EAC, Who's At Your Table?

Johnnie Moore

The backlash over President Trump's inability to condemn the neo-Nazis who marched in Charlottesville was widespread. In response, Johnnie Moore, a member of the 45th's Evangelical Advisory Council (EAC), wrote an opinion piece explaining why he decided to remain on the EAC after the 45th failed to condemn the neo-Nazis.

Among the reasons Moore listed for staying on was that: "You only make a difference if you have a seat at the table."

Beth Watkins has written an outstanding blog post giving her take on this reasoning. She gave several examples of individuals and groups that didn't have a seat at the table, who nonetheless made historically and culturally significant contributions to shaping the world and our own country.

Beth's post was so good that it got me to thinking, that's precisely the point of the current administration in Washington and why we've been so divided, especially since the election in November.

Who doesn't have a seat at the table?

Well, for openers, native peoples (Native Americans) who were no where near Constitution Hall when the "fathers" of our country set it up to begin with. It's the height of irony that the 45th is scrapping DACA.  As well as offering to severely cut the number of immigrants allowed into the US. With the exception of Native Americans, we are all descendants of immigrants and refugees. (You could make a valid case that the Puritans were the first refugees).

Trump's Cabinet (not all members present)

Who is at the table in the 45th's current administration? Well, according to the NYTimes, President Trump has more white males (18) in his first cabinet than any other president since Ronald Reagan (who had 17).  And there seem to be a proliferation of extremely wealthy people on the 45th's advisory panels. Of course not all wealthy people are mean-spirited, but they are influential. Witness the House of Representatives passing the Financial Choice Act in June, which, if passed by the Senate, will effectively erase much of the Dodd-Frank Act's regulations on the banking industry and its subsequent protections to consumers.

When I was growing up, there was a saying that went, "you're known by the company you keep."

Every parent knows that it's important to know who your child's friends are. Because they are influential.

I would argue that who we invite to our table is just as important. Table being the place where we break bread, sit down, have a conversation, get to know and commit to each other.

As Diane Butler Bass noted in her book, Grounded, "The table is the earthly manifestation of God's presence, the 'heavenly feast,' where all are fed and sustained and no one suffers want."

Who isn't being invited to the 45th's table?

The poor
The immigrant
The refugee
The hungry
The powerless

It's the same group of folks that the Statue of Liberty says we should be welcoming. "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me."

Most major religions, including Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist and Christian have a lot to say about this same subject.

Welcome the stranger.
Take them in.
Set a place at your table for them.

Here's a partial list of the type of people Jesus said he came to earth to serve (Luke 4:16-21). 
- the poor
- the captives
- the blind
- the oppressed

These were the very folks Jesus invited to his table, along with prostitutes and tax collectors. 

Members of the 45th's Evangelical Advisory Council would do well to remember that the religion they profess to believe in is not one of convenience, isolation or exclusivity.

Who do we need to invite to the table?

Those without.
Those who have been left out.
Those who are crying out for justice.

Photo Credit: of 45th's cabinet from Business Outsider