AN

OPEN LETTER TO EVANGELICALS Election 2016

To my dear fellow Christians who identify as evangelicals,

I have some thoughts that I would like to share with you regarding the recent election
results. I hope they might be helpful. If you find them so, please pass them along.

Today, statistics show that 4 out of 5 white evangelicals propelled Donald Trump to
victory.

The word evangelical comes from the Greek word for Good News. The Good News
or Gospel is the message that through Jesus the Kingdom of God (a new reality of
holistic healing, renewal, transformation, and ultimately resurrection) has broken into
our world and will continue to grow until all is made right and new. Essentially, the
Kingdom of God is a seed that is growing (long term) towards a worldwide Shalom a
kind of full-life peace and flourishing.

According to Jesus, the Kingdom of God is very different from the kingdoms we are used
to. In many ways, its a kind of upside down kingdom. In this kingdom,

1 - Greatness is found in serving others, not lording it over them. (Matt 20:25-28,
John 13)
2 - The poor and marginalized are prioritized, instead of the powerful. (Luke 6:20-21,
James 2, Matt 9:18-26)
3 - All races, cultures, and genders are of equal value in the eyes of God, who created all
to be in his image and must therefore be treated with respect. (Gal 3:28-29, Gen 1:27)
4 - The path of mercy and peacemaking is called for, rather than the more common path
of revenge. People are actually called to the immense challenge of loving their enemies
and praying for those who persecute them. The Kingdom of God is utterly non-violent.
(Matt 5:23-34, Matt 5:43-48, John 18:11)
5 - Humility, rather than pride, is what a healthy life posture looks like. Repentance
(acknowledging your own faults and turning away from them regularly) is central to this
posture. (Philippians 2:1-11, Mark 1:14-15)
6 Truthfulness is at the center of Jesus society he says, simply, to let your yes be yes
and your no, no. (Matt 5:33-37)
7 - We are called not to store up for ourselves treasures on earth, but rather store up
treasures of the heavenly sort for where our treasure is, there our heart will be as
well. Jesus says quite explicitly that you cannot serve both God and money. (Matt 6:1924)
8 - Love, rather than power, is how the Kingdom life is meant to play out. Jesus says
that all the teaching of the Bible is summed up in two commands love God with all
your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. (Matt 22:3440)

For a time, it was popular among evangelicals (and perhaps it still is) to wear WWJD
bracelets, which stood for what would Jesus do. The point of these bracelets was to
remind followers of Jesus to do their best to follow him throughout their lives, in
whatever situations they found themselves in.

I want to apply the WWJD concept to the election of Donald Trump to a position of
power in our nation.

In voting for Mr. Trump, 4 out of 5 white evangelicals have chosen a man who exhibits
the following qualities:

1 He sees greatness primarily through the lens of power, bullying people, lording it
over them, and pushing people down to get to the top.
2 His words and life exhibit no sign of consideration for the poor and marginalized. He
was born into wealth and seems to be drawn towards dictator-types like Vladimir Putin.
3 He has consistently spoken in racist and xenophobic ways and has not sufficiently
distanced himself from white-supremacist groups. He degrades women in the way he
talks about them and the way he has repeatedly assaulted them sexually.
4 He seems to thrive on discord, regularly mocking and degrading people to their face.
He has also encouraged violence among his supporters on multiple occasions.
5 He is very narcissistic. He boasts about himself constantly and seems almost
incapable of admitting wrongdoing.
6 He lies constantly.
7 He has built his life around gaining money and holding it for himself.
8 His campaign has been consistently characterized by hateful rhetoric towards
others. He has said next to nothing about God and his life demonstrates no interest in
him.

I want to put all of those principles of the Kingdom of God next to the principles
exhibited in the words and actions of the man Donald Trump in order to show how
remarkably different they are. Trump exhibits, in many ways, the antithesis of what
Jesus and his Kingdom are all about which is what the good news is all about which is
what evangelicalism is supposed to be all about.

In essence, 4 out of 5 white evangelical Christians in the United States chose a man for
president who is a kind of anti-Kingdom person or, dare I say it, a kind of anti-Christ.

How has this happened?

I dont know the answer to that. Those who voted for him are the only ones who can
answer that. But I believe this needs to be pointed out.

I may be wrong I may not be seeing every side. But it seems to me as though there
has come to be a widespread dissonance for many evangelicals between the Kingdom of
God they profess to believe in and the political choices that they are making.

Im very open to counter argument. Please, if Im missing something, show me. But I
also urge you, my fellow Christians who identify as evangelicals, to consider seriously
this apparent dissonance. I know you dont want to be living in a way that opposes the
work of God in our world. Of course you dont. Is it possible, though, that you might
be? Are you open to that possibility? Are you open to the challenge of a brother?

Thank you for thinking about this.


Blessings to you,

Rev. Allen Drew
Philadelphia, PA 19119