Category: Clinton

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The Desire for Power

Back in 2016, at the beginning of his campaign for President, Donald Trump spoke to a group of evangelical Christians in Iowa. During his speech, he lamented what he called a lack of power of Christianity and told the crowd that if he was to be elected, Christianity would have plenty of power. After promising that America would be saying “Merry Christmas”, he said, …”Because if I’m there, you’re going to have plenty of power. You don’t need anybody else. You’re going to have somebody representing you very, very well. Remember that.” The rest is history. White evangelicals overwhelmingly voted for Trump and evangelical leaders have been roaming the halls of power ever since.

I see a number of problems in the statement and in the response of so many who call themselves Christians. Nowhere in Scripture are we commanded, or encouraged to seek political power. In fact, the opposite is true. Jesus tells his followers to not be like the Gentile rulers, who wield power over their subjects. We are told to take the low position, to serve others. In Philippians 2, we are commanded to have the mind of Christ, the mind that laid aside the power of deity and made himself a servant and lowered himself to die the most horrible, shameful death known to man. After his resurrection, Jesus told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem, where they would receive power. Not the power of a force that would destroy their enemies, but the power of the Holy Spirit that would cause them to love their enemies.

One of the characteristics of political power is the temptation to believe that the ends justify the means. I believe that is what happened in 2016, and has continued ever since. The same evangelical leaders who loudly proclaimed that character matters when Bill Clinton was in the White House, conveniently forgot that when faced with the reality of who Donald Trump was as a person. Some even began to speak of him in terms that elevated him up to a position that no man should ever be in. Trump was compared to Cyrus of ancient Persia, even King David. Excuses were made, and continue to be made, for his behavior and hateful rhetoric, all in the name of restoring Christianity to a position of power. I believe that this runs contrary to who Scripture teaches us to be.

Giving oneself wholeheartedly to a particular political candidate or position is very shortsighted. Even is Trump is successful and does everything his supporters want, what is going to happen when the political pendulum swings back the other way? Depending on political power and laws to carry out the work of the kingdom of God does not work because when those who oppose those laws come into power, those laws will be changed. For example, if abortion is outlawed during this administration, there is nothing to stop a future administration from coming to power and bringing about the legalization and even the encouragement of abortion on demand. Personally, I don’t believe Donald Trump is really interested in doing anything but keeping power. I believe his “pro-life” stance is a show, like everything else.

I believe that those of us who call ourselves followers of the King of Kings are to live our lives as his subjects, giving allegiance to him first, fulfilling the Great Commandment and Great Commission. If we did that we would do more for the pro-life cause, and other just causes, than we can do by electing certain politicians to office. Man’s power is ultimately weak and fleeting, but the power of the Holy Spirit through the gospel is world changing.

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Christians and Statism

One of the biggest problems I see in the church in America is the problem of statism. A classic definition of statism is “concentration of economic controls and planning in the hands of a highly centralized government often extending to government ownership of industry.” I am not going to use that definition. I would define statism as I see it in this country as the the belief that the state will solve our problems, and that our job is to work to elect the people that will take care of those things.

Usually, statists are thought of as being on the left side of the political spectrum. These are the folks that are accused of wanting the government to control everything, from the economy to health care to individual rights. What some may not realize, is that statists are found on the other side of the aisle as well. Theses would the folks that see government as the means for restoring, or at least protecting, Christianity and ensuring our rights.

Statists can be found all across the spectrum, from the individual who told Bill Clinton that we are his children, to the almost worshipful praise given to Barak Obama, to the statements made about Donald Trump comparing him to King Cyrus or even King David. Look at the way politicians are idolized by the members of their party, and the way they are vilified by the members of the opposite party.

Statists believe that the most important thing in life is ensuring that their candidate is elected to office so that life will be better. Whether it’s returning to some fabled yesterday when we and those who agree with us were on top, or moving on to a new utopia, the prevailing thought is that if our side doesn’t win the country is headed for hell in a handbasket. As our country heads down that dark road, our faith will go down with it, and Christianity will suffer greatly.

When Christians put that much faith in whatever political system we think is best, we forget that we are not just citizens of this nation. We are not just under a certain political system. We are citizens first and foremost of the Kingdom of God, and our first allegiance is to King Jesus. Our King told Pilate that his kingdom was not of this world. he was not afraid of the man who represented the most powerful empire of that day because he knew that Rome was not really supreme or in control. He knew that what would happen to him would usher in the Kingdom of God and that Rome’s empire would pass away, as do all empires. The early Christians did not get in trouble with the political powers because they proclaimed that people could go to heaven when they died. They suffered persecution because they were proclaiming that the real King had come, that the kingdom of Rome was not in charge. They didn’t pledge allegiance to the empire. Their allegiance was to the King of Kings.

