Houston, We Have a Problem; The 'Others' Are Everywhere

The Others are everywhere. They lurk around every corner, in every mall, and in every restaurant and school. They serve you at theaters, teach your kids, take your money at the bank, and pour your coffee. Can you feel it?BY BOB FABEY Editor's Note: This article is an excerpt from Bob Fabey’s book NotMyJesus taken from the “Houston, We Have a Problem” chapter with permission. Fabey's commentary is also part of TogetherLA's series: How Would Jesus Vote?Can you sense the cold tingling down your spine when you think there are people out there who aren’t like you? It’s real, my friends, and if you aren’t careful, they’ll get you!They will change culture and laws, teach your kids the wrong things, infect society with their viruses, and kill the dreams of millions. They will challenge your worldview and communicate ideas you don’t like. They will vote for people you won’t vote for and push agendas you don’t agree with. Simply put, they are out to ruin you.This is how people felt about the Jews in Nazi Germany in the 1930s, and it’s what helped turn a previously respected group of people into objects. Once people are objects, it doesn’t take much for you to begin treating them as such. Ask the Rwandese what that produces. They will tell you what genocide looks like.When people are The Other, they are "less than." They are no longer someone’s child, mom, or dad. They are nothing. They have no feelings that count, no thoughts of value, no redeeming qualities or anything that could contribute to anyone. When that is the case, you can treat them any way you like. You can place them on rail cars like cattle—to begin with. And you know where this mentality leads.The truth is, we do this all the time. Maybe not literally, but in our minds. Every action begins as a seed in the mind, so those kinds of thoughts need to be challenged. Each human being has dignity. Every person on the planet deserves equal treatment, even when they disagree with you and even when they make you angry.Think about what happens when you find out your friend, co-worker, or family member voted for Trump for President. Maybe you voted for Trump, and you’ve experienced people condemning you because of it. You may have ten thousand things in common with someone, but if they vote for the wrong candidate, they are out!Maybe you vote for abortion because you believe it is the woman’s choice and you have experienced people calling you names. Perhaps you are gay, or you have gay friends, and the issues surrounding gay marriage produce conflict and Othering.Honestly, you can pick any topic and there will be someone who disagrees and who will be happy to let you know you suck because you disagree with them. Men vs. women, dogs vs. cats, Ford vs. Chevy, Mac vs. PC—disagreement occurs all the time. These disputes are producing something in us as a society that didn’t exist just a few decades ago.READ: America, Fireworks and JesusForty or 50 years back, a disagreement didn’t mean you hated someone; it meant you disagreed. Now, disagreement implies that you are full of hate, stupid, and not worthy of the skin you are outfitted with. The prevailing ethos is that if you disagree with someone, you hate them.This hate, real or perceived, drives an incredible wedge between people when name-calling, culture-bashing, and Othering is the norm. It is normal to belittle. It is normal to attack. It is normal to make fun of those who don’t agree with you. This isn’t to our credit, and once we do these things long enough and with enough ferocity, we are only steps away from cattle cars.Bob Fabey (www.bobfabey.com), author of NotMyJesus, is an Anglican priest with over 20 years of ministry experience with a variety of organizations. He holds a Master's Degree in Divinity and a B.A. in History from the University of Montana. Although Montana will always be his home, he resides in the greater Phoenix area. He loves to travel and hang out with his wife and kids, practice Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and drink coffee.

Jesus Didn't Fit Politically or Socially; Probably Wouldn't Now Either

If Jesus walked among us today he would probably not fit neatly into any of our political categories.BY ROBERT CHAO ROMEROMatthew 25 MovementI don’t think he would endorse the full political platform of either the Republicans or the Democrats because each party has biblical blind spots. Two thousand years ago, Jesus didn’t fit neatly into any of the major social groups of his day either.

ONE IN A SERIES:HOW WOULD JESUS VOTE?

