Right-wing pastor Jesse Leon Rodgers is the founder and chairman of the Christian nationalist organization City Elders, which seeks to "establish divine order in spiritual and civil governance" by bringing local pastors together with elected officials and religious-right activists.
Rodgers himself is a hardcore theonomist who believes that far-right Christians such as himself are to be responsible for "installing people in civil government" and brags that they are the ones who get to "determine who gets in public office."
That attitude was on full display when Rogers spoke at a recent City Elders meeting.
"Civil government has levers: pen, purse, bench, threshold, sword—powerful levers of authority—but Jesus said I'm giving to my ekklesia the keys of the kingdom," Rogers declared. (The term "ekklesia" is a word favored by dominionists to refer to the church as God’s governing body on Earth.)
"Why do we work toward unifying the church?" he continued. "Because a unified church can put anybody in government power that she desires. We will strip—I prophecy to you in the name of Jesus—we will strip every individual exercising illegitimate authority on our school board who doesn't represent the values of the Christ; in the name of Jesus, we will see them removed."
