# Who Are You Following? An Evangelist's Question > At the RNC's first midterm convention in Dallas, a South African evangelist told Christians the loyalty question runs deeper than politics. - Title: Who Are You Following? An Evangelist's Question | Shortify - Summary: At the RNC's first midterm convention in Dallas, a South African evangelist told Christians the loyalty question runs deeper than politics. Test every… - Keywords: faith, politics, evangelism, dallas, christianity, news, Following, Evangelist's, Question, Dallas Express - Source: Dallas Express — https://dallasexpress.com/city/south-african-evangelist-warns-and-encourages-christians-at-dallas-rnc-convention - Author: Dallas Express - Published: 2026-09-14T12:00:47+00:00 - Read time: 2 min - Topics: faith, politics, evangelism, dallas, christianity, news ## A question under the question Lindy-Ann Hopley says the real issue for Christians is not which candidate or pastor they back. It is who they are actually following. > We can only go as far as our teachers go, so we must ask ourselves, who are we following? ## One teacher above all For the founder of Beautiful Witness Ministries, the answer starts with knowing Jesus personally, then testing what teachers say against Scripture. > There are a lot of teachers out there, but there is one teacher of all teachers. ## From broken to sent Hopley traces her ministry to an encounter with Jesus after a stretch of deep personal wreckage. She does not soften the before picture. > I was completely broken at the time. Wilder than the zoo. ## A dream about America She was in the US in January 2020, just before the pandemic hit. She says God gave her a vivid dream of revival coming to the country. ## She changed her mind At the time she did not think God belonged in government. Studying what the Bible says about believers in public affairs moved her off that position. > America needs an awakening. It's known religion, but not the living God. ## Faith back in Washington Trump set up the White House Faith Office in February 2025, plus a Justice Department task force on anti-Christian bias and a Religious Liberty Commission. ## Present is not partisan Hopley rejects the idea that showing up in politics makes her political. She uses her own history of preaching in hard places to make the point. > When I went into the brothels in Amsterdam, you didn't ask me if I were a prostitute now. ## If you don't lead Her bottom line is that stepping back from public life does not leave a vacuum. Someone fills it either way. > If you're not going to lead, someone else will. ## Sharia in the conversation Hopley named political Islam as a reason to stay engaged. Her comments landed as a Dallas Express film screening and panel on the topic ran alongside the convention. > Right now, we have Islam, which carries with it a political agenda and a takeover. ## The line that matters The debate turns on a distinction: Muslims practicing a protected faith is not the same as a movement seeking to give religious law coercive power. ## Know them by their fruit Hopley warns Christians to scrutinize anyone claiming biblical authority, echoing Matthew 7 and Paul's warning about people who will not endure sound doctrine. > The Bible is a manual for us, but most of us don't read the manual anymore. ## A Texas test case Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico frames his politics in Christian terms, but critics point to his church's Planned Parenthood giving and his defense of abortion rights. ## Isolation is the trap Scripture alone is not enough, she says. Believers need each other, and churches should equip people to go out rather than just fill seats. > The reality is the enemy will isolate us. ## Key takeaway Test every teacher against Scripture and their fruit, and know Jesus yourself instead of borrowing someone else's version.