The Sadducees were the party of the religious and economic elite, and they controlled the Temple. Their response to the weight of Roman colonialism was political compromise — partner with the Empire, and protect their own personal interests as much as possible. The Pharisees of Jesus’ day largely overlapped with the Zealots, and their approach was to obey God’s law, pray hard, and wait for the right moment when God would sanction their military revolt.The Essenes embodied a third response to the corruption of their day — withdraw from society and form a separatist religious enclave.Jesus did not align himself with any of these three approaches, and so earned the scorn of all. Like the Zealots, Jesus and the early church spoke prophetically against the evils of Roman imperialism, yet also taught his followers to love their enemies and to go the second mile (Matthew 5: 41, 44). In alignment with the approach of the Essenes, he taught his followers to be holy and set apart (Matthew 5:48; 1 Peter 1: 15-16), and yet also to be salt and light in the midst of a broken world (Matthew 5:13-16). And, to those who would seek to emulate the pattern of the Sadducees and others by mixing their divine calling with the pursuit of earthly riches, Jesus warned:“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matthew 6:24).We see echoes of these three approaches today in the United States. Our modern day Sadducees align themselves with elite economic and political interests, and are willing to compromise their moral values through political alliances which support their self-interest. We have our Zealots — on the right and the left — who, fueled by animosity towards their enemies, lack an overarching vision of the Beloved Community which includes all. And, we have our contemporary Essenes, Christians who have given up on the world and seek to be a self-segregated community unto themselves.Now, as then, I think that Jesus would confound all of these approaches and categories, and earn the support and scorn of right and left, conservative and activist alike. To the church in America today, I think he would remind us of his own prayer, and also the words of Paul:“I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (John 17: 20-21).“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ… The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!’… But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” (1 Corinthians 12: 12, 21, 25-26).As the Body of Christ in Los Angeles, we need one another. I need you. You need me. And this cuts across political opinion, cultural heritage, and different views of immigration. As sisters and brothers, we cannot afford to divide ourselves. And this is not just sloppy sentimentality.We should lean into our differences of opinion, rest in the tension, and seek the Holy Spirit together to come up with practical solutions for the tough problems of our day and the suffering we see around us.We must show equal concern for one another, giving greater honor to the parts that lack it in our society, and suffer with one another. This is what Paul taught. And this is what Jesus modeled for us in his life and public ministry — in Galilee.History teaches us a lot about how Jesus might vote were he to live in the United States today, based upon his social context of Galilee. Galilee was the place where Jesus was raised and did most of his public ministry. When God chose to become incarnate in human flesh, He chose to be a Galilean. In contrast to Jerusalem, which was the socio-economic, political, and religious center of the Jewish community, Galilee was looked down upon as a distant borderlands region and cultural backwaters where Jewish, Roman, and Greek cultures mixed dangerously and uncomfortably, and where Jewish residents were bilingual and spoke with an accent.Galileans were the uncouth and unrefined “country bumpkins,” or, to use another analogy, Galilee was “the hood.” Nazareth, Jesus’ hometown, was shunned even by Galileans themselves. As Nathanael famously quipped, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” (John 1: 46). Most Galileans were peasants and farmers, and they pined under the weight of double oppression. They were exploited by the economic and religious elite of their own people, as well as crushed by the injustices associated with Roman imperialism. And when Jesus launched his movement to transform the world, he began in Galilee and, from this exploited community, chose his first followers and movement leaders. Latino theologians say that this was all no accident, and that Jesus’ selection of Galilee offers a special window into God’s heart.They call it the Galilee principle: Those that society rejects, God calls His very own.The Galilee principle offers another clue as to how Jesus might vote were he to live in Los Angeles today. Jesus would probably vote in such a way that extended special compassion to those of the Galilees of the present — South L.A., East L.A., Compton, San Bernardino, Santa Ana, and all those places that are shunned and overlooked by mainstream society. He would care about their families and kids who didn’t have enough to eat or have access to affordable housing, healthcare, or a quality education.He would be deeply disturbed by the 75% rise in homelessness in Los Angeles, and the 55,000 people in Los Angeles who have no place to call home. And his heart would break for the thousands of Latino families who have been inhumanely separated due to unjust immigration laws, as well for the thousands of children who have been ripped from their parents’ arms at the border and placed in cages.Having been a child refugee himself, Jesus would deeply empathize with their suffering.In this historic moment, let us offer ourselves “as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God,” for this our “true and proper worship” (Romans 12:1). Let us not conform to the political patterns of this world — right or left — but be “transformed by the renewing of our minds.” As we follow the Messiah of Galilee in this way, we will be able to “test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will,” and according to faithful biblical conscience, vote accordingly (Romans 12:2).Rev. Robert Chao Romero is "Asian-Latino," and has been a professor of Chicana/o Studies and Asian American Studies at UCLA since 2005. He received his Ph.D. from UCLA in Latin American History and his Juris Doctor from U.C. Berkeley, and is also an attorney. Romero has published 15 academic books and articles on issues of race, immigration, history, education, and religion, and received the Latina/o Studies book award from the international Latin American Studies Association. Together with his wife Erica, he is the co-founder of Jesus 4 Revolutionaries, a Christian ministry to activists, as well as the co-chair of the Matthew 25 Movement in Southern California.

