The Office of Faith: Two Half-hearted Cheers 

“Our mission is not to be the religious department of an empire.”[1]

“[Rulers are] God’s servant for your good.”[2]

“Theology must be political if it is to be evangelical.”[3] 

The new Administration’s actions have been hot and heavy on many fronts:  deportations, identifying gross fiscal waste, buying out federal employees, relieving FBI regional agents, dismissing Inspectors General, along with nominating the good, the bad, and the ugly for high level federal positions.  And, recently, the President established the Office of Faith[4] and appointed Pastor Paula White to lead it.[5]  How should Christians think Christianly about this?  Should they be quick to cheer?  Should they fear a conflation of church and State, a Taliban-like theocracy?  Let’s get to the gist.

The Office of Faith

The idea that the State would officially recognize and promote what amounts to generic “faith” should be welcomed – but with some caveats.  Why welcomed?

First, this move recognizes that mankind is inherently religious, whether acknowledged or not.  In other words, because humanity is created by God in His image and likeness, mankind is a worshiper by nature – mankind can’t not be a religious worshiper.  This is Paul’s point in describing post-fall reality.  In Paul’s assessment, mankind doesn’t simply do “bad stuff,” or have moral lapses, but rather humanity worships the wrong thing:  the creation rather than the Creator.[6]  When the State acknowledges and supports even generic faith, it coheres with real reality:  man is a religious creature who can’t not worship.  Recognizing this truth explicitly is good news because it culturally “grants permission” to speak and peacefully live one’s faith.

Second, the Administration’s focus for this office contains initiatives that protect and promote true Christian-derived public religious ethics and this too is good:

• The White House Faith Office will empower faith-based entities, community organizations, and houses of worship to better serve families and communities.

• The Office will be housed in the Domestic Policy Council and will consult with experts within the faith community and make recommendations to the President regarding changes to policies, programs, and practices to better align with the American values.

• The Office will coordinate with agencies on religious liberty training and on identifying and promoting grant opportunities for non-profit faith-based entities, community organizations, and houses of worship.  

• The Office will work in collaboration with the Attorney General to identify failures to enforce constitutional and Federal statutory protections for religious liberty.[7]

As part of this initiative the Administration intends to protect religious liberty – the peaceful unfettered exercise of faith[8] – specifically aiming to protect Christian exercises of faith, and this removes Statist hostility to practicing one’s faith – this too is good.  Here is the official White House description:

DEFENDING RELIGIOUS LIBERTY: President Trump is committed to protecting the liberty and freedom of our religious communities, organizations, and students.

• In his first week, President Trump pardoned Christians and pro-life activists who were persecuted by the weaponized Biden Administration for praying and peacefully living out their faith.

• President Trump reinstated service members forced out of the military over the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, including those discharged over their religious objections to the vaccine.

• Last week, President Trump signed executive actions to ensure Federal overreach and taxpayer dollars will no longer force individuals to violate their commitment to life.
• Yesterday, President Trump signed an Executive Order establishing a task force to eradicate anti-Christian bias.[9]

Generally speaking, these measures reflect sound constitutional – and Christian – precepts regarding the public practice of faith within ordered liberty by all persons.  To the civically educated citizen, they should not be controversial and certainly not a dog whistle for the dreaded – and tired – slur of “theocracy”.[10]   These measures simply help ensure that the Christian life, though personal, is not private, as a light hidden under a bushel.[11]  As Oliver O’Donovan explained, this means that the Christian faith is both theological and political:

Theology must be political if it is to be evangelical.  Rule out the political questions and you cut short the proclamation of God’s saving power; you leave people enslaved where they ought to be set free from sin—their own sin and others.[12]

We should be grateful that this current political regime recognizes this theological point.  So far, so good.  Let’s have a cheer, or maybe two!  But . . . Some caveats do exist, which should dampen our cheering.

Since the Enlightenment, the thing called “religion” has been conceived culturally as being simply a component to human experience, something optional to be compartmentalized – put in its own box with borders and boundaries, that is, neither informing, nor interfacing with other aspects of human experience.  As Wright and Bird explain:

“Religion,” after all, had been redefined through the philosophy of the Enlightenment.  In the ancient world, worship of the gods was woven into every aspect of ordinary living; but in post-Enlightenment Europe and America, “religion” was by definition separated off from everything else.”[13]

The Enlightenment’s sequestering approach to religion clashes with the claims of Christ’s comprehensive Lordship:  King of kings and Lord of Lords reaching every square inch of Creation.   As Abraham Kuyper observed: 

“There is not a square inch of our domain of human existence  over which Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry, ‘Mine!’”[14] 

