How Pastors Failed the Church and Americans During COVID-19

Members of the congregation participate in a mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington on June 22, 2020. Alex Wong/Getty Images

Commentary

From the beginning, the church has played a significant role in American life. Those who played the largest roles were pastors and evangelists, such as George Whitfield, Jonathan Edwards, John Witherspoon, D.L. Moody, William Seymour, Martin Luther King Jr., and Billy Graham.