April 12, 2026
This past week I saw the movie The Great Awakening, and I want to recommend it. It’s really well done. The film highlights America’s spiritual heritage by focusing on the influence that the fiery evangelist George Whitefield had on Benjamin Franklin — one of our most important Founding Fathers. And that influence showed up in one of the most critical moments of our nation’s founding.
In the summer of 1787, America’s Founding Fathers gathered in Philadelphia to draft the Constitution. The task was grueling. Disagreements mounted, tempers flared, and some delegates even left in frustration. Then, on June 28, an elderly Benjamin Franklin — who was not known for evangelical faith — rose and addressed the convention:
“I have lived, sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth: that God governs in the affairs of men.… If a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?” (National Archives)
Franklin called for a pause and for the convention to appeal to heaven. His solemn plea moved many delegates to attend church services, fast, and seek God’s guidance. A few weeks later, the work resumed with renewed humility — and by September of that year, the United States Constitution was complete. It is still hailed by many as the most remarkable legal document in human history.
The Great Awakening movie suggests it was the positive, Christian influence Whitefield had on Franklin that motivated the elderly patriot to call that convention to prayer. And after the movie, I heard several attendees say, “Every person in America needs to see this.” They’re right.
Most Americans today have very little sense of the unique spiritual heritage of our nation. We’ve been told that America was founded as a spiritually neutral country, and that anyone who suggests otherwise is “twisting history” or “threatening democracy with Christian nationalism.” That message, long promoted in secular education, has now filtered down into many of our churches. Some younger preachers are offended by anything that sounds patriotic and refuse to even sing “God bless America” in a worship service — as if giving thanks for one’s country somehow crowds out worship of Christ. How shallow. How silly. How ungrateful.
This Independence Day, July 4, 2026, marks the 250th birthday of the United States of America, I challenge every church leader to take the time to reexamine the spiritual history of this country before they decide how to handle this milestone.
We are certainly not a Christian nation today. But the Pilgrims came to this land to worship God without government interference. In the middle of the Revolutionary War, General George Washington spent a winter at Valley Forge calling upon God for help in a conflict that was nearly lost. The preambles of early state constitutions reflected a Christian moral framework. Many of America’s Founding Fathers were believers in Christ who sought godly wisdom and applied biblical principles as they forged a new nation. The Declaration of Independence calls on the Creator and appeals to natural law.
America’s second president, John Adams, wrote:
“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” (Letter to the Massachusetts Militia, October 11, 1798)
Foundational documents, government buildings, historical records, and even our currency bear witness to a reliance on biblical principles. Our earliest leaders regularly turned to prayer and Scripture to guide the nation. The evidence is overwhelming — America was founded by people who sought God’s blessing and guidance. And God answered that prayer. America eventually became one of the most prosperous, most powerful, and most generous nations in world history.
I know there are some who will say, “Isn’t this just Christian nationalism?” No. And church leaders shouldn’t let the risk of that criticism silence us, because the promise of God is still true: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord…” (Psalm 33:12a).
Christian nationalism would be confusing the Kingdom of Christ with an earthly nation, or demanding that the state enforce Christianity, or treating America as though it were the New Israel. That isn’t what I’m advocating for. I’m challenging Christian leaders to make an honest assessment of America’s founding history. To recognize the influence of pastors like George Whitefield on our nation’s leaders, and to consider whether encouraging gratefulness for a nation built upon a Christian moral framework is worth acknowledging during a significant time of celebration in our country.
Honoring a parent on Mother’s Day is not “worshiping mom.” Thanking God for the country He has placed us in is not “worshiping America.” We can hold both truths at once: that Christ alone is Lord, and that we are grateful for the imperfect nation He has blessed us to live in.
The more dangerous error right now is not Christian nationalism. It is Christian amnesia — forgetting where we came from, and failing to give thanks for blessings we did not earn.
If you are a leader in a local church, don’t be afraid to make a big deal out of America’s 250th birthday in a couple of months. The youth in our pews need to learn about our godly heritage and be challenged to repent of our national arrogance and return, humbly, to our spiritual roots. Maybe you’ve been tempted to focus on America’s flaws — and yes, there are many. But surely you can still sing:
“America! America! God shed His grace on thee, and crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea!”
Let’s unite our people and call upon our congregations to heed the familiar words of 2 Chronicles:“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).
May God bless America… again.
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Bob Russell is a retired senior pastor of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky