Introduction: Neil Long, Executive Pastor

Welcome to another major election year in American politics. While each of us carries different degrees of interest and involvement in public policy, voting decisions, and the news cycle, it is inescapable that following Jesus is inherently political. We profess allegiance to a King, One who proclaims for Himself all authority. This must be the most defining reality for who we understand ourselves to be and for how we engage our political moment.

Living as citizens of an "already and not yet" kingdom, we straddle two worlds. Our fundamental commitment is to follow Jesus, align ourselves with His platform, and adopt His policies (as it were) as our own. His kingdom is eternal. His purposes will prevail. The presence and promises of our God give us grounds for unshakable confidence no matter the mayhem or anxieties stirring around us.

But we are also pilgrims in this present kingdom. It is the place God has intentionally put us as His people to live out our days announcing and embodying the goodness of Jesus' reign in our everyday lives. Part of doing this includes our engagement in the public square. The truth is, who holds office, what decisions are made, the laws promoted–all of these things have real effects in real lives, including our own. We should care. And we should leverage our voice, our agency, and our opportunities to seek the common good where and as we're able to.

So here's a call to follow hard after Jesus in this political season. Let us acknowledge ours and our world's desperate need for God to bring about his reconciling love amidst an often vitriolic and confused world. Let us find practical ways to humbly engage through awareness and leveraging what the Lord has given us. And let us recognize Him as the King enthroned above, allowing trust to grow in our souls no matter the outcomes or angst that emerge each day.