Pastor Rafael Cruz, the father of U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of (R-TX), recently urged Christians to become more politically involved and claimed that the phrase “God is in control” is a “cop-out.” Cruz, who delivered a speech last Friday at the Christians Engaged Conference at Sojourn Church in Carrollton, Texas, contended that “the Church has failed America” by not being more outspoken.

“Unfortunately, we have many pastors that are a bunch of wimps,” said Cruz. “The pastor has a responsibility to lead the sheep in every area of life. Most pastors are not doing that.”

“Most pastors are afraid to say anything controversial. To say anything that may offend somebody. Because if they offend somebody and they leave, their money leaves with them. Jesus called them ‘hirelings.’ They are no longer pastors.”

He went on to explain that he has often heard the phrase “God is in control” and how he believes that kind of statement is counterproductive to a politically engaged faith life, The Christian Post reported.

“I want to tell you, ‘God is in control’ is a cop-out,” he said. “‘God is in control’ is an excuse that Christians give to justify sitting on their rear ends doing nothing while the country is going to Hell in a handbasket.”

Cruz argued that the phrase “is not even biblical,” calling it “the equivalent of hyper-Calvinism,” believing that the phrase implies that “we are puppets and God is pulling the strings.”

“It denies individual responsibility; it denies free will,” Cruz continued. “If there is a fundamental principle of Scripture, it is the principle of stewardship. We are stewards of all of God’s creation.”

Cruz referenced Genesis 1:26-28, in which God gives mankind “dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”

“We have a stewardship responsibility over this country of ours,” Cruz said. “We have a stewardship responsibility over America.”

He also spoke about other issues, including concerns over trans ideology entering public schools, claiming that the United States government was based on the Bible, and stressed the importance of Christians running for local school boards.

Growing up in Cuba, Cruz addressed what it was like to have been under an authoritarian Communist government, noting that “when I lost my freedom in Cuba, I had a place to come to.”

“If we lose our freedoms here, where are we going to go?” he asked.

The conference, which was meant to mobilize churches to support socially conservative causes, featured a variety of speakers, including former Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler, Coach Joe Kennedy, Family Policy Alliance CEO Craig DeRoche, Congressman Nathaniel Moran of Texas, and former presidential candidate Pastor Ryan Binkley, among others.

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