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The Voting Booth: A new vision for Christian engagement in a post-Christian culture
How should a Christian relate to the culture? For generations, Christians have been told to either escape the culture to avoid its ungodliness, or to aggressively engage the culture by seeking power and control over it. But are those a Christian’s only options? The Voting Booth presents a third path for a new generation of Christians seeking to love both God and their neighbor.Written as a fictional dialogue between Christian, a confused voter, and three spirits of cultural engagement—Exodus, Exile, and Incarnation—The Voting Booth addresses many of the questions being asked by those struggling to follow Christ in our post-Christian age do I respond to those who view Christian faith as oppressive?-Why has Christianity become so political?-What role does fear have in Christian cultural engagement?-How should I interact with neighbors of other faiths?-Have Christians lost the “Culture War”?-How should I think about voting as a Christian?-What is the role of the Church in the culture?With engaging writing and surprising twists, The Voting Booth will challenge your assumptions and leave you with a new way of imagining your place in the culture. What others are saying about "The Voting Booth" "As an immigrant-turned-citizen facing only my second chance to vote in a presidential election, I am troubled by the options presented. Opinions from Christians abound, complete with blogs and Bible verses, but no clear path emerges. Skye’s allegory tale succinctly— if also slightly simplistically— represents the two dominant paradigms of Christian the call to escape, and the call to engage. He then offers a third perspective rooted in the incarnation. While the tale stops short of instruction, it is abounding in wisdom. This is an accessible read that provides a thoughtful way to name and evaluate the subconscious grids that undergird our approach to political engagement or disengagement. Best of all, it offers us a way to reflect on our perspective, posture, and purpose in a Christ-shaped way."-Glenn Packiam, Pastor at New Life Downtown "Skye Jethani is one of the most clear-headed, sober voices writing on faith and culture today. The Voting Booth raises questions many Christians wrestle with and provides answers that challenge and delight. In a time of political unrest and cultural upheaval, we can't afford to ignore what this book has to say." - Jonathan Merritt, author of Jesus is Better Than You Imagined; contributing writer for The Atlantic“In a creative and compelling way, Skye Jethani has written yet another book that pushes the American church in the right direction. His uncanny ability to put his finger up to the wind and chart the right direction forward is a huge help to our community as we navigate the increasingly treacherous waters of the secular west.” - John Mark Comer, pastor for teaching and vision at Bridgetown Church and author of Loveology. "In The Voting Booth, Skye Jethani beautifully crafts a dialogue between ‘Christian' and three personified postures we can take toward our culture. Eye-opening and thought provoking, Skye clearly illuminates the dominant but destructive attitudes that have dominated the American church for the last 100 years, and then shines a light on a better way. Highly recommended!”- Phil Vischer, creator of VeggieTales, What’s In The Bible, and The Phil Vischer Podcast.
73 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 26, 2016
24 people are currently reading
156 people want to read
About the author
Skye Jethani
26 books406 followersSKYE JETHANI is an author, speaker, consultant and ordained pastor. He also serves as the co-host of the popular Phil Vischer Podcast, a weekly show that blends astute cultural and theological insights with comical conversation. He has been a sought after consultant for groups facing challenges at the intersection of faith and culture like The Lausanne Movement, The White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, and the Interfaith Youth Core. Skye has authored three books, The Divine Commodity: Discovering a Faith Beyond Consumer Christianity, WITH: Reimagining the Way You Relate to God, and Futureville. Skye and his wife Amanda have three children: Zoe, Isaac, and Lucy and reside in Wheaton, IL.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
December 9, 2020
Concise but effective, Jethani characterizes the fight-or-flight impulses of Christians who view the culture of the world with suspicion. He instead indicates that incarnation--embracing, loving, redeeming the world in all its fallenness, is the best response. Vote and act out of love, not fear.
July 1, 2020
An entertaining and simple way to explain things that so relevant and key to our present time
October 14, 2016
A refreshing and challenging reminder
...that we are called to bless our neighbors in love, and that God is for us, so nothing can do us real harm as we follow Christ. We have no reason to respond in fear, inside the voting booth or out of it.
