Jeremy Roberts, pastor at Chattanooga's Church of the Highlands, was one of those who met this week with Donald Trump in New York City.
The towers are big in this city, and the personalities in this hotel feel even bigger. I'm in New York City today, and had the opportunity to attend a meeting with Donald Trump and fellow evangelical leaders.
My attendance at this meeting should not be interpreted as an endorsement by either the church I pastor or myself personally. If Hillary Clinton invited me to a similar meeting, I'd fly to the Big Apple and do it all over again.
The purpose of this meeting was to have a conversation with the presumptive GOP nominee and evangelical leaders to discuss important issues to evangelicals in America and see where Mr. Trump stands.
The room constituted a wide range of leaders from across the evangelical spectrum. From David Jeremiah, to Robert Jeffress, to Jack Graham, to James Robison, to Kirk Cameron, to Carl Lentz, to Jentezen Franklin, to James Dobson, to George Barna, to Jerry Falwell, Jr., to Ronnie Floyd, to Paula White and to many more, it was filled with varying sects of evangelical bigwigs. As a younger whippersnapper preacher, I was staring at some who were friends and many who were celebrities in my own little world.
From a political standpoint, Gov. Mike Huckabee, Dr. Ben Carson and, of course, Donald Trump were all in the room.
Evangelicals, in general, are concerned with religious liberty, Israel, being pro-life and a few other topics. We talked about all of these things in a very conversational way.
My No. 1 goal was to make sure that someone in our group would straight up share the Gospel with Donald Trump. Dr. Ronnie Floyd articulately and lovingly explained the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Donald J. Trump today. Dr. Floyd had a prepared question, and before he read it, he explained the truth of Jesus Christ. If nothing else happened from this meeting, I'm glad the presumptive GOP nominee heard about Jesus Christ.
David Jeremiah asked Mr. Trump about his stance on Israel. Trump's response was that he is "100 percent for Israel." He went on to explain how much he disliked the Iran deal and said President Obama has forsaken Israel. I wish Trump would explain in greater detail what "100 percent for Israel" means, but time was limited and, while I liked the generality I heard, I wished there was more specificity in regard to God's Holy Land.
I've seen the old video of Trump stating he was pro-choice. It makes me cringe. He claims to have changed his mind, and is now pro-life. He said he would appoint Supreme Court justices who are pro-life and would use the Federalist Society as his gold standard. So, I was pleased with that.
Overall, the meeting was fruitful. Donald Trump heard from most of the influential leaders of evangelicalism in America today and knows exactly where most evangelicals want America to go in pertinence to issues impacting Christianity and overall religious liberty.
I'm sure I will receive some heat from people simply because I came, but no pusillanimous kerfuffle could keep me from influencing the possible next President of the United States.
Some have asked, "Was it all a political show?" No. It really felt like an opportunity to understand where each of us stands. Election Day on Nov. 8 is towering on the American horizon. I hope this conversation will help evangelical leaders to determine for whom to vote.
Jeremy Roberts is pastor at Chattanooga's Church of the Highlands.