I am reminding myself of this fact: it is a discussion about white evangelical voters. Here is the comment from David French:
The bottom line is that the percentage of white Americans identifying as Evangelical grew from 25 to 29 percent between 2016 and 2020, powered mainly by the fact that 16 percent of Trump supporters who didn’t identify as Evangelical in 2016 started considering themselves Evangelical by 2020.
Read moreDavid French has a similar journey to mine in his geography. I find this the more I read him. He lived for decades in the Northeast as a conservative Republican. I lived in Minnesota in a very liberal metro area as a conservative white pastor. He moved to TN. I moved to Alabama. He found he was still “homeless” in a way. I have discovered that as well.
Read moreMore and more, thoughtful (mainly young) Christians say to me, “I’m pro-life, I believe in religious freedom and free speech, I think we should welcome immigrants and refugees, and I desperately want racial reconciliation. Where do I fit in?” The answer is clear. Nowhere.
David French wrote this in his longer piece found HERE.
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In a new book on the liturgy of politics, Kaitlyn Shiess wants to re-form our thinking as believers. It is a necessary conversation.
We have to think about racism—and white supremacy in particular—as a disordered form of worship. So not only are we dealing with how the church should respond to political questions raised by racism, like how to address real problems in policing—on a deeper level, we’re dealing with a failure of discipleship. This is one of many reasons I tell people my book is ultimately about the church rather than politics. If we had a stronger sense of the church’s global and historic character, and if we valued loyalty to the body of Christ above loyalty to any political community or movement, then we would feel a stronger obligation to fight politically for all our brothers and sisters in Christ, no matter their race.
Find more of this interview with Kaitlyn Schiess HERE.
You can also here an interview with her HERE.
This election need not divide us, especially as the people of God. As believers, we should not cave to fear tactics (though we do almost every election cycle). As David French puts it, we need to take the deep breath before this plunge.
Given that we know who controls the destiny of our nation and the fate of its people, do we not more fully understand Paul’s admonition in 2 Timothy 1:7—“for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”
Understanding God’s sovereignty is not to surrender fatalism. We have our role to play in God’s plan, and seeking justice is the eternal command for every living generation. But understanding God’s sovereignty should be an antidote to fear—just as God’s commands to love our enemies and to bless those who persecute us should be an antidote to fury and hate.
And so we must ask ourselves. In the coming weeks, which voice will we hear the loudest, the one who says “they” are coming for you? Or the one who reminds us that the Good Shepherd takes care of his sheep?
This is an excellent piece you can read fully HERE.
In how I go forward in a politically divisive age, I continue to formulate my thoughts around the WHY and the WHO.
I listen regularly to Pass the Mic podcast because it comes from two young black Christian men. One is a historian. The other is a pastor. They bring perspective that challenges me and makes me think, especially when I disagree with them.
But this podcast summarizes well (not perfectly) how I am working on my voting process this year. I will not summarize nor will I answer questions asking me to summarize. You need to listen to their voices. I’m tired of summarizing. I need to listen more… as do each of us.
I am working my way through Martin Luther King’s The Strength to Love and my last post had a quote on be tough minded. It can’t stop there.
Dr. King wrote that the gospel also demands we have a tender heart.
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