Month: June 2023

Ways I Encountered God During My Sabbatical (and Key Lessons Learned)

My 6-month sabbatical, which concludes July 8, has been a rich, fulfilling time of rest, rejuvenation, and restoration. I am so grateful that InterVarsity has both the systems and structures that allow for sabbatical, as well as the culture that supported me in taking it. It’s hard to summarize 6 months of experiences in one document, and it’s possible that some realizations will only emerge after more time has passed, but here is my current list of highlights. At the end are the main lessons that I learned that I hope to bring forward with me after I return to work. 

Ways I encountered God

Time with kids:

  • Told numerous Bible stories to Luke per his request! Luke’s favorites involved Jesus calming the storm and appearing to the disciples after his resurrection. 
  • Having a solo week with Luke while Liz was away with Ellie. We were able to eat dinner at a farmer’s market, had lunch at a Nepalese restaurant, hiked along a stream, and ate ice cream
  • Was able to be fully present with kids when they were sick and stayed home from daycare
  • Spent significant time with Ellie every Tuesday and Wednesday. We often went to the library or to the Dickinson art gallery. 

In Church:

  • Being able to fully engage with and enjoy a small group and the Alpha course
  • Having a deeper sense of community with the diverse people who attend our church
  • After a sermon series about loving one’s neighbors, intentionally taking Luke with me to hand out cookies and donuts to our nearby neighbors—discovering that 3 people who attend our church also live on our block! 

Spiritual Reflection:

  • Met with a spiritual director each month
  • Journaled regularly
  • Took a total of 10 Retreat Days, mostly at Stillwater Retreat center in Carlisle

Reading and writing: 

  • Read ~35 books, especially books that covered topics like power, politics, and faith
  • Read through old journals from 2008-2013, seeing in the pages how I grew as a person and as a follower of Jesus. I saw how angsty and insecure I was when I was younger, and how I slowly grew more confident and secure as God kept leading me forward. 
  • Wrote ~15 blogs about faith, philosophy, politics, and even Star Wars!
  • Created a 9-week small group Bible study guide on the theme of “Politics in the Bible”
  • Listened to the Good Faith podcast and the Bible Project podcast

Outdoor activity:

  • Skied at Roundtop Mountain on 7 occasions, despite the limited snow this winter
  • Hiked at White Rocks, Pole Steeple, Oppossum Lake, Kings Gap, Letort Stream, Waggoner’s Gap
  • Kayaked on the Conodoguinet and canoed in the Poconos
  • Sat on the beach at Fuller Lake

Conversations with friends:

  • In person visits with Jason & Megan, Andrew & Sam, Neil, Mark, Kirk, Jeff & Sam, Ian, Steve & Meg, Joanne, Emery, Sean & Nicole Tim, Ryan, Colin, Grace, Rella, and many others
  • Phone calls with Betsy, Rob, Avi, Lauren, Tom, and many others

At home:

  • Set up a basement “lair” for myself to retreat to 
  • Was able to enjoy cooking more frequently and thinking through more elaborate meals
  • Hired a construction company to tear down our old fence and build a new one 
  • More meaningful time with Liz

Travel:

  • Trip with Liz to Stasbourg, France for a wedding. Had an Airbnb overlooking what had been the tallest cathedral in Europe, and had time to explore numerous old streets, churches, and architecture
  • Family vacation in the Poconos right on a gorgeous lake
  • Trips to Longwood Gardens 
  • Trip to Newburgh for Memorial Day
  • Upcoming trip to Massachusetts 
View of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Strasbourg, France

Lessons Learned During Sabbatical

1. I should pay more attention to my feelings and desires, rather than ignoring them. They often point to a helpful next step. Over sabbatical I got better at listening to my body and soul. When I felt lonely, I reached out to a friend. When I felt hungry, I made sure to find something I wanted to eat. When I felt sick, I took it easy and rested. When I felt bored, I left the house to run errands or went on a hike. When I return to work I want to make sure I keep listening to my own feelings and desires and responding accordingly. 

