For the Conservative Christian Dissenter. A Letter.

I want to give a hearty shout-out to those conservative Christian friends of mine who, seeing the temptation for power have rejected it, hearing the loud voice have stopped their ears from it, and being surrounded by the whispers of those who "call evil good and good evil" have said "No, that is not the way" to them.

It is easy for a liberal to reject and not support a person like Trump. I don't applaud my liberal friends for their courage, necessarily. And principled moderates (like me) are simply disgusted by bad debaters and charismatic passion without substance. I don't applaud them either.

I applaud those conservative Christians who, standing on their Bibles, leaning into their Scriptures, think that there is a point where you can no longer espouse "conservative values" without espousing them with your lifestyle; those who think that it is not enough for a candidate to mime the right words and say the right things, rather it is necessary for a candidate to behave in a manner befitting the office.

Your reasons for rejecting this man are diverse - for some of you, he's an affront to true conservatism (c'mon y'all: here's big government in just a different way); for some of you, he's just simply disgusting. But I suspect that at least one common thread links my conservative Christian friends who reject this man alongside my liberal and moderate Christians friends who do the same.

That is: we are citizens of another nation. We are not here for petty political squabbles. We are here to bring salt and light to the world. And my conservative Christian friends who are rejecting Trump are doing so also because they love God's Church, and they see the kind of damage that Trumpism can do to our mission.

This is not some abstract, theological premise, folks. I don't get on a soapbox to expostulate to you or preach to you. I do it because I love God's people and I love God's mission, and I think that nothing hurts our mission more than when we find ourselves in league with those who are the antithesis of our values. It is simply enough, for me, that I see a man who is the distinct apposite of Jesus' Beatitudes. That is enough for me to say "Nope. I cannot support him. Nope. I cannot sign off on his values. Nope. If that's what 'conservative' means, then please take me off your list."

And my sense is that, more than not, my conservative Christian friends who have rejected Trump and his ways are doing so because of their deeply-held, Bible-centered beliefs about what is Good, what is Evil, what is Just, and what is Lawless.


I want you to know that I am encouraged by you. I want to you know, too, that those around you see. Your moderate and liberal friends who do not follow Jesus (yet), will see your stand, and they will say "Ah, maybe there's more to this Jesus person that a political claim." Or, "Maybe Jesus isn't interested in hatred like I think he is." Your stand, declaring "This man is not representative of what I believe" is what the Bible calls "salt and light." You refuse to let your salt become unsalty, to let yourself be sullied by 'the cares of the world.' That is a courageous thing.

I set these words out here not because I want to make a political claim. This is not politics. If it were politics, then I wouldn't have posted anything at all over the past year on this topic. This is about theological courage, it is about standing up for what you believe in, it's about not backing down when peer pressure and social movements want to take you where do you not want to go. Your congregations and communities, unfortunately, are being ravaged by an ideological force that is foreign to the Gospel - that good, sweet, pure Gospel that you received and held onto and clung to. Do not let go of that Gospel, because it is life, it is grace, and it is peace.

Do not be conformed to the pattern of the world, my friend. And I am encouraged to see that you are already standing against "the pattern of the world." Know that there is spiritual warfare all about with this Trumpism thing. It is a real ideological force, and that means that it is a real spiritual force. Dig into that Bible, spend time in prayer, lean into your brothers and sisters whom you love, gather as the ekklesia, take and imbibe the Sacrament, and worship the Lord. These things will encourage you and strengthen you against the powers of Nero.


And you know, and I know, that we are, too, called to pray for our leaders, just as (I hope) we prayed for our past leaders - irregardless of ideological or spiritual bent. So do that also. Let us not stop praying for Trump. But let us be careful how we pray. In days past I would hear leaders (ones who are now convinced of Trump's faith) say "We must pray for the conversion of Obama." Brothers and sisters, let's be real: that is letting our politics invade our private place of prayer. Do not let politics invade your place of prayer. Do not pray "That righteous man" or "That wicked man." Pray, as Paul commands us, "for the emperor," for kings, for all those who are in authority.

Continue to bear the light, my conservative brother and sister. Continue to shine God's good Gospel to those who do not know Him. Reject anything that comes from fear and hate, because those things wish not just to make you miserable and into a political scoundrel, but because those things wish to destroy your witness before men. Remember that it is the Gospel you must hold up for the salvation of many, not political ideas or political claims. No conservatism, no liberalism, no moderatism, no centrism, and no libertarianism has the powers to save a man's soul. Only the Gospel can do that. So be committed to evangelism and to the proclamation of the Gospel.

And continue, as you are doing, holding the standard of Scripture against a leader that some of our Christian voices will not hold the standard to. This is not judgmental nor is it 'whiney.' It is what it means to live our lives based on the Word of God. Hold that Scripture with firmness and with authority, with confidence and with boldness, and with bold, crazy, courageous, and evangelistic love. Lean into the Holy Spirit, and He will take you into Truth, rather than into the nonsense that some espouse to be Truth.


