{"id":9197,"date":"2024-02-10T17:03:41","date_gmt":"2024-02-10T11:33:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/10\/evangelical-leaders-launch-project-to-help-christians-honor-jesus-through-political-engagement\/"},"modified":"2024-02-10T17:03:41","modified_gmt":"2024-02-10T11:33:41","slug":"evangelical-leaders-launch-project-to-help-christians-honor-jesus-through-political-engagement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/10\/evangelical-leaders-launch-project-to-help-christians-honor-jesus-through-political-engagement\/","title":{"rendered":"Evangelical Leaders Launch Project to Help Christians \u2018Honor Jesus\u2019 Through Political Engagement"},"content":{"rendered":"


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A group of evangelical leaders who are concerned about the growing polarization in U.S. politics has launched a small group course to help Christians think biblically and \u201chonor Jesus\u201d in their political engagement. <\/p>\n

The small group course, titled\u00a0The After Party: Toward Better Christian Politics<\/a>, was launched earlier this year by Redeeming Babel and is designed for the \u201cexhausted majority of faithful Christians who lament the political divisions within the American church that have heightened in recent years,\u201d according to its website. The course is available free online. A print version will be released on April 23.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe project isn\u2019t targeted at a particular ideological or partisan group but rather is designed to encourage and equip Christians of all ideological stripes to honor Jesus in the way they engage in politics,\u201d the website says.<\/p>\n

The small group course \u201chelps Christians overcome toxic polarization by advancing a Christ-centered political identity\u201d and was born \u201cout of a friendship\u201d among Redeeming Babel founder Curtis Chang, New York Times columnist David French, and Christianity Today editor-in-chief Russell Moore, the website says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to recapture the fundamental call of the gospel, which is we love our enemies,\u201d Chang\u00a0said<\/a> in an After Party launch event. \u201cWe have to love our enemies because our Lord and Savior embodied that very practice in his death.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Each of the six small group sessions is designed to be completed in 60-90 minutes and includes videos, interactive exercises, and group discussions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A\u00a0teaser<\/a> for the print version says the curriculum is for those who \u201cwant to culturally engage but are exhausted by the tension in our families and churches.\u201d The small group course \u201creframes our political identity outside partisan divides while rebuilding strained relationships,\u201d the teaser says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The curriculum encourages Christians to jettison an \u201cus vs. them\u201d mentality.<\/p>\n

\u201cOther human beings are not our enemies and cannot be our saviors either,\u201d the website says. \u201cOur deepest fears and hopes will never be answered by the victory of any political party or politician, but rather only by the wedding feast of the Lamb, which marks the return of our King Jesus. This truth should radically humble all of our \u2018flesh and blood\u2019 political allegiances.\u201d<\/p>\n

The course is neither conservative nor liberal, a description says. It\u2019s also not Republican or Democrat.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe After Party aims to shift Christians\u2019 focus from the \u2018What\u2019 of politics — ideologies, policies, and candidates — to the \u2018How\u2019 of Christian engagement in the public square,\u201d the description says. \u201cThat is, the biblical virtues that ought to mark Christian political activity regardless of whether one advocates conservative, liberal, or moderate policy positions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The After Party course is non-denominational and \u201caffirms the traditional orthodox understanding of the Christian faith as articulated by the early church in the Apostles\u2019 Creed,\u201d the website says.<\/p>\n