Pentagon Preachers Proclaim a Lord of War
After the ambush on National Guard members in Washington, D.C., last week, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced he would send 500 more troops to the nation’s capital. A judge had previously ruled the deployment of the National Guard in D.C. was unconstitutional, but Hegseth insisted on doubling down. And he framed this as a mission to save America as a “Christian” nation, claiming “the Christian faith” is “the faith of this country.” He looked and pointed upward as he requested “appeals to heaven.”
Despite Hegseth’s claim, the framers of the Constitution worried both about troops engaging in domestic affairs and the establishment of religion. Yet, his rhetoric was unsurprising given his moves to push a rightwing, patriarchal version of Christianity in the U.S. military. His Department of War has created multiple promotional videos featuring Bible verses overlayed on clips of fighter jets, tanks, missiles, and soldiers. After the assassination of Trumpian political activist Charlie Kirk, Hegseth made troops join him in praying to honor Kirk and say the Lord’s Prayer. Hegseth declared during his first event in the Pentagon this year that he gives “all glory to God” after having the event start with a prayer. And he talked about Jesus and prayer as he complained about “fat” troops and “beardos” in a speech to generals and admirals.
The most significant way Hegseth’s establishing his faith is with monthly Christian prayer services held at the Pentagon during work hours. Far from interfaith events, the gatherings have been sectarian and evangelistic. And in a hierarchical structure like the military, when the Secretary of War invites people to come to an event and speaks during it, such an invite might not seem very voluntary.
“It’s a blessing to look out at this crowd — so many people I know, so many people I don’t know — and, as I say, to take pause, to take stock,” Hegseth said near the start of the Nov. 19 prayer service. “A lot of us are going [to church] on Sunday. We’re worshiping with our families. We’re getting in devotions on a daily basis. But as a group in this building, at this time, in this place together to give honor and glory to God.”
The monthly prayer services at the Pentagon have also been largely overlooked, other than the first one in May that garnered lots of media attention. Since then, only one other speaker has even been mentioned in a news report. But through social media posts of participants, I’ve discovered who offered the sermon at each of the prayer events.
While the first was a pastor in the ultraconservative Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches created by controversial pastor Doug Wilson, the other Pentagon preachers have included three Southern Baptist pastors, a grandson of the late evangelist Billy Graham, and a former NFL player accused of insider trading.
None of the preachers so far are military chaplains, though chaplains joined Hegseth in leading the services. Each of the six preachers opposes women in ministry and teaches that men should be in charge of families. Most of them have previous ties to Hegseth, and all have pushed conservative political positions or even Republican candidates.
Taken together, a clear pattern of religious preference has emerged in the Pentagon prayer services. And Hegseth promised during the November event that they were “going to do a little bit of a larger service [in December] for Christmas” along with “a number of Christmas events as well throughout the month.” With the services continuing, this issue of A Public Witness peeks inside Hegseth’s monthly effort to establish his brand of rightwing Christianity inside the Pentagon.
Pentagon Prayer Services
Each month when the prayer service occurs, the Department of War posts about it on social media, adding that it shows the U.S. is “one nation under God.” Often, their photos only show Hegseth speaking, but others who attend sometimes offer other details like who preached and what else occurred during the gathering. Additionally, I’ve watched the May and November services (and the latter has not previously been reported on by any outlet).
The first of what became a monthly “Secretary of Defense Christian Prayer & Worship Service” occurred on May 21. It garnered significant media coverage, and the service can still be viewed online. The guest preacher was Brooks Potteiger from Pilgrim Hill Reformed Church in Goodlettsville, Tennessee — which Hegseth attended before joining the Trump administration (and Hegseth appeared on a controversial podcast cohosted by Potteiger). The church is part of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, founded by self-described “paleo-Confederate” Idaho pastor Doug Wilson.
“Our Lord Jesus said in Matthew 10: ‘Not a sparrow will fall to the ground apart from my heavenly Father,’” Potteiger said during his sermon. “If our Lord is sovereign even over the sparrows’ fallings, you can be assured that he is sovereign over everything else that falls in this world, including Tomahawk and Minuteman missiles, including strategy meetings and war room debriefings. Jesus has the final say over all of it.”
