Christian Proclamation

Many people don’t know this about me, but I attended Azusa Pacific University for college and my original field of study was that of Christian ministries to become a youth pastor. Growing up in the church I had many experiences that helped shape this path in life. I enjoyed being in youth group and I loved taking on various leadership roles during my high school years. I often managed the Easter brunch, soup dinners, retreats, VBS, and broom ball leagues. Being at church, learning about God, and finding fulfillment in my life alongside my Christian friends was extremely meaningful to me. You could often find me at church, at a church hosted function, or with my church friends.

As I walked around campus my freshman year of college I began to notice that the church I grew up in, the theology I was being taught, and the beliefs that I stood firm in did not resonate with those of my peers in this new environment. I was being introduced to PKs (pastor kids), MKs (missionary kids), and people who grew up in less liberal churches than I had been accustomed to. I, a person who rarely passed judgement, and was open to talking about many taboo topics, quickly discovered that if you didn’t agree or follow suit you were often told, “you’re going to hell.”

I remember one of my guy friends saying to me, “I hated you freshman year. You were everything different about Christianity and nothing I grew up alongside in the church. I did not know how to see you or how to be seen by you.” I didn’t judge my peers for smoking weed. I educated my friends on safe sex practices and bought many pregnancy tests & condoms because they feared persecution if seen. I held a guy friend through a pregnancy scare while our other friend abandoned him for his sin. I cussed and danced inappropriately. I welcomed my friends who came out. I loved anyone and everyone regardless of who they were and the journey they had been on.

This to me is who a Christian should be. Not the person walking through the halls telling me I am going to hell because I chose to be a shoulder for those struggling instead of leaving them behind in their time of need.

My junior year of college I witnessed the way Christians view politics. Leading up to the 2008 election I heard all about Obama being the Antichrist and how he would bring our country down if he was elected. On election night I sat in my tax class as the world waited for the results. As if on cue, every student in my class slammed their laptops shut, sighs of disdain left their mouths, and a silence fell upon the room. I, the only student without a computer, turned to my classmate and asked what happened. Her response, “your guy won.”

I’ve watched how politics and Christianity have been intertwined ever since. The very first amendment to our constitution establishes a clear and distinct boundary of the separation of church and state, yet the impact Christianity has on politics is clear and evident to all. With our Pledge of Allegiance stating “one nation under God” and many of our Founding Fathers holding Christian beliefs, it is no wonder why some people who call themselves Christians believe that the way for America to be its greatest is through relationship with God. Over a decade after my time at Azusa Pacific University we are witnessing a call to arms from Christians across the nation. Rise up and proclaim your love for God. Infiltrate government agencies at both the local and national level. Seek to enforce Christian values across all divisions of our country and return everything to the rightful ownership of our Lord and Savior.

There’s one problem with that. The laws the Christians in power are establishing are not in alignment with Jesus’ teachings nor are some of the people in power reflecting values of an honest, true, and good Christian. We have leaders in place who have had multiple failed marriages, children outside of wedlock, raped, assaulted, cheated, lied, lived a life of greed, idolatrized, persecuted, and sinned in more ways than listed. Yet we see that some Christians continue to vote for these people and utilize their position to assert power over those they deem less than.

Many Christians have chosen false idols to get behind and show strength in numbers. They have chosen people who do not walk the walk or talk the talk, and appear to be blinded to the true character of these leaders. The very thing I saw lacking on my small college campus I am now seeing lacking in this nation at large. That is the simple act of critical thinking. As I sat in my bible study classes at APU I noticed that as hard as the professors tried to encourage students to think outside of what they had been told and discover what the bible is saying by viewing the message from different angles, the students put up a wall. They were unable to open their minds to an alternative view point. They were unable to establish their own understanding. One, or a few, pastors or leaders of the church had told them how it was and how it was to be.

Today that is playing out on the big stage. Christians are being told that these leaders are the way. Those in power will establish our nation as a Godly nation and restore us to the peace we have been waiting for. It is through their leadership, their death, their rulings that God will return His righteousness to our land and good will prevail. However, the basis for that goodness to return is through the means of everything Jesus spoke out against. If Jesus were to return today he would be walking alongside our unhoused brothers and sisters. He would be speaking out against war, aggressive force, and deportations. He would be calling for unity and the extending of hands to our neighbors who are not the same as us. I believe He would look some Christians in the face and say to them, “let thee who has not sinned cast the first stone,” reminding them that they are no better than the person walking on the other side of the street.

I may not have pursued becoming a youth pastor. I knew that the church would not take kindly to my kindness. I knew that I was better suited to go out into the world and show the teachings of Jesus through loving everyone and sharing my heart. It both terrifies me and breaks my heart to see who some Christians have become these days. I do not take lightly the teachings I’ve been taught, or the mission placed upon my heart all those years ago. It might look different. It might not be guiding me inside the four plastered walls of a church, but it is guiding me to show up and be a reflection of Christ in a way that might get someone to say, “you’re going to hell.” If that’s the path I need to walk, so be it. I’d much rather use the critical thinking I was taught than follow blindly and idolatrize the men and women who hide behind a mask.

If you have made it this far, I encourage you to look within and ask yourself if the changes happening in America are true reflections of the God you commited your life to? Are the people you vote for, empower, and listen to living a life filled with the Spirit of the Holy Trinity? It’s desirable to hold power and fan the flames that Christianity is currently fanning, but we must ask ourselves, will our society truly be better, or is the separation of church and state essential to this nation? We must not forget, that what we place into law for others can and will be used against us, even if we established it for what we deemed good.

Christians claim a moral high ground, but Christianity is not the only thing on earth that exists with morals. Morality is human nature, and we must remember that Christian or not, most people want better for everyone. We want love, kindness, connection, a life of prosperity. You can certainly find all of this through Christ, and if your goal is to lead more people to Him it won’t be done through coercion or established laws. Instead, it will be done through the meeting of minds, coffee shared across a table, and laughter enveloping conversations.

America is not in the bible, America is not a land to be dominated for the sake of Christianity. Instead, it is a land filled with people from all walks of life, differing cultures and religions. America is a land of the beautiful and a place to be free.

I pray for this nation, I pray for its people. I pray for our leaders and those who suffer greatly at the hands of the powers that be.

God Bless!