Politics have long been a source of disunity between Christians, and that dynamic seems to have worsened in the last few years. This series on politics is not designed to tell you how to vote. Our goal is to expose ways we are all susceptible to idolatry and confusion, and to show better ways Christians can bring our virtues to bear on public life. If politics is about living together, then what better place for Christians to practice love for God and neighbor?
ARTICLES
Presidents’ Day and Godly Authority
Samuel Melvin reflects on Presidents’ Day and what good and bad uses of authority look like.
Am I a Political Pharisee?
Austin Suter warns against making our personal convictions requirements for other church members.
Memorial Day: Remembering vs. Not Forgetting
Sam Melvin writes on the importance of memory and shares an often forgotten observance of Memorial Day from the Civil War.
Loving America Well on the 4th of July: It’s Our Christian Duty
Pastor Bobby writes about our duty and dual citizenship—an earthly one, which is American, and a heavenly one, secured for us by Christ.
How Can You Support Black Lives Matter or President Trump?
Michael Kelsey makes the case for extending the right to nuance consistently to our brothers and sisters.
PODCAST
Should Christians Get Political?
Should Christians get political? Should our politics stop at the church’s front door? Why are Christians who talk about race accused of bringing politics into Christianity? Isaac and Austin discuss these issues and make the case that Christians need to be ok with folks disagreeing with us.
History of Political Idolatry
Dr. Timothy Paul Jones joins the show to lend his historical expertise to our conversation about political idolatry.
July 4th Special: Black and Patriotic with Bobby Scott
Pastor Bobby has a particular interest in black history and all the ways our nation has failed to live up to its ideals in its treatment of black people. Despite this, Bobby is a proud military dad and a patriotic American. We talk through that tension and think about what it means to love an imperfect nation.
Political Convictions: What Are They?
Dan Darling joins the show once again to talk through political convictions. It’s no secret that this is a difficult political season for a lot of Christians. Dan and Austin discuss how we should arrive at our political convictions and how we should relate to brothers and sisters who have arrived at different convictions.
Political Convictions: How We Hold Them
Pastor Joshua Chatman joins Austin to talk about how to be agents of unity in difficult political seasons. We learned during the last election cycle of the deep divides within the Church over politics. Josh and Austin talk about what we should not do, and what we should do as we relate to our brothers and sisters who think differently about politics.
Political Idolatry: Do We Know it When We See it?
Austin and Isaac are joined by Dr. Derwin Gray to discuss political idolatry in our churches. We wanted to hear from him about this difficult topic, and the fruit he’s seeing from it in our churches. We discuss the different manifestations of political idolatry, its causes, and the terrible fruit it produces.
Political Convictions and Race with Justin Giboney
Justin Giboney joins Austin and Isaac to talk about politics and race. Political convictions aren’t the only things that divide Christians. We are still divided by ideas about race as well.
Political Myth: American Exceptionalism with John Wilsey
Dr. Wilsey has much to teach us about history and how Americans have thought about themselves and their place in the world. While American Exceptionalism has sometimes referred to an imperialist mindset, Dr. Wilsey encourages us to lean into the legacy of people like Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and Dr. King who called us to live up to the ideals expressed in our nation’s founding documents.
Political Virtues: Faith
Pastor Steve Bateman hosted Austin and Isaac for a discussion on the political virtue of faith. Pastor Steve believes that despite the trouble regarding Christianity and politics, Christians should remain politically engaged. By exercising our faith and being reasonable (Philippians 4), we can bless our neighbors with our political engagement.
Political Virtues: Hope
Joshua Chatman joins Austin to talk about the Christian virtue of hope and the difference hope makes for our political engagement. Josh introduces several categories of hope which he and Austin then apply to political engagement.
Political Virtues: Love
Kaitlyn Schiess joins us to think about the virtue of love, and how we as Christians can exercise this virtue in service of our neighbors. How can we love our neighbors with our politics? How can we cultivate the virtue of love in our hearts? How have we gotten this wrong in the past? What’s the role of the local church in all of this? We discuss all of these questions and more, as Kaitlyn shares insights from her book, The Liturgy of Politics.
Political Myth: The Lost Cause
Austin is joined by Dr. Robert Elder, Associate Professor of American History at Baylor University. We’re talking about the Lost Cause – the myth that the Confederacy was a noble institution and those who fought for it are worthy of our veneration. The truth is more complicated, as we discuss. Dr. Elder is a model of both clarity and charity in how he deals with this topic and shows how we can be both clear-minded about the past without wrongly celebrating things we should denounce.
Political Myth: Christian Nationalism
Dr. Paul D. Miller is a professor at Georgetown University’s school of foreign service. He is a veteran, patriot, and author of The Religion of American Greatness: What’s Wrong with Christian Nationalism (IVP: 2022). Dr. Miller joins Austin today to talk about Christian Nationalism – what it is, isn’t, and what it gets wrong about both the church and the state.
The Christ We Share is More Important Than the Politics Don’t with Mark Dever
Trillia Newbell and Isaac Adams chat with Mark Dever. The three of them discuss interracial dating, single-issue voting and racial divisions in churches, the American flag in worship gatherings, and other topics as they talk about the importance of understanding and remembering.
Who Threw That Bomb? Politics, Systemic Racism, and Repentance with Jemar Tisby
Isaac Adams and Jemar Tisby as the two talk about politics, which so often combines race, religion, idolatry, and power. Still, Tisby maintains Christians are political creatures who need not shy away from politics.
