be trusted regarding what he says and what he does. That’s the great thing about Trump, that he’s not a career politician. He’s a businessman.”
Jack also took a moment to reflect on just one critical issue about which he and I are both passionate.
“You’ve got a party that is for life, and you’ve got a party that is for death,” he said. “When I say that, I mean, you’ve got Donald Trump, who has already initiated extremely awesome, life-saving pro-life issues. And you’ve got … Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, who are the exact opposite. As a Christian, I am bound to vote for the Republican platform, which is pro-life, and I’m bound to vote for Donald Trump. And any other kind of vote, or lack thereof, if I don’t participate, I’m simply acquiescing to a very dangerous policy when it comes to pro-life. On that issue alone, I could argue why the Christian needs to vote for President Trump.
To hear more from Pastor Jack Hibbs on pro-life and other issues, as well as why he and other California pastors are standing up against the draconian influence of Gov. Gavin Newsom, whose restrictive orders threaten pastors and churches across the state, listen to the entire podcast here.
