Many people have forgotten the critical role faith-based organizations played in removing tariffs. The argument was that if we support free trade then the freedom of religion and public proclamation of religion will follow.

When the rotting Communist countries were collapsing, there was hope that the fast move of American companies and missions into the Communist zone would complete the process and turn a good profit besides. Evangelical Christians and Orthodox Jews who were rising forces, naturally wanted to get their message of salvation into countries that clearly needed some sort of salvation.

The business organizations saw an opportunity to enhance the popularity of free trade and funded many evangelical efforts to enter into the Former Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China. Some mission organizations experienced an influx of significant business donations to ramp up their efforts.

At that time, who could argue with a world vision that promoted faith, freedom, and capitalism?

There was a lot of good gained by extending evangelism and compassion activities into China and elsewhere. We were all idealists then.

Russia was going to become democratic capitalist and Christian, and China was going to have a Goddess of Liberty erected in Tienanmen Square.

However, somewhat hidden behind the scenes was a vast effort to enlist Christian organizations to support free trade politics that led to the passage of legislation that gave Most Favored Nation status to China and other countries of the crumbling Communist countries.

Further, the Americans, in particular, were pretty naive about the countries into which they were entering and had a sort of blind optimism in their efforts. Still, much, much good was done.

But in the meantime, giving Most Favored Nation status to China was emptying out our intellectual property (through a casual disregard of its theft), our own factories, and working class jobs. Much of the money behind the evangelical groups came from rich people who thought higher profits were pretty good.

Now, we are living with the backlash to our blind exuberant optimism that corrupted some aspects of the evangelical mission movement. The Trump administration is trying to do a vast reset of the globalist policies that destroyed much of our working class. What should be our response?

First, we need to look back on our own efforts in building world evangelism on the backs of globalism. We need to recognize the disasters to which we have contributed–while not forgetting the advances. In other words, we need to have discernment and wisdom, not blind partisan reactions.

Second, we need to ask our seminaries to start studying and teaching about the working class and lower middle class in the Bible, theology, and ministries. In many cases, our churches and fellowships are as class-based as they are race-based. How does class affect our preaching and teaching? Have we forgotten that the lower class is multiple-colored?

In NYC, did you know that there are more Whites in poverty in New York City than any other group? If you don’t know that, that is probably because our theology tends to see race very quickly and not see class at all.

Are your campus fellowship groups dominated by the upper class, ie, the ones that talk about their ski trips at Christmas?

Ministries can be vastly influenced by their rich donors. Right now, they hate Trump, and they don’t like his tariff policies and restrictions on the free movement of peoples (laborers) and jobs across borders.

They are not entirely wrong, but we need to take a look at how they were mistaken in the past so that we can have a better look at the present.

Free trade was sold as beneficial to evangelism and works of international compassion. That partisanship did have many successes, but it also created some huge problems.

Third, we need the working class voices to be heard and not mocked. Talk in an iron worker’s hands gets right to the point. I was so impressed by the grace and good sense of Leo Salmon of Jamaica, Queens. Talk in an iron worker’s hands gets right to the point.

“Why is my business named ‘Grace Iron Works’?,” he reflected. “I am lost without purpose. God gave me a gift to do this.” A good job goes along with the word of the Lord just as much as does “free trade.”