I don’t think anyone would disagree that our country is divided, polarized, and showing horrifying broken places in our systems and in our humanity. Most days we seem to have lost the ability to have civil discourse, work together and work towards a more thriving America in so many ways.
I struggle daily with all these things. Being in relationship with people who think and act differently than me is really difficult. I struggle with the differing value systems that seem too hard to overcome. And yet, somehow we must. I have to keep going back to God to give me the strength to see people as beloved, like He does.
It’s. So. Hard.
Let me give some context to why this is so hard for me personally. For most of my life I was raised in the white evangelical church and then went on to go into vocational ministry with a large evangelical para-church organization. I did that for 16 years. I was raised to believe that if you were a Christian you voted Republican and that was that.
So imagine my surprise when I moved to Portland, OR and found that some of the most generous and kind people were the non-church going Democrats. They were the ones serving the poor and marginalized, caring for the environment and loving their neighbor. It wasn’t necessarily Christians at all. And then I met people in the church who loved Jesus and voted Democrat. Then I became aware of the African-American church that historically leans Democrat. Categories blown.
It made me stop and rethink my theology on politics and what God’s word actually said. Turns out, I was trained culturally to believe certain things that weren’t so so clear biblically. So now, watching the white evangelical church align themselves (75% in 2020) with a man who is unkind, mocks others, demonizes immigrants, abuses and rapes women, lies, cheats and is a convicted felon yet is still supported and able to be a candidate for President is horrifying to me.
I was raised to believe that character matters. Caring for the poor, the marginalized, and the oppressed matters. Caring for a child after they are born matters. God is for ALL people, not just America. So when those things have been abandoned by parts of the church, for the for the sake of gaining political power, on a good day it’s disheartening and on a bad day I’m down right disgusted.
Fun fact, Jesus isn’t a Republican or a Democrat, he’s not white and he has no desire for earthly power.
My relearning many things has made my faith and relationships feel messy. It’s made politics feel messy. It’s made Church messy. And yet, I know that I’m supposed to care about these things because God cares about these things.
We have to let our theology inform our politics, not our politics inform our theology. (Although, if our theology is harmful or distorted, so are our politics.)
The next four months are going to feel long and painful before the election. I have to keep reminding myself that no matter what, God is with us in it. I want to be led by my faith and values and I want to remember that others are beloved, even when I see so much hatred and rhetoric.
I wanted to pass on some books and resources that I’ve read/listened to and will be referring back to to help me through the next few months.
- Loving Disagreement— Fighting for Community Through the Life of the Spirit by Matt Mikalatos and Kathy Khang
- Politics for People Who Hate Politics: How to Engage without Losing Your Friends or Selling Your Soul by Denise Gitsham. This book was spurred on by a conversation with me and my angst and dysfunction on this topic. You’re welcome world. It’s full of lots of Scripture if that’s what you’re looking for.
- The Ballot and the Bible: How Scripture Has Been Used and Abused in American Politics and Where We Go from Here by Kaitlyn Schiess
- The Liturgy of Politics: Spiritual Formation for the Sake of Our Neighbor by Kaitlyn Schiess
- The After Party: Toward Better Christian Politics by Curtis Change and Nancy French. There is also a small group study you can do that is awesome and has videos and a guide to follow on their website.
A couple books to help you understand how we got to where we are in the church as far as the Evangelical church goes are:
- Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation by Kristin Kobes Du Mez. I had so many aha moments in this. Also felt VERY discouraged and convicted on my own role as someone who had been in full-time ministry in this space for a long time. Remaining complicit was no longer an option for me.
- The Kingdom the Power, and the Glory—American Evangelicals in an age of extremism by Tim Alberta
A great documentary:
- God and Country
A couple podcasts that I listen to every week and find helpful are:
- The Holy Post
- Pantsuit Politics
IG accounts I love to follow are:
- Sharonsaysso—politically unbiased
- Rich Villodas—pastor and writer
- Jemar Tisby— Author, historian and professor
- Benjamin Cremer. He’s a pastor and has a great newsletter that has fantastic teaching on current topics, what Scripture has to say about it and lots of links with other resources on the topics.
Here’s the thing though, we can have all the resources we need but if we aren’t also taking care of our own mental and spiritual health in the next four months it’s going to be harder to navigate without overwhelming anxiety and angst.
As I think about not just surviving this season, but walking through it with some form of health, I’ll be reminding myself to:
- take social media and media breaks
- use the unfollow or snooze button on social media if needed
- go for walks
- pray
- stay grounded in my own relationship with God, and avoid those who only speak and motivate with fear and fuel violence
- keep following helpful sources
- don’t demonize others
- be a part of the solution.
I firmly believe that we are here to steward our lives well. We are here to bring Jesus’s kingdom to the place we live and that means taking action to love our neighbor in word and deed. We can be a part of the change in our communities and we can vote. We don’t have to sit back idly and complain, we can be the hands and feet of Jesus while we keep a kingdom perspective in a fallen world. I long for a world that loves well, doesn’t force beliefs on others, cares for the poor and marginalized, values all people, and fights for systematic and racial justice.
What are you doing in the next 4 months to stay sane? Are there book, resources or people you follow that you find helpful?