America's future spiritual renewal will not take place through the voting booth, but rather over our dining room tables.
CHRISTIAN POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT HASN'T 'WORKED'
Gallup polls have shown that Christianity has been consistently shrinking ever since the 1960s in America.
Jerry Falwell Jr. recognized that our nation began its abandonment of historical Christian values politically in the 1970s. He began what was called the "moral majority" movement, an effort to create a majority Christian coalition that could unite with their values and ensure to vote in the same direction in order that, politically speaking, America could retain some Christian values. He declared the movement a "success" and stepped away from it when George W. Bush was elected in '89.
The irony is this: simultaneously, during his efforts and year by year ever since, churches continued to shrink and close down all across the nation.
LOOKING AT NUMBERS
For some perspective (I'll leave links for sources at the end):
According to Gallup polls, in 1948 91% of America identified as Christian.
In 2020, it has shrunk to around 66%, down on average one percent every year since 2009.
Without rejecting political engagement as a whole, which responsible citizens of a democracy cannot do, Christians must admit that as evangelical Christian political fervor and engagement has increased since Reagan's election in 1980, simultaneously the Church has been dramatically shrinking in our nation.
In 20 years, it if trends continue, less than half the nation will have any Christian affiliation or belief whatsoever.
If we continue to think that the answer to a shrinking church and a nation rejecting Christian values is having the right president or political party in office for America, the result will only be a need to increase our political fervor and be more loud and strong about it, since those who share a similar worldview to the Church will be fewer and fewer in number.
A NEIGHBOR-FIRST VISION
I recognize as much as anyone else that much of our nation is experiencing turmoil and is in need of spiritual renewal. However, the Church must adopt the Scriptural vision of our neighbors receiving the first fruits of our actions and our love and our sharing of the Good News of Jesus through word and deed. I fear it is far easier to cast a vote than it is to engage your neighbor.
The American Church needs to develop a healthy vision of political involvement in our nation, recognizing the folly of casting all of our hopes and fears on what happens in the White House or in Congress. Whatever the Church has been doing politically clearly hasn't 'worked' since the 1980s if we desire more people in our nation to adopt (historical) Christian values - which, by the way, is a completely backwards statement theologically because...
Changing laws does not change hearts. This mantra has been at the heart of Protestantism for 500 years, and the American Church must be reminded of this.
A simple vision of each church engaging its locale, each Christian engaging their neighbors, by preaching and sharing the Good News of Jesus to all in their life and having those efforts receive the first fruits of our energy, and perhaps the vast majority of its energy. After all, this is what the Bible is about, according to Jesus.
And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:28-31)
Mark my words: if the American Church did this with all of their heart, mind, soul and strength for a generation or two - we will have a very different America.
Results will be slow. Our efforts will not make the news. Most of this labor will not done in front of news cameras or in congressional hall, but rather done over our our dinning room tables and giving hot meals to the needy in the name of Jesus.
We must start now before it is too late. SOURCES: