I find it disturbing that some Christians in America assume I am a Republican. Since when is being a Christian equated with being a Republican? I've never been a Republican, and I never want to be... A few years ago in Kona, we had a couple of politicians on our YWAM campus...a democrat and a republican. I thought it very "progressive" of our university. The republican seemed nice enough, but the democrat...he was shining. I was impressed with him. He told us a story about how it grieved him about a program that was being cut in his state that helps kids. So he began to fast and pray about it. Somehow, a few teachers in a local school found out about it and fasted with him... and it spread to many schools and classrooms...and they fasted and prayed with this politician! This man impacted his state with something so practical and so spiritual! I was impressed. And God managed to use even a DEMOCRAT! Imagine that. Why do we love boxes? Republican = good/conservative/Christian Democrat: = bad/liberal/non believing It’s a bit naïve to assume all the things the Republicans do are driven by Godly and Kingdom values. But we like to box ourselves as a nation in general as a Christian nation. I was reading recently how the Pledge of Allegiance never had the words “under God” until 1954. It was a reaction to communism in America. Out of fear and a desire to make it clear that we are not communist…we put “under God” in the pledge. Not everything we do as a country is so very "holy" though as a country we like to think we are somehow the protectors of truth, justice, and the American way...which we have assumed is God's way. Is God really on America's side? Can we always assume that? Is it all so black and white? I will never forget when we began the war in Iraq. I was in various prayer meetings on a YWAM base in Lausanne. It shocked me how Americans prayed. There was no doubt...God was on our side and God wanted America to win. Hmmmmm...is he now? I wasn’t sure. I found it very presumptuous of the American Christians there although I would love that to be true. Who doesn’t want to believe their country is good? I would love if we could really discuss and think through the issues? Why is everyone determined to tell me what to think rather than to teach me HOW to think. That's one of the reason I really enjoyed "They Myth Of A Christian Nation" by Gregory Boyd. He wrote the book based on a series of teachings/preachings he did in his church a few years ago. He had been encouraged by his church members to "shepherd the flock" on certain political issues and influence how his members would vote. When he refused to do this and instead did a series about his thoughts on why, he lost 20 percent of his congregation. I loved Boyd's book because he addresses this issue of "taking back America for God". He really exposes the hypocrisy and twisted thinking of a lot of American Christians who want to assume "power over" rather than "power under" other people in America. I truly appreciated his emphasis on humility, the love of God, and kingdom thinking rather than making the United States government a Kingdom of God! :) What I have learned to embrace in the past year especially, is that it’s ok to have more questions than answers… and that our ability to embrace that tension of different view points and perspectives is how we learn and grow and truly get to the truth. | 
