When I was growing up in the 1970-80's I got pretty interested in politics. I didn't want to be shipped off to Afganistan or Iran. I was involved in a pretty cool program at my high school called "American Studies" my senior year. It was an unusual program that wasn't tied to a set schedule. We had days where we would spend more time in English. Other days especially in 1980 we spent a lot of time in Political Science. Our teacher was also an Assistant Principal. He was a huge part of the Republican Party. At that time in Alabama, Democrats were very conservative. But the Republican Party was starting to become a power in Alabama and still is today. Our American Studies program allowed us the opportunity to go out an campaign for the Presidential Candidates as part of our class. A few friends of mine chose to campaign for Ronald Regan. The night of the election we were invited to the Republican headquarters in Tuscaloosa to watch the election results. Because of Jerry Falwell's "Moral Majority," Regan and the Republicans swept the country. I was excited about it and soon left for Samford University with all intentions of getting a Law Degree and entering politics. I thought that God would use me in Politics to change the world.
Fast forward a few years and I became disillusioned with politics. It seemed like pastors and church leaders were more concerned with winning elections than winning people for Christ. The Moral Majority gave way to the Christian Coalition and if you were a true Christian you would vote for the candidates that the prominent pastors told you to vote for. As God began to give me more grace in my spiritual gifting, I became apolitical. I'm conservative, but I began to notice that most people serving in politics didn't actually "serve." They just wanted to get elected. So, they may check off the boxes from the Christian Coalition, Moral Majority, and any other group, but they didn't actually vote that way.
I actually got off of Facebook for almost a year in 2016 because of politics. Politics divides. That is why Jesus didn't come as a political leader. In Psalm 20:7 it says, "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord or God." (NIV) I don't get why men and women who have been called to reach people for Jesus get involved in politics. I'd like to meet one Christian who actually lives by their Christian principles as a public servant. I've never met one. And what is worse, we have prominent pastors and college presidents going all-in on our current president no matter what he does. I didn't like the alternative we had in 2016 but I would never say, as the President of a large Christian University in Virginia, that the President can do no wrong.
When are we as the church going to put our hope in God instead of politics?
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