Creating a separate “Office of Faith” smacks of this Enlightenment-influenced segregation and compartmentalization.  Rather than Faith informing and infusing every aspect of life – private and public – it now structurally sits as a silo separate from other aspects of life.  This sends a subtle, but unmistakably erroneous message.  Why?  Because law is pedagogical,[15] having a structurally set aside Office of Faith “teaches” people that religion is adjacent and optional and only part of a well-lived life – as Wright and Bird correctly put it:

“Our mission is not to be the religious department of an empire.”^[16]

Rather, because Christ is the ascended and presently ruling King, our focus must be obedience to Him in all aspects of our lives, including our political thinking and life.  As Paul puts it:

We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ[17]

Obeying this admonition requires rejecting the notion that faith or religion can be siloed and compartmentalized.  Again, we can and should be thankful that religion and faith have not been sandblasted by this Administration from public political discourse, as many secularists demand.[18] Yet, we must resist the false notion that faith is nothing more than an appendage to the political body or a barnacle randomly attached to an ambitious political ship.  Accordingly, we should cheer, but not too loudly, for the Office of Faith.

As to Paula White

How should a bible-believing Christian think about and process the President’s choice for leading this new Office of Faith?  Who is she?  Is she competent?  Is she qualified?[19]

White is a high school graduate with no further credentialed formal educational, vocational, collegiate, or theological training.[20]  Yet, she is labeled “pastor” and “preaches” – mostly on the conference circuit and hosts her own televangelist show.  These two undeniable facets – being untrained and being female – raise significant red flags.  Let’s start with some basic ecclesiology, or doctrine of the church.

First, the notion of ordaining women to be pastors stands contrary to Scriptural admonitions[21] and general church history and practice – even if a woman did obtain the requisite theological information and formation – which White has not. 

Second, even overlooking this scriptural requirement, nothing in White’s background indicates she undertook any formal theological or even “bible school” training.[22]  White may be personable and able to communicate to certain audiences, but her lack of theological formation raises serious questions. We cannot obey the first and greatest commandment – loving God with all our minds – if they are empty.

Third, her background lacks a track record of demonstrable public service or effective leadership of any type.  This deficit looms large in biblical thinking.  Notice Paul’s practical and evidence-based litmus test for assessing candidates for ordained office:

He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?[23] 

Paul’s point is that before bestowing authority on someone to manage something in public service, that person’s actual management acumen must be discernable from his prior efforts within his own family.  Does White meet this standard?  Hardly.  White had an out of wedlock child, dated a married man – while married herself – and divorced two different husbands.  Her “household management” is far from exemplary and certainly has not been done “well” as required by the Apostle.  Formally, Paula White lacks the biblical criteria for being an ordained servant – a “pastor”- notwithstanding her sex. 

Now, let’s consider the content of her teaching and her “leadership” conduct in the church – and here, we do have a track record and it’s concerning.

What does she predominantly teach?  What is her teaching’s content?  The thrust of White’s teaching rests in the unbiblical “Word of Faith” and Prosperity Gospel movements:  “Blab it and Grab it!!” 

While White claims to disavow the Prosperity Gospel, she certainly swims with fish swimming in that sea:  T.D. Jakes, Joel Osteen, et al.  And then, consider WHAT she “preaches” – here is an excerpt from an Easter sermon.  White intones the typical Prosperity Gospel message:

Similarly, in an Easter Sunday service in 2016, White said salvation would come to a TV viewer if they donated a “resurrection seed” to her ministry:

There’s someone that God is speaking to, to click on that donation button by minimizing the screen. And when you do to sow $1,144. It’s not often I ask very specifically but God has instructed me and I want you to hear. This isn’t for everyone but this is for someone. When you sow that $1,144 based on John 11:44, I believe for resurrection life.^[24]

In delicious irony, at least one of the congregations she led as “pastor” reportedly needed to seek legal protection from creditors via the bankruptcy laws.[25]  The message of prosperity by “sowing a resurrection seed” evidently “didn’t take” in her congregation.  But that doesn’t mean she and her besties didn’t personally prosper and profit.  How do we know this?  Her church was one of several investigated by the Senate Finance Committee (2007-2011).[26]  As far as I can tell, this is White’s only “government involvement.”  And, what did the Committee find while looking under the hood of White’s church:

According to the final report, [White’s church called] Without Walls paid salaries for extended family members, owned and operated a private jet and frequently chartered flights including trips to the Cayman Islands and a boxing match in Las Vegas, and paid for down payments on an 8,072 square-foot mansion in Tampa and a $3.5 million condo in Trump Tower in New York City.

No action was taken on the report.[27]

White’s prosperity gospel certainly benefited someone.[28]  So a thinking Christian needs to ask:  Does White’s institutional fiscal mismanagement reflect her possessing a good reputation among those outside the church?  According to Paul, this is non-negotiable for being a pastor:

Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.[29]

White’s public record fails to establish her competence for this position.  Evangelical blogger and editor, Joe Carter catalogues various other facets of White and her work, whom President Trump says has the “it factor.”[30]  These facts are less than flattering and raise serious questions about White’s competence to lead anything, let alone a governmental office dedicated to religious liberty. 

