Last week I read an open letter that stopped me in my tracks. It was written by Jeff Mullen, a pastor emeritus who spent thirty years shepherding a congregation, and it was addressed to Texas State Representative James Talarico.
Talarico speaks often and publicly about his Christian faith. He is studying for a Master of Divinity at a Presbyterian seminary and working toward ordination. Because of that, a lot of people hear his views and assume they represent what Christianity has always taught.
Pastor Mullen was careful to say he was not writing as a political opponent. He wrote as a shepherd. He said that after years of sitting beside hospital beds, preaching funerals, and counseling families, one lesson stood above the rest: when we drift from Scripture, confusion always follows.
He then walked through several positions Talarico has voiced and held each one up to the Bible. On the idea that God is non-binary, he pointed out that God consistently reveals Himself as Father, and Jesus taught us to pray “Our Father.” On the idea that all religions are circling the same truth, he pointed to Jesus’ own words that no one comes to the Father except through Him. On abortion, he showed how Scripture speaks of children being known and formed by God in the womb, and how Mary’s response to Gabriel was surrender, not autonomy. On calling Jesus a radical feminist, he agreed that Jesus lifted up women in remarkable ways, but warned against pinning any modern political label on Christ. On sex, gender, and marriage, he pointed back to God’s design of male and female in Genesis, affirmed by Jesus Himself, while urging compassion for people who are genuinely struggling.
His deepest concern tied it all together. Every generation is tempted to reshape Christianity so it fits more comfortably with the values of the age. The source of the pressure changes. The temptation stays the same.
What struck me most was how he ended. He did not say “you are wrong and I am right.” He said these truths humble him, too, because one day every one of us will stand before God and give an account.
Scripture
“Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.” (James 3:1, NIV)
“For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” (2 Timothy 4:3, NIV)
How I Understand These Scriptures
James was writing to believers who were eager to be teachers, and he gave them a sober warning. Speaking for God is not a small thing. When you tell people what God is like, you are shaping how they see Him, and God takes that responsibility seriously.
Paul, writing to young Timothy near the end of his own life, saw a day coming when people would shop for teachers the way we shop for anything else. They would look for someone who confirmed what they already wanted to believe. The way I understand it, Paul was not only warning about bad teachers. He was warning about listeners who want their ears scratched more than their hearts changed.
Put those two together and you get a warning for both sides of the pulpit. Teachers must be careful what they say about God. And the rest of us must be careful that we are looking for the truth, not just for agreement.
My Reflection
I want to be honest about why this letter hit me. It is easy to read something like this and point at the other guy. But I write about God almost every day. I publish books about faith. Every time I sit down to write, I am telling people something about who God is. James 3:1 is not just for politicians and seminary students. It is for me.
What I appreciated about Pastor Mullen’s letter is the posture behind it. He said he was less interested in winning arguments and more concerned with whether people know the truth. That is the right order. Truth without love turns into a club. Love without truth turns into a shrug. Scripture asks us to hold both.
The core question he raised is one every one of us has to answer. Do I let God tell me who He is, or do I quietly edit Him until He agrees with me? Every culture has carved its own idols. Ancient people did it with stone. We tend to do it with ideas. The God we end up with looks remarkably like us, and that is exactly how you know He isn’t the real one.
The real God sometimes says things I would not have written. That is the point. If He only ever told me what I already believed, I would not need Him.
So my prayer is not just for Representative Talarico. It is for me, for every pastor, every author, every teacher, and every one of us who opens our mouth to talk about God. That we would bring what we believe under the authority of Scripture, not the other way around. And that we would speak it with the humility of people who know we will one day answer for every word.
A Prayer
Father, You are who You say You are, and You do not need me to improve on You. Forgive me for the times I have shaped You to fit my comfort or my culture. Give every person who speaks in Your name, including me, a holy fear of misrepresenting You. I pray for James Talarico, that You would bless him, guide him, and draw him deeper into Your Word. I pray the same for every pastor and teacher in this nation. Give us ears that want truth more than agreement, and hearts that hold truth and love together the way Jesus did. In His name, amen.
Thanks for reading. If this encouraged you today, come join me at www.christaff.net, where I share daily reflections, faith writing, and updates on my books. I would love to have you along for the journey.
One heads up: Talarico won an expensive March primary to become Democrats’ nominee for Texas’ 2026 U.S. Senate race, so with the election six weeks out, many readers will take this as a campaign piece. I kept it on theology and prayer rather than the race. Also worth knowing that Talarico and many progressive Christians read several of these passages differently, for example pointing to places where Scripture uses motherly imagery for God.
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