Elizabeth Lankford ن

Christian, Constitutionalist, Courageous Conserative, Support small government #Life #asamomorg #StopCommonCore #HCQWorks

[John “TIG” Tiegen @TigTiegen]

This is a disgrace.

A Gulf War Marine veteran named Albert O’Toole who served this country, took a blast that left him with TBI, and was later diagnosed with Alzheimer’s was beaten by his aide Matthew Cox inside the New York State Veterans Home in Montrose, New York.

His wife Angela Sangro became concerned after seeing unexplained bruises and heavy sedation. She installed a hidden camera. The footage shows the aide yanking food out of Albert’s hands, grabbing him by the neck, throwing him into a chair, punching him, and striking him in the head with a broom while he cried out in pain. No one came to help.

The state fired the abuser.
But the federal VA? Still has him employed. Still paying him while the case drags on.

You make veterans fight through hell just to get the benefits and compensation they earned with their blood and sacrifice. You move fast to cut or reduce what’s owed to them.

But when one of your own is caught on camera assaulting a defenseless veteran? You keep him on the federal payroll like it’s nothing.

@SecVetAffairs you talk about accountability. Here it is. Fire this man from the VA now. No pay. No protection. No more dragging it out.
@SecWar our warriors come home broken from fighting for this nation. They deserve better than a system that protects abusers while making veterans fight for every dollar they earned.
@SpeakerJohnson this is on you too. Oversight without teeth is just theater. Do your job.
This isn’t how you treat the men and women who served. This is a betrayal.
Veterans FIRST.
Zero tolerance for those who abuse them.
Immediate action. No excuses.
If you’re not outraged by this, you’re not paying attention.
Semper Fi.
@TheTankGuns

[Sean DeMars @DemarsSean]

Why Our Church Doesn't Sing Hillsong, Bethel, or Elevation Music

Every few years the debate resurfaces: Should churches sing songs from Hillsong, Bethel, Elevation, and similar ministries?

Some Christians believe the answer is obvious. If a song isn’t theologically wonky, we are free to sing it. Others, however, argue that the source of a song matters just as much as the lyrics. Our church falls into the latter category. Why? Because we believe pastors have a responsibility to think carefully about what they place before God's people in corporate worship.

Here are a few reasons why we’ve chosen not to sing songs from these ministries, and why we would encourage you not to, either.

1. If I Wouldn't Recommend Their Teaching, I Shouldn't Recommend Their Music

Imagine a church member approaching you after the service and saying, "Pastor, I'd like to learn more from Bethel. What books would you recommend?" I'm guessing your answer would be the same as mine: none.

Or suppose another member approached you and said, "I've been listening to Hillsong lately. Are there any sermons you'd point me to?" Hopefully, your response would be the same as mine: "Let me strongly exhort you away from their preaching ministry!”

Most faithful evangelical pastors would answer such questions the same way and without hesitation. We wouldn’t recommend their books, their sermons, their conferences, or any form of their teaching ministries. Which leads me to ask: If we wouldn’t recommend their teaching, why would we recommend their songs? Singing, after all, is a teaching ministry of the church (Col 3:15, Eph 5:18-19).

If we truly believe that ministries such as Bethel and Hillsong are untrustworthy teachers of God's Word, that they promote serious theological errors and unhealthy ministry practices, that they are leading unbelievers astray and true believers into a compromised and weakened walk with the Lord, why would we place their songs in the mouths of the congregation every Sunday?

At this point, many Christians attempt to separate the music from the ministry. "We're not endorsing their teaching," they say. "We're just singing one of their good songs." The problem here, of course, is that every song functions as a recommendation, if not explicitly then implicitly.

When we place a ministry's songs on the lips of our congregation week after week, we communicate (whether intentionally or not) that this is a voice worth listening to. The books we recommend, the conferences we promote, the missionaries we support, and the songs we sing all communicate trust. They all function as endorsements to one degree or another.

Here's a good rule of thumb for thinking through this issue: If I wouldn’t hand a church member one of their books, we probably shouldn’t be singing their songs in corporate worship.

2. People Really Do Follow the Music Back to the Ministry

This concern is not merely theoretical. Many Christians openly testify that they were introduced to Bethel, Hillsong, or Elevation, not through books, conferences, or social media, but through their worship music.

The testimony of Christians who have experienced this progression is remarkably consistent: songs are not merely songs. They often function as gateways. This should not surprise us. "Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm" (Prov. 13:20). The voices we repeatedly invite into our lives inevitably shape us.