...that we are called to bless our neighbors in love, and that God is for us, so nothing can do us real harm as we follow Christ. We have no reason to respond in fear, inside the voting booth or out of it.
November 7, 2016
An insightful, logical and historical look at our culture, and religion's place in it. It was also cleverly presented. I highly recommend this book to anyone that struggles with the culture's (both secular and spiritual) negative outlook. Also, never miss a chance to see the author speak alive, as he is even better at delivering his ideas in that setting.
December 17, 2018
Not Skye's best book, but the content is great. It is written as a conversation between the characters, Christian, Exodus, Exiles, and (Spoiler). The dialog was clunky, but overall it reveals 2 dysfunctional ways Christians typically engage culture, and the best way to engage culture. A very short read, and while not a great book, worth the read.
January 19, 2020
Love your enemies
Tremendous read. Will illustrated by three acts or actors. Each actor has a conversation with a Christian on how to live and how to vote.
Tremendous read. Will illustrated by three acts or actors. Each actor has a conversation with a Christian on how to live and how to vote.
September 4, 2020
Short and sweet - three ways Christians can engage the culture.
July 7, 2023
Great read for Christians to examine their motivations when engaging culture and their neighbors.
March 3, 2021
SUMMARY: At 59 pages, including the excellent appendix, The Voting Booth is a short story that most people can knock out in a couple of hours. Written as a play the voter, Christian, enters a voting booth and has a A Christmas Carol like encounter with Exodus, Exile and Incarnation who each try to persuade him on how he is to engage the culture.
Exodus advocates for fleeing from the culture and believing we are always in danger. Exile is for fighting the culture and always believes we are under attack. Incarnation tries to convince Christian to choose the culture and sacrifice his interest for the interest of others. What does this have to do with voting you may be asking?
One path promotes love, self sacrifice and a reliance on Jesus while the other two do not. That posture will help you decide what do to in the voting booth.
KEY QUOTE: "Your vote should not be cast in fear. A fearful vote will lead to harm in two ways. First, it will ensure that your vote is made selfishly; from a desire to protect yourself and your interests rather than a desire to serve and bless others. Second, a fearful vote is usually won by a candidate that employed fear to gain support. Where the fires of fear are stoked, the warm glow of Christian love will not long endure. Those who think making people afraid will result in flourishing are deluded. They are not on a path paved by Christ that leads toward his kingdom, no matter how many Bibles they display or Christian endorsements they secure. A fearful vote is a vote for demagoguery not divinity."
MORE: Visit SundaytoSaturday.com where we curate content for the church.
Exodus advocates for fleeing from the culture and believing we are always in danger. Exile is for fighting the culture and always believes we are under attack. Incarnation tries to convince Christian to choose the culture and sacrifice his interest for the interest of others. What does this have to do with voting you may be asking?
One path promotes love, self sacrifice and a reliance on Jesus while the other two do not. That posture will help you decide what do to in the voting booth.
KEY QUOTE: "Your vote should not be cast in fear. A fearful vote will lead to harm in two ways. First, it will ensure that your vote is made selfishly; from a desire to protect yourself and your interests rather than a desire to serve and bless others. Second, a fearful vote is usually won by a candidate that employed fear to gain support. Where the fires of fear are stoked, the warm glow of Christian love will not long endure. Those who think making people afraid will result in flourishing are deluded. They are not on a path paved by Christ that leads toward his kingdom, no matter how many Bibles they display or Christian endorsements they secure. A fearful vote is a vote for demagoguery not divinity."
MORE: Visit SundaytoSaturday.com where we curate content for the church.
August 17, 2016
Skye Jethani's thought experiment captures an internal dialogue between a (presumably conservative) Christian and three schools of thought regarding cultural engagement. Two are revealed right away, exodus (think St. Benedict) and exile (think Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, et. al.). Both ideas are self-serving, and repulse Christian before exhausting him altogether. Isn't there a third way? Well, of course there is. Only when one is completely dissatisfied with the other two options will the third reveal itself. This way ultimately satisfies Christian's desire to serve both God and neighbor, in the voting booth and beyond.
