Greg Austen

When I worked as a leader at the center of national pro-life ministry for six years, I couldn’t talk openly about the dangers of Christian nationalism without being canceled. This meant that, if I still wanted to tell the truth and steer folks in healthy directions, I had to find creative ways to do so. Without naming Christian Nationalism or specific politicians, I often did this through some version of what I called “The Trust Chart,” something I’ll now share, unpack, and illustrate.  

Justice is our common ground but we’re solving for two very different things

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

Micah 6:8, NIV

Let’s begin with the assumption that we’re all good-hearted people who care about justice. From there we’ll examine two paths that diverge quickly and significantly based on what they’re solving for. The first, normal or Christ-like political engagement, is laser-focused on heart-change. The second, the path of Christian Nationalism, has its eyes fixed on political power. These two paths, solving for two very different things, require…

Two very different approaches

A normal or Christ-like approach to justice will prioritize mercy, humility, the rest of the Beatitudes, shalom, and the gospel. Of course, mercy is the second of the Micah 6:8 big three. It’s the type of mercy that could be translated kindness (ESV) and, on this side of the Resurrection, recalls the kindness of Jesus, the friend of sinners. In gratitude for his mercy, we eagerly embrace the last of Micah 6:8’s magnificent trio: humility. It’s no accident that humility is also the gateway to the kingdom in the Beatitudes and the first one listed. In the Beatitudes, humility is called being “poor in spirit” or spiritually bankrupt. Like the old hymn says, “Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling.” What are the other Beatitudes besides being “poor in spirit” (humility)? Lament, meekness, mercy, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, being sincere or pure in heart, peacemaking, and being persecuted for righteousness’ sake.

A Christlike approach to justice will also care deeply about one of the Bible’s major themes: Shalom, the Hebrew word for peace. The Beatitudes do highlight peace-making; however, peace needs to be emphasized even further as it’s the flip side of justice. As my friend and fellow EPC pastor, Joe Kim, pointed out, “When Christians say that the world is broken, we mean more specifically that Shalom is broken. Justice then, is the restoration of Shalom and the mitigation of the effects of its loss. To do justice is to restore Shalom. And this is why justice and peace are so inextricably connected. You cannot have one without the other.” For example, if you’re incensed with the recent terrorist atrocities against Israel, “doing justly” also requires that you wrestle with solutions that protect Palestinians and the people of Gaza, as well as bring peace—as much as possible—to the entire Middle East. Or suppose you’re angered by the chaos and suffering caused by unchecked illegal immigration. In that case, biblical justice requires that you also care about the suffering and brokenness that many undocumented families or refugees are running from. What’s more, if we think of sin as “the vandalism of Shalom,”[2] we’ll know that we, as well as the whole world, need the gospel—a word that some Christians need to be reminded means good, not bad news. Indeed, Christianity is the justification of the ungodly. Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection have dealt decisively with sin and death, once and for all, for all who believe (Heb. 9:26).

Christian Nationalism’s approach is very different in that it uses whatever works to defeat the other side. The logic is like the common trope in Western movies needed to save a town gone bad: Hope for or get the meanest person with the biggest guns. He or she could be ruthless and sleep with whomever whenever. It doesn’t matter as long as they clean up the town.

In this scenario, the Beatitudes and civility are not only unnecessary, they’re a detriment to what needs to be done. As we said in our definition of Christian Nationalism last week, over time “the Beatitudes are deemphasized, shoved in a corner, and eventually gutted from the Sermon on the Mount. Meekness is replaced with dominance. Mercy with winning. Peacemaking with power.” The “whatever works” approach of Christian Nationalism is not Christ-like but pragmatic—again, whatever needs to be done practically to get the job done. Examples of pragmatic statements are things like “Abortion is not a winning issue.”  or “We learned with Bill Clinton that character doesn’t matter.”  My point here is not to challenge the truthfulness of either of these statements but to show the subtle shift in allegiance from following Christ to pragmatism—again, whatever works to get political power back and make America great again.

And this brings us to the trust part of the Trust Chart.