America, Fireworks and Jesus

I grew up during the Cold War. Tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union were high as each side vied for the upper hand around the globe. In a frantic effort to keep the other side from ‘winning,’ conflicts and wars would begin to stem the tide of Communism or to stop Democracy in its tracks. Threats were made, shoes were pounded, and missiles were placed. A war between the two superpowers and their thousands of nuclear weapons seemed inevitable. Then something weird happened.

BY BOB FABEY

We won.We won the Cold War. The Soviet Union collapsed seemingly overnight. The Berlin Wall, a division for so many years, was torn down. The communist countries fragmented across Europe and Central Asia. Our great enemy was defeated.For as long as I could remember, the United States was the ‘good guy.’ We were nearly always mentioned in comparison to ‘them.’ Songs like “God Bless the USA” by Lee Greenwood made it clear. “At least I know I’m free.” Of course, that meant ‘they’ weren’t. The United States stood for freedom, independence, opportunity and apple pie. But without the great enemy, we had no one to compare ourselves to. We were the country that stepped into the gap in WWI. We courageously rebounded from Pearl Harbor to join forces with the Allies in WWII to defeat Nazi Germany and the Axis powers. We stayed firm while the Soviet Union collapsed. But who are we now?It appeared, after 9-11, we had a reason to come together, a common enemy to fight. We are discovering that terrorism isn’t defeated with bullets and bombs. It turns out that everyone is against terrorism. In that sense, we aren’t that special. We do not have a galvanizing force, a cause that unites and inspires us to rise to the occasion and it is tearing us apart.Across the board, in media, politics, the internet, and social media, we have found more that divides us than what brings us together. We are told that if we disagree, we hate. Civil discourse is a thing of the past, exchanged for shouting matches and sound bites. Fissures and cracks become chasms we can’t seem to overcome.Enter July 4th.You could argue successfully that this holiday has lost its original meaning in the same way capitalism has swallowed Christmas and Easter. You would get no pushback from me on that. Still, if we look at what July 4th means, we have a chance, if only for a brief moment, to come together as a nation. If I could choose one word to describe what it means, I would choose ‘Opportunity.’Our founding fathers wanted a land of opportunity to grow and develop without the oppression of British rule and taxation. They wrote documents, fought battles, alliances were made and broken, and the United States was born. We fought for this land and this opportunity. In fact, we fought one hundred years later, among ourselves for what this opportunity would look like. Our opportunity has been hard fought and won. It’s ours. We earned it.So what kind of opportunity does July 4th bring?Not long ago I attended a Major League baseball game. It was a beautiful summer evening, the kind perfect for baseball. There were beer, hotdogs, and people watching the game with anticipation. It couldn’t be more American. The good guys won, and after the game, the fans were treated to a beautiful firework display.Some of the crowd had slowly shuffled from the stadium but those who stayed made their way to the lower levels and waited. The first steak of light turned the crowd a strange blue color as the firework launched high over our heads. When it exploded, it was close enough for sight and sound to go together. It created a semi-circle