My only quibble with this brief but deceptively profound read is the typos. I counted about three of them, and they were prominent enough to be distracting. Hopefully this issue gets ironed out soon, because the content of this book is worthwhile to every Christian who struggles not only with who to vote for, but also how to engage a culture that seems increasingly ambivalent towards traditional Christianity. It's the perfect answer to a voting guide which seeks to lead voters to a specific answer. I highly recommend this to my conservative Christian friends. Endure the typos: you won't regret it.
My only quibble with this brief but deceptively profound read is the typos. I counted about three of them, and they were prominent enough to be distracting. Hopefully this issue gets ironed out soon, because the content of this book is worthwhile to every Christian who struggles not only with who to vote for, but also how to engage a culture that seems increasingly ambivalent towards traditional Christianity. It's the perfect answer to a voting guide which seeks to lead voters to a specific answer. I highly recommend this to my conservative Christian friends. Endure the typos: you won't regret it.
August 23, 2016
In this election cycle in particular, where both parties are reprehensible and I am doing what I would never otherwise consider, voting for a pro-choice candidate because he best represents me, this book was a wonderful breath of fresh air. I am all too often living in fear and hiding or trying to fight. Skye Jethani deftly elucidates a third option. He doesn't try to get you to vote any certain way, but instead reminds us how we should live here, when so often our culture seems scary and antagonistic. It only takes maybe an hour to read and is well worth it.
August 23, 2016
Are you voting from a place of fear, or are you voting from a place of love? Is your vote an engine driving you toward some self-interested ideal, or an opportunity to express a relationship you cherish WITH the creator oriented towards the well being of others? In many ways these are the central questions Skye poses in this very quick but engaging read. Worth the 2 days it will take you to get through it.
July 22, 2016
A nuanced take on how Christians can respond to both American culture and biblical principles, this book should be required reading for all Christians. Skye presents an alternative to fear and hate, and I wish his writings were hitting the best seller lists instead of more Christian works prompt trying exodus or exile.
June 15, 2016
A short book on the topic of how we vote.
Skye suggests that rather than the idea that we should have a 'fight or flight' reaction to our culture, instead we should let the incarnation be a model for our interations.
Very useful.
Skye suggests that rather than the idea that we should have a 'fight or flight' reaction to our culture, instead we should let the incarnation be a model for our interations.
Very useful.
July 9, 2016
A wise read
In the midst of the most insane political season of my lifetime, the voting booth was a voice of reason and faith. Highly recommended for anyone who will be voting in November.
In the midst of the most insane political season of my lifetime, the voting booth was a voice of reason and faith. Highly recommended for anyone who will be voting in November.
December 8, 2016
Finally!!!!
I've finally found a book that speaks to me and where I find myself politically. This election has brought out the ugly in all sides. This book provides the more excellent way.
I've finally found a book that speaks to me and where I find myself politically. This election has brought out the ugly in all sides. This book provides the more excellent way.
October 10, 2022
This is a great book. The setting is in the context of voting, but really this is a short book I think all Christians should read to think thoughtfully and biblically about how to engage with the culture around them.
June 17, 2016
Well worth reading! How to be Christ-like in our culture. Obvious but needs saying!
July 15, 2016
Excellent book describing the way people of faith should engage with the culture with a view toward human flourishing. I really enjoyed the format of this book.
November 17, 2016
Thoughtful and eye-opening
Very insightful with inspiring commands from scripture applied to how Christians engage in politics. I regret not finishing this book before I voted.
Very insightful with inspiring commands from scripture applied to how Christians engage in politics. I regret not finishing this book before I voted.
October 4, 2016
Good thoughts & ideas from Skye. Not the most effective format, though I like the idea. Felt as though it could've used a little more editing & refinement, but still worth reading.
October 18, 2016
Excellent read - highly recommend.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews