What Will We Preach?
If you back off from every little controversy in your life you’re not alive…and what’s more, you’re boring! [The truth is] you can be more alive in pain than in complacency. It’s not enough to pray, ‘Grant us peace in our time, O Lord.’ God must be saying, ‘Oh, come off it! What are you going to do for peace, for heaven’s sake?’ It’s not enough to pray for peace. You have to work for justice. You have to suffer for it, and you have to endure a lot for it. So don’t just pray about it[1].
Have I mentioned that I had tea with N.T. Wright when we were in Oxford last fall? (This is your invitation to a giant eye roll in my direction.)
We sat down for tea at a local coffee house, engaging in a wide-ranging conversation. The discussion covered personal topics like his joy at ferrying around his grand-children from football to choir practice, favorite vacation venues as well as more professional matters including mental health and the church and Wright’s current writing projects. As I was a bit nervous about meeting this academic great, he immediately put me at ease with his interest in me and his openness to sharing about his own life. I left our time together with a warm heart toward this wonderfully kind and engaging man, which made me all the more excited to read his and Michael Bird’s book, Jesus and the Powers.
The book did not disappoint.
The main point I am taking away from reading this book is that as someone whose primary identity is “child of God” and follower of Jesus, I can trust that Christ equips and empowers me to engage courageously in the face of political injustice. Just as Jesus proclaimed and practiced the Kin-dom of God[2], those who try to follow Jesus are tasked with living as Kin-dom people, not through force or domination but through radical love that sees God’s image in each person. As Wright and Bird say in their introduction, “The task is about trying to think and pray through the missional vocation and kingdom witness of the Church in our contested political theaters.”[3] Like Simon Walker invites us to do, to lead out of who you are not out of what you know or skills you have, this book by Wright and Bird reminded me that by knowing deeply who I am and Whose I am, I am empowered to work toward healing and reconciliation.[4]
Jesus as King
While I had obviously heard the phrase, “Jesus is King” growing up in the Church, the first time I considered the power it carries was in seminary when my professors placed it in the context of politics. If Jesus is King, then the USA is not. If Jesus is King, then capitalism is not. If Jesus is King, our allegiance is to him and the Kingdom he proclaims first and foremost. Wright and Bird, make this claim saying, “We believe the Church’s answer to the global crises of our day is, in sum, the kingdom of God. The Church’s message and mission rest on the notion that God is King, God has appointed Jesus as the King of kings and Lord of lords, and the Church’s vocation is to build for the kingdom.[5]
As a pastor and Teaching Elder one of my preaching tasks is to continually point my congregation to the self-giving love and power of Jesus over the powers of this world, reminding them that Jesus is the One we follow rather than the many influences of capitalism, racism, nationalism, and all the other “isms.” Jesus as King is one way to describe his self-giving power over the powers of the world, but I wonder if we who are trying to live into a world of equality could imagine more inclusive language for describing the good news of the power of the risen Jesus.[6]
Jesus’ Victory over the Powers
“Jesus is King” means that Jesus “achieved something previously unthinkable. He had won the decisive victory over the principalities and powers and was now enthroned as Lord of both heaven and earth.”[7]
William Sloane Coffin writes, “What makes Easter so exciting is the cosmic quality of it. For Easter has less to do with one person’s escape from the grave than with the victory of seemingly powerless love over loveless power. Easter represents a demand as well as a promise, a demand not that we sympathize with the crucified Christ, but that we pledge our loyalty to the risen one. That means an end to all loyalties, to all people, and to all institutions that crucify.[8]
This also means that we, Easter people, those who trust in and follow the risen Christ, are invited to put Easter into practice in our preaching, our teaching, and in our living, challenging injustice, being ambassadors of reconciliation, speaking truth to power, and seeing the powers reconciled to God.[9]
Christian Nationalism
In recent years we’ve seen a rise of Christian nationalism in the United States of America. Wright and Bird write, “When we warn of the evils of Christian nationalism, we are warning of the danger of the government trying to enforce Christian hegemony combined with civil religion. In other words, the danger is that Christians are given privileges by the State and Christianity becomes an outward display of patriotic devotion rather than part of true religious affection.”[10] They continue describing the many ways Christian nationalism is “bad on every level imaginable.”[11]
