February 16, 2026
At the risk of sounding like a Christian Nationalist (I am not), I do encourage my readers to familiarize themselves with aspects of American history and culture. These have, after all, proven friendly to the gospel and its advance for a little more than four centuries. As elected leaders, our presidents have played a role in its movement, with some even embracing the gospel and the Savior it proclaims as their own. So, get to know them. Presidents’ Day itself was first celebrated as a federal holiday in 1879 to honor our first President, George Washington. The holiday has since expanded to include all who have served in this capacity, now numbering forty-five. Since (Stephen) Grover Cleveland and Donald J. Trump were both elected, defeated, and then reelected, we numerically stand at forty-seven. Some were strong leaders; others used the office poorly. Since our country was not specifically founded to be a formally organized Christian nation, it is not possible to measure each one against King David or apostle Paul-type figures as a result. But we can pray that God would rule in the hearts and minds of our leaders (1 Timothy 2:1-8), perhaps most significantly in the shaping of their words. Noted historian David McCullough once wrote: “Maybe if we could put presidential power in a pot and boil it down, a big part of what we would find at the bottom would be language, the use of language, the potency of words. Power to persuade is power indeed, and only a relative few of the presidents had it
. . .” (Power and the Presidency, ed. Robert A. Wilson, 1999, 11-12). There is something to pray for. We can also pray in relation to an observation made by our second president, John Adams, to his wife Abigail at the dedication of the White House: “I pray heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and all that shall hereafter inhabit. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof” (David McCullough, John Adams, 2001, 551).
Theology For Sheep 