Sports columnist and political commentator Jason Whitlock used a large part of his daily show "Fearless" to explain and defend his decision to invite Glenn Beck to Roll Call 2.0, a men's summit organized by Whitlock that will take place on June 1st in Nashville, TN.
Promotional material for the summit states, "Jason Whitlock and [fellow organizer] John Rich believe the best way to close the divides tearing America apart is to bring men together under the umbrella of worship, reverence, and song honoring our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Instead of celebrating "Pride Month," Whitlock and Rich have invited their friends for... Roll Call."
Glenn Beck is featured as a speaker in promotional material for the event alongside several other Christian speakers and performers including Vauddi Baucham, a popular Calvinist preacher, author, and professor.
This lineup did not sit well with several Christian pastors and at least one news outlet. The Christian news site Protestia published an article titled, "Disturbing New ‘Christian’ Conference Features Voddie Baucham, John Cooper (of Skillet) and…. Mormon Glenn Beck!!?" The article claims the conference might be able to achieve its goal of "inspir[ing] men to put aside their superficial differences and serve our shared Creator" if "noted Mormon Glenn Beck wasn’t speaking and teaching." The article explained the reasoning behind this claim, "For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? What does light have with polytheist cultists?" Glenn Beck is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Members of the faith are often referred to as Mormons.
The article used common Christian apologetic talking points about the nature of God, grace vs works, and the brotherhood of Lucifer and Christ as reasons why Beck should not be invited to the Christian conference. The article concluded by "implor[ing] John and Voddie to back out immediately, as no one should be going to this conference. In fact, even if Beck backs out, the fact that conference organizers invited him in the first place demonstrates they don’t understand the gospel."
Whitlock expressed shock at the article and shared that several other trusted acquaintances had questioned his decision to include Beck on the speaker's list for the summit. "I clearly contributed to this level of confusion by not being crystal clear... about what is written on this flyer," Whitlock said in a segment on his May 13th show responding to the controversy. He explained the divide that he was seeking to cross was that of racial division, which he called "racial idolatry." "This is about taking the racial blinders off of people and trying to get everyone to focus on Jesus Christ," Whitlock declared.
He explained that while some may be concerned about Glenn Beck being a "Mormon", "all I see is an opportunity for those of us who are traditional Christians to shine a light so bright that Glenn Beck or anyone will be like 'oh man, I'm attracted to that light.'"
Whitlock adamantly defended his decision to invite Glenn Beck for several minutes and even posted the clip on X (formerly known as Twitter). "There will never be a day I regret extending my hand to Glenn Beck," Whitlock said.
Voddie Bauchman has not made a public comment on the controversy. Ward Radio News has reached out for comment and the story will be updated accordingly.
Ward Radio News is not affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Church) and does not officially represent the Church. The views expressed by contributors do not necessarily represent the position of Ward Radio News
I suppose I should not be shocked at the continued ignorance and hatred shown towards members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I believe Cardon is correct when he says if everything they claim about us is true at worst we are their Samaritans. And, who did Jesus first reveal himself to as the long awaited Savior??? The Samaritan woman at the well. And who did Jesus build his story around when teaching about loving your neighbor? The Good Samaritan. Imagine how bad it would look if instead of Glen Beck, they had invited a Jewish Rabbi or a Muslim Imam to speak and people were pitching this kind of fit about the Rabbi o…