Not in It to Win It: Why Choosing Sides Sidelines The Church

by Andy Stanley

Difference is inevitable. Division is a choice. Our nation chose poorly. The church followed suit.

It’s difficult to take a Christlike stand when pressured to choose a political side. It’s hard to follow Paul’s example when so many in the church prefer we simply preach like pundits. Still, like the apostle Paul, many courageous, gospel-centered pastors weren’t in it to win an election. They were in it to win people. They weren’t in it to save America. They were in it to save Americans.

Paul didn’t align himself with the temple, the empire, or with any local priesthood. His willingness to stand apart, to stand alone, positioned him to become the most effective advocate of our faith who has ever lived.

When a local church becomes preoccupied with saving America at the expense of saving Americans, it has forsaken its mission. When church leaders embrace and grow comfortable with save-America rhetoric that alienates some Americans, they are derelict in their duty. When pastors and churches intentionally or unintentionally subjugate winning people to winning elections, they’ve already lost. Even if they win.

The church or church leader who publicly aligns with a political party has relinquished their ability to make disciples of half their own nation, much less all nations. Intentionally—or even unintentionally—aligning a local church with a party or candidate is an insurmountable obstacle to making disciples of those in the other party. Doing so alienates half the population.

Saving America is not the mission of the church. The moment our love or concern for country takes precedence over our love for the people in our country, we are off mission. When saving America diverts energy, focus, and reputation away from saving Americans, we no longer qualify as the ekklesia of Jesus. We’re merely political tools.

As a reminder, every time you place your hand over your heart and recite the Pledge of Allegiance, you declare the priority I’m advocating for: “One Nation under God” God first. Nation second. Our ultimate allegiance is to a King who came to reverse the order of things—the King who rather than requiring his subjects to die for him, died for them instead. That’s a better King. And our uncompromising devotion to our better King will ultimately make America a better nation.

Fear is motivating. It motivates us to shut our minds, hearts, and hands. It makes us smaller. More insecure.

Pastors who publicly aligned themselves and their churches with a political party or candidate abandoned their calling, undermined their credibility, and exploited the body of Christ. For them, the end would justify the means. Winning would be worth it. The winner would have the opportunity to determine the direction of our nation for decades to come. So battle lines were drawn. Jesus’s name was invoked. And in the end, nobody really won. We still can’t agree on who won. The only clear outcome is that the church lost.

Jesus’s refusal to take sides in the culture wars of his day was not because he lacked opinions or conviction. He wasn’t afraid to take a stand. Jesus knew what we can’t seem to get our heads around: that when the church chooses a side, as defined by any political party, we’ve sided against people on the other side.

This may come as a shock. You can’t make disciples of people you demonize publicly and label as enemies of the faith or the state. As Ed Stetzer asserts, “You can’t hate people and engage them with the gospel at the same time. You can’t war with people and show the love of Jesus. You can’t be both outraged and on mission.”16

The moment we step into a ring that requires someone to lose in order for us to win, we are no longer followers of Jesus.

Leveraging Jesus, the teaching of Jesus, or the ekklesia of Jesus for a purpose other than the mission of Jesus is just another way to gain the whole world and lose our souls. And our influence.

Publicly aligning a local church behind a political party or candidate is betrayal, pure and simple.

He was not and is not a religious figure. He is a king.

When pastors and Christian leaders publicly participate in culture wars, we make it hard for those who are turning to God to find God. With each inflammatory political post on social media, we make Jesus secondary and politics primary. Disparaging words about anyone who voted for “that candidate” push people away from our Jesus.

Are you more concerned about your kid’s political views or their faith?

Christians are reconciled people who’ve been given the ministry of reconciliation. Reconciling is more productive than canceling, right? Jesus thought so.

The tools and tactics of the kingdoms of this world will never bring about a revival of the kingdom of God.

The Roman legions were efficient and merciless in their role as peacekeepers. Jesus would instruct his followers to be peacemakers.18 In the end, he would serve as the ultimate peacemaker by making peace between the Father and his rebel race.

Not to mention, nation-changing was never part of his agenda. His agenda was broader than changing or rescuing any one nation. His agenda encompassed all nations. Specifically, people from all nations.

Doing makes the difference. Doing changed the world. Love, as Jesus defined it, for one another is our differentiator, which means our love for one another should be noticeable, notable, and distinct. According to Jesus, anyway. The new-covenant brand of love Jesus calls us to is neither easy nor natural. That’s what makes it noticeable, notable, and distinct.

Our unwillingness to be kind to, pray for, serve, honor, and speak respectfully to and about those we differ with politically is evidence that we, in fact, consider ourselves greater than our Master. Until there’s an emergency. Then we’re hands up, knees to the floor, surrendered and willing to do anything.

Jesus refused to deploy his resources for his own benefit. He refused to employ the tactics used so effectively by the kingdoms of this world. He had come to do the will of his Father. And even with the knowledge that all authority had been given to him, he stuck to the plan. He lost.

Turns out Jesus was not against winning. Turns out he was playing a completely different game with a different set of rules and, consequently, a different definition for winning. Jesus played to lose so the other team could win. Jesus played to lose so sinners like you could win. So sinners like me had a chance.

Once upon a time, the love-one-another culture of the church stood in sharp contrast to the bite-and-devour-one-another culture of the pagan world.

Fundamental attribution error describes our tendency to attribute people’s behavior to their character, while attributing our behavior to our circumstances.

Fundamental attribution error divides us. It divides us with a lie. Justin Giboney, political strategist and founder of the AND Campaign, explains: “One ugly reality about hating your political opponents is that you start off hating their vices and end up hating their virtues as well. In your contempt, you begin to believe that everything about them is wrong, even their insights and practices that could improve you.”

To disagree politically and maintain our unity will require us to evaluate our politics through the filter of our faith rather than the other way around. Which, of course, is something we’re all convinced we’re already doing. We’re on the Lord’s side and he supports our side. And the people on the other side who are deluded into thinking the Lord is on their side need to switch sides.

Are you willing to follow Jesus if doing so requires you to reject portions of your party’s platform? To take it a step further, are you willing to speak up when following Jesus puts you at odds with the views, the tone, or the decisions of your party or your party’s candidate of choice? Locally or nationally?

The world will know whose we are and whose kingdom we represent by how we treat, respond to, serve, forgive, and talk about one another.

According to Jesus, our heavenly Father would like for us to behave like him, not just believe in him.

If someone’s political views make their feet too dirty for you to wash, you can be sure your politics are informing and deforming your faith.