A Post-Election Message to the Body of Christ: Re-electing God to Heal a Nation
FAITH & POLITICS
A Post-Election Message to the Body of Christ: Re-electing God to Heal a Nation
By Mona Austin
The voting process for Democrats was obscured by the last minute change of Pres. Joe Biden deciding to hand the reigns for campaigning over to Harris with only a little more than 3 months to run. This gave the impression that the party was in disarray and it showed with voters delivering the popular vote to the Republicans and the Senate. Democrats think the Republicans are poised to implement extreme policies that will thwart their values that are listed in two concerning documents, Agenda 47 and Project 2025. These concerns are not unmerited given the lived experiences of Americans during the first Trump Administration. But it is important for the Body of Christ to remember that whether it is an election, natural disaster or any calamity, disappointments and trials are designed to strengthen us. The Church collectively must open its doors to ushering in the healing the nation needs.
In the face of this perceived harsh reality, people have rightly sought group support to address the trauma. Christians must not lose sight that God continues to reign over the just and unjust. This remains a challenge because inaction from The Church collectively is in part responsible for the moral decay in the nation that elevated the desire for control over the core needs of the people. The Church has gotten to be too political and strayed off the path of saturating the world with the gospel by how we live and love.
In difficult times churches and ministries are called upon to serve in various ways. In this season there may be an increase of requests for the ministry of encouragement and counseling. Prepare to engage with every arm of ministry that is available. The Church must retain its identity to be a source of light in this moment of despair. The level of negative reactions to the election may require ministries to become a more active agent in helping people suffering from emotional trauma. While churches may not be equipped to offer formal psychological counseling, they must be prepared to offer spiritual counsel and to direct people to the proper resources.
The clearly pronounced race and religion divide in this election must also be addressed.
Instead of race relations in America evolving in churches our churches are devolving further into disunity over opposing political perspectives. Religious views about the outcome of the election are deeply polarized. The stronghold on The Church in America will not be absolved by the election of a new president. The Church has to be a neutral place of healing regardless of a person's political affiliation. Relying on a worldly system to heal conflicts born of spiritual problems takes the focus off of the essential duties of ministry. The blatant agenda of the religious right in this contest was to infuse a Christian worldview into public policy; Black liberals clearly were fighting to protect civil rights and perpetuated a social justice agenda. In either case religious institutions must not lose focus on operating in their most organic, sacred roles.
It is the cunning and sophisticated manipulation of Satan that would convince faith leaders to fight spiritual wars with carnal weapons. People of faith are surrendering to the notion that the solution to eliminating secularism in the government is to replace the current political system with a flawed vessel who has displayed opposition to those who vote against him. What is the church becoming in condoning the so called "lesser of two evils?" Certainly not a "moral compass."
In observing the disconnect between the voting preferences between Black and White Christians, Pastor John Wesley of Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, VA posed a most relevant question to voters who supported Donald Trump: "What kind of Church do you want to be?"
The Body of Christ must honestly examine how we got to this racial divide and what it will take to heal from the shock of the election results, which a growing number of Americans are contesting based on suspected election tampering.
President-elect Donald Trump has stated that after surviving an assassination attempt many people told him he was chosen to lead. He also said that no one is above God despite some supporters seeming to worship him. Some Christians agree that his dramatic recovery was an act of God delivering him to establish an administration that will return the nation to Godly values. With God all things are possible. Let it be the Church's collective prayer that God would subdue the carnal urges of this unseemly leader to usher in both forgiveness and healing across America.
Republicans have wrongfully claimed a monopoly on God and continually infuse their faith in public policy to try to control society. Many conservatives have formally declared that Democrats can nit possibly be saved. This election was an intentional attempt to usurp authority from Democrats, something they knew would be difficult without converting traditionally democratic Black and Hispanic voters. The historic trend of Blacks traditionally voting for Democrats continued at around 80% with Trump gaining a small amount more. The issue with Harris is that she did not recover Trump's gains from other groups to add the increase she needed to be more competitive.
The small gains Republicans are making into the Black community are adding up over time and gradually reflect a real shift from the Democratic party. Each year that Trump has run for president his Black support has ticked up slightly particularly with Black men. The Republican strategy has been to penetrate (if not infiltrate) the downtrodden inside of their targeted group. Employing a form of political evangelism in their outreach mission has proven to have been effective to some extent by the vast majority of African American voters still do not vote Republican. In the 2024 campaign, the Trump campaign invited themselves to the inner city Detroit sanctuary of Pastor Lorenzo Sewell at his 180 Church. They asked to host a panel for Trump. The pastor said he knew God wanted to do this because they requested that people from the community come to hear from the former president.
"I believe that prayer changes things and could it be that Jesus Christ preserved him for such a time as this?" he stated on Joni Table Tale on the Daystar Network.
Sewell said that the Holy Spirit orchestrated all of the events that transpired to get him and his church connected to Donald Trump and that his prayer at the RNC made a difference in convincing Blacks to vote for Trump. This is not the position held by mot mainline Black pastors but the number of conservative Black pastors who support Trump is growing.
Church leaders like Sewell appear to have blotted out Trump's many public transgressions and the requirements of God for Christians to live holy and righteous lives. Trump, a multi-convicted felon who has vowed to pardon the participants in the January 6 insurrection, lacks sound judgement and moral pulchritude that exemplifies principled Christian conduct. Moreover, he has copious infractions against the Black community.
Part of the reason the racial chasm exists between Black and White Christians is that one side -- the Republican side -- genuinely thinks that their party has a monopoly on God and Democrats can not be saved. This theory must be addressed and the leaders who perpetuate it should be held accountable for not teaching the Holy Bible, which is filled with teachings on compassion and grace for all who receive Jesus Christ. Another reason there is a disconnect is that Black and White churches do not tend to interact on a regular basis.
Historically Black and Whites have been divided in churches due to White clergy using the Bible to justify slavery and oppress Blacks. Attempts to make amends for this breach have not occurred on a large scale, yet conservatives creep into Black spaces targeting voters that want help with their struggles. The suspects tend to be Blacks from broken homes and who have experienced poverty. Out of desperation it appears they think their only hope is from outside of their community and they tend to embrace the rescue message.
The answer to this painful moment in our nation's history is to re-elect God to lead and guide those in positions of power and to have more faith in Him than in man. Christians must remember that God always has been and always will be in control.
"Does God govern your life or politics?"
If church leaders re-focus their attention on the heart of ministry -- to draw people unto salvation while serving the needy -- perhaps the transformation will occur in American society by the Christian example as it did during the Great Awakening when Christians became more internally focused.
We hope that in adjusting to changes in this leadership transition that all believers continue to hold on to their faith and remember that God remains the constant. God is an ever present helper in the time of trouble. The Body of Christ must re-center its thinking on this truth and elect to trust God's sovereignty above and beyond any potentially fallible man-made system.