In fact, Bethel and Hillsong understand this reality themselves. Their worship leaders are often encouraged to think of themselves as the tip of the missionary spear, introducing people to the broader ministry through music.

The point is simple: if we believe a ministry teaches serious error, we should not be surprised when our people eventually follow the trail we helped them discover.

3. When We Sing Their Songs, We Are Financially Supporting Their Ministries

Before making this point, it's important to acknowledge that many Christians simply don't know how music licensing works. Why would they? Therefore, if you've never considered this issue before, don't feel bad. I certainly don't assume bad motives on the part of churches that sing these songs. But I do think it's important to understand how the system works so that we can make informed and discerning decisions.

Most churches report and license their worship music through CCLI and similar licensing agreements. Every time we sing, report, stream, reproduce, or distribute copyrighted songs, royalties (i.e. money) flow back to the rights holders. In other words, our churches are not merely using these songs for worship, we are actively funding the ministries that produced them.

This raises a simple question: Should our churches financially support ministries we believe teach serious doctrinal error?

Imagine discovering that your church was sending monthly support checks to a ministry that promoted prosperity theology or some other serious theological error. Most pastors would object immediately, even if it were only a small amount. Yet every time a church sings songs from these ministries, money flows from our offerings to their coffers. That’s a problem.

The amounts may be small and the mechanism may be indirect, but the principle remains the same. Money is a form of partnership. Paul thanked the Philippians for their "partnership in the gospel" because of their financial support, after all (Phil. 1:5). Financial support is never merely financial; it’s an expression of shared priorities and mission. Therefore, churches should think carefully before using congregational worship as a means of financially supporting ministries they would never otherwise endorse.

4. Pastors Must Not Bind Consciences Without Biblical Warrant

Every Sunday morning pastors call God's people to participate in corporate worship. We ask them to pray, confess, sing, and listen to God's Word. In doing so, we are binding consciences. We are not merely suggesting that our people participate in these actions; we are requiring it according to the clear teaching of Scripture. That is a tremendous and weighty responsibility.

Crucially, pastors must understand that they possess no authority to require God's people to do anything apart from God's Word. Every element of a worship service should pass a simple test: Can I confidently stand before God and his people knowing that what I am asking them to do is biblical?

I can confidently ask believers to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. I can confidently ask them to praise and petition the Lord in prayer. I can confidently ask them to confess biblical truth with one heart and mind. What I cannot confidently do is require them to sing songs produced by ministries I believe are teaching serious theological error.

The question is not whether every lyric we sing is orthodox. The question is whether Scripture authorizes me, the pastor, to place my congregation in the position of having to separate sound lyrics from an unsound ministry in the first place. I do not believe it does.

The good news is that we don’t have to put ourselves in such a position. We live in an age of embarrassing musical riches. The church has inherited centuries of faithful hymnody, and with each passing year, biblically sound ministries produce more and more new songs that are both beautiful and biblical. There is no shortage of excellent music for God's people to sing. Therefore, we are not forced to choose between singing Bethel, Hillsong, or Elevation and mediocre worship music. We have thousands upon thousands of beautiful and biblical songs at our disposal—songs produced by faithful Christians and faithful churches that do not require us to compromise our theological and pastoral convictions in the process.

5. Most of Their Songs Are Designed for Performance, Not Congregational Singing

One final concern that is often overlooked: most of these songs are not conducive to congregational singing.

To be clear, I am not saying every Hillsong, Bethel, or Elevation song is unsingable. Some are quite accessible. But taken as a whole, these ministries produce music in an environment, and with an aim, that is fundamentally different from God’s design for the local church: performance.

Their songs are often written by professional musicians, performed by highly trained vocalists, accompanied by full bands, and designed for large-scale worship events, recordings, and broadcasts. As a result, many of them feature wide vocal ranges, difficult melodies, extended instrumental sections, and arrangements that depend heavily on the skill of the musicians leading them, i.e. the professionals on stage.

But congregational worship is not a concert. Paul tells believers to “address one another through psalms and hymns and spiritual songs" (Eph. 5:19). Singing is one of the primary ways the church teaches, encourages, and builds up the body. For that reason, pastors and worship leaders should prioritize songs that ordinary Christians can sing confidently and joyfully. The best worship songs for Sunday morning enable an entire congregation to lift their voices together.

