I often get asked, “Why does everything you write seem so political?” A pastor who blogs as “A Country Pastor” gets asked the same thing. He responds that the askers are the ones who see it as political. “They see Jesus’s words–his call to care for the poor, to confront injustice, to lift up the lowly–as political. That’s exactly why they killed him.​ His love threatened their power. His justice exposed their control. His mercy embarrassed their pride. But this isn’t politics. This is spiritual. .

Jesus began his ministry not with a platform, but with a proclamation. The Kingdom of God is at hand. And what does that Kingdom look like? It looks like the hungry being fed. The sick being healed. The poor being lifted. The stranger being welcomed. The enemy being forgiven. The proud brought low. The last being first.”

I agree. So here are my questions. How does the last being first square with “America First?” Or how does the stranger being welcomed square with foreigners being excluded, even Harvard students? Or how does a budget that punishes the hungry, sick, and poor square with Jesus’s priorities?

Or how does Christian Nationalism square with these words of Jesus? “My kingdom is not of this world.” John 18:36 

I can just hear the responses. “Well, Debbie, how do your Progressive views square with Christian values?”

What Progressive views? I’m not very ​politically Progressive. I have many conservative views​. I also think there are divergent views of “Christian values.” I think it’s dangerous to prioritize a couple of moral issues that Jesus never mentioned over those he mentioned all the time. 

“We cannot become so comfortable having a seat at the table that we refuse to flip it over when it becomes a tool of oppression. We cannot fail to act because we fear the consequences. Holy disruption is a mandate for those who follow Christ.” ~ Janelle Bruce

I can’t think of a more holy disruptor than Christ. And he calls us to follow him.