of white with another explosion of red in the middle. Despite the fact we were staring at a Chinese invention, everyone in the stands stared in awe. Red, white and blue glory. ‘Merica.This scene was repeated over and over, with different colors and different sounds. You’ve seen it. It was amazing. For some reason, I decided to turn around and look at the crowd. What I saw left me speechless.The faces of everyone watching were tinged with a slight sense of joy and hope as they lit up with red, blue, green or white colors. I saw different economic classes sitting together. There were different races all staring into the nights’ sky hoping to see the next wonder. Different ages were transfixed as they gazed at the display.Then it hit me.This may be part of what heaven is like. All these folks, with all their differences and ideas and experiences mesmerized by what they are seeing. One thing, one person bringing peace, unity, and hope. Jesus. Could it be that part of what we experience in heaven is a sense of peace as we see our savior? It boggles the mind, but if I’m honest, I hope it contains something like that.The 4th of July brings that scene to mind each year. And each year, whenever I watch fireworks, and whoever I am with, I look at the people. I watch their faces light up with wonder and hope, and I am reminded of heaven and the hope I have in Jesus.Maybe it is a thin connection, but I think it is there. We pray “On earth as it is in heaven” in the Lord’s Prayer. I don’t think we are supposed to wait around to go to heaven. Jesus invites us to participate in revealing His Kingdom on earth, here and now. Maybe not in totality, but signs, markers and experiences of a different kingdom, a different rule, and a distinct people. Our lives are to give glimpses and flashes of something incredible, something worthy of awe and wonder. God’s people are designed to re-present him to the world.While those around us have their heads down or are mired in despair, we have the opportunity to reveal a different Way. Where there are discord and disunity, we have the opportunity to bring peace. We have the opportunity to point people in a different direction, lift their heads and help them get caught up in the beauty of God through His people. With every forgiveness offered or a kind word spoken, we flash brightly in the darkness. Every time we chose to bless and not curse, we explode against powers and principalities engulfing our lives. Whenever we lift our chins to the One who Saves, we receive the strength and power we need.If we can so bask in the glow and beauty of Christ, we can reflect Him to those around us. Christians can be the very thing this country and world needs.The 4th of July can be more than a reminder that we ‘aren’t them’ or that we won the Cold War. It doesn’t have to harken back 200 years. It can still propel us forward. We can still grasp the opportunity we have in Christ. It can be a reminder that we can be the beauty the world needs. The love of Christ is powerful enough to galvanize and unite people from across any spectrum for the purposes of God.The next time you see some fireworks and think of America, think of the opportunity you have in Christ. Seize it and watch people fall in love with the one who can transfix and heal even the greatest chasms.Bob Fabey speaks, writes, and mentors helping people to embrace their God-given dignity and give it to others in extravagant ways. An ordained minister based in Arizona, he is the host of 3rd Space Podcast and has just released the book "Not My Jesus," a humorous, yet poignant look at faith, culture and life. http://bobfabey.com/