When a church fills its worship services with songs that only talented musicians can lead effectively, the congregation gradually becomes an audience rather than an instrument of worship. We should strive for something better by choosing songs that invite the whole church to sing together.

Answering the Most Common Objection

There are many objections to the arguments I’ve laid out in this article, but the most common one I hear sounds like this: "What about Horatio Spafford? Didn’t he go on to compromise the gospel in some very disturbing ways later in life? If we can sing It Is Well, why can't we sing Bethel, Hillsong, or Elevation songs?" The answer is simple: these situations are not comparable.

Virtually nobody sings It Is Well With My Soul and then goes home to investigate Horatio Spafford's theological views. Nobody subscribes to the Horatio Spafford podcast. Nobody attends the annual Horatio Spafford conference to hear him preach. Nobody buys Horatio Spafford bible study materials. Nobody pays royalties in support of Horatio Spafford Ministries.

The influence pipeline for Horatio Spafford doesn’t exist. The same, sadly, can’t be said of Bethel, Hillsong, and Elevation Music. These are ministries with influential platforms, active teachers, thriving conferences, massive publishing arms, and strong financial structures. Their music functions as a front door into the larger ministry. The same cannot be said of the long dead hymn authors of yesteryear.

Conclusion

Some readers will see these arguments and assume I am advocating a kind of one-drop purity test for all worship music. “If a song contains even the slightest theological imperfection, throw it out! If a songwriter has ever been wrong about anything, ban the song!”

Nothing could be further from the truth.

There’s no such thing as a perfect song or a flawless hymnbook. If we examined every song with sufficient scrutiny, we would likely find phrases we would word differently, emphases we would adjust, or theological nuances we would wish were clearer.

The issue is not whether a song, or the ministry that produced the song, is utterly free of theological blemishes. The issue is whether we should knowingly and repeatedly platform, promote, and financially support ministries that teach serious and persistent doctrinal error. A drop of dirt in a glass of water is one thing. Discovering that the well itself is contaminated is another. I am not arguing that every song must pass an impossible standard of theological perfection. I am arguing that pastors and worship leaders should exercise wisdom when choosing which wells they draw from week after week.

All I am urging pastors and worship leaders to do is “test everything; hold fast what is good" (1 Thess. 5:21). Don’t just test the songs, test the ministries behind them. And where serious error exists, choose music from the vast treasury of faithful songs God has already given His church.

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P.S. I chose to publish this on socials rather than through traditional media source so it can be shared more easily without external link/algorithm issues.

[Kris Cruz @realKrisCruz]

Who is going to @SteaknShake this summer?!?

I know I am.

[Secretary Sean Duffy @SecDuffy]

This is Margaret Swan, a great-grandmother stabbed to death 20 TIMES in a random attack in the middle of the day on Atlanta’s public transit. Her murder was the second horrific attack on MARTA in a week.

I want ANSWERS from Atlanta. The number of assaults, robberies, and rapes on MARTA’s trains is MORE THAN THREE TIMES the national average.


MARTA has 15 DAYS from today to provide:

- Security spending

- Safety plans for riders and workers

- Detailed action strategy to prevent crime and fare evasion

Margaret’s family DESERVES ACCOUNTABILITY. No one should be forced to fear for their safety on public transit.

[Mario Nawfal @MarioNawfal]

🚨🇺🇸The Senate just killed the SAVE Act, 48-50.

Voter ID and proof of citizenship, supported by over 80% of Americans, dead.

Four Republicans voted no: Tillis, Murkowski, McConnell, Collins.

The uniparty showed its face today...

[Robert Burns @RobertBurns82]

Remember he did this while shutting down your businesses, churches, and any event that didn’t fit his narrative, even if it was outside, was considered a “super-spreader.”

Roy Cooper should never represent our state again. We deserve so much better.

[Elizabeth Lankford ن @ECLankford]

Would be awesome!!!
@realDonaldTrump
President Trump, please do this!!

[John Rich🇺🇸 @johnrich]

This is true.

[Matt Walsh @MattWalshBlog]

If I was in charge of the America 250 concert I would do something radical and simply go out and find artists who play great music and hire them even if they aren’t famous. Prioritize artistic quality over name recognition. A novel approach for conservatives but worth a try.

[James Woods @RealJamesWoods]

Mosques are popping up like a fungus in every city in the U.S. Yet so many Americans are asking why are they stopping traffic to “pray” in the streets. It’s not about prayer, folks. It’s a declaration of war. The invaders are declaring their ownership.