2. I can have confidence and security in myself as I build my life on Jesus. I don’t have to be anxious, worried, or panicked even if others are, because I know where my foundation is. On the flip side, I don’t have to get sucked into thinking the grass would always be greener if something about my situation changed. God has brought me step by step to this current location, life, family, and career, and I must continue to be grateful and intentional in all of those things, trusting him to keep leading me.  

3. Institutions, organizations, and systems of power matter a lot, but the way Christians interact in them should be different compared to others. A Christian should long for a slow and steady influence over a longer amount of time, rather than trying to achieve a flashy big impact all at once. Similarly, the best way to change culture is not just to critique it, but to create more of it. And lastly, as intense as this political moment is right now, Millennials such as myself should not burn ourselves out trying to fix everything right now. We need to be preparing ourselves and our own institutions for what’s going to come in the next 20-30 years, when we enter senior leadership and become the next generation of leaders.

4. Do not ignore the Holy Spirit and prayer. Through reading books and reflecting on my own experiences, it becomes more and more clear to me how important it is to be aware of the reality of the spiritual realm and the power of God in bringing hope and healing. One move of the Holy Spirit it worth 50 attempts solely in my own power. 

What Critics Often Get Wrong About Christian Nationalism

Last month I enjoyed a fun Memorial Day parade in my hometown of Newburgh, NY. I expected the procession to include a lot of flags, police cars, marching bands, and fire engines—and it did. More surprising to me however, were the large number of Latino evangelicals present in the parade, and particularly the prominent blending of Christianity and American patriotism. There was a Spanish-speaking church with multiple parade floats, led by a trio of  Hispanic men blowing shofars, followed by an Israeli flag, the Christian flag, and dozens of American flags. As the lead pastor rode by, dressed in a suit and waving to the crowd, I could read “One Nation Under God” and “In God we trust” written across the side of his van, which was decked out with more American flags. Spanish worship music blared from the speakers.

Photo from Hudson Valley Press

Seeing this blend of Christianity and patriotism made me reflect on the nature of Christian nationalism. Political science theorist Paul Miller writes: “Christian nationalism is the belief that the American nation is defined by Christianity, and that the government should take active steps to keep it that way.” Christian nationalism has been in the news a lot recently, as it becomes increasingly apparent that many Trump supporters—particularly those who attempted the coup on January 6, 2021—are fervent believers in this ideology. While Christian nationalism has often seemed to the domain of white evangelicals, who form the bedrock of Trump’s support and supported him in record numbers in 2016 and 2020, there are a growing number of Christians of other ethnicities who have also embraced Christian nationalism, including Christians of Spanish descent. Political journalists have noted the massive swing towards Trump that occurred in these communities (especially in Texas and Florida) in the 2020 elections as compared to 2016. While I didn’t see any Trump signs at the Memorial Day parade, I would guess that many of these Latino evangelicals might also fit into that category.

And that brings me to the main point of my blog today. Watching the Memorial Day parade, while fun, brought up some uncomfortable reminders of Christian nationalism, and the dangers that can arise when Christians attempt to coerce others into our faith through political power. I could go on and on about the problems with nationalism generally, and have blogged about it in the past. However, most recent critiques of Christian nationalism in America that I have come across—particularly by those who aren’t Christian— typically focus on three problematic aspects: 1. its connections to white supremacy, 2. the focus on America First, and 3. a centering of Protestant Christianity. All of these critiques are of course valid to a certain extent in the United States, but I want to highlight what I saw in the Newburgh Memorial Day parade as a caution: if your main critique of Christian Nationalism is that it is too centered on whiteness, America, and/or Protestantism, then your critique simply will not apply to many versions of Christian nationalism in our world today. 

As the Latino parade marchers illustrate, more and more, Christian Nationalism is NOT a domain of European whiteness- nor even of America. One can look more broadly at the rise of Christian nationalism in Brazil, or African nations like Uganda. There are attempts by more and more non-white peoples around the world to inscribe Christian values into their countries’ laws through legislation and political power. And lest one think that Christian nationalism is a fundamentally evangelical or Protestant phenomenon, one only has to look at the twisted version of Russian Orthodoxy that Putin has mobilized and militarized alongside Russian Archbishop Kirill in order to justify his imperialistic endeavors. Even in America, more and more Catholics are building alliances with their former Protestant rivals in order to fight what they see as rising “wokeness.” Contrary to what one might have heard, Christian nationalism is not a solely white, American, or Protestant phenomenon. 