In an article in the Presbyterian Outlook, pastor and author Haley Ballast asks, “Christians see the unholy union of American exceptionalism, White supremacy and Christian identity parading across stages at rallies and worship services alike, and we are left wringing our hands. What is a faithful and reasonable response?” Studying the confessions of the Church, Ballast and a few other pastors created a summer sermon series titled, “From Barmen to Belhar: Why We Reject White Christian Nationalism.”[12] Together these pastors studied church history and worked through their fears and insecurities of leading their congregations through such a series. Ballast writes, “As solo pastors, it felt like a rare gift to work through these questions in community and to know that we wouldn’t be out on a limb by ourselves as we took this on.”[13] And as they studied confessions of the Church, they saw that the Church has been through this before. “We have a history and legacy of resistance that we are invited to embrace and embody. Beyond that, our specific churches are not alone! The churches we pastor have been neighbors for many decades, but this summer we were all focused on the same theme, asked the same questions, and intentionally practiced being together. This has made a palpable difference.”[14]
Courage to Preach Truth to Power
As I grow into my calling as a preacher, these words of Wright and Bird, along with the invitations of many other theologians and preachers, echo in my heart and mind. They remind us that the full message of the Gospel is not about leaving this world for a better one but has profound implications for how we engage with the world around us, including its power structures. Jesus lived and taught in a politically charged environment, under the rule of an empire, and was ultimately executed by the empire. He did not back down from the politics of his day but taught his followers how to live in ways that inspire the flourishing of all life. Like Haley Ballast, I hope to find partners in conversation, prayer, and leading a congregation, who will encourage me to help the churches I pastor to reflect on how our faith shapes our engagement with the world, always striving to embody Christ’s love and justice in our individual and communal lives.
[1] William Sloane Coffin, Living The Truth In a World of Illusions, San Francisco, Harper & Row Pub., 1985, Chp. 15. https://pres-outlook.org/2006/04/an-easter-tribute-to-william-sloane-coffin-in-his-own-words/ , accessed August 30, 2024.
[2] See footnote 6 for a conversation regarding “King” language. In the congregations I’ve served we’ve used both, “Kingdom” and “Kin-dom” to refer to the just, loving, shalom of God’s rule on earth.
[3] Michael F. Bird and N. T. Wright, Jesus and the Powers Christian Political Witness in an Age of Totalitarian Terror and Dysfunctional Democracies, Zondervan Publishing, March 26, 2024, 18 of 221 on Barnes and Noble’s Nook application.
[4] Simon Walker, Leading Out of Who You Are Discovering the Secret of Undefended Leadership, Piquant Editions, 2007, 5.
[5] Ibid, 28 of 221 on Barnes and Noble’s Nook application.
[6] A note about the terminology of King and Kingdom: In his book Christian Doctrine, Shirley Guthrie writes, “Words like lord, ruler, king and kingdom sound strange to us. They sound so archaic, so undemocratic, and so male! Should we not translate this outdated hierarchical, sexist language taken from the environment of the ancient world into language that makes more sense in our time and is less likely to give ammunition to those who want to defend the superiority of men and the inferiority of women?” Guthrie continues to say that it is “no accident that the New Testament uses political images to speak of the meaning of the resurrection and Jesus’ Kingship and that Jesus is not Lord because we voted him into office but because God made him Lord. None of the words we have are sufficient for describing the good news that the power of the risen Jesus is the power of self-giving love. He exercises his power in such a way that it does not dominate or control, does not rob us of our freedom and destroy our human dignity, but rather gives and nourishes genuine free human life for all of us – people of all genders, races, classes, cultures, and nations. Page 446 of 716 on Everand application.
[7] Michael F. Bird and N. T. Wright, Jesus and the Powers Christian Political Witness in an Age of Totalitarian Terror and Dysfunctional Democracies, Zondervan Publishing, March 26, 2024, 73 of 221 on Barnes and Noble’s Nook application.
[8] William Sloane Coffin,” Religion & Ethics: Interview by Bob Abernethy, August 27, 2004, Episode #752, https://pres-outlook.org/2006/04/an-easter-tribute-to-william-sloane-coffin-in-his-own-words/ accessed August 30, 2024.
