Greg Austen

Hi All!

Christian Nationalism: A Constructive Conversation is now available for purchase! It represents the most important thing I’ve wanted to say to the American church in this cultural moment. It’s also intimately tied to my journey as a national leader in the pro-life movement for six-and-a-half years, as well as my present work as a church planter.

You can check out the description and purchase it at the link below. Also, after reading, please send me feedback, and thanks in advance for helping me get the word out. To give you more of a feel for the spirit of the project and its audience, here are the first couple of pages- enjoy!

Please Read this First!

Thanks for your investment in reading this piece. I realize you’re doing so because you’re curious or have some interest in Christian nationalism, someone you trust recommended this resource, or maybe you know me personally and want to learn or at least give me a fair hearing.

Whatever the case, I don’t take your trust and investment lightly and there are five important things I want you to know right up front:

1. As an older Gen-Xer, “keeping it real” has high value for me. This means that in the coming pages, I promise to tell my story and express my views with integrity. In telling the truth, I may not always be able to tread lightly, however, I will do my best to say what I need to say with both candor and kindness. This will be especially true in chapter five where I’ll share several inside stories from my six and a half years as a national leader in the pro-life movement. During this time, 2017-2023, I served as Executive Director of Church Outreach & Engagement for Care Net, the largest evangelical umbrella organization of pregnancy centers in the country.
2. I care about you, although I don’t care which party you identify with or who you vote for. If you doubt my sincerity on this, it may be helpful to read Bonus Track #3: “The Problems with Single-issue Voting” before reading the rest of this booklet. 
3. Whenever possible, I will try to include perspectives from those who disagree with me, including direct quotes from some of my closest friends.
4. I can’t talk about our topic fully and openly without talking about Donald Trump. I wish I could, however, to not do so would be to avoid a significant elephant (excuse the pun!) in the room. Indeed, Trump’s popularity and influence in America have been profound over the last decade. To treat him as “the one who must not be named” would result in superficiality and something less than a constructive conversation. Additionally, I believe there is a legitimate case to be made for voting for a Trump administration policy-wise. Even some prominent “never Trumpers” have acknowledged and reminded others of this.^[1]
5. Whether you’re a Democrat, Republican, Independent, or something else, I hope this conversation helps us listen to each other better. We all have different journeys and perspectives that affect us profoundly and shape who we are: our age, where we grew up (urban, rural, “the buckle” of the Bible belt, etc.), the people around us (Christians, irreligious, etc.), the inside stories we’ve been privy to, and what we read and listen to (Fox, New York Times, etc.). Regarding this last item especially, we all struggle to find fact-based news sources these days. This reality alone should give us grace, as part of our disconnect is we don’t all trust the same sources. Compounding this issue, is the fact that many of the more thorough and nuanced resources have paywalls and can’t easily be shared.

There’s been a ton of great resources that have been created in the last few years related to our topic. I’ve done my best to reference and quote from some of the best of them. This booklet is unique, however, in its brevity and insider’s view. As you’ll see, as much as possible, I’ve also taken great pains to bring diverse audiences along for a shared conversation. I’ve also tried to keep this resource as “real-world” and nonacademic as possible. Although I draw from and cite scholarly resources as needed, I’ve tried to also include popular memes from social media platforms as they represent beliefs and perceptions (sometimes even fun and creative insights!) that people actually have. Additionally, there are some recommended resources in the final chapter, as well as three “Bonus Tracks” at the very end that include helpful charts that you may wish to use and adapt for your setting.

Finally, my prayer is that the simplicity of this booklet helps us all express our views with more clarity; that its honesty challenges us to search our hearts, repenting and making adjustments where necessary; that its kindness helps us treat each other, as well as our enemies with more gentleness and respect; that its heart for younger generations helps us better understand and empower our children and grandchildren. Above all, I hope its boldness, despite being connected to a very flawed author, gives us greater appreciation for the beauty of Jesus, drawing us closer to his heart.^[2]

Thanks again for your trust and sitting with me for a spell, 

Greg

[1]https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/11/opinion/columnists/donald-trump-election.html

[2] Matthew 11:29.