TOGETHER LA SERIES: HOW WOULD JESUS VOTE?

What Does The Bible Teach About Church and Politics?

The church's involvement with politics and culture has always been a subject of debate. Some believe that the church should totally refrain from politics, practicing faith quietly and being a gospel influence in predominantly social circles. Others believe that the church should infiltrate politics and culture in an attempt to "Christianize" the society as much as possible.

BY STEVE CHA

ONE IN A SERIES:HOW WOULD JESUS VOTE?

In an attempt to answer this timeless question, we must look at what the Bible teaches concerning the church and politics.Working in government is a vocation as much as it is working in the restaurant or entertainment business, which a believer is free to participate in. In whatever occupation Christians engage in, they are to do it to the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31). This means that Christians are to do their work with the utmost integrity, leading rightly as bosses and submitting humbly as employees (Eph. 6:5; 1 Pet. 2:18).At the same time, Christians must never compromise their faith and values, especially if the government forces or pressures them to make decisions that would cause them to stumble into sin (Acts 5:29). Political work often times involves making choices that have moral undertones to them. In such cases, Christians must always do what is right to honor the Lord, even if it should incur the disfavor of the public. How a Christian goes about pursuing the right course of action takes discernment, especially when working with a group of unbelievers who are not open to the Christian worldview.A Christian makes righteous decisions in the political realm because it is God's will that all government institutions act in accordance with God's righteous standard. Romans 13:1-4 teaches that Christians must submit to the government because God has ordained it to punish wrongdoing, reward virtuous deeds, and enact justice on behalf of victims.A government cannot do this properly if their definition of what is right and wrong is skewed, which is what we are experiencing in many nations around the world. This is why Christians who are engaged in politics should use their God-given position or legal privilege to help enact civil laws that reflect God's standard of justice for the government. These laws should be designed to punish criminals for acts such as theft, murder, false testimony, and to defend the poor, the weak, and the marginalized against unjust treatment. Practical ways that pastors and lay people in the church can make a difference in politics is to vote for laws that uphold righteousness and deflect sin in society, such as banning abortion, sex slavery, pornography, racism, and to support ethical laws or programs that would encourage the family institution, public safety, and equity.It must be said that the job of the church is not to become a sort of governing institution that seeks to overtake the government and force conversions on heathens. Unprofitable things have happened in history when governments use religious identification to justify war or conquering other people groups. Jesus never forced the gospel onto unbelievers, although He warned of the eternal consequences of rejecting His offer of salvation (Matt. 7:23; 25:46; Jon 3:16-18).However, this does not mean that Christians should totally eject faith out of the workplace.Opponents of Christianity expect this of Christians when they advocate "separation of church and state." The truth is: There can never really be a separation of one's moral beliefs from the affairs of the state, because much of political affairs are intertwined with moral and ethical issues. There is no neutral ground. Both the word of God and the world's philosophy have presuppositions regarding how life is to be conducted morally, which is why the Christian must be grounded in the truth of Scripture and to allow that to guide his or her actions in the workplace.A Christian must not only exemplify Christian character, but to also work for laws or causes that support righteousness and truth. He must do everything in his power to also preserve the freedom of Christians to organize, worship, and proclaim the gospel to others. He should not be complacent about people in government or laws that persecute Christians and restrict Great Commission activities.The church's involvement in politics must always start with the desire to see people in the field come to know Christ. There is a clear difference in honoring God with our practices in politics and lording it over the public with threats and compulsion. The Bible teaches us that it is not laws that will change the hearts of the people, but the word of God through the gospel (Rom. 7:1-9).That is why the church should be involved in politics. As in any other occupation, Christian politicians have the opportunity to evangelize unbelieving colleagues with the hopes that they might come to salvation in Christ. Only when the hearts of people are regenerated by the Holy Spirit and the word of God implanted in them, can we see changes in society.A similar principle can be applied to Christians in the cultural debate. Should saints participate in cultural dialogue or retreat entirely? This is also a matter of discernment for the Christian. There are instances when Christians are better off not being involved in certain forums because their efforts are akin to casting pearls before pigs (Matt. 7:6). This includes internet forums like response columns or webchat dialogue. However, there are other cases in which dialogue is extremely profitable. This includes television interviews, radio, publications, and public lectures. In such cases when there is potential for a large non-Christian audience to hear the Bible's stance on given issues, and the Christian has the opportunity to be salt and light in front of them.The church's role in politics does not have easy, clear cut applications. The issue always comes back to the question of how much should faith be mixed with politics, or how much should faith shape politics?The Bible teaches that the world will never have a perfect government until Jesus returns to set up His kingdom. Neither will the world have a perfect culture of faith, righteousness, and unity until then. There will never be peace in a godless world. The focus of the church until the second advent of Christ is to be faithful to the Great Commission - which is evangelizing the lost and discipling people (Matt. 28:18-20).That is the key behind a Christian's involvement with politics. That is what it means for God's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matt 6:10).Steve Cha is the teaching pastor of Grace City LA.

Jesus Also Came to Disrupt the Political Status Quo

I remember hearing in Government Class that there was a separation between church and state. The state couldn’t interfere with the church and the church wasn’t supposed to interfere with matters of the state (government).

BY CEDRIC NELMS

In learning more about Jesus and the Gospel, it is apparent that Jesus was very much involved with matters of the state. His involvement was based on justice, righteousness, and showing that the last will be first and the first will be last in the Kingdom of God.

ONE IN A SERIES:HOW WOULD JESUS VOTE?

