It was another great time on Capitol Hill this week. It’s hard to describe all that took place, and honestly, some things are confidential, and I wouldn’t want to describe them. You had to be there.

After a delayed arrival into Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Tuesday, I hit the ground running. Representatives were on the House floor voting, which gave me more time to engage with staffers in the Cannon Building as I began my rounds. With the House preparing for a break, staffers were looking forward to having a bit more breathing room once members left on Thursday and headed back to their districts and the campaign trail.

The House and Senate have several important issues that need to be addressed, but sometimes bad legislation is worse than no legislation. It’s important not to rush things.

College athletics continue to be in a state of confusion because the NCAA has not resolved the many issues surrounding NIL—Name, Image and Likeness—which impacts all sports but especially college football. College athletics are looking to Congress for an answer, but a solution seems to be stuck in the Senate.

The other hot topic is AI—Artificial Intelligence. I was able to sit in on a meeting months ago on the House side where a member of the House with a master’s degree in AI explained that it was important for the federal government to establish some guidelines so there wouldn’t be a patchwork of regulations in each state.

Both of these issues come down to two things: money and power. And the issue of AI has now become a political issue as the parties try to use it for their advantage in the midterm elections.

Artificial Intelligence is a powerful tool that could be used for good but also for evil. The concerns and fears surrounding the change of the clock and calendar in 2000 turned out to be nothing but the challenges surrounding AI should be taken seriously.

In addition to those two issues, some Democrats are trying to renew the call for the impeachment of President Trump.

It turns out that while the House was scheduled to be in session into Thursday, they took their last votes late Wednesday afternoon. While the House had passed more than 70 bills during the week, some were nothing more than changing the names of post office buildings. Significant challenges still face the nation.

Following the Wednesday votes, many House members sprinted to the airport to catch a flight back to their districts. The importance of the midterm election is huge.

At dinner Tuesday evening, I was able to engage with a representative whose sister has been fighting cancer. He and I have prayed about this several times over the past few months. He shared that they think the cancer has spread to her brain. This burden weighs heavily on him, and it is obvious.

Thinking back over Wednesday, it is a blur of activity over the 10 miles that I walked through the House and Senate office buildings and the Capitol. Along the way, there were greetings and hugs, especially from those I knew were hurting.

My friend, Pastor Cary Schmidt, was again spending time with me on the Hill, seeing and learning firsthand about engagement in the halls of Congress.

We had a meeting with a young man named David, whom I had never met. He had worked in a congressional office before starting a venture to connect staffers on the Hill and to connect businesses with congressional offices. It’s a fledgling enterprise, but it has great potential.

So far, David and his wife have not taken a salary, but I was amazed by his faith in God. While a relatively new believer, the depth and understanding of his walk with Christ was profound.

We shared some of our visions for how to impact young staffers on the Hill and discovered that our dreams aligned. We are exploring how to advance God’s presence on Capitol Hill and build the Christian community in the halls of Congress.

Pray for David and his endeavors.

On the Senate side, I always look forward to one particular office in the Russell Building. A group of young men in one office always give me well-intentioned grief, and I give it right back. While it is great fun, I always end our time with a word of prayer for them.

Wednesday evening, Cary and I were back in the Capitol for our worship service and two other gatherings. Before starting our service, I went to the Members’ Chapel just off the Rotunda. Behind a nondescript door is this room created by President Eisenhower where representatives and senators can pray.

I refilled an empty bowl with communion cups that Dan Cummins and I have tried to keep filled. I doubt that any senator or representative knows that we are the suppliers of the communion elements, and that’s just fine.

In our service, we had a group of 50 people from Pennsylvania visiting Washington, D.C., who wanted to attend our service. It was great to have them attend. Their voices filled the room where we worshipped—and I learned later that they filled more than the room.

Cary Schmidt spoke on the Old Testament prayer of Jabez and provided some great application. I had arranged for Representative Barry Loudermilk of Georgia to escort the group to the Rotunda for a time of prayer and singing there.

Representative Loudermilk is completing his time serving in the House and is looking forward to how God is going to use him in the coming days to impact the nation and impact culture.

His testimony to the group from Pennsylvania was powerful. We sang “God Bless America” and the “Doxology” before praying for Representative Loudermilk and completing our time together.

Before we left the Rotunda, I received a text that Speaker Johnson had heard us singing during our service earlier and was thankful for worship in the Capitol.

After escorting our guests from the Capitol, Cary and I returned to the second floor to meet with Representative David Schweikert and my friend, Frank Luntz. They were giving a tour of the Capitol to a group of West Point cadets, and Frank had invited me to join them and sing for them.

As we entered the Rotunda, I saw Tim Barton of WallBuilders. I have so much respect for Tim and his father, David, and the work they do with WallBuilders. David was leading a tour of pastors and helping them to understand the spiritual foundations of our nation.

There in the center of the Rotunda, I sang a verse of “America the Beautiful” for the cadets. Other groups were entering the room, and it went silent as I sang.

When I was done, another member of Congress whom I had not met asked me to sing for his group of visitors, so I sang two verses of “Amazing Grace.”

Of course, there are those on the Hill who do not want singing in the Capitol because it is considered a form of protest. And there have been some other Christian groups and musicians who have been less sensitive to the space.

It is an honor and privilege to be there.

While I would not just go there on my own and sing, if a member of Congress asks me to do so, I will.

A few weeks ago, a reporter from WORLD magazine followed me as I made my trek. If you would like to read the article, you can do so at this link or on the image below.

I will be returning to Capitol Hill in November as Congress returns from the elections. It will be a time of intense change. It remains to be seen what the composition of the House and Senate will be after the elections. Members and staff are already thinking about the changes that could come.

Virtually every election could be decided by whether Christians go to the polls and vote. Many churches and pulpits remain silent or ambiguous about issues and candidates, thinking that if they speak out, they are being political.

House members have limited time to vacate their offices when they leave Congress, while senators normally have more time to clear out their space. Members will change, offices will change, and staff will change, yet God remains the same.

Pray for members of Congress and staff. Pray for the nation. Pray for revival.

God bless,

Steve