Moreover, these narrow secular critiques of Christian nationalism remind me of the argument that philosopher Susan Sontag had with the poet Adrienne Rich regarding the nature of German Nazis’ ideology. Adrienne Rich had argued that the best way to understand Nazism was solely through the lens of misogyny–she wrote that Nazism was “patriarchy at its purest, most elemental form.” Sontag rebutted that while misogyny was certainly present, to focus on patriarchy over and above other aspects of Nazism (such as racism, anti-Semitism, violence, capitalism, imperialism, etc) is to deny the complexity of the problem. Similarly, to simply denounce Christian Nationalism solely for being too white, or too American, is dangerously myopic, and leaves one open to counter-arguments like this: “Well, we can’t be Christian nationalists because we aren’t white and we aren’t American!” They fail to comprehend the real appeal of Christian nationalism, which is the same appeal it has held for millennia, ever since the Roman Emperor Constantine co-opted the faith in 313 CE and began using it to justify his rule and reign. Christian nationalism is appealing because it is a form of idolatry, of using the name of God to bless one’s empire and defeat one’s enemies (domestic or foreign).

If Christian nationalism is only really wrong because America does it, then your critique can’t go back further than 1776; if it’s only wrong because it’s too Protestant, it can’t go back further than 1517; if it’s only wrong because it’s too white, then you can’t go back further than the 1400s (when the concept of “whiteness” originated). We need to go back further than that.

Thus, to lay my cards not he table, I believe the fundamental weakness of critiquing Christian Nationalism for being too racist, too American, or too Protestant is that it simply does not go deep enough; it fails to address the root of the problem. (And to be clear, the problem is not that Christians are acting voting and acting according to their moral beliefs about what is right or wrong—because that is hopefully true for EVERY. SINGLE. PERSON.) The core problem at the heart of Christian nationalism is this–should Christians be attempting to establish Christianity as the pre-eminent religion? Should Christians ever use political power to coerce people to follow Jesus? 

Admittedly, some Christians, particularly those who have a dim view of free will, have no problem with this. They might argue that other religions—notably Islam—spread through the sword, and if governmental power helps people to make other wise decisions (like wearing a seatbelt), then why not use coercion to force people to become Christian? For me and other Anabaptists, however, it is clear from the New Testament that Jesus’ Kingdom is not of this world, and as such he forbids his followers from using the sword to advance their interests. The earliest Christians refused to fight in wars, and would not use force to make others believe. We Anabaptists do not even baptize infants, insisting that they be able to make a free choice to be baptized when they are mature enough to decide for themselves. Thus Anabaptists such as myself would argue that Christianity is always wrong when it uses violence to coerce others into following Jesus, and our critique can go back all the way to the “Christianization” of the Roman Empire in 313 CE, would apply all the way through the Crusades, Inquisition, and European conquests, and will keep on applying going forward regardless what form Christian nationalism takes next. 

For example, I think there is a chance, however small, that within the next century China will hit a tipping point where the number of Christians becomes too large for the government to keep repressing. Imagine then a Chinese version of Roman Emperor Constantine, who decides that it is easier to co-opt Christianity to serve his regime rather than to keep fighting it. Imagine that then we see a new version of Christian nationalism that uses the cross to justify Chinese persecution of the Muslim Uighurs, Chinese expansionism in Asia, and even a war against the increasingly non-Christian West. If your critique of Christian nationalism is that it is too white, or too centered on American Christianity or Protestantism, then you would have little to say against a uniquely Chinese Christian nationalism. (Or Brazilian Christian nationalism, or Ugandan Christian nationalism… etc). 

However, if instead you have been critiquing Christian nationalism all along because Jesus’ followers are called to never use violence against their opponents, then you actually have a worthwhile—and consistent!—counter-philosophy to offer. That is why I think it is so crucial in this time for Anabaptist Christians to offer up their theology of pacifism (and our connected critiques of Christian nationalism) and