On June 5th, we will go to the polls to elect people into governmental office and to affect policy. There has been this misnomer that politics and our beliefs don’t mix. For those of us that are followers of Christ, there has always been this intersection of politics, faith, and the church.There has been this lens of looking at politics from the perspective of: “What would Jesus do?” This level of tension was seen in our last Presidential election, where white evangelicals and black evangelicals were divided between the context of who would collect their vote. Black evangelicals were questioning if their pastors were voting and leading their congregations to vote along faith lines or from a posture of privilege. This caused some evangelical churches to see an exodus of their African American congregants.For the church of today there has to be those hills that we will stick our sword in the ground as a testament of what we have been called to do and who we follow. As followers of Christ, we have a responsibility to not forget that there are some issues that are non-negotiable when it comes to our walk with God. In the Book of Amos 5:23-24...Take away from me the noise of your songs;to the melody of your harps I will not listen.But let justice roll down like waters,and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.Amos reminds us that we have to be mindful of not getting too caught up in the activity of our way of living (power, money, privilege) and lose the heart for justice and righteousness. Justice and righteousness need to be the bookends to WHO we are as Christ followers and WHOSE we are as children of God. If we are voting based on our status, privilege, or prejudices, then we are forsaking the least of those amongst us.As voting followers of Christ there has to be a compassionate attitude that is taken beyond the veil of the booth, that is not concerned about voting along cultural lines but voting along what is in the best interest of the marginalized. So, when we ask the question of ‘is there a way to vote as a Christian?’ The response is yes! Yes, we should be voting with the mind and heart of Christ. We should remember that God is not a respecter of person. We should remember that Jesus was not connected to a political party but was sold out to the establishment of the Kingdom of God.Politics encompasses ALL of society, culture, race, economics, age, and gender to name a few. When we think about politics and our faith, we should look at examples from the life of Jesus. Jesus was one that came to disrupt the political climate. Jesus was one who disturbed the status quo. One of the ways that He did that was by speaking truth to power. Jesus was speaking truth to power during his turning over the tables moment in the temple. Jesus was speaking truth to power when he told the men, those of you who are without sin cast the first stone. Jesus was speaking truth to power by detouring his agenda to have a life changing conversation with the woman at the well. He gave her the living water of righteousness instead of the contaminated water of system. Jesus was speaking truth to power when He called Zacchaeus from the tree to build a relationship with him. He looked pass his height restriction to transform his condition. Jesus was speaking to truth to power when he met the woman at the well. He loved her for who she was and was not prejudice against her.Jesus came not to be like those politicians at that time, but to redeem them through the work and attitude of the Gospel. Our politics can’t be converted to God and not be converted to the least of us. When we vote we have a responsibility to remember Luke 4:18-19.The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,because he has anointed meto proclaim good news to the poor.He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captivesand recovering of sight to the blind,to set at liberty those who are oppressed,to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.Remember we have some people like Zacchaeus’, some like the woman at the well, some people like the woman that committed adultery, some people that are imprisoned like Paul was, that need us to remember our faith and the one that we follow when we vote.[ictt-tweet-blockquote hashtags="#HowWouldJesusVote" via=""]Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. - MLK, Jr[/ictt-tweet-blockquote]Rev. Cedric J. Nelms is Lead Pastor at Chosen Generation Fellowship Church. On the web: www.cjnministries.com

The Politics of Jesus and the Color Purple

My belief and thoughts on the politics of Jesus would take more than just one blog article to make my point but this is an attempt to give a general overview.

BY PETE WATTS

This past election cycle was challenging for African American Christians who wanted to be faithful to their Christian values and faithful to their neighbors who are marginalized and maligned by an American Christianity that sometimes doesn’t have the same viewpoints and approach to solving the world’s problems in practical ways. This is what I believe that one Christian hip hop artist tried to express in an article in Christianity Today a couple of years ago.

ONE IN A SERIES:HOW WOULD JESUS VOTE?

