{"id":42395,"date":"2025-10-24T18:07:30","date_gmt":"2025-10-25T01:07:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=42395"},"modified":"2025-10-26T06:27:03","modified_gmt":"2025-10-26T13:27:03","slug":"houses-of-faith-built-on-political-sand-will-sink","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/houses-of-faith-built-on-political-sand-will-sink\/","title":{"rendered":"Houses of Faith Built on Political Sand Will Sink"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Foundations<\/strong><\/p>\n

My sweet Great-Grandma Esther (1911\u20132005) loved Jesus and Jimmy Swaggart. Her old black-and-white TV only came on for his hour of power. She was a faithful servant of God, quietly giving through her gifts. By all accounts, Esther lived a simple life, ironing clothes by day, sewing by night. She fed neighbors, cared for the sick, and helped those struggling financially, all while living with very little herself. She was the only Jesus follower in my family and the one who first exposed me to the gospel and church. Though it was a rural, fire-and-brimstone Pentecostal church, politics were rarely brought up.<\/p>\n

In contrast, my paternal grandparents wore Christianity like a costume, useful when it served their interests. My grandfather built significant wealth as a landman for Standard Oil, and my grandmother was usually seen with whiskey on ice in a glass wrapped with a pink Kleenex. The family photos I inherited tell stories of luxury dinners with high-profile leaders, but not of service or faith.<\/p>\n

Since my baptism in 2015, I\u2019ve become more familiar with Billy Graham, whose relationship with Richard Nixon, alongside Chuck Colson, founder of my former employer, Prison Fellowship Ministries, offers both caution and inspiration. Colson served time for Watergate-related crimes. In Born Again<\/em>, he spoke of admiring Graham\u2019s leadership style, which was consistent and bold. After giving his life to Jesus in 1973, Colson used Graham\u2019s sermons and writings for spiritual growth.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

The Fusion of Faith and Political Identity<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Losing Our Religion<\/em>, Russell Moore has much to say about the politicizing of faithful public witness:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe see now young evangelicals walking away from evangelicalism, not because they do not believe what the church teaches, but because they believe the church itself does not believe what the church teaches.\u201d[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

That disillusionment should alert believers to listen carefully. Moore, an ordained Baptist minister, author, and Chief Editor at Christianity Today<\/em>, refuses to endorse U.S. President Donald Trump on moral and theological grounds. I share his concern. I hear friends and neighbors say they agree with Trump’s policies, not his personality, however, I find it challenging to distinguish between the two. If I ever had the chance, perhaps I would tell him “you’re speaking so loud, I can’t hear what you’re saying.” While there have been some notable wins, such as brokering a conclusion of the the war in Gaza, I believe Americans have chosen a leader who is blatantly dishonest and prideful, who mocks and belittles people to reduce their humanity and dignity. His rhetoric toward immigrants incites division, anger, fear, and contradicts Biblical teaching: \u201cLove the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.\u201d[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s lack of restraint, his use of power for personal gain, and his retaliation against his opponents reveal the misuse of influence. To make matters worse, the national debt is the largest ever and egg prices are moving in the wrong direction, an item he campaigned on. Yet, many still view him as a champion of working-class families, some even suggesting divine intervention in his election win. As mega-church pastor JD Greear warns,<\/p>\n

\u201cWe make God\u2019s name synonymous with a political party, then we have made him responsible, reputationally, for all the evils in that political party. It may be the best of two options, but if the lesser of two evils is the nature of politics, the lesser of two evils is still evil. I don\u2019t want any evil associated with Jesus\u2019 name,\u201d[4]<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When I consider what a faithful public witness looks like, I think of Billy Graham. He learned from the Nixon years to avoid political entanglement and scandal, remaining transparent and humble. He focused on the gospel, stepped out of the spotlight, and built bridges rather than walls.<\/p>\n