As to your relationships - those that have broken and distressed because of your stance - lean into Grace. But more importantly, remember that letting your light shine is also, let your fruit bear witness of the work of the power of God's love in you. It is more provocative that a person full of love bear strong spiritual fruit versus a person who is full of worldly hate, than all of the words and conversations and provocations in the world. Be the Gospel witness that you have been called, pre-ordained, anointed, and set apart to be, and your Trumpist neighbor, if they be saved, will see. Maybe even repent. Maybe even open their own hearts and learn what it means to love the lost, to seek salvation for the poor, to feed the hungry, to care for the widow and the orphan.

This is a hard thing to live, but when one lives their lives in accordance with the Gospel it is not only Good News to the lost, but it is Good News to the found who have confused themselves with the ways of the world.

So, Go! and be Good News. And thank you for staying and standing True to the Word you have received.

On Post-Evangelical and Post-Charismatic Millennials.

It seems to me that there are folk out there who are trying to make sense of why Christian millennials are so deeply anti-Trump and so "unorthodox" with the party politics of our forebears. (For some that means "they lean Left," while for others that means "they reject partisan politics altogether." Some millennials remain conservatives but deeply reject Trump anyways.)

Here are some interpretations of my generation I've seen. According to the far right, these millennials (including myself!) are:

+ Deceived by their universities (that's a big one)
+ Poorly educated in the Bible
+ Spiritually imperceptive
+ Unintelligent
+ Swayed by peer pressure
+ Lied to by the mainstream media (MSM)

For me, at least, I find these assertions to be more than a little bit patronizing and a lot belittling, especially that last one (I hate peer pressure of all kinds). It's like they seem to be attempting to diagnose an illness without seeing the patient face to face. Where is their image of a millennial coming from anyways? Are they talking about millennials they know, personally? or some stereotyped image of them?

Can I tell you a bit of my own story? How I got "here"? I plan on writing another blog where I can give more flesh to some of these claims, but here's the outline of how I never got sucked into conservatism (or liberalism) in the first place:

Bipartisan Role Models: I've had role models who are both conservative and liberals, and I refute the claims both sides make about the other's immorality. And I know deeply godly Christian people who are conservative and liberal.

Christians of Color: I've made friends with Christians of color, and realized that their politics were totally different from the politics I heard at church, even though we're theologically similar.

Rejection of Obama-Hatred: I have always been thoroughly and totally disgusted by how I've heard Christians talk about Obama. And liberals in general. That sort of hatred and dehumanization is foreign to the Gospel. (Some might say: "We don't hate people, we hate the policies," but their words speak for themselves on that matter.)

In-Depth Scripture Study: I've studied the Scriptures regarding matters like race and God's vision for a multiethnic, multicultural kingdom. I've found most evangelical conversations on race to be deeply disconnected to the Bible (and very rooted in politics).

Taught by Kingdom-Workers, Evangelism-Champions: I learned a lot about matters of race and justice not from those liberal universities but from an evangelical organization (IVCF), an organization that also first taught me the centrality of evangelism. In a moment in history in which evangelical churches are often more interested in politics than mission, I found in IVCF a direct and clear call to spread the Gospel that I was hungry for and never hearing evangelicalism (ironically enough).

Disgruntled by Spiritual Abuse: I've seen conservative Christian leaders advance political causes with an inappropriate use of their spiritual power and influence, something that made me very disconcerted. (RE: passing out voting fliers with only conservative candidates, praying for only certain candidates, endorsements, &c)

Discouraged by Poor Theology: Beyond this I've seen churches and church leaders take hardline stances on political matters (for example: Obamacare) and yet leave more critical theological issues and problems (for example: Christology, mission and evangelism, Trinitarian theology) up in the air. When asked, I've heard "Well, we don't really know for sure about those things. Are they really that important?" Yes, they are.

Less Mainstream Media, More Bipartisan Media: I've always found CNN and FOX and MSNBC and The Blaze and whatnot to be a bunch of politically-charged blowhards. A lot of millennials believe this too. In fact, we're the generation of podcasts, of multiple news medias, of complex viewpoints. We're more likely to listen to This American Life than The CBS Evening News or whatnot. I listen to a lot of NPR, and, I gotta tell you, I'm sometimes a little freaked out about how multi-partisan they are. I've heard them interview Glenn Beck, or Floridians who were pro-Trump, or deeply progressive social activists. And NPR treats them all well - even the Trump folks. (NPR should get an award for being professional in an unprofessional year.) At a time when the MSM is becoming less and less a newsource and more and more an entertainment venue, me and people like me are fleeing to real news. We aren't even partially swayed by the MSM; we don't even pay attention to it.

