Aristotle said the purpose of politics is to create a people who are better than they would be without it. Politics has a way of shaping how we see ourselves, how we see others, and how we should live in the world. Have you noticed how this is parallel to the task of the gospel? This journey of faith creates us to be someone better than we would be without Jesus. Jesus shapes how we see ourselves, how we see others, and how we should live in the world. Is it any wonder our political activity has gotten so bound up in our understanding of the gospel?
In fact, our partisanship and faith have become so wrapped up together, that it is like one big ball of tangled string. They influence one another in various ways (some helpful and some not), and often times it is hard to tell where one begins and the other ends. This month, we will be crafting experiments together. (Download the handout for crafting your experiment.) These experiments will center on how we engage politics and how we are being formed by politics. Together we will notice what strings in this tangled mess the Holy Spirit is drawing to our attention, and we will intentionally practice ways of untangling that thread. How can we seek to be formed in the way of God’s kingdom and bring that to bear on politics rather than allowing politics to shape how we view the kingdom?
Week 1: Crafting our experiments
We began this week with crafting our experiments. Setting the stage for the journey, we considered the formational nature of politics, and how this nature runs parallel to the gospel. Recognizing how easy this makes it for partisan politics to become entangled with the gospel, we set out to craft experiments that will help ground us in the kingdom of God and allow the Spirit to shape how we see ourselves, how we see others, and how we believe we should live.
Kingdom Practice
Our kingdom practice this week is to begin practicing our experiments. If you haven’t crafted one yet, you can use the handout to design your experiment. If you are looking some practices for your experiment, you might consider some that are included on our resources page. Be gentle as you practice, understanding how tangled partisan politics has become in our lives. We also want to practice in community. If you have formed a group of people with whom you will journey or if you would like help being connected with others, please let us know here.
Week 2: The Partisan Liturgy of Fear
We continued our experiments this week exposing the partisan liturgy of fear, reflecting on the use of fear as a tool and noticing how it forms us. Then, we considered the counter-formational liturgy of love. What if all our political activity was rooted in love rather than fear?
Kingdom Practice
Our kingdom practice this week is to continue our experiments. If you haven’t crafted one yet, you can use the handout to design your experiment. We have shared some additional resources this week, the welcoming prayer from Sunday and a breath prayer. You can find those and other practices on our resources page.
Remember to be gentle as you practice, understanding how tangled partisan politics has become in our lives. We also want to practice in community. If you have formed a group of people with whom you will journey or if you would like help being connected with others, please let us know here.
Week 3: The Partisan Liturgy of Tribalism
We continued our experiments this week exposing the partisan liturgy of tribalism, reflecting on the ways we are tempted to find our identity in a political party or position. Then, we considered the counter-formational liturgy of humble service. What if our political activity followed the way of Jesus and humble service?
Kingdom Practice
Our kingdom practice this week is to continue our experiments. If you haven’t crafted one yet, you can use the handout to design your experiment. We have shared some additional resources, including the welcoming prayer and the breath prayer from the last two Sundays. You can find those and other practices on our resources page.
Additional Resources
Check out our Resources for Navigating this Political Season for a larger collection of resources, including spiritual practices, sermons, and others can be found at
Books
The Spirit of Our Politics by Michael Wear
The Liturgy of Politics by Kaitlyn Schiess
The Ballot and the Bible by Kaitlyn Schiess
Compassion & Conviction by Justin Giboney, Michael Wear, and Chris Butler
Jesus and the Powers by N.T. Wright and Michael Bird
Love Over Fear by Dan White
Audio and Video
The Church Politics Podcast is a podcast from the And Campaign is an honest exploration of politics from a Christian worldview.
Renovating our Politics is the replay of a webinar from our friends at Renovaré with Michael Wear and Kaitlyn Schiess which explores the connections between personal formation and the public life.
Knight of Terror! This video produced by Phil Vischer and the Holy Post invites us (in cartoon!) to consider how fear is used in politics.
Songs
The Kingdom of Jesus by The Porter’s Gate (with Jon Guerra and Sandra McCracken)
The Lord Will Have His Way by The Porter’s Gate (with Dee Wilson and Emoni Wilkins)
See the Love by The Brilliance
Open Up by The Brilliance
Let Us Be Known By Our Love by Liturgical Folk
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