The May service included remarks and a prayer by Hegseth, a prayer by the director of strategic religious affairs for the Department, a reciting of the Lord’s Prayer, and the singing of Amazing Grace,” “A Mighty Fortress is Our God,” and the “Doxology.”
“This is precisely where I need to be, and I think exactly where we need to be as a nation at this moment: in prayer, on bended knee recognizing the providence of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” Hegseth said during the service before praying to “King Jesus.”
On June 17, another former Hegseth pastor preached at the monthly service. Chris Durkin leads Colts Neck Community Church, a Southern Baptist congregation in Colts Neck, New Jersey. Hegseth previously credited Durkin with his religious transformation. Additionally, Hegseth and Durkin cohosted a 2023 FOX Nation program, The Life of Jesus, that included the two visiting sites in Israel while talking about stories from the Gospels. Durkin, who’s been active in supporting Republican politicians, was outspoken in backing Hegseth’s nomination to lead the Pentagon, calling Hegseth “a genuine patriot who loves God.”
On July 16, the prayer service featured a sermon by Edward Graham, an evangelist who is the grandson of Billy Graham and son of influential Trump evangelical Franklin Graham. After Franklin praised Hegseth for holding the first prayer service in May, Hegseth responded by inviting Franklin to preach at one. But so far, only his son has. Edward serves as chief operating officer at Samaritan’s Purse, a ministry led by Franklin. A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy who spent 16 years in the U.S. Army, Edward doesn’t have any formal ministry education but now serves on the board of several groups tied to his family’s empire of ministries.
“It was encouraging to visit with the Secretary of Defense and witness his bold faith amongst and in front of the entire Pentagon team,” Graham wrote afterward on social media. “I shared with the audience that my prayer for the US Military and its leaders is that Jesus Christ would be their ‘Rock’ and I read from scripture in Mathew of the house built upon the ‘Rock.’ The rock is Jesus Christ.”
The July service also included remarks by Hegseth, a prayer by the executive director of the Armed Forces Chaplains Board, the reciting of the Lord’s Prayer, and the singing of “How Great Thou Art” and the “Doxology.” The back of the program included the flag of the Secretary of Defense (as Hegseth was known then), with “Eph. 6:10-18” (the biblical passage about the “armor of God”) printed right beneath the flag.
On Aug. 13, the guest preacher at the prayer service was Mark Dever, an influential Southern Baptist who pastors Capitol Hill Baptist Church in D.C. Dever also leads 9Marks, a ministry he cofounded to promote what he believes are the biblical marks of a church. Hegseth attended multiple Sunday services at CHBC earlier this year prior to the opening of a CREC church in D.C., with Hegseth attending the inaugural service. Potteiger, Hegseth’s former pastor who spoke at the May Pentagon service, has preached twice at the new church since then.
On Sept. 18, Hegseth welcomed a former NFL football player to deliver the sermon. Jack Brewer played for the Vikings, Giants, and Eagles before retiring after six surgeries in three seasons. Since then, he worked in wealth management at Merrill Lynch and his own The Brewer Group. He also started an eponymous foundation and speaks at Christian events in addition to Republican ones. In June, a federal judge in New York ruled Brewer committed insider trading, gaining an extra $35,178 by selling stock just before it plunged. The Securities and Exchange Commission is now demanding Brewer repay that in addition to $19,345 in prejudgment interest and a civil penalty of $105,594. Although Brewer supported Barack Obama’s candidacy, he has since become a supporter of Trump and other Republican candidates. He and Herschel Walker supported then-South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s proposed legislation against transgender people and Brewer joined anti-trans activist Riley Gaines for a rally. After Trump nominated Hegseth, Brewer offered his support for “my brother” and even sat behind Hegseth during the Senate confirmation hearing.
“We are on the verge of a spiritual renaissance,” a Republican activist at the event quoted Hegseth declaring during the September gathering.
Brewer declared during the service, “Let’s spread the gospel of Jesus Christ so that they can feel our heart. … Too often we want to change our biblical terms to align with the secular.” Afterward, he posted on social media: “I preached on forgiveness, repentance, and leading with faith. Together, we prayed over our military, our nation, our leaders, and Charlie Kirk’s family — honoring his lasting legacy of faith, family, and fatherhood.”