[9] Michael F. Bird and N. T. Wright, Jesus and the Powers Christian Political Witness in an Age of Totalitarian Terror and Dysfunctional Democracies, Zondervan Publishing, March 26, 2024, 90 of 221 on Barnes and Noble’s Nook application.
[10] Ibid, 152 of 221.
[11] Ibid, 153 of 221
[12]Haley Ballast, Three churches, one focus: Uniting to confront Christian Nationalism, Presbyterian Outlook, August 19, 2024, https://pres-outlook.org/2024/08/three-churches-one-focus-uniting-to-confront-christian-nationalism/ accessed August 30, 2024.
[13]Ibid.
[14] Ibid.
About the Author
Kally Elliott
Mom of four. Wanna-be Broadway star. PC(USA) pastor. Wife. Friend. Sometimes a hot mess. Sometimes somewhat together. Is this supposed to be a professional bio?7 responses to “What Will We Preach?”
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Kally,
How did you arrange to meet N.T. Wright in Oxford??? What a great opportunity! I have heard others say that he is personable as well.
As far as his book, I also appreciated the way he approached the subject of living in a politically charged environment like Jesus did. You mentioned “I hope to find partners in conversation, prayer, and leading a congregation, who will encourage me to help the churches I pastor to reflect on how our faith shapes our engagement with the world, always striving to embody Christ’s love and justice in our individual and communal lives.” Kudos to you for already seeing your need to have others around you to partner in conversation with and pray with as you lead congregants to engage in the world around them.
Esther, N.T. Wright is a good friend of one of my mom’s good friends, Marianne Borg. My mom was having coffee with Marianne while we were in Oxford and mentioned I was there. Marianne then asked if I would want to meet Tom Wright. My mom texted me to ask. Of course, I said yes, and Marianne then connected us via email.
When I first saw this book on our reading list, I immediately thought of you and the opportunity you had in Oxford to meet NT Wright. I’ve always heard of him and obviously knew he was a well-respected theologian but I hadn’t actually read much of his work. Like you, I really appreciated this book and have also been listening to his podcast a bit.
Toward the end of your post you mention seeking out other like-minded pastors to share in conversation and reflection. I also remember you have just started a new job, right? Does that new role make it more challenging to find the support you need? Or maybe it actually makes it a more natural time to be intentional about seeking that out?
Kim, thanks for asking about my new role. Yes, I do think it will make it a bit more difficult to find like-minded pastors, mostly because I will be pastoring in a community about 20 minutes south of where we live. As far as I know, it is the only “mainline” i.e. Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist (it’s an ecumenical congregation) in the area. However, since we only live 20 minutes away and I am already ingrained in my community, I do have a good support system here. Another way it will be different is that I will be a solo pastor vs an associate pastor on a staff of like-minded folks. Therefore the day to day interactions will also look different.
Kally-
It is clear to me that you have been doing a lot of thinking on this topic.
I love the confidence that this sentiment instills: “…as someone whose primary identity is “child of God” and follower of Jesus, I can trust that Christ equips and empowers me to engage courageously in the face of political injustice.”
And I love the clarity that you bring with this thought: “If Jesus is King, then the USA is not. If Jesus is King, then capitalism is not. If Jesus is King, our allegiance is to him and the Kingdom he proclaims first and foremost.”
Putting these two together then, perhaps a barrier we face in preparing the way for our King to bring his Kingdom is in our failure to trust Him to be the sovereign that He is?
Ok in my inspectional reading of this book I missed this quote you used: “When we warn of the evils of Christian nationalism, we are warning of the danger of the government trying to enforce Christian hegemony combined with civil religion. In other words, the danger is that Christians are given privileges by the State and Christianity becomes an outward display of patriotic devotion rather than part of true religious affection.”
That is such a money quote. It encapsulates one of the roots of the problems with Christian Nationalism and I’m planning on using it.
I appreciate your passion for wanting to shape a congregation, give witness to a community, and speak truth to power.
I appreciate how you said “I hope to find partners in conversation, prayer, and leading a congregation, who will encourage me to help the churches I pastor to reflect on how our faith shapes our engagement with the world, always striving to embody Christ’s love and justice in our individual and communal lives”. What a great heart of preaching. I hope you find those partners too!