Life Would Be Easier Without Any Mention Of Republicans Or Democrats
Jeremie Beller, opinions editor for The Christian Chronicle, speaks on faith and politics during a Norton Colloquium panel discussion at Harding University in Searcy, Ark. (Photo by Audrey Jackson)
(ANALYSIS) SEARCY, Ark. — We shouldn’t discuss politics at church — or in The Christian Chronicle.
I’ve heard that argument more than once. Sometimes I agree. My life would be much easier without any mention of Republicans or Democrats — in the pews or in these pages.
But avoidance isn’t a solution, especially when your city has some 30,000 migrants bused in from border states, said Patrick Odum, one of the ministers for the Northwest Church of Christ in Chicago. I visited the congregation a few months ago and got to see its members in action as they used their food pantry to meet the growing demand. I also helped members of Chicago’s Lakeview Church of Christ unload a shipment of groceries for their food program.
During the Northwest church’s giveaway, I met immigrants and refugees from all over — Poland, Mexico, Venezuela, Ukraine — and listened to their stories. As politicians debate the rising tide of illegal immigration in our country, our brothers and sisters are washing immigrants’ feet.
Brother Odum joined us at Harding University as part of our first-ever Norton Colloquium. Four of us from the Chronicle traveled to Searcy to present classes on topics that were close to the heart of our former editor Howard Norton.
At least a hundred different topics swirl in my brain as I think about our experience at Inspire: the 101st Harding Lectureship. We loved interacting with readers. We heard thought-provoking messages from Orpheus J. Heyward, Rubel Shelly and many more.
With the U.S. presidential election less than a month away, I’m compelled to focus on our second session, “How Should We Talk About Politics? Or Should We?” moderated by our editor-in-chief, Bobby Ross Jr. In addition to Odum, panelists were Jeremie Beller, dean of the College of Bible at Oklahoma Christian University and the Chronicle’s opinions editor; and Nathan Guy, preaching minister for the West Side Church of Christ in Searcy.
You can’t “just tell Bible stories and ignore politics” when facing the problems in your community, Odum said. “So, what do you do? You minister. You find people. You get in their lives and try to help them with this huge problem that they’re facing.”
The church should be consistent in its witness, Beller added, and “should be preaching against the abuse of migrants and immigrants before it’s the latest issue to come out of Washington.”
He balked at the political upheaval in Springfield, Ohio, sparked by rumors that immigrants there were eating cats and dogs. Amid all of the outrage on both sides of the political aisle, “Why is no Christian saying, ‘My goodness! Our neighbors are so desperate and hungry, we need to feed them’? Jesus says, ‘If there really are people eating (pets), my people need to go feed them.’
“I don’t care where the power ends up, and I don’t care who wins the issue. If the church would stand up and do that, we’d make a difference,” Beller said, “But if we keep parroting Fox News and MSNBC and CNN, we’re no different.”
Beller, who preaches for the Wilshire Church of Christ in Oklahoma City, has heard people tell him, “I knew you were a Democrat!” and “I knew you were a Republican!” — sometimes in response to the same sermon.
“We need to be equal opportunity offenders,” he said. “Neither party represents the Kingdom of God.”
Guy, who serves as executive director of the David E. Smith Healthcare Ethics and Human Dignity Initiative at Harding in addition to his ministry duties, gave an example from Greek mythology — something I didn’t expect from a preacher.
In “The Odyssey,” as Ulysses travels home from the Trojan War, he must pass by the island of the sirens — beautiful women whose song lures sailors to their demise. He and his crew plug their ears with wax, but as Ulysses witnesses the sirens’ beauty, he desires to hear their song, so he unplugs his ears. In another ancient Greek story, the legendary musician Orpheus overcomes the sirens’ song by playing something even more beautiful on his harp.
“Every election season is ugly,” Guy said, “and I think we can offer something different if we say something beautiful.”
Our first Norton Colloquium class was “The Present and Future of Churches of Christ.” I moderated a discussion with Carl Royster of 21st Century Christian and Stan Granberg of Heritage21 about the new collaboration of our three ministries — the Church Research Council. In the months to come we’ll be surveying congregations in the U.S. on a number of metrics that we prayerfully hope will give us an accurate picture of our fellowship in the post-pandemic world. We want to hear from every U.S. congregation, even house churches. Please visit crc-coc.org to learn more about the survey.
In our final session, “Modern-day Josephs (and Josephines)” I shared my favorite “what you intended for evil God intended for good” stories from more than two decades of reporting on Ukraine. Bobby Ross and Audrey Jackson, our managing editor, shared the stories that inspired them.
We also heard from our special projects manager, Sawmi Sektak, who is in her second year with the Chronicle. She shared about her childhood growing up in Angels’ Place, a children’s home in northeast India, and the long journey of faith that led her to Ohio Valley University, Oklahoma Christian University (where she earned a master’s in business administration) and to our Chronicle family.
I’m so thankful to Harding President Mike Williams and the lectureship team of Monte Cox, David Swindle and Meagan Justus for allowing us to be a part of Inspire. We’re planning to return to Harding next year to do another session of the Norton Colloquium.
We’re also developing plans to present the colloquium at Pepperdine and Abilene Christian universities next year. I’m hoping to do a condensed version of the program for congregations in our fellowship. If your church is interested in hosting a session to help us honor the legacy of Howard Norton, please let me know.
This piece is republished with permission from The Christian Chronicle.
Erik Tryggestad is president and CEO of The Christian Chronicle. Contact erik@christianchronicle.org, and follow him on X at @eriktryggestad.