Jesus vs. America
A Gen X attorney sits down with a millennial and a member of Gen Z to untangle the Christian faith from the influence of the American culture.
For over two decades, we have collectively watched young adults walking away from their faith at an alarming rate. Most Christian resources focus on this exodus from a sociological lens, and we have benefited from the work that has been done in this area.
But as three people with on-the-ground experience working with young adults every day, it is increasingly clear that young adults are not so much reacting to Jesus, his message, or even his plan for the church. Instead, many young people are being repelled by a counterfeit and enculturated version of Christianity, a version of Christianity that commingles the American culture and political ideology with the Christian faith. Jesus told us we could not serve two masters, and yet so many Christians have tried to serve both the teachings of scripture and the dictates of the American culture. Young adults have taken notice, and they want nothing to do with this tainted form of religion. Many may bemoan the loss of so many young people, but we have often given them the reasons they cite when they leave.
Our podcast is designed to first and foremost untangle the teachings of Jesus and the will of God revealed throughout the scripture from the enculturated version of the gospel that has spread to many corners of the church in 21st Century America. In doing so, we hope to validate what young adults have long suspected, while challenging them to go deeper with Jesus rather than bail out on a counterfeit gospel. We want to demonstrate honest questions and to wrestle with doubts while also encouraging young adults to do the work of seeking answers and working to rebuild their faith.
Jesus vs. America
How Should a Christian Steward a Vote?
As followers of Jesus, we are to steward every gift that God has given us for the sake of Jesus as citizens of His kingdom. Jesus and the apostles did not have the right to vote, but we live in a country where we do have that right. How are we to steward the privilege of voting for the sake of Jesus and His kingdom? In this episode we explore the difference between voting and rooting, and how we can know which one we are doing. We also talk about the impact of voting on local issues and local candidates, rather than obsessing about national politics, and how much more of an impact our vote makes in the local context. Stewarding our vote also requires that we become educated about the candidates and the issues, putting in the work to be well informed long before we are asked to cast our vote. We also explore how we can love our neighbors – and even our enemies – in the ways that we vote, and how the way we vote has become one of the most visible aspects of the public witness of Christians to the broader society. Finally, we ask if there are times that we shouldn’t vote, and whether there is any truth to the idea that voting (or not voting) for certain candidates is a sin.