The Kids Will Be Alright

As I write this, I’m in Medford, Oregon, to attend my niece’s wedding. The wedding is today, and my wife, daughter, and I spent the day yesterday helping to decorate the church. We were also glad to spend a few minutes getting to catch up with Rebekah and her siblings and getting to know Zach, her fiancée.

Somehow, the topic of conversation turned to politics, and I was a little apprehensive. I know Rebekah’s family are very conservative politically, and are generally supportive of Donald Trump. I assumed the same of most of the people helping, and so my wife and I had resolved not to engage on the topic - who wants a political argument to spoil a happy occasion?

What I didn’t expect was for Rebekah to say something to the effect of “Why can’t we just set the political stuff aside in our churches and love one another like Jesus said?” Nodding heads all around from the twenty-somethings in the group. They had no interest in politics. They weren’t radicalized liberals by any stretch. But they knew enough to know that politics has no place in the church.

Everyone decries the rise of the “nones” - those with no religious affiliation - and the general flight of Gen Z from church. But I wonder if it’s not Christianity per se that they’re running from, but the overpoliticization of our churches?

I often assist with serving communion at my home church in Spokane. Last Sunday, I was floored by the number of college-age students in attendance coming up to receive the sacrament. They are hungry - for the gospel, for deep Biblical truths. But I think there’s something else to it as well. Our pastor (praise be upon him) allows no political talk from the pulpit. There are Trump supporters and Harris voters and third-party supporters in our congregation, and we all get along, because what unites us is not party affiliation, but the presence of Jesus in our lives.

I’m not worried about Rebekah and Zach and Gen Z. They’ll be fine. I am worried about the Boomers and Gen X’ers who so entangle politics and Christianity, and the harm they are doing to the cause of Christ.