During a press conference yesterday, President Trump was asked if he had urged then-FBI Director James Comey to slow or stop an investigation into Michael Flynn. His response: “No. No. Next question.” This morning’s CNNclaims that “in those four words, Trump staked the viability of his presidency.”
Today’s news is dominated by the growing conflict in Washington. How are Christians responding? On the eve of the 2016 election, Christians were divided into seven camps:
1. For Donald Trump because they believed he was the right person to be president.
2. For Mr. Trump because of his party’s positions on the Supreme Court, abortion, tax reform, and other issues.
3. For Mr. Trump because they opposed Hillary Clinton.
4. For Hillary Clinton because they believed she was the right person to be president.
5. For Mrs. Clinton because of her party’s positions on cultural and moral issues.
6. For Mrs. Clinton because they opposed Donald Trump.
7. For another candidate or not voting.
On the 118th day of the Trump administration, it seems to me that most Christians are still where they were when Mr. Trump was elected. As a result, we find ourselves divided over partisan politics and the issues they raise. Meanwhile, political turmoil in Washington is escalating with no end in sight.
Since our ministry engages cultural issues, we will need to address controversial political subjects even more frequently in the coming days. Therefore, it seems appropriate for me to state clearly my position regarding our seven options: none of the above.
The Denison Forum on Truth and Culture is called to fuel a movement of culture-changing Christians by engaging cultural issues with biblical truth. As a result, three principles motivate our work:
One: We focus on Kingdom issues.
We exist to help people know Christ and make him known. Our ultimate enemy is spiritual, so the ultimate answer to our challenges is spiritual (Ephesians 6:12). Therefore, we address cultural issues as a means of addressing the underlying spiritual issues of our day.
Two: We serve the Lord through his church.
The church is the body of Christ in the world today (1 Corinthians 12:27). As C. S. Lewis observed, “The whole mass of Christians are the physical organism through which Christ acts—we are his fingers and muscles, the cells of his body.” Therefore, we are called to help the church change the world.
Three: Our mission transcends politics.
In engaging cultural issues, there are times when we must address partisan topics and political leaders. When we do so, we sometimes frustrate readers who want us to be more supportive or more critical of the leader in question. We have received a few such letters since Mr. Trump’s election. We received similar letters when Mr. Obama was president and when Mr. Bush was president before him.
I believe strongly that God is calling more Christians into political service than are answering his call. However, our ministry exists to serve people across the political spectrum. Therefore, we seek to advance God’s Kingdom rather than political agendas.
As events in Washington unfold over coming days and weeks, “speaking the truth in love” remains our mission (Ephesians 4:15). It is a privilege to share this mission with you each day, to the glory of God.
Jim Denison, Ph.D., speaks and writes on cultural and contemporary issues. He produces a daily column which is distributed to more than 113,000 subscribers in 203 countries. He also writes for The Dallas Morning News, The Christian Post, Common Call, and other publications.