When a Golden Calf replaces Christ<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Jesus and the Powers<\/em>, theologian N.T. Wright warns that when Christians remove the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus from their worldview, non-biblical ideologies begin shaping their values.[5]<\/a> He\u2019s not calling for theocracy, but for public life informed by love, truth, and resurrection power. He believes that justice and inclusion become hollow when detached from Jesus at the center. In God in Public<\/em> (2016), he writes,<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Jesus is Lord, and Caesar is not, then Christian engagement in the public square must be both humble and bold, not baptizing the latest social agenda but bearing witness to a deeper truth. Any justice or inclusion not rooted in God\u2019s story risks distortion. Truth and wisdom can exist outside the church, but they only reach their fullness when rooted in Christ.\u201d[6]<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What does Christian Leadership Mean in a world where Christians are not shaped by Christ?<\/strong><\/p>\n

C.S. Lewis warned that ideological division begins when Christians allow politics to eclipse faith. In The Screwtape Letters<\/em>, he described how \u201cthe father below\u201d tempts believers to treat political opinions as spiritual truths, replacing Christ with a cause.[7]<\/a> Once this happens, believers risk becoming tools of ideology rather than witnesses to the gospel.<\/p>\n

To resist this, Lewis emphasized moral formation rooted in Scripture, reason, and tradition, cultivating humility and self-awareness. He saw the danger of power hidden in religious language and called Christians to live as humble servants, not culture warriors or party loyalists. He believed that people are shaped by true faith and eternal thinking.<\/p>\n

Closing<\/strong><\/p>\n

When houses of faith are built on political sand, they will sink because they rely on human power rather than Christ. Christian leadership today must be recognized by the fruits of humility, moral clarity, and deep-rootedness in the gospel.<\/p>\n

C.S. Lewis warned that when political opinions become spiritual truths, faith is quietly replaced by ideology. Russell Moore urges believers to reject partisan ideology and return to a faithful public witness that looks like Jesus, not like a campaign platform. N.T. Wright reminds us that when justice and inclusion are disconnected from the resurrection, they risk becoming hollow slogans rather than kingdom realities.<\/p>\n

Billy Graham and Chuck Colson embodied that kind of leadership. Graham modeled integrity by learning from his entanglement with power and choosing transparency and humility over influence. Colson, once consumed by power, found redemption in prison and turned his failure into a ministry of restoration. Together, they demonstrated that genuine Christian witness is not about proximity to power but submission to Christ\u2019s grace that can transform the least of these into the \u201cmost of these.\u201d<\/p>\n

That is the kind of formation my Great-Grandma Esther lived out in quiet faithfulness, and the kind we desperately need today: not louder politics, but deeper discipleship that builds a kinder, gentler, more compassionate society.<\/p>\n

\n

[1]<\/a> Colson, Charles W. Born Again<\/em>. Grand Rapids, MI: Chosen Books, 2008.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Moore, Russell. Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America<\/em>. New York: Sentinel, 2023. P.41.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> \u201cBible Gateway Passage: Deuteronomy 10:19 – English Standard Version.\u201d Bible Gateway<\/em>. Accessed October 24, 2025. https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Deuteronomy%2010%3A19&version=ESV.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> The Russell Moore Show. \u201cJD Greear on What Culture Wars Are Doing to Us.\u201d Video Podcast. Christianity Today<\/em>. Last modified October 22, 2025. Accessed October 24, 2025. https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-qlMjFu_rBA.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Wright, N. T., and Michael F. Bird. Jesus and the Powers: Christian Political Witness in an Age of Totalitarian Terror and Dysfunctional Democracies<\/em>. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Reflective, 2024.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Wright, Nicholas Thomas. God in Public: How the Bible Speaks Truth to Power Today<\/em>. London: SPCK, 2016.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Lewis, C. S. The Screwtape Letters<\/em>. 1st ed. Qu\u00e9bec: HORIZON RIDGE PUBLISHING, 2024.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Foundations My sweet Great-Grandma Esther (1911\u20132005) loved Jesus and Jimmy Swaggart. Her old black-and-white TV only came on for his hour of power. She was a faithful servant of God, quietly giving through her gifts. By all accounts, Esther lived a simple life, ironing clothes by day, sewing by night. She fed neighbors, cared for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":193,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3497],"class_list":["post-42395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-wright-moore-dlgp03","cohort-dlgp03"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/193"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42395"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42395\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42406,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42395\/revisions\/42406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}