The kingdom we are a part of is a kingdom that grows and rules differently than an earthly kingdom. It does not operate by force, whether force of arms or force of opinion and criticism. The kingdom of Jesus operates by a love that sacrifices self for others. It is a kingdom that does not force change, whether by passing laws or ostracizing. Christ’s kingdom grows in ways we don’t always see, much like yeast spreading through a lump of dough. We can’t build for this kingdom by making America great again, or by any other plans a politician may have on the right or the left.

Can we participate in this kingdom of this world? That is up to each person’s individual conscience. You can vote, or not vote. You can work for a particular candidate, or opt out. But whatever you do, as a follower of King Jesus keep in mind that he deserves your allegiance, that all of the political movers and shakers are part of a kingdom of this world and can never build the Kingdom of God, and that other Christians are not only fellow citizens of heaven but are also brothers and sisters who we are to love as Jesus loved us.If we have to make a choice between party and a brother or sister in Christ, we should choose the latter.

The vitriol that is directed toward those who disagree with a particular stance (and I confess that I have been guilty of this) is not right. It is not what should be coming from those who follow Jesus. We can and will disagree on particular points. But we must not forget that we are called to love and serve others. We can and will call out those who are doing wrong. But we must make sure that we do the same when the one doing wrong is a member of our party. We must also remember that, while God may well use a leader we agree with, he can just as easily use someone with whom we disagree.

The early Christians turned the world upside down , not through rallies and revolution, but through the unstoppable power of the gospel of King Jesus and the love they showed for others, even their enemies. May we proclaim that same gospel in our day and time.

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Thoughts on the Election

The 2016 campaign is over and I think it is safe to say that the result is not quite what a lot of folks expected. Full disclosure: I didn’t vote for either of the major party candidates. So, I think I can speak on the result with somewhat of a neutral view.

I believe the last few months have uncovered some things about our country that most of us either didn’t see, or simply refused to see. Throughout the primaries and on into the general election there were things said and done that should never be said about or done to another person. I know that there have been some pretty nasty campaigns in our nation’s history, but that is no excuse for what came out of this election. That is one thing that saddens me.

Another thing that makes me sad is what I saw in the church. I saw people who claim to be followers of Jesus demean others who are made in the image of God, all because they supported another candidate. Questioning the faith of someone just because they don’t wear the same political jersey is not what Jesus had in mind when he told to us love our brothers and sisters. Many seemed to forget that our first allegiance is to the King of Kings and not to a person or party. I have said it before and I’ll say it again; some have sacrificed the gospel on the altars of political influence and prosperity.

I am also saddened by some of what I have seen in the days after the election. People on both sides are doing and saying things that they would condemn and have condemned in the folks on the other side. Folks on the winning side are decrying those who are chanting, “Not my president,” while forgetting that some on their side said the same thing not very long ago. Others are committing acts of harassment and violence against those on the “other side.”

 Americans have forgotten that we are all part of the same nation. We have divided along many lines and made it quite easy for power hungry demagogues to gain power by preying on our fears and convincing us that some of our fellow citizens are bent on destroying us. Even worse, those of us who claim to follow Jesus have forgotten that not only are we fellow Americans, but most importantly we are part of one body. Instead of hurting because one part of the body is in pain, we are telling other parts of the body Christ that they are useless and we don’t need them. As the Apostle Paul said, that is ridiculous! How can we expect the world to listen to us when we are not showing love to those in our spiritual family!

Judging from the past year, we have a great opportunity to show those who are watching the truth, goodness, and beauty of Jesus by the way we treat each other and by the way we treat the least of these in our society. The problem is that we have not been doing a very good job of that lately. May God change our hearts and help us to live like who we say we are.

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Fourteen Days and Then???

In 14 days, the most brutal campaign season we have known will be over. It seems as if this country is more divided than ever before. The divide extends into the church. Regardless of who wins, things are likely to change in our nation.  I am encouraged by the fact that there are groups of Christians who are able to discuss current events without rancor. Jan and I are part of such a group.That is evidence of the Spirit working in us.


 Remember that no matter who is president, Jesus is still the King. We are citizens of the United States, but we are first and foremost citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven and our first allegiance is there. Things may well get difficult for followers of Jesus in the days to come, but we have a Father who is in control of all things and who is always with us, no matter what. Don’t listen to the prophets of gloom and doom. 


Our influence doesn’t come from laws and statutes. It comes from living out the gospel in such a way that people will want to know why we have such hope in the middle of the mess. It comes from showing the world that we belong to Jesus by our love for each other. 

Lift up your hearts! The kingdoms of this world have been unable to stop the Kingdom, and they sure aren’t going to start now.