Who is Influencing Who?
In January of 2024, I did my civic duty and voted at the Iowa Causas. I did not go alone. My wife and kids came with me. We took the kids because we wanted them to see the voting process in Iowa. We also wanted them to know why it is important to vote. I took them because it was an opportunity to disciple them. We are Christians who live in a political world, and I want to help them discern what it means to follow Christ while casting a vote.
Well, we came, we saw, we voted, and we conquered. We went home and flipped on the news to see how Iowans voted across the state. While watching a mainstream media channel, the commentator said, “This candidate is going to do well in Northwest Iowa because a lot of Evangelicals live out there.” It is a statement that I have heard before, but for some reason, I paused to consider a question. Who is influencing who? Are politicians influencing Christians, or are Christians influencing politicians?Perhaps the answer to my quarry is yes. Both sides are playing footsy underneath the table, and both sides have taken off their shoes so that they can feel the sensation of skin. If this is true, then I need to ask the following question: why are Christians allowing themselves to be influenced by politicians?
For the moment, I am not going to diagnose the symptoms, but I want to address the disease.The disease is the belief that politics solves everything. The disease is the belief that getting the right person in the Oval Office will put this country on the right track. While I do not want to discount the influence of politics on culture – I voted for a reason – politics does not solve everything. As a matter of fact, politics is what creates the mess in aisle 13 at the grocery store. Politics makes the mess and then blames the grocery store for the mess.
Another problem with the disease is the belief that the government is the institution that unites people. I know Democrats and Republicans who affirm this kind of statement. I know Christians who believe that government unites citizens, but they use a different word to describe their unity – Patriotism. Do not get me wrong. I am grateful to be an American. I believe in the ideals that are supposed to be the foundation of this country. But blind loyalty will only lead you to the edge of the cliff and then to the bottom of the canyon.
Stop Messing Around
There has to be a way out of the unhealthy co-dependence between Christians and politicians. Christians need to wake up and realize that once a politician or a political party believes that the Christian voting block is not useful, they will move on to the atheists. In short, Christians need to stop playing footsy, get up from the table, and remember what Christ is asking of them. The call from the Captian is to seek the reformation, renewal, and revival of culture under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Does this mean that Christians should engage in politics? Sure, but with the right motives and goals in view. Slapping lipstick on a pig does not mean the pig ceases to be a pig. The same goes for that legislative issue that goes your way. Politics cannot solve the deep problems within our culture. It can only mask the problems. The Des Moines Metro, the state of Iowa, and the entire United States of America need Christ. The prayer is for another Great Awakening for local communities and states who know that there is an objective authority outside of themselves and that authority is not the President, a Senator, or the FBI.
An Approach: Generational Discipleship
So, how do we course-correct our current trajectory? An approach for Christians is to engage in intentional discipleship. The next generation of Christians needs to see the problem and then be able to apply the proper remedy. Older Christians need to think and act generationally by learning from their mistakes and investing in those who can make a more significant difference than we can. Reformation and revival might not happen while I am alive, but reformation and revival could happen during the lifetime of my children or my children’s children.
So, where do we go from here? Let’s tap into US history and acknowledge, with the framers of the Constitution, that the US, and every nation throughout the world, is under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Regardless of the structure of the government, Christ is Lord. The next generation needs to know this, and they need to know how to live in a country and a culture under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
The Way Forward
I want to suggest the way forward for discipling the next generation by looking at two Christian principles. The first is that Christians need to seek wisdom from God. Far too often, Christians seek the wisdom of the world, which is why we are currently playing footsy with politicians. We read in the Book of James,
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. – James 1:5–6
If you lack wisdom about how to solve the breakdown of the natural family, you need to seek God. Before you write a well-worded email to that politician or show up to the state capital to give your local elected official your brilliant idea, seek God. Seek wisdom from God by praying with the Bible open to the Book of Proverbs. Systemic problems in the culture need more than a bandaid. They need reformation and revival, and reformation and revival are not going to come through the legislature.
The second principle is just as important as the first. My generation and the next need to learn obedience to Christ’s teachings. No one wants to go to hell, so the idea of a Savior is comforting. However, Jesus Christ’s life, death, resurrection, ascension, and current reign do more than save. The gospel allows us to walk in obedience to Christ. Here is Titus 2 for the win.
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people…
Christians love the first part of verse 12 and then glaze over the next few verses. However, the next several verses demonstrate obedience to Christ. The gospel does more than save. It is…
…training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. – Titus 2:11–14
The Lord Jesus Christ redeemed his bride from something and to something. From worldly passion and to be self-controlled. Christ redeemed his bride from ungodliness and to be his holy possession. All of this from and to business causes us to walk in obedience to Christ. Let’s take the great commission passage from Matthew 28 as our new marching orders for discipling the next generation.
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” – Matthew 28:18–20
There are several sermons from these three verses, but for the purpose of my point, I want to highlight that this generation needs to disciple the next generation to observe and keep the commands of Christ. This means that my generation needs to know and keep the commandments of Christ in order to pass them down. These marching orders from Christ will take work, but it is the kind of work that ushers in reformation, revival, and renewal in our communities. But before we go about this good work, Christians need to stop playing footsy with politics.
So Let’s Get To It
If you are thinking, “ok, thanks for the monologue, but what are some practical steps to seeking reformation, renewal, and revival through discipleship?” Well, that is what the Iowa Institute of Theology and Culture is all about. We are gathering together Christian leaders throughout Iowa who want to make an impact on the next generation under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. If you sense the urge to make a difference, we invite you to join us.
– Edmund Burke
