Fort Worth, Texas, megachurch pastor calls Democrats ‘godless’ and ‘demonic’ ahead of 2024 election

On the Monday the Democratic National Convention opened in Chicago, Pastor Landon Schott of Mercy Culture Church in Fort Worth posted a message to his 34,500 Instagram followers. In capital letters, he wrote that people who support the Democratic Party’s “GODLESS” and “EVIL” positions are not Bible-believing, Jesus-following Christians. Schott cited the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans, which conservative Christians often reference when condemning homosexuality as sinful, and the third chapter of Revelation. He told followers to stop “pretending” to follow Jesus and called them “pretend Christians.”

Schott, 41, said he does not consider himself a Republican because there are “evils on both sides.” The source describes him as a pastor with a record of publicly backing far-right political candidates, including former colleague Nate Schatzline, now a Republican state representative. He has also called members of the media and social influencers false prophets. The report states that Schott has been accused of violating the Johnson Amendment, the IRS restriction that bars tax-exempt organizations from endorsing political candidates.

The article places Schott among a growing number of white, conservative Texas pastors who have criticized Democrats, as well as some moderate-leaning Republicans. These pastors have voiced support for the state’s top Republican officeholders and for former President Donald Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris in the November 2024 general election. According to the source, such statements have appeared to draw no consequences.

Other examples cited in the report include Ed Young, 88, the former senior pastor of Second Baptist Church in Houston. Earlier in 2024, the report says, Young drew applause from his 18,000-member congregation when he called President Joe Biden “godless” and criticized migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, referring to them as “undesirables,” “garbage” and “raff.” Those remarks drew calls for him to resign from a local group. Young retired in May, and his son, Ben Young, succeeded him.

Several weeks earlier, Jack Graham, 74, leader of the Southern Baptist-affiliated Prestonwood Baptist Church in North Texas, told his 50,000-member congregation that they were engaged in a “spiritual war” against liberals. The source notes that the congregation includes Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Graham, a former spiritual adviser to the Trump White House, said a Harris-Walz ticket “would be the most radical and dangerous administration in modern history.”

The report also notes that not all Texas churches share this approach. It says a network of liberal and moderate-leaning churches in the state encourages congregations to vote Democratic, and that several pastors at Black Houston megachurches have spoken in support of Dallas-area Rep. Colin Allred against Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, in the November Senate race. Dwight McKissic, senior pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, published X posts saying neither Trump nor Harris “represents the Kingdom of God.” He said he would not vote for Trump, citing among other reasons that Trump had been convicted of 34 felonies. In a Tuesday post, McKissic wrote that voters should consider “which person that we believe will best govern the country,” adding that he would “sleep far better at night” with Harris in charge of government.

The report also gives background on Mercy Culture, which Schott founded in 2017 as a six-site church after being “blessed” by former Gateway Church pastor Robert Morris, according to the Christian Post. Morris, also a former spiritual adviser to Trump’s White House, resigned from Gateway in Southlake, Texas, after admitting to molesting a girl in the 1980s, beginning when she was 12. Tom Lane, Gateway’s former executive pastor, who said he did not realize Morris had abused a preteen, now serves as an apostolic elder at Mercy Church.

Schott addressed his political views in an Instagram video on Tuesday, saying, “I’m not a big Trump guy. I’m not a Republican,” but that only one party was saying at its convention that it would overturn Roe v. Wade. The next day, he told his congregation that “American pastors have become motivational speakers and celebrity encourages,” and said he was “not trying to be a celebrity preacher.” On Wednesday he said, “I call them fake Christians,” adding, “if you want to spiritually grow and be challenged, come on the journey with me!”

Source: Read the original report