Don’t let your light go out

Published 10:08 pm Saturday, June 11, 2016

The Associated Press recently published a story with the headline: “Evangelicals feel alienated, anxious.”

It’s an apt description of what many evangelical Christians are feeling this election cycle. Though the majority of the nation identifies as Christian, church membership is down and there have been several public policy decisions that have rankled many believers.

With the nation’s changing demographics, the influence of evangelicals is weakening, the AP story reported.

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“The shift in the last few years has really been stunning,” said Ed Stetzer, executive director of Lifeway Research, an evangelical consulting firm in Nashville, Tennessee. “Nobody would have guessed the pace of change. That’s why so many people are yelling we have to take our country back.”

The changes are reflected in the highest reaches of public office, AP reported.

The U.S. Supreme Court is now comprised completely of Jews and Roman Catholics. In the 2012 presidential election, the Republican nominees were a Mormon, Mitt Romney, and a Catholic, Paul Ryan.

“We’ve lost our home field advantage,” Stetzer said.

It’s likely why many Christians support Donald Trump. He claims to be a Christian and has explicitly said he will “protect Christianity.”  When so many Christians feel as though their values are being attacked, a promise to protect goes a long way.

But they are likely to find a wolf in sheep’s clothing, not a savior.  Trump’s past positions have run counter to evangelical values, and he seems to have only found conservatism in time to run as a Republican. The alternative, Hillary Clinton, isn’t any better.

So what’s an evangelical to do?

“Don’t give up,” Kentucky pastor Richie Clendenen said in the AP story. “Don’t let your light go out.”

Christians who feel they have no place in the political process have no choice. They must remain a beacon of hope and must stay engaged in the world around them. Some have suggested that they will simply sit on the sidelines while the nation continues down a dangerous path. That will only further marginalize their voice.

Clendenen is right — don’t let your light go out.