Everything Trump Touches Dies (credit to Rick Wilson)

And he doesn't look too happy about it....

A benighted President walks into a church....

First, why was Trump wearing his golf shoes off the course?  My father played golf for most of his adult life.  He never wore his golf shoes off the golf course unless he was in the club locker room, or in the grille that allowed such shoes.  To wear them home, as Trump did?  That kind of golfer drives his golf cart onto the green (for you non-golfers, you don't even take your golf bag onto the green.  Persons, balls, and putters,  only.)

But what's especially interesting is how much attention this scene has prompted, especially attention particularly due to the situation the pastor was in.  TPM reports it fairly straightforwardly:

“Sometimes we find ourselves in situations that we didn’t see coming, and we’re faced with a decision in a moment when we don’t have the liberty of deliberation, so we do our best to glorify God,” McLean Bible Church pastor David Platt said in a letter to church goers, explaining the circumstances of Trump’s arrival.

Platt said he was alerted at the end of his sermon on Sunday that President Trump was on his way to the church and would be there “in a matter of minutes.” The White House had apparently requested that the pastor pray for Trump, a request likely fueled by prominent evangelical and ardent Trump supporter Franklin Graham’s decision to proclaim Sunday as a special day of prayer to Trump. Graham claimed last week that Trump needed protection from his “enemies.”

But they focus on the pastor's letter to his congregation, not on his prayer.  Ruth Graham pays attention to his prayer at Slate:

In contrast with other pastors who have prayed for Trump, Platt was scrupulously nonpartisan. Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, once thanked God at a campaign event for Trump’s willingness to “make America great again.” Platt prayed that God would give Trump wisdom, and that the president would trust God. He did not betray any hints as to whether he believes Trump currently possesses wisdom or currently trusts God. “We pray … that he would govern and make decisions in ways that are good for justice, and good for righteousness, and good for equity, every good path,” Platt said, lifting up his Bible and bowing his head. “We pray that you would give him all the grace he needs to govern in ways … that lead to peaceful and quiet lives, godly and dignified in every way.”

If Trump wanted to appear alongside a pastor who would lavish him with praise and edge up to endorsing him, Platt was an odd choice.

The White House told reporters that Trump made the appearance at the church to “pray for the victims and community of Virginia Beach.” But that topic did not come up during his brief time at the church, which is more than three hours north of the site of Friday’s mass shooting.

A fairly anodyne prayer, in other words, despite the Slate headline:  "Pastor David Platt Prayed for Trump While Trying Super Hard Not to Sound Like a Trump Supporter."  That headline grabs eyes, I'm sure, but it's not even supported by Graham's commentary.  I suppose Rev. Platt was supposed to do the Christian thing, and spit on the ground at the mention of Trump's name, maybe even try to exorcise his demons on-stage.  It just seems to me the pastor did the right thing under the circumstances.  Here's part of how he explained himself to his congregation:

“I wanted to share all of this with you in part because I know that some within our church, for a variety of valid reasons, are hurt that I made this decision. This weighs heavy on my heart,” he said. “I love every member of this church, and I only want to lead us with God’s Word in a way that transcends political party and position, heals the hurts of racial division and injustice, and honors every man and woman made in the image of God. So while I am thankful that we had an opportunity to obey 1 Timothy 2 in a unique way today, I don’t want to purposely ever do anything that undermines the unity we have in Christ.”

That's not too different from the tack I would have taken, had Trump called up and said he was coming to my church (of course, if he'd called during worship at my old church, nobody would have answered the phone.).  How do you refuse the POTUS?  Part of your congregation might say "Good on ye!", but most of your congregation would be aghast at your presumptuousness.  (Yes, this would vary from congregation to congregation, but few are going to be virulently anti-Trump, and it's doubtful Trump would try to go to such a church.  Note he picked a non-denominational church, to be safe.)  In my old church, in this situation, I'd be seen as the host on behalf of the entire congregation, and refusing a visit by a public official, especially the POTUS, would not be contemplated (some on any end of the political spectrum would grumble, but the majority would want me to be gracious).  And I would pray as this pastor did:  for the President (we did it from time to time in regular worship.  It was among the congregational prayers of the E&R Church hymnal, IIRC.  It's also not unknown in the UCC Book of Worship.  The prayers are not for the President's politics, but for the nation.)  And yet Rev. Platt is not supposed to think about his congregation and his pastoral duties to them, but about what the world thinks:

As critics pointed out, Platt may not have praised Trump this past weekend, but he did invite him onstage. “The prayer was very nonpartisan and very inclusive, but at the same time, there’s an image of this pastor with a positive expression on his face laying a hand on Donald Trump and the other hand holding up a Bible, and Trump has his head bowed,” Dan Nejfelt, who works for a national network of progressive faith leaders, told me. “That image conveys Trump is a Christian and a normal leader that Christians can get behind.” Photographs of Platt praying for Trump have already been used to illustrated approving coverage by Breitbart, the Christian Post, and the Christian Broadcasting Network, among others.

That's really a bit too much.  Rev. Platt was acting on behalf of his church and his ministry, not on behalf of political interests.  How do you acknowledge the presence of the POTUS in your church without bringing him forward?  ("On stage"?  Are we sure it wasn't the chancel?  See what I mean about clueless reporting.  Words matter.)  Yes, the President brings those political interests trailing in his wake, but when the POTUS attends services in D.C., is it incumbent upon the person in the pulpit to deliver a political message?  Or to avoid being near the President, lest she/he find themselves in the frame of a photo?   No, the President is not usually invited to the chancel for special recognition, but then he doesn't usually call ahead and ask for prayers for him upon his arrival.  The fault here is much more Trump's than Platt's.

By all appearances, Platt made an earnest, even sophisticated, attempt to avoid becoming Trump’s minion onstage on Sunday. (A representative of McLean Bible Church did not respond to multiple interview requests.) But declining to mention politics is itself a political act. And public prayer consists of much more than the text of its message. After Platt concluded his prayer for Trump on Sunday, video captured the congregation bursting into sustained applause and hoots of approval so enthusiastic that Trump seemed to linger onstage to enjoy it. It’s not clear that everyone at the church participated, or what exactly the applause meant; members of the musical ensemble looked unenthusiastic, for what it’s worth. Platt shook the president’s hand after the prayer but did not clap for him. He tried, impossibly, to have it both ways: to be on the stage with Trump, and also rise above it. 

Have it both ways?  According to whom?  He tried to be a pastor, with a church that should, properly, be open to all (even people walking on the floors in golf cleats.  There's a reason golf clubs don't allow cleats in their main buildings.).  He showed the proper hospitality, and offered a prayer for the nation and the office, and he didn't spit on Trump or turn his back on him or otherwise show the disrespect and disdain some of us (raises hand) think Trump deserves.

He did the right thing; and it is obvious his concern still is for his congregation, as it should be.

The rest of us are just kind of cluelessly haranguing him because of who the President is.