My Democrat Family: Beyond all this is my family. I come from a family of Democrats on both sides. Sure, I don't see eye to eye with them on everything, but I can tell you the truth that from what I've heard about liberals in evangelicals circles they'd have me think that my own family was a bunch of God-hating, immoral psychopaths. That's not who they are. They are moral people - and some are Christian people! - who taught me how to care, how to treat people with dignity, how to debate an idea, how to raise a family in love. They are also proud union-members, and that's given me some things to think about too. Not too long ago, the Democrat / Republican divide was about unions more than anything else, about workers' rights. When the super-conservatives have made political conversations about very specific things (i.e. gay rights or abortion, etc.), my normal, liberal family members have focused on things that matter to them (i.e. education, workers' rights, etc.), and that has given me a different perspective on politics in general, and made more open to the diversity of opinions in politics.

Rejection of Liberal-Hating: In light of my Democrat family, I have to confess that I have always been deeply bothered by my far-right conservative folks' description of Democrats and liberals as some sort of evil anti-Christain boogeyman. They sling words around like "Leftys" and "SJWs" that are intended as invectives. I've heard them say that "those teacher's unions ruin the schools" or that "those teachers that are brainwashing our children" or whatnot. I come from a family of teachers who are in teachers' unions... Do you think that I don't find that offensive? This sort of rhetoric, maybe even more than it's easier manifestation of Obama-hating, is part of what drives me (and others like me) away from strictly-conservative Christianity. If that's how you'll treat my family, why would I want to hang out with you?

(If I didn't make this clear already, I know some incredible conservative people who are deeply committed to their political claims and who aren't jerks like some of the above claims observe. My claims are in response to specific subsets and specific groups of generally far-right Christian people, and are not representative of all conservatives. I even admire a good handful of godly conservative people who give me hope for a future conservatism not driven by hate.)

In Other Words: I Have My Reasons...
So, what makes me more of a "principled moderate"? Not "godless education," not peer pressure nor bad theology. Rather it's been because of mission-loving, evangelistic Christians, because of Christians of color, because of my disgust with the abuse of power within conservative evangelicalism, because of the idol of conservative orthodoxy, and because I come from a loving family that defies the labels that I've heard attributed to liberals.

It should be clear that this post is not in opposition to conservatism. Again, as I've said before, I know some incredible conservative people. But I write it to let you know that Christians like me - post-evangelical and post-charismatic - are tired of the ultra-conservative assumptions governing our movement, and I suspect that others who identify this way would resonate with at least one of the points I've shared above. We're not abandoning the faith, we're not committing heresy, we're not rejecting the evangelical call to witness, we're not being deceived or pressured into some false ideology, we're not being taught nonsense and believing it...

Instead, post-evangelical / post-charismatic Christians care deeply about God's people, His Church, His Missional Work in the world, and the advancement of His Kingdom, and we think that a conservative-only Christianity shoots itself in the foot and has the temptation to be swayed and allured by offers of power from the State. For many of us, we see the collusion between the Religious Right and DJT as a final representation of this temptation - although for me I have been on this path for more than five years now - and we want nothing to do with it, for the Lord's sake!

It would be a mistake to identify this group of Christians as "seeker safe" (we balk at such unbiblical nonsense) or "emerging church" (we long for deeper, authoritative orthodoxy and Bible-centered theology). In fact, a lot of us still *are* evangelical or charismatic, based on the usual definitions of those terms. But we're finding the hegemony of conservatism harmful to our Gospel-witness, interfering with our hearing the voice of God, inconsistent with the words of the prophets (both ancient and modern), and... unbiblical.

I hope what you get out of this, if you're still reading, is this:

If you're a conservative-only Christian: Hear that we exist. We do not accept your political claims, and we have a little bit of a different political theology than you. We want to be part of your Church, we want you to be part of our Church. We want our liberal brothers and sisters to be in this Church too and not branded as heretics because of politics. We want for all of our ideologies and politics to be held accountable to Scriptures, and that includes your conservative claims that have gone unchecked for a long long time. Be open to us.

If you're a post-evangelical or post-charismatic Christian: Have hope! Take heart! God made a remnant long ago, and He's making one now too. You are not alone, and you are God's people. We're with you.

If you abandoned Christianity because it was too conservative: Stop thinking that politics defines the Christian faith! That lie was told to you long ago and it made you dissatisfied with the hypocrisy that you saw in it. There's something better. Jesus brought a whip to money-changers who thought that the Temple was just for Jews and had plopped their markets in the midst of the Gentiles' worship area. He wants to make space for you to worship Him too.

If you're a liberal-only Christian: HEY! I didn't talk about you in this post. But keep an open mind. Don't just lambast the conservatives because their conservatives. Hold them accountable for the political choices they've made. Keep up that pressure. But hold yourselves to the same standard. Again: Our politics do not define our faith. Our faith defines our politics and it often will lead us in complicated, diverse, and differing directions. Don't make that argument central! But keep up the holding of that 80% to the claims of DJT. We need that sort of rebuke right now. We need grace in that rebuke too. Love is complex.