I’ve never been a contestant on Survivor or a castaway like Tom Hanks, but when it comes to Christian cancel culture and politics, I’ve been voted off the island a time or two, and in ways that have left me feeling exhausted. Indeed, much of my ministry these last ten years has been not only to the de-churched, often the victims of toxic fundamentalism, but also to politically conservative culture-warriors. To the former group, I’ve tried to provide safe spaces for talking, tears, and time; to the latter, deeper discipleship in listening, learning, and loving. Sadly, during this same decade and especially on social media, I’ve observed that the actions of many who identify most stridently as Bible-believing Christians (unlike those “liberals!”) look less and less like Jesus and more and more like the most arrogant person in the room. You know, the kind who rarely listens, bullies others with their rhetoric, and has to have the last word.
Because I’m a pastor and probably because of my time in the pro-life movement, many expect that I’ll be an avatar of their political beliefs. Although I’ve found this hard to navigate at times, I’ve continued to resist. I resonate with Dr. Russell Moore who recently told pastors that they need to make sure they give a sense to their followers and congregants that I “cannot be a mascot for whatever your particular political issue is and still effectively lead you spiritually.”[1]
As I continue to address my tendency to isolate (Prov. 18:1a) and check out of the conversation too early, here are ten resources that have helped me survive and grow in this political season. As you’ll see, some are as simple as memes or a song, but all have been graces in the last year. I hope you’ll find one or more of them a blessing—the kind worth passing on:
- Memes:
- Song- “The Kingdom of Jesus” by The Porter’s Gate, Jon Guerra, and Sandra McCracken
- The Good Faith podcast- “The Politics of Threat Detection” with David French
- The Good Faith podcast “How Abortion Twisted Up Trump and Evangelicals” with Curtis Chang and Pete Wehner
- The After Party—this is a free video course that our church plant is hosting this fall with Curtis Chang, David and Nancy French, Russell Moore, and Charlie Dates “for pastors and people who know there’s a better way.” It’s designed to remind us that “the intersection of faith and politics doesn’t have to be messy” and give “an on-the-ground, biblically based approach to navigating today’s challenging political environment.”
- Book- The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory by Tim Alberta—Tim is a journalist for The Atlantic and an EPC pastor’s son. Besides the EPC connection, there is no other book that I’ve read to date that captures so much of my personal views and journey. In many ways, it is written as a lament and full of rich stories. I recommend listening to it as an audiobook, however, because it is long, and it is great to hear Tim read it in his own voice.
- Book- Jesus and the Powers by N.T. Wright and Michael Bird—anything by N.T. Wright is insightful and both of these authors live outside of America, so you get more of a global perspective. Additionally, this book makes a ten-page case for liberal democracy that I found invaluable.
- Book- Christian Nationalism: A Constructive Conversation—I wrote this one and it was therapeutic to do so. An easy read full of insider stories, it still represents the clearest definition of Christian nationalism based on research that I’ve seen to date.
- Trinity Forum’s podcast on “The Challenge of Christian Nationalism” with Mark Noll and Vince Bacote.
[1] This quote is taken from Session 5 of The After Party. See description of the course above.