[Mike Lee @BasedMikeLee]

That thing that never happens—noncitizen voting—sure seems to be happening a lot

[Elizabeth Lankford ن @ECLankford]

Hey guys! It’s @SaraGonzalesTX from @theblaze ! She’s a big supporter of @KenPaxtonTX.

[Live From Studio 6B @lfs6b]

WATCH: LIVE FROM STUDIO 6B - Tuesday, May 26 2026 https://t.co/nibeLOgyES

[Kevin Sorbo @ksorbs]

These Indian men just defaced a sacred Native American site known as Cathedral Rock in Sedona, Arizona.

Deport them.

[Elon Musk @elonmusk]

This poor boy was running away from someone who stabbed him & stole his phone, but the police in the UK attacked him instead of his murderer!

[Mike Lee @BasedMikeLee]

Are you tired of Democrats setting the agenda and getting their way even when Republicans control the House, Senate, and White House?

Tired of the “we don’t have 60 votes in the Senate” excuse?

Me too

It’s time to nuke the filibuster

Pass it on if you agree

[DataRepublican (small r) @DataRepublican]

Hello Senator Thune,

I'm replying to your post from yesterday: "Despite Democrats' partisan games, we're still going to get the entire federal government funded."

Today, you sent the Senate home... not because of Democrats. Because of you.

Here's what actually happened.

On May 18, the DOJ announced an Anti-Weaponization Fund: $1.776 billion to compensate Americans harmed by Biden-era DOJ abuse. Your own caucus revolted. After a two-hour closed-door meeting, you departed for Memorial Day recess without a vote. ICE and CBP funding, punted to June 1. The "partisan games," it turns out, were yours.

Your stated objections: no congressional authorization, no eligibility standards, no legal precedent, executive overreach. Fine. But let's talk about November 2025, when you tucked a provision into the government funding bill.

The FBI had quietly seized phone records from eight Republican senators without notice, under an investigation codenamed "Arctic Frost."

Your provision gave those senators, and only those senators, $500,000 per violation, retroactive to 2022. The House voted 426-0 to repeal it.

The critics weren't opposed to compensating victims of DOJ abuse. They were opposed to senators compensating themselves while doing no other structural reforms.

Lindsey Graham held the Senate hostage to preserve it. He delayed a spending deal in January 2026 to secure a floor vote on his revised version.

Let's put the two columns next to each other:

➤ DOJ abused senators: $500K/violation payout, senators only, no hearings, no process, no eligibility debate, no floor vote on substance.

➤ DOJ abused Americans: "very legitimate questions," two-hour meeting, Senate goes home, reconciliation punted, June 1 deadline in jeopardy.

You told Punchbowl News you "did not personally see a need for this fund."

You personally saw a need for the fund when the targets were you.

Go cry harder to your Punchbowl friends @JakeSherman and @AndrewDesiderio, because at this rate, they'll soon become the only people who are buying what you're selling.

[Keith Malinak ATMshow.com @KeithMalinak]

This is so heartbreaking to see.

When my son was very young he fell in love with the M&M car and thus Kyle Busch.

Together we enjoyed watching him race every weekend.

May he rest in peace.

[Tim Burchett @timburchett]

We still send $40,000,000 a week to the Taliban because the Senate won’t vote on my No Tax Dollars for Terrorists Act.

[Wesley Hunt @WesleyHuntTX]

My father grew up in the segregated South.

He had to walk around to the BACK of a restaurant just to order a sandwich because he was black.

THAT was Jim Crow.

Not showing a photo ID to vote.

You need an ID to:
• Board a plane
• Cash a check
• Buy alcohol
• Enter federal buildings

But suddenly showing an ID to vote is “racist”?

Give me a break.

This is not civil rights.
This is political theater.

The Democrat Party survives by manufacturing grievance because they have nothing else to run on.

Comparing voter ID laws to segregation is not just dishonest, it is insulting to the people who actually lived through Jim Crow.

Asking Americans to prove they are who they say they are when they cast their vote is called common sense.

[Libs of TikTok @libsoftiktok]

Henry Nowak’s final words were “I can’t breathe” after he was stabbed and police handcuffed *him* while he bled out on the street.

This is a 10,000x worse than George Floyd.

Why hasn’t CNN, NYT, or WaPo covered this story?

[Kevin Sorbo @ksorbs]

Serious question, why isn’t Trump going after Thune with a fraction of the force he’s going after Massie with?

We could have the SAVE Act and tons of other bills passed by now.