In the unpredictable landscape of today’s world, Christian organizations must grapple with a new and surprising adversary.
It seems that banks, influenced by a widespread “woke” ideology, are showing a distressing inclination to “cancel” these groups at a moment’s notice.
This troubling trend was spotlighted by the respected evangelist Franklin Graham during his recent address at the National Religious Broadcasters’ annual meeting in sunny Florida.
Serving as the head of the international aid organization Samaritan’s Purse and holding an executive role at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, founded by his late father, Graham delivered a stern warning about an imminent threat to Christian organizations from the banking sector.
Remarkably, the cancel culture which once targeted gun owners now seems to be taking aim at Christian organization.
Graham expressed deep concern over the trend of left-leaning individuals, now steering many banks and corporations, who are launching targeted and prejudiced attacks on organizations of faith.
A case in point is the arbitrary closure of the accounts of the National Committee for Religious Freedom, a group spearheaded by former Kansas senator and governor Sam Brownback, by Chase Bank last year without any explanation.
Graham pointed out that the tide of “wokeness” that has already inundated universities, schools, government institutions, and social media companies “could sweep over evangelical ministries that broadcast the Gospel message and call out sinful behaviors.”
Leftists have a unique interpretation of sin and righteousness that includes defending homosexuality, complying with requests for body alterations from minors, and facilitating their interactions with adults.
These views stand in sharp contrast with biblical values.
This raises a pertinent question—will banks continue to discriminate against those who uphold Christian teachings?
“I believe there’s a coming storm that we’re all going to [have to] be ready for,” Graham cautioned his audience.
“It’s not going to be good. The world is deteriorating so quickly. It seems like every demon in hell has been turned loose.”
Notwithstanding the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the Biden administration has made it a priority to promote abortion through a “whole of government” strategy.
Graham highlighted that many Christian ministries are now storing their data in the “cloud,” which makes them vulnerable to sudden service cancellations by big tech companies like Amazon.
He cautioned, “If you can’t store your data and you can’t retrieve your data, your organization is not going to last much longer.”
However, Graham was quick to clarify that this threat is unlikely to affect those who “don’t preach the Gospel.”
He said, “If you’re not going to talk about sin, you don’t have anything to worry about. But if you’re going to try to preach and proclaim the Gospel, they’re going to try to shut you up.”
In a move to safeguard against this threat, Samaritan’s Purse has built its own data center.
He said, “We built it big enough so that we can help other organizations if they want to store their data there, too.”
The organization had to switch banks when its previous provider terminated the Family Research Council’s accounts.
Graham issued a stark warning: those who take offense when Christians categorize the LGBTQ lifestyle as a sin “are coming out [of] universities, and they’re going into businesses and now they’re getting into [corporate] leadership.”
In closing, Graham offered advice to the Christian community.
He urged believers to stay alert and informed, especially regarding the increasing discrimination from major financial institutions.
He emphasized the importance of standing firm in their faith and preparing for the challenging times ahead. He reiterated, ‘If you stand for Christ, the world hates you.’
