How Then Shall We Vote?

Another presidential election is upon us in the United States, and our society has again regressed to an “us vs. them” slugfest. These are contentious times, more so than in the last few election periods. Many pastors are finding their congregations embroiled in factious turmoil because the political polarization has infected their churches. The witness of the Church is at stake today as our congregations navigate the minefield of political positions.

How can we help our churches respond to this cultural crisis? I don’t think one sermon will do it; we need to take the time to build kingdom values into the lives of our congregations so they can talk together about hard issues as a Christ-centered community, showing each other brotherly love and mutual understanding.

Insights from Ephesians

When I pastored Lake Avenue Church in Pasadena, California, our congregation was incredibly diverse, economically and educationally. It was a multinational, multicultural, multiethnic culture, multilingual congregation—with as many as 70 different languages spoken. Our church had deep blue and red affiliations, with activists on both sides.

As you can imagine, we had many battles—some of which played out in social media, to the dishonor of God. I realized I had to start building into the lives of our people the kind of values that would enable us to tackle difficult issues together. So, I started teaching a series from Ephesians, a book written to a church with two very diverse people groups, Jews and Gentiles, both of them loving Jesus—but at odds with each other.

Insights from my congregation

I realized that I needed to intentionally seek out divergent voices to help me lead our church family toward unity. So, I started a collaborative sermon preparation group with whom I would share my sermon ideas ahead of time. Sometimes, the feedback they gave me was quite challenging and eye-opening. I remember a young Chinese man telling me, “I know what you’re saying is true. I can see it there in the Bible, but it will just go over the heads of all my family. They won’t get it.” And I said, “Okay, what do I need to say instead?” I knew I had to learn to preach differently. Over time, we began to find a “fragile unity” in that congregation as an unexpected family: not unexpected to God, but unexpected and different from what’s in the world.

It’s been God’s eternal plan to bring Jew, Gentile, black, white, red, blue, male, and female—all of us—into one family where we will live in unity, respect one another, and together become witnesses to Jesus. This is how people will see that we’re his followers: if we love one another (John 13:35). And when we’re divided, we undermine the gospel message itself and the credibility of who Jesus is.

Unity despite differences

In this election season, it’s important to remind our congregations that this is not their Church. It is God’s body. In the Church, we have differences of opinion on many political issues, but we need to reflect his tri-unity. That doesn’t mean compromising our core beliefs, but it means listening more, discussing issues compassionately, even allowing ourselves to be shaped by the opinions of others. It means running to embrace those who think differently than we do and being willing to see God’s image in each and every person who crosses our path.

I call this “intellectual hospitality”: the welcoming of other viewpoints in collaboration, without giving up our biblical convictions. We need to be open-minded enough to say, “Let’s take out the Word and wrestle with what the Bible says about this problem.” We don’t need to fight with each other over political differences.

Red and blue images of God

As you engage in discourse over political issues, it’s so important to remember that each person you encounter is made in the image of God. The God-image imprinted on humans is an awe-filled wonder. Every person carries aspects of the divine, however corrupted and badly deformed. Constantly remembering the Imago Dei can immunize us against dehumanizing and thinking less of anyone, especially perceived enemies.1

Here’s how C.S. Lewis put it:

It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics.2

This is the call of Jesus: “A new commandment I give you, that you love one another” (John 13:34). This counter-cultural unity of the Church was prophesied to be a sign to the world of God’s love and power.

I encourage you to listen to your friends, work associates, and family members on the “other” side of the fence and try to understand their point of view. In fact, you may find yourself growing in your empathy for them as you engage in civil conversations about the ideals and aims of each political party. Don’t be afraid to hear their reasoning and discuss your heartfelt beliefs with them. Jesus modeled this in his interactions with Samaritans, Syrian soldiers and tax collectors. He ate with them, heard their stories, and earned the right to speak among them.

Living out kingdom values 

So, my advice to Christian leaders is this—start building these values in your people. It’s “Church 101.” We have been called into this faith community, and it’s Christ’s, not ours. We’re here by the blood of Jesus who’s going to reconcile all things to himself. (Colossians 1:21-23). And we know that every nation, tribe, people and language is going to be part of this one unexpected family. It’s his eternal plan. (Revelation 7:9)

Our primary allegiance and citizenship are to the Kingdom of God. Our true hope for the future is not in any party, leader, movement, or nation, but in the promise of Christ’s return when he will renew the world and reign over all things (1 Cor. 15:25-26). This hope should govern how we speak to one another, how we welcome new people, how our social work differs from the world’s. It’s not just that we feed the hungry. We invite the hungry to become a part of our family and walk through life with them. In doing so, we become his agents of reconciliation.

I often think of Jesus as the moral shock absorber of the sin of the world. All the sin of the world was thrown on him. He received it and did not throw back more vitriol. Instead, he offered forgiveness and a new way of life. If we are committed to Jesus’ lordship and filled by the Spirit of God, then we must come together in unity to glorify God in our world. That faithful witness to our faith is dependent upon us finding a way through this cultural mess together.

Elections don’t take God by surprise

Here’s what my friend, Dr. Joe Stowell, has written, “We should remind ourselves that God will neither be surprised nor disappointed by the election results. In fact, given that Scripture assures us that God sets up and takes down rulers, the presidential election is spot on with God’s overarching plan for the nations (Daniel 2:21, Romans 13:1). There is no panic in heaven to try and figure out what to do now if American voters ‘mess everything up.’ No one doubts that God is wiser than we are and that He knows where He is headed with redemptive history.”3

TEDS alumnus Charlie Dates, pastor of two historically Black churches in Chicago, recently said, “We need to have a humility to ask God to check our impulses…no politician has ever saved us, but it is the Christian’s responsibility to bring the mind of God to bear in the public square.”4

This election season is an opportunity for the Church to rise up and in unity show Christ’s love to our divided world. It’s essential that we, as leaders, pray for wisdom and call our people together to pray. As Oswald Chambers said, “Prayer is not the preparation for the work; it is the work. Prayer is not the preparation for the battle; it is the battle.”5