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“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20

In 2012 I moved to London from Seattle. Sure there were some things to get used to, but overall it wasn’t much of a culture shock. My family acclimated quickly. We thought the UK would be our forever home, we had no idea how much the work would change in five years. In 2015 the US Presidential race started heating up. 2016 came, and by the end of the summer we felt the Democratic nominee, Hilary Clinton, was a sure winner. There was no way a spoilt and corrupt businessman would ever gain the popular vote. This orange monkey, who cheated on his wives, bragged about grabbing women in the crotch, and had declared bankruptcy along with a history of racism in which he was well know for, this was not a man the moral people of the United States would entertain beyond their television sets.

Boy I was wrong.

Somehow I missed what was going on in the US. While I was concerned more with Brexit, the Evangelicals in America had somehow taken the poster child for nepotism and vile morality and turned him into a savior, like Jesus Christ! What The actual F—?

We returned to the US in the fall of 2018. It was like we had walked into an episode of the Twilight Zone. There were people who actually believed Trump was ordained by God to save America! I’m sorry, who was this “Trump” person? The guy who evicted black people from his properties, the man who cheated and raped women, this slimy real estate person who gambled with peoples lives. I clearly didn’t get the same news.

The year I was born 70% of America went to church. In the last 13 years it’s fallen to 50%. I hear so many christians lamenting the fact that America has lost its way, that people don’t go to church anymore. So what’s changed since the mid-1970’s? We as Christians were told who to vote for, which legislation was moral, and who was good enough.

We lost our mission.

I firmly believe that the church in the US is no longer first and foremost following Jesus’s Great Commandment. We are to spread the gospel! Too many churches are focused on who is President, which laws to pass or repeal, who is a valid person and who isn’t. Jesus was very, very clear. He didn’t say, “If you’re going to follow me only vote this way, or only support that cause.” I don’t remember him saying, “Take up your weapon and follow me.”

You want to know why we are losing church members? We’ve lost the gospel. Oh but I hear you say, “We can still vote morally… and still support certain bills… and we have to protect our children…” Yes, and you can do ALL of that by spreading the gospel. No one needs to be saved from bad politicians, or bad legislation. Politics and laws are of the earth, but this isn’t our home. If you are not 100% focused on serving God and spreading the gospel, are you even a follower of Christ?