I find it interesting that Franklin Graham is going on tour with this campaign “Decision America,” encouraging Christians to vote when in the past much of mainline evangelical Christianity said politics and religion shouldn’t mix. In the historic African American church and amongst mainline black evangelicals they have never separated the two. They understood there needed to be engagement with biblical values AND social justice.Let me start by saying that I don’t believe that people who voted for Trump and were Republican are all racists just as others on the right shouldn’t believe that anyone who voted Democrat supports abortion. At the end of the day, where I draw the line is at the same ledge that James Baldwin did when he said, “We can disagree and still love each other unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist.”If Jesus were to vote today he wouldn’t be on the side of the Republican ticket or the Democratic ticket. His agenda would be and always has been a Kingdom agenda. Today’s politics and climate of our American culture and Christianity has led us to take sides based on our own flawed interpretation of scripture to confirm our own agendas.Two issues in particular I’d like highlight to prove my point. There has been documented and historical evidence proving the reality of voter suppression. This is played out in both Texas and North Carolina most recently. Coincidentally, both of these states were in violation of federal law. This was the Republican Party’s attempt at subverting the Voting Rights Acts by enacting what has been termed as Voter ID Laws. Yes, on the surface it sounds legitimate but when you dig deeper there is something more nefarious that targets specifically African American communities in poor areas.If Jesus were to vote I’m quite confident he wouldn’t vote Democrat but would be in line with the Democratic party on the issue of Voter suppression.Quite interestingly, just as vigorous in defending the right to vote, Jesus would also defend the right to religious expression and fight against religious exclusion. This idea of exclusion plays out in different ways, including the far left’s launch of an all-out attack on those who have Christian beliefs that are contrary to the agenda of Democratic party. There are examples and reports of many people who are running for office and who have run that received threats on their lives because they supported the right to life, or stood against same sex marriage. Some of these pastors are leading predominantly African American churches, too.Jesus dealt with similar trappings and issues in the gospel. One pericope that I point to specifically is when he was asked by the Pharisees and Herodians in the gospel of Mark about paying taxes. The Bible said he saw their hypocrisy and how they wanted to trap him in his words. Jesus responded as one who is about the Kingdom of God and not the politics of the Pharisees or any other religious or political group of his day. He said, “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God what is God’s.” When you look at his response it doesn’t say that he was on either side of the issue exclusively.This shows us that the politics of Jesus doesn’t land on one side of the coin but both. In considering how Jesus would vote, we should consider the perspective of the Kingdom and what an upside-down Kingdom looks like when fighting for the poor, disenfranchised, the privileged and the outcast.Unfortunately, I think Franklin Graham got it wrong when he encouraged Christians in California to vote because they need to penetrate the “blue wall.” I think if Jesus was preparing his people to vote, it would be because the wall he wants people to penetrate is purple.That’s the color of the Kingdom. It’s the color of royalty.Rev. Pete Watts oversees World Impact’s mission for all of Los Angeles and its surrounding communities. Born and raised in Southern California, Pete holds a Masters in Communication and Education. After serving as an elementary school teacher, he opened the Thurgood Marshall Entrepreneurial Academy Charter Middle School in 2007. Pete has also felt God’s calling him to preach. After being ordained by Missionary Baptist Church in Compton, he and his wife Didi launched The R.O.C.K. Church in 2008.To find out more about Rev. Pete Watts, check out his blog.

Evangelicals Don't Agree on Politics, But We Must Learn To Disagree Well

Evangelicals disagree on politics, but how we disagree is more important than building consensus.

BY NAPP NAZWORTH

There were at least five different types of evangelicals in the previous presidential election: Clinton supporters, enthusiastic Trump supporters, reluctant Trump supporters, protest voters who supported neither Clinton nor Trump (also called nevertrumpers), and non-voters. While most of the media attention has gone to the enthusiastic Trump supporters, they represented less than half of all evangelicals. In reality, evangelicals were quite divided on presidential vote choice, as they are on many political issues.Evangelicals, by and large, share a common theology and worldview, so why can't we agree on which political candidates to support?I've observed evangelicals from across the political spectrum make the case that the differences are due to some spiritual or theological deficiency among those who support the "wrong" candidate. "Once we all have the correct view of scripture, we'll agree on politics," many evangelicals have assumed. My younger self would've agreed with that statement. I now find it incredibly naive. I've criticized evangelicals who support our current president, and will continue to do so. But I don't think our political differences signal a spiritual deficiency. That would be akin to the sort of legalism Paul slams in Galatians. ...Napp Nazworth, Ph.D., is political analyst and politics editor for The Christian Post.Contact: napp.nazworth@christianpost.com, @NappNazworth (Twitter)

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Editor's Note: The above article is part of Together LA's "How Would Jesus Vote?" series that was kicked off this week with the TLA exclusive: Do Religion and Politics Mix? Franklin Graham Answers On Decision America TourFranklin Graham Takes Fight to 'Godless' Progressives in California With New Tour [Christian Post]