It's not a secret that I've never leaned right politically. My upbringing, my experiences working among the urban poor and my embarrassment at conservative Christians married to the right wing Republican agenda have driven me away from the teritory held sacred by so many American Christians.
When people bring up the election, my response is two-fold.
First, I am so excited to hear mainstream Christian voices encouraging us to vote our values, not our party. Greg Boyd has called in to question the role of Christians and the state. Jim Wallis and Shane Claibourne have encouraged us to be "political misfits." And Rick Warren's Saddleback Forum proved that Christians want to talk about the issues.
Christians are migrating to a new space, more defined by a broad, Bible inspired agenda, and not limited to one party. It's about time guys, I've been lonely.
Second, I'm afraid that a younger generation of Christians are selling out to Obama the way their parents did to Reagan. I was a little overwhelmed when I saw dozens of my friends change their Facebook name to include "Hussein." Brian McClaren, perhaps the most influential theologian around, blogs regularly about why you should vote for Obama. When Relevant Magazine editor Cameron Strang turned down the opportunity to pray at the DNC, it was picked up by, one of my favorite authors, Donald Miller of Blue Like Jazz. Now Miller is stumping for Obama.
This election fills me with hope for the Churches leaders, but fear for my generation. My prayer is that before you vote, you will consider long and hard the implications of Jesus' statement "My kingdom is not of this world."
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