Over the last few weeks, the world watched as tensions increased between Russia and Ukraine. These tensions released into an all-out invasion by Russia that has brought about violence and terror in Ukraine. Leaders in the West are debating how to respond, and the media is bringing us rapid updates with varying degrees of veracity.
It’s easy to get caught up in this whirlwind of reporting, politics, and human suffering. Many of us have found it disorienting to navigate this situation both as citizens in a republic and as Christians. That’s why I’m glad to welcome William Wolfe as my guest on today’s show to help us by bringing some clarity to these current events and providing an example of a discerning response.
William Wolfe’s Bio
From 2012-2015, William worked for three different Members of Congress, concluding his time as a Legislative Assistant, where he wrote bills, advised his boss on how to vote, and successfully helped his Members of Congress get their first piece of legislation signed into law.
Next, he joined Heritage Action, the political arm of the premier conservative think tank, The Heritage Foundation, as their Deputy Director of Government Affairs. After the election of 2016, William worked on the Presidential Transition Organization and then had the privilege of joining the Trump Administration as a political appointee at the U.S. Department of State. After being granted a Top-Secret Security Clearance, William served at the State Department as the Director of House Affairs, preparing senior-level officials and Ambassadors for their testimony before Congress and overseeing the nexus of interaction between the House Foreign Affairs Committee at the State Department. In 2020, William was promoted and asked to join the U.S. Department of Defense at the Pentagon as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for House Affairs, a Senior Executive Service position and the civilian equivalent of a two-star general. Serving at the Pentagon, William helped lead 6 teams of over 50 personnel, overseeing the critical engagements between Congress and the DoD, including the passage of the annual National Defense Authorization Act, which funds our military. At the end of his service, he was awarded the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service in January 2021.
After finishing his service in the Trump Administration in January, William participated in a 5-month intensive pastoral internship at his church, Capitol Hill Baptist.
Next, he moved to Louisville, KY, to complete his Masters of Divinity from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and pursue a Ph.D. Lord willing, he hopes to aim to serve in pastoral ministry and also speak, write, and teach, using his political career and Christian faith to help Christians better think through the intersection of our faith and politics, and church and state, in an increasingly hostile and secular world.
Along with being a full-time seminary student, William is a writer and an editor for the Standing for Freedom Center out of Liberty University and also works for American Reformer, a new Protestant journal on faith, culture, and politics.
William also serves as a founding member of MCA's alumni board and has been a guest speaker at his college and high school’s chapel. He is a member of Hunsinger Lane Baptist Church. He has been married to Lauren Wolfe for almost 8 years and they have two boys, Evan and Jack.
Resources
Listen to Dr. Albert Mohler’s Thursday, March 3, 2021 episode of The Briefing on the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
Connect with William Wolfe on Twitter and follow the organizations he works with:
Follow William on Twitter.
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