Feucht and 50 other worship leaders visited President Donald Trump for a faith briefing at the White House amid the run-up to the first impeachment of Trump in December 2019. Feucht said of the event, "We just laid our hands on him and prayed for him. It was like a real intense, hardcore prayer."[6]
Feucht founded Burn 24-7, a prayer and worship movement, in 2005 while attending Oral Roberts University,[7][better source needed] and Light a Candle in 2010, an international outreach movement which hosts short term mission trips and child sponsorships.[8][better source needed] He also founded Hold the Line, a movement intended "to inform, educate, and inspire" young people to become politically active and oppose "the progressive agenda being forced upon America."[9][10][better source needed]
2020 congressional campaign
Feucht ran as a Republican for California's 3rd congressional district in 2020, coming in third place with 14% of the votes, finishing behind John Garamendi and Tamika Hamilton in the March 3 primary.[11] Feucht ran a socially conservative campaign, which was against high taxes and staunchly critical of abortion calling it "the slaughter of the unborn and the newborn."[1][additional citation(s) needed] Other issues he wanted to focus on included homelessness and affordable housing in California, and expanded parental rights regarding mandatory vaccination and sex education.[12]
Political activism
Origins of Let Us Worship concerts
Sean Feucht with speakers at a concert in Portland, Oregon.
During the later half of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic was ongoing, Feucht arranged worship concerts across the United States that drew crowds of thousands to protest government restrictions on people gathering during COVID-19 lockdowns. These concerts were later expanded to focus on cities with George Floyd protests to respond to Black Lives Matter (BLM) protesters. Feucht labeled the movement Let Us Worship.[13] Feucht stated, "We just feel this call to really target cities that are under extreme turmoil and despair and brokenness" and said it was a new Jesus Movement.[14] Bethel Church, where Feucht is a worship leader, did not financially support him, but wrote a statement of support for his movement and vision.[13]
Problems with permits for concerts
In September 2020, Feucht attempted to hold a Labor Day "prayer rally" at Seattle's Gas Works Park. When the city closed the park, he held the rally in the street across from the park.[15] Feucht originally failed to get a permit, but the city allowed the rally when he called it a "worship protest".[14] Later that month, following a concert in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the site of the Kenosha protests, Feucht was prevented from holding a concert on the South Side of Chicago after police threatened to take action against him for not having a permit for the event.[16][additional citation(s) needed]
Concerts in response to racial and political unrest
In June 2020, Feucht held a worship concert at the site of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, calling it the "Minneapolis miracle" and the "HOPE RALLY." Feucht called Floyd's murder an "injustice" and referred to it as "the trauma" and was critical of Black Lives Matter's support for identity politics in online posts prior to the worship session.[17][18]
Following the June 2020 concert in Minneapolis, Feucht stated on Twitter afterwards that he and senior Bethel pastor Beni Johnson were censored by Twitter and Instagram for sharing videos of the events and posting Bible verses.[21][22][additional citation(s) needed] His posts were shared by Senator Josh Hawley who stated "Cancel culture meets #BigTech. Now @instagram is censoring a Christian worship leader who wants to post videos of praise and worship from places where there has recently been unrest."[22][better source needed]
In early 2023, Feucht announced a "Kingdom to the Capitol" tour, co-sponsored by Turning Point USA.[25] The purpose of the tour is to visit every state capital, with swing states being the focus in the 2024 election year.[26][better source needed] In response to this tour, dozens of religious leaders in the Pacific Northwest wrote a public letter denouncing him for "advancing LGBTQ+ bigotry in the language of religion." They were responding to Feucht's comments describing drag queens as "demonic, sick, [and] twisted" and arguing that they were "perverting the minds of children."[27] The tour's last event will be held at the National Mall.[28][better source needed]
ReAwaken America tour
Feucht has been an active participant in the ReAwaken America tour founded by Clay Clark and sponsored by Charisma News.[29] At the August 2022 tour event in Batavia, New York, Feucht denounced "gender confusion [and] sexual perversion" among young people.[30]
Christian persecution and spiritual warfare aspects
At a Pennsylvania Kingdom to the Capitol tour rally in October 2024, Feucht stated that Christians have "abdicated authority" and that the Christian nationalist event "is actually not even political... This is actually the most biblical thing you can ever do."[28][better source needed] Feucht states Christian persecution in the US is greater than that of other countries such as North Korea and Afghanistan, saying, "I have never endured the spiritual warfare that I have in the last two years of going to every capital in our nation".[28][better source needed] Matthew D. Taylor calls his claims part of a 'Christian persecution neurosis' or 'complex' and criticizes Feucht for comparing Christians in the US to those receiving what he calls actual persecution in other countries that serve to motivate pushes for Christian dominance or supremacy.[32]
Feucht has claimed the popularity of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz' 2024 campaign is due to demonic forces, ascribing it to "some serious demonic sorcery witchcraft thing" and stating that "they go to churches that are synagogues of Satan."[28][better source needed]
Superspreader movie
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Superspreader, a movie based on Feucht's COVID-19 protest concerts, was released on September 29, 2022.[33][non-primary source needed] The film's website summarized it as "During the COVID-19 lockdowns, an evangelical Christian singer stands up for religious liberties by holding mass outdoor worship concerts."[34][non-primary source needed] According to one critical review, the movie trafficked in conspiracy theories, including that "the stay-at-home measures designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 were more harmful than the deadly virus" and that "those measures were part of a communist plan to take over the country."[35][better source needed]
Criticism and controversy
Matthew D. Taylor criticized Feucht's use of rhetoric and tactics that he worries puts people in danger from violence as well as his promotion of the ideas and rhetoric of Christian supremacy that evokes images of a guerilla warfare campaign that are incompatible with democracy.[32] He also criticized Feucht's association with Proud Boys and other extreme right-wing militia members, calling him "Goliath with a David complex."[32]
Byrd, Andy; — (September 1, 2010). Fire and Fragrance : From the Great Commandment to the Great Commission. Destiny Image Publishers. ISBN978-0768432909.
Lucier, Art; Garlington Sr., Joseph; Lockhart, Sandy; Billman, Nic; Brundidge, Caleb; —; Gibson, Vince; Meyer, Julie; Mitchell, Steve; King, Patricia (November 1, 2011). Worship The King: An Inspiring Devotional That Draws the Heart Into His Presence. XP Publishing. ISBN978-1936101993.
^ abcTaylor, Matthew D. (October 1, 2024). "Chapter 6". The Violent Take it by Force: The Christian Movement That Is Threatening Our Democracy. Broadleaf Books.
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