Doug Wilson responds to Pete Hegseth affiliation reports

Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches co-founder and pastor Douglas Wilson on Monday said he was grateful to see Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth share content from his publishing house, Canon Press. Hegseth was in effect echoing the post’s sentiments, giving it an ‘Amen,’ Wilson told the Associated Press. The defense secretary made headlines after sharing a clip last week of a CNN report citing Hegseth as a parishioner of Wilson’s church. The video also contained church pastors arguing against voting rights for women and against women serving in combat or leadership positions in the military.

Hegseth posted the clip with the church’s motto, “All of Christ for All of Life.” Hegseth reportedly has attended a Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, or CREC, church out of Nashville, Pilgrim Hill Reformed Fellowship. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell further confirmed Hegseth's affiliation, telling the AP that the secretary appreciated many of Wilson’s teachings. Hegseth notably attended the first Sunday service of the CREC’s Washington D.C., church plant, Christ Church DC, on July 13. Wilson planned to visit the capital city next month and preach a sermon there on Sept. 7, according to his website.

Why is this controversial for some? Wilson is known as a strong proponent of complementarian theology regarding male and female roles. His church, Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho, notably bars women from holding leadership positions. Critics worry that Hegseth’s association with the church’s teachings may impact his decisions as a public leader. Wilson is also a strong lobbyist for America returning to its majority Christian roots, an effort that concerns some more secular critics.

Is Douglas Wilson against women’s 19th Amendment right to vote? The pastor unpacked some statements in the CNN story, posting a video on social media Monday night. Christ Church views the family, rather than the individual, as the foundational unit of a thriving human society, he said. At the church, heads of households—men or female family leaders such as widows—cast votes for church leaders like elders or deacons. Wilson said he wasn’t embarrassed by the position, but the counter-cultural idea wasn’t high up on his to-do list, or an agenda for the whole country.

Dig deeper: Read my report on the Department of Justice accusing an Idaho town of religious discrimination on behalf of one of Wilson’s church plants.