Why trust matters in Christian ministry

My dad has had a hatred for organized religion and a serious distrust of pastors for over thirty years—that is, until recently. If you know my family’s story, you know some of the reasons why.[3] A few weeks ago, however, when I went to see him in his long-term care facility, I found him in a church service with his new lady friend. The fact that he had a new lady friend wasn’t a surprise; it was the church part. I had met his new love interest and knew that he had made it clear to her from the start that he was willing to do anything with her but two things: go to church and play Bingo! I certainly was curious but didn’t say anything until he brought it up later when we were playing Scrabble. He explained, “It’s this pastor. He’s a really kind person—the real deal like you. He has stopped by my room on several occasions with no agenda and has been interested to hear my story. I’ve never felt like he’s trying to preach at me. Even when he teaches the Bible, he handles it well, going verse by verse. His messages are very interesting and practical with lots of stories. I want you to meet him, Greg.” Needless to say, I’m eager to do so, as well as thank this pastor for his example.

What was it that caused my dad to listen to this pastor? At some level, he felt respected, listened to, and loved without an agenda. Moreover, he had come to trust this pastor personally as well as trust his responsible, non-manipulative, use of the Bible. My dad’s heart seems to be softening.

Again, if we’re solving for heart-change, trust is essential as it’s the foundation of any relationship. This is why God allows divorce in the case of adultery, as adultery is the greatest breach of trust. It’s like taking an axe to the most sacred of relationships.

But, if you’re more interested in getting the power back and willing to do “whatever works,” as is the case with many expressions of Christian Nationalism, trust is irrelevant or optional at best.

Bonus: short-term vs. long-term fruit

My dad’s story reminds us that ministry flows at the speed of trust. We all know this but forget. And, although following Christ is more about faithfulness than results, God’s ways are associated with fruitfulness. His normal MO is to move slowly, however, and moving at his speed and doing things his way means ministry that’s focused more on the long-term than the short-term.

Let’s use the pro-life issue of abortion as an illustration comparing the long-term fruit of heart-change with the short-term fruit of legislative wins.  When my three children became adults, got married, and my daughter and daughters-in-law became pregnant, they never asked, “I wonder what the law of the land is regarding abortion.” No, they immediately celebrated the life growing inside of them. Why? Because they loved God, had been taught to value pre-born life, and loved children. In other words, their decisions to protect and bring the life growing inside of them into the world were reflexive. In saying this, I don’t mean to imply that these decisions aren’t more difficult when you don’t have financial, family, or other relational support, or that Christ doesn’t forgive sins; only this: When you repent and believe the gospel, and are discipled, the Holy Spirit transforms your heart and you learn to celebrate life and love children. Because of these long-term investments, you don’t need legislation because your desires (or wants) are transformed. And let’s be honest, on this side of Roe being overturned we’re all getting fresh reminders that if you really want an abortion, you’ll find a way to get one. In other words, overturning Roe didn’t eradicate abortion; it only moved it to different (individual states) and harder-to-address (pills) places. Alongside all this, Planned Parenthood isn’t the easy “pro-choice” villain anymore as, because of access to medication abortions, over 63% of women are now their own abortion providers.[4]

My point here isn’t to say that we shouldn’t care about just or unjust legislation; it’s that only gospel-centered ministry that prioritizes heart change can bring about long-term results—including permanent, robust legislation that reflects the heart of God. The courts can make abortion and injustices against moms illegal, but only God through his church and healthy homes can make these things unthinkable.

Sadly, Christian Nationalism’s prioritizing of political power and a “whatever works” approach has only yielded short-term and fragile legislative changes. And, because this approach ignores civility, the Beatitudes, and a relational approach that establishes trust, we can all look forward to even more hostility when “the other side” gets power. Rich Stearns, President emeritus of World Vision, describes the challenge before us with uncommon candor:

“Casualties of the culture war: truth, civility, love of neighbor, integrity, character, empathy, peace, reputation of the Christian faith and maybe democracy. Time to rethink the strategy.”

Tweet from 2020

[2] Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin (Grand Rapids: MI, 1995), 16.

[3] I wrote about this in How I Became a Christian Despite the Church available on Amazon.

[4] https://abcnews.go.com/US/medication-abortion-accounted-63-us-abortions-2023-new/story?id=108166416