Growing up in the Southern Baptist church, I’m no stranger to hearing political conversations during a church service. It’s not uncommon in the South to hear politically charged rants from the pulpit, nor is it considered taboo to directly imply how church folks should and shouldn’t vote. Once I heard someone say, “How can a Christian possibly vote as a Democrat?” I even used to think this way with absolutely no uncertainty. It was set in stone. Christians are Republicans. Now, though, I’m positive that folks in other parts of the country with different experiences say the exact opposite: “Christians surely cannot vote as Republicans.” And I’m sure they believe it wholeheartedly.

How can two groups of people that are a part of the same Church think in such opposite ways? Surely somebody is wrong, right?

Yep. That’s it. We’re all wrong.

Caution: The following may shatter everything you know about Jesus and how you should view politics inside the Church. Lay down your arms and hear me out.

Let us begin with the famous Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. In this, Jesus challenges everything we hold to be common sense. He flips conventional wisdom on its head. Check out this list of a few things we can discern from Christ’s message in the Sermon on the Mount:

• Blessed are the peacemakers
• Rejoice with persecution
• Sin is in the heart and not just in actions
• Don’t resist an evildoer; turn the other cheek
• Give to those who ask of you; give away your possessions
• Love your enemies
• Give in secret
• Pray without babbling for attention
• Don’t store up earthly treasures that fade away
• Don’t worry
• Treat others as you would treat yourself
• The path to life is narrow and difficult

Now consider some of the other radical things Jesus said and did.

• ­He turned water into the best wine around (John 2)
• He turned demons into bacon (Matthew 8)
• He looked upon the temple and its grandeur, then began talking about its destruction (Matthew 24)
• He healed a blind man using saliva (Mark 8)

This is surely not an exhaustive list, but take a minute and soak in the radical, challenging nature of Christ.

You good? Alright, let’s continue.

How would your church respond if somebody turned the water fountains into wine? What if somebody was healed with spit? Is your church full of peacemakers or warmongers? How difficult is it to not worry?

That’s a lot. I know. However, we have got to realize that the same Jesus many of us have learned about our entire lives is far more radical than we’ve ever painted him to be. He challenges us to completely obliterate our former thinking – some of which comes from within our churches.

Mark 7:6-8

6 He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:

“‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
7 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’

8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”

Here’s where we encounter our own mess. Human traditions. Our traditions come from deeply entrenched religious practices, general biases about the world around us, and - you guessed it – politics. Our politics and deeply held personal beliefs have distorted our view of God beyond recognition. Our version of Jesus is far too dislocated from the Jesus that turned an execution method into the only form of freedom. In a world of mega-churches and prosperity preaching, we have lost touch with the Jesus that tells us to give up everything for the sake of the Gospel. We have turned the God of the universe into a political paradigm that makes us feel more "Christian" when we casually mention Jesus in conversation. We haven't allowed Christ to rule our politics; we have allowed our political views to change our views of Him.

So where does this radical Jesus fit into our political agendas? He doesn’t. He cannot. The God of the universe is far too grand to put into a perverted and twisted political system. For the sake of example, consider something divisive but not too personal: climate change. (Note: the generalized views I’m about to espouse are just that - general. They’re more of caricatures than complete reality, but I believe they will get the point across.) Conservatives tell us that there might be some truth to climate change, but most of it is some type of fabrication by liberal media. It’s not too big of a concern. Liberals, on the other hand, tell us that the climate is of utmost importance and we should base many of our decisions around protecting the planet. How do we weigh these polarizing opinions in relation to Jesus? I believe Jesus would advocate for stewardship of our planet. He would find joy in His people taking care of His creation. However, Scripture warns us of worshiping the creation in place of the Creator (Romans 1:25). Obviously, it's incredibly unpopular to combine bits and pieces of political views from across party lines. Neither liberalism nor conservatism in their rawest states are sufficient enough to view the world in a way that mirrors the mind of Christ.

Let’s get a little more uncomfortable. For the most part, conservatives think abortion is morally unacceptable and liberals assert that it’s a matter of women’s rights. However, conservatives are usually not the first in line to support social welfare programs, and liberals like to emphasize the rights of the homeless, immigrants, minorities, etc. Wouldn’t Jesus care just as much about full-grown adults as he does the unborn children? Certainly! Then why can’t either side of the political spectrum show a deep conviction for protecting all citizens – both born and unborn? This is my point: it is nothing short of blasphemy to believe a corrupt political system can or ever will resemble Christ.

Do these views sum up the entirety of conservative and liberal thinkers? No. It’s a generalization for a specific debate, but I want to show you the polarization of American politics. Regardless of what issue you consider, there’s going to be two distinct sides of the spectrum, and neither of them will ever correctly embody the mind and likeness of Christ. Our political system is so focused on self-promotion, divisiveness, and financial gain that neither side of the aisle in Washington will ever be able to correctly portray the radical reasoning of Jesus.

Should we talk about politics in church? Absolutely. Let’s weigh all of the options out there, vote, be involved, and stand for we think is right, but let us never believe that the mind of Jesus can be defined via one or two social issues in a political system. Don’t be more liberal, more conservative, or more moderate. Be more like Jesus.

^“By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

- John 13:35