So where does that leave the thinking Christian?  We should join with Paul:   Despite the less-than-optimal segregated Office of Faith and its chosen, yet thoroughly unqualified leader, what then?  Let’s take our cues from the Apostle.  Our response should be neither cheers nor cynicism. Rather, we should be joyous if Christ is proclaimed publicly, no matter the mouthpiece:

Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

Yes, and I will rejoice[31]

[1] N.T. Wright and Michael F. Bird, Jesus and the Powers (2024), 73

[2] Romans 13:4

[3] Oliver O’Donovan, The Desire of the Nations – Rediscovering the roots of political theology 1996), 3

[4] https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/02/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-establishes-white-house-faith-office/

[5] https://religionnews.com/2025/02/10/with-new-faith-office/

[6] Romans 1:25

[7] https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/02/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-establishes-white-house-faith-office/

[8] Recall that under the Obama Administration he and his Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton trumpeted “freedom to worship,” not full-throated public religious exercise.  A large difference exists between these concepts.  See, John P. Warren, Hillary Clinton’s “progressive vision” of religious freedom, [capitalization in original], https://www.faithandfreedom.com/hillary-clintons-progressive-vision-of-religious-freedom/

President Trump’s initiative represents a great improvement in policy.

[9] Id.

[10] From a linguistic standpoint, “theocracy” simply means “God rules.”  The basic confession that “Jesus is Lord” technically sounds in “theocracy.”  Yet and importantly, Christian theocratic precepts differ greatly from say Muslim theocratic concepts, the latter being contra-liberty, erroneous, and unworkable.

[11] Matt. 5: 15, 16

[12] Oliver O’Donovan, The Desire of the Nations – Rediscovering the roots of political theology 1996), 3

[13] N.T. Wright and Michael F. Bird, Jesus and the Powers (2024), 70

[14] https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=917584707221707&id=100069105593893

[15] Romans 7:7,8

[16] N.T. Wright and Michael F. Bird, Jesus and the Powers (2024), 73

[17] 2 Cor. 10:5

[18] The Left only invokes religion in support of questionable or sinful policy choices.  Abortion:  See, e.g., Some progressives are arguing for a religious right to abortion, [capitalization in original] https://www.economist.com/united-states/2023/11/16/some-progressives-are-arguing-for-a-religious-right-to-abortion; see also, this example that recently populated the Reformed world counseling illegal immigrants in ways to avoid being detained by law enforcement.  Thankfully this error has been corrected, https://pcamna.org/mna-statement-refugee-and-immigrant-ministry/

[19] For a synopsis detailing some of the controversy surrounding this choice from an faithful Christian perspective, see, https://ministrywatch.com/paula-white-cain-one-of-the-grassley-six-named-to-trump-administration/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAzba9BhBhEiwA7glbao1YCAkpab687RAreHFlbiq2nFyD6-Ay3jWnYdGVHxpEWWsLp__6uhoCnyMQAvD_BwE

[20] While a bit murky, it has been reported that White attended, but did not graduate from something called National Bible College and Seminary.  https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/9-things-know-prosperity-gospel-preacher-paula-white/  The college website’s landing page is underwhelming.  It includes this:  “Click Here to Make a Donate to the College.”

[21] 1 Tim. 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9; where women pastors do appear historically, they typically stem from heterodox movements.

[22] While some accounts indicate White attended, but did not graduate via something called the National Bible College and Seminary, the founder of that institution nevertheless “ordained” her.

[23] 1 Tim. 3:4 and 5

[24] https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/9-things-know-prosperity-gospel-preacher-paula-white/

[25] White co-pastored with her then husband (now divorced) a group called Tampa Christian Center, which changed its name to Without Walls – it reportedly had 20,000 members, but in 2014 filed for bankruptcy.  By that time, she and her second husband had divorced.   They met while he was a pastor, and both were married to other spouses.  They married each other after divorcing their spouses.  https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/politics/2025/02/13/paula-white-donald-trump-florida-pastor-white-house-faith-office/78297950007/

[26] https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/2012/12/14/panel-says-most-religious-charities-operate-ethically/1770897/

[27] Id.

[28] Recall that Judas, a thief, tried to camouflage his greed by virtue signaling about doing ministry by serving the poor:  “Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.  But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.” (John 12:3–6)

[29] 1 Tim. 3:7

[30] https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/9-things-know-prosperity-gospel-preacher-paula-white/

I do not see possessing an “it factor” in the Apostle’s laundry list of elder qualifications.

[31] Phil 1:18