Goodwill Church: A Special Destination

Goodwill Church, located in the picturesque Hudson Valley in New York, holds a special place in the heart of Tim Alberta, a writer for The Atlantic. For him and his family, this is where their faith journey began. Describing the church, Tim said, "There's something so deeply familiar about this place, it's hard to describe. My parents always described this church as holy ground for our family."

Tim's father, Richard Alberta, was once a pastor at Goodwill Church. It was here that he experienced a life-changing transformation almost half a century ago. "I don't know where he sat," Tim admitted. "I don't know what the sermon was that day. But something happened: A guy who'd been an atheist for years, you know, decided that he was gonna give his life to Jesus."

After their time at Goodwill Church, the Alberta family moved to Michigan, where Tim's father became the leader of Cornerstone Evangelical Presbyterian Church. "My life was completely wrapped up in the church," Tim reminisced. "It was the sun around which we as a family revolved. It was our whole world."

But a journalist named Tim sought a different path in his career, focusing on writing about politics. However, his father always reminded him to stay grounded and explore other stories. In a memorable conversation in 2019, his father said, "Don't spend your whole career around these people. There are so many other stories." Sadly, this turned out to be one of the last conversations they had.

A few days later, Tim's father passed away suddenly.

Reflecting on the situation, Tim shared, "When I come home to my church, I'm expecting, I guess, something different from what I got."

During an interview, Costa asked, "The church wasn't a sanctuary from politics; politics was now part of the church?"

Tim responded, "That's right. I knew that, to some degree. And in fact, I willfully ignored it."

Tim's exploration of faith and politics forms the foundation of his new book titled "The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory." In the book, he delves into what he describes as an "age of extremism" for evangelicals. He believes that there was a significant crisis within the American church, particularly within the white evangelical church.

According to recent research, approximately a quarter of American adults (24%) identify as evangelical. As the Republican presidential race intensifies, it is revealed that 68 percent of white evangelicals are supportive of Trump. This shift in support reflects a departure from both political and church norms.

"We should consider the American church in parallel with American politics," said an expert. "When it gains enough influence and power, the fringe can overtake the mainstream. And that's exactly what we've witnessed in the church."

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The recent upheavals within churches are a result of decades of evangelicals gaining influence, from Billy Graham's stadium crusades to the stadium rallies of Donald Trump. In recent years, evangelicals have engaged in heated debates, particularly regarding their response to COVID and their support for Trump. Notably, many prominent Republicans, such as House Speaker Mike Johnson, align themselves with this group.

Senior Pastor John Torres of Goodwill Church, who previously worked with Tim's father, expresses unease about the intrusion of politics into his church and others.

Costa asked Torres, "What do people say about politics?"

"That it's bad. That it's dirty," Torres replied.

"What do they say to you about politics?" Costa inquired.

"I don't want somebody who's sitting there, listening to me preach, whatever their views are, I want them to stay put. I wanna talk to them about Jesus. I don't want to talk to 'em about politics. 'Cause I don't really know what I can offer them in terms of politics." - Torres

Other evangelicals don't mind politics – and see this moment as an affirmation of hard-won power.

"What do you say to evangelical leaders who might hear your argument and say, 'You missed the point: Trump wins for evangelical Christians, he wins for Conservative America'?" - Costa

"Wins what?"

"Supreme Court seats, a seat at the table at the White House?"

"Show me where in scripture any of that matters." - Alberta

But it does matter to many of those standing with Trump as he once again seeks the White House. Alberta said, "You have millions of evangelical Christians who voted for Donald Trump and just sort of gleefully embraced his terrible rhetoric and his un-Christlike conduct."

"Why did they 'gleefully' embrace it, to use your term?" asked Costa.

"Power," Alberta replied. "Trump campaigned for president in 2016 promising that if he was elected, Christians would have power. He gave it to them. He gave it to them in ways that, arguably, no American president has in modern history. And when you have power, you can very quickly lose sight of your principles, your values and your beliefs."