Politics seep into Bismarck leadership conference hosted by church

James Lindsay delivers his keynote remarks during a Turning Point USA Faith conference at New Song Community Church in Bismarck on April 27, 2024. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)

A nationally known keynote speaker delivered politically-charged remarks at a Bismarck church Saturday, while North Dakota speakers stuck closer to the event’s theme of leadership.

Nearly a dozen North Dakota federal and state lawmakers spoke during the conference, hosted by Turning Point USA Faith, at New Song Community Church. 

Many of the speakers focused on leadership topics, including North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer.

During his speech, Cramer, a member of the church, said former President Ronald Reagan was his favorite head of state because he was outspoken about his faith, something Cramer said is lacking in today’s modern society.

“I’ll never forget as a teenager and as a college student watching his State of the Union addresses and hearing all of these references to a sovereign God,” Cramer said. “He spoke about personal faith like it was talking about the NFL and we haven’t had that in a while … and it matters.”

North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley delivers remarks during a Turning Point USA Faith conference at New Song Community Church in Bismarck on April 27, 2024. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)

North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley said the separation of church and state is a misnomer and that politics and religion intersect all the time.

“They state that like that’s the supreme law of the land and what that means is that you can’t even talk about these things, but, of course, it’s like life itself, they cross all the time,” Wrigley said.

The main theme of Wrigley’s speech conveyed that leadership takes courage and people should not be afraid to attend a leadership conference at a church because they are worried what other people might think of them.

About 100 people attended the conference, but volunteers and organizers at the event said they were hoping for more. While the presentations by sitting lawmakers and elected officials generally stayed away from politics, James Lindsay, the conference’s keynote speaker, used his speech to focus on wokism, Marxism and communism.

James Lindsay delivers his keynote remarks during a Turning Point USA Faith conference at New Song Community Church in Bismarck on April 27, 2024. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)

“Communism and ‘woke’ are the same thing,” Lindsay said. 

In the simplest terms, he said, “woke” means people calling things oppression until they fall under their control.

“You find something you want to control like the schools, like a politician, like a church … and you say, ‘you’re racist, you’re transphobic, you’re homophobic, you are contributing to a system of patriarchal oppression,’ this is it,” he said. “Our university systems fell to this in the 1960s and that’s a big part about how we got here.”

Lindsay has a doctorate degree in mathematics from the University of Tennessee and was the co-founder of the New Discourses podcast that features episodes such as “How Tyrants Force Compliance,” among others.

Turning Point USA Faith aims to empower Christians across the country to defend their “God-given rights” and “expose lies and articulate the connection between Faith and Freedom,” according to the nonprofit’s website.

The group also promotes biblical citizenship classes led by Rick Green of Texas-based Patriot Academy, which focuses on the restoration of “our constitutional republic and the biblical principles that cause a Nation to thrive.”

Kurt Chaffee, lead pastor at New Song Community Church, said the conference was a way for the church to make an impact in the community.

The Rev. Kurt Chaffee, lead pastor at New Song Community Church, speaks during a Turning Point USA Faith conference in Bismarck on April 27, 2024. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)

“After COVID, and after some of these other ideologies that have really reared their head in our culture, I was like, ‘OK, I can’t be passive anymore,’” Chaffee said. 

When asked about where New Song Community Church stands on the separation of church and state, Chaffee said: “We can give policies. So we can say, ‘we’re pro-life,’ or, ‘we’re pro-don’t-mutilate-children-or-give-them-puberty-blockers,’ because this is what the Bible says.”

Chaffee said the church does have lawyers look at some of the events and programs to see if they run afoul of their nonprofit status. Regulations surrounding nonprofits prohibit organizations from advocating for specific candidates for election.

“For me as a pastor, I am just wanting to give people an opportunity to share their heart, their voice, their policies so that they can better help people know who they are and where they stand,” he said. “Especially their character.”

Naomi Bromke, event organizer and daughter of Chaffee, said she loved how the speakers talked about leadership and how faith played a role in their becoming leaders themselves. 

Naomi Bromke, event organizer, speaks during a Turning Point USA Faith conference at New Song Community Church in Bismarck on April 27, 2024. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)

“Even if people aren’t necessarily Christian, they use the Bible as a standpoint for their morals,” she said. 

Bromke said the church’s nonprofit status shouldn’t be threatened because they are just teaching people to be better Christians and vote with those values in mind.

“We’re taking the Bible and we’re applying it to politics,” Bromke said. “It’s not the other way around.”

Chaffee also addressed comments made on social media by former members of the church who left due the church’s perceived political leanings.

“I would never force anybody to vote for any candidate,” Chaffee said. He also said people have been leaving churches disgruntled for a variety of reasons and New Song is no different.

“I take no offense,” he said. “I’m not angry. I’m not sad. I totally understand and I love every single person who has ever come through these doors and I’ve done nothing but try to encourage, nurture and pray for them.”

Bromke said the group plans to host more seminars, like the leadership conference, at New Song Community Church in coming months. 

The event was sponsored by two Republican campaigns for U.S. House from candidates Alex Balazs and Rick Becker, among other groups and organizations.

Other lawmakers, elected officials and political leaders speaking during the event were Rep. Mike Motschenbacher, R-Bismarck, NDGOP Chair Sandi Sanford, Becker, Balazs, RNC Committeewoman Lori Hinz, Rep. Brandon Pritchard, R-Bismarck, state Auditor Josh Gallion and Rep. Matthew Heilman, R-Bismarck.

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