In October, it appears the monthly prayer service was a casualty of the government shutdown. I couldn’t find any reference to the event, including on the Department of War social media accounts that mentioned each of the other services from May-November. The DoW did not respond to my media request seeking to confirm that the October prayer service didn’t occur.
On Nov. 19, the prayer service featured a sermon by Garrett Kell, a Southern Baptist pastor. He previously served at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in D.C. under the mentoring of Dever. That church then sent him to revitalize the dying Del Ray Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia. Hegseth noted in his introduction of Kell that their sons are friends and play basketball together on a homeschool team.
The November service also included a prayer by Hegseth, a prayer by the chief of chaplains of the Air Force and Space Force, the reciting of the Lord’s Prayer, and the singing of “How Great Thou Art” and the “Doxology.”
The messages by Hegseth and Kell during the most recent Pentagon prayer service offer a revealing look into the effort to conscript Scripture into serving the aims of the U.S. military.
Loving Our Enemies … By Eviscerating Them
During the most recent monthly Pentagon prayer service on Nov. 19, Hegseth recalled the first anniversary of Trump’s election win and all the plans they’ve worked on since then. He cited several Bible verses about plans — including Jeremiah 29:11, Psalm 37:4, Proverbs 16:3, 9, and 19:21, John 15:7, and Romans 8:28 — to argue the military needed to make sure they were following God’s plan.
“The one thing we can solve for is whether we’re looking at the double-edged sword of the truth of the word and guiding our plans based on our understanding there,” Hegseth added. “The rest he takes care of. He has a perfect plan for how this shakes out. He has a perfect plan for how your career shakes out, how my time shakes out, how the president’s time shakes out, how our country shakes out. And if we commit it to him and it’s according to his purpose, then we will head in the right direction no matter what. And that to me is a blessed assurance, a reassurance. I just wanted to share that with all of you who plan so much, who work so much, who toil so much.”
Later in the service, Garrett Kell offered even more explicit comments about how the plans of the U.S. military could be God’s plans — even when killing people. He mostly preached about the danger of pride. With an evangelistic tone, he urged people to recognize they need God, are imperfect sinners no matter how talented, Jesus died on the cross for them, and God will have mercy on those who accept Jesus. He then explained they can continue to perform their military tasks, just with humility instead of pride.
“You’re tough, you’re disciplined. You don’t get in a room like this by being average. It’s just the reality. And praise God for the gifts that he’s given you because there indeed are wolves and the sheep need sheepdogs to protect them,” Kell said. “Now, I want to commend you to take it into your public service. What does humility look like when your job is to pick up a gun or to launch a missile or to steer a battleship or eviscerate your enemy? It means that you undertake those duties not in the posture of self-exalting pride but in the posture of fearing the Lord. What you do, do in service of him, always remaining within his limits, always operating according to his law. When you go into battle, you follow the rules of war. You never exert more force than necessary for subduing the moral threats of the innocent. You adhere to the rules of justice because God is just.”
“Seek him. Ask for wisdom. Listen and learn before you act. And not only that, seek to love even when exerting lethal force. God, how can we love our enemies when we must remove them? God has scripture for both of them,” he added without detailing a verse about loving our enemies by killing them.
Kell did not mention the controversy already brewing about Hegseth ordering strikes on boats off the coasts of Venezuela and Colombia. More than 80 people have been killed in 21 strikes since September. The same day as the prayer service, news broke that the senior military lawyer at the U.S. Southern Command in Miami concluded the strikes would be illegal but was overruled by administration officials. And reports were already emerging that cast doubt on the administration’s claims they were killing “narco-terrorists.” Congressional members in both parties want investigations of the strikes. And Hegseth is now accused of violating U.S. and international law by allegedly giving orders that led to a follow-up strike to kill survivors.
Hegseth remains defiant, pledging more strikes. Kell and the other preachers have already told him he’s doing the Lord’s work.
As a public witness,
Brian Kaylor
Thank you Brian.
"what more can I say than to you has been said, to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled."
- hymn How Firm a Foundation