Resources
A collection of thoughtful resources to help you think through options for this upcoming election.
Articles
5 Questions Students Should Ask About Media
By Kelly Mendoza / August 2, 2023
“Prophetic” is a desirable adjective these days. The allure is obvious: In the popular imagination, the prophet is the radical individual, the bold truth-teller, the one person who is not deceived by the world. Whether on social media, in our churches, or in the voting booth, we all want to be prophets.
How to pray for your government leaders | World Vision
By Samantha Urban Tarrant / January 8, 2019
Too often, it’s easy to forget about the person behind the political decisions they make. But if we take a moment to remember their humanity, it allows us to see them as a child of God who needs prayer just like you and me. As newly elected officials begin their terms and veterans return to session, join us at World Vision in praying for the leaders in our government.
‘The Most Important Election of Our Lifetime’ | Christianity Today
By Kaitlyn Schiess / July 26, 2024
Check out the latest from Kaitlyn Schiess in Christianity Today
Common Good: What ‘Speaking Truth to Power’ Requires
By Kaitlyn Schiess / November 8, 2022
“Prophetic” is a desirable adjective these days. The allure is obvious: In the popular imagination, the prophet is the radical individual, the bold truth-teller, the one person who is not deceived by the world. Whether on social media, in our churches, or in the voting booth, we all want to be prophets.
‘The Interview’: Robert Putnam Knows Why You’re Lonely - The New York Times
By Lulu Garcia Navarro / July 13, 2024
For more on building better communities (for democracy’s sake!), the NYT interview this week with Dr. Robert Putnam
Websites
The After Party
The After Party is a project from the non-profit organization Redeeming Babel born out of friendship among Curtis Chang (founder of Redeeming Babel), David French (author and New York Times columnist), and Russell Moore (editor in chief of Christianity Today). It is a six-part digital course (+ supporting book/workbook and music album) designed to be experienced in a small-group setting, within or outside of a local church.
The And Campaign
The “&” campaign aims to educate and organize christians for civic and cultural engagement that results in better representation, more just and compassionate policies and a healthier political culture.
Vote 411
Launched by the League of Women Voters Education Fund (LWVEF) in October of 2006, VOTE411.org is a "one-stop-shop" for election related information. It provides nonpartisan information to the public with both general and state-specific information on the election process.
Ballotpedia
Ballotpedia is the digital encyclopedia of American politics, and the nation’s premier resource for unbiased information on elections, politics, and policy.
ProGrace: People, Not Politics
A community advancing a non-political approach to abortion that rises above the divide by demonstrating God's grace and value for all people.
ProGrace has developed the framework for an ecosystem of like-minded people and organizations working to create consistent Christian expressions of grace in the abortion conversation.
Center for Public Justice
They aspire to a United States and a world in which citizens, particularly Christians, take their civic responsibilities seriously as a service to God, until the kingdom of God comes in its fullness.
The Telos Group
A group that aims to form communities of American peacemakers across lines of difference and equip them to help reconcile seemingly intractable conflicts at home and abroad. Historically, the primary focus has been America’s relationship to Israel/Palestine.
Books
How To Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy
By Jenny Odell / 2019
In a world where addictive technology is designed to buy and sell our attention, and our value is determined by our 24/7 data productivity, it can seem impossible to escape. But in this inspiring field guide to dropping out of the attention economy, artist and critic Jenny Odell shows us how we can still win back our lives.
How Minds Change — David McRaney
by David McRaney / 2022
A brain-bending investigation of why some people never change their minds—and others do in an instant—by the bestselling author of You Are Not So Smart
The Bible in Politics:
by Richard Bauckham / 2011
The enduring value of The Bible in Politics is that it teaches the reader how to read the Bible politically and to gain an understanding of the social relevance of the Bible that is more disciplined, more informed, more imaginative, and more politically fruitful than many interpreters--past and present--have achieved.
How to Heal Our Racial Divide: What the Bible Says, and the First Christians Knew, about Racial Reconciliation
by Derwin Gray / 2022
The good news is that the Bible has a lot to say about how to heal our persistent racial divides. In this book, popular Bible teacher Derwin Gray walks us through Scripture, showing us the heart of God—how God from the beginning envisioned a reconciled multiethnic family in loving community, reflecting his beauty and healing presence in the world. This message is central to the gospel itself.
The Spirit of Our Politics: Spiritual Formation and the Renovation of Public Life
By Michael R. Wear / January 2024
For those discouraged and exhausted by the bitterness and rage in our politics, Michael Wear offers a new paradigm of political involvement rooted in the teachings of Jesus and drawing insights from Dallas Willard's approach to spiritual formation.
Curious Faith:
by Lore Ferguson Wilbert / 2022
A Curious Faith invites readers to go beyond pat answers and embrace curiosity, rather than certainty, as a hallmark of authentic faith.
Comfort and Protest: The Apocalypse from a South African Perspective
by Allan Boesak / 1987
Within the context of the ongoing struggle in his country, Allan Boesak has written a powerful and urgent commentary on the Book of Revelation. He provides scriptural and historical interpretations, emphasizing that the drama which unfolds in the Apocalypse is played out in history whenever a political ruler claims the allegiance that belongs to God alone. Amid persecution and temptations to despair, Boesak provides a message of hope.
Psalms in 30 Days:
by Trevin Wax / 2021
A book that guides you through the psalms and gives daily prayers from church history.
The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion
by Jonathon Haidt / 2013
Jonathan Haidt shows how moral judgments arise not from reason but from gut feelings. He shows why liberals, conservatives, and libertarians have such different intuitions about right and wrong, and he shows why each side is actually right about many of its central concerns.
Podcast Episodes
Feasting & Fasting (bibleproject.com)
By the Bible Project / 2017
In this teaching we'll explore the ancient practice of fasting, withholding food from yourself for a symbolic and intentional reason. This practice marked the lives of many ancient Israelites, of Jesus himself, and it was a habit that was carried on in the early Jesus-movement as well. However, this practice was also accompanied by regular periods of feasting to celebrate God's generosity and grace.
Bryan Stevenson & Bishop Derek Grier | Reckoning with the Past, Hope for the Future
By the National Association of Evangelicals / 2024
They talk about why we must reckon with the past in order to experience racial healing and reconciliation, and why the aspiration for a society that’s rooted in love, peace and joy is essential to the work of racial justice.
603: The Politics of Fear & Rethinking the Cross with Brian Zahnd (holypost.com)
By the Holy Post / 2024
A new article in the Christian Post says America’s survival depends on Christians voting for Trump. Why do these fear tactics still work? Then, it’s true that all politicians lie, but PolitiFacts says Trump is a league of his own. And scientists explain why negative polarization in our politics may have evolutionary origins.
Then Skye interviews pastor and author, Brian Zahnd, about his new book, “The Wood Between the Worlds: A Poetic Theology of the Cross.” He draws from art, literature, movies, and music to help us see the many facets of what Jesus really accomplished on that old rugged cross.
The Assassination Attempt - The Dispatch
By the Dispatch / 2024
For more on what we know so far about the assassination attempt and a nuanced conversation about how we got here and what happens now, listen to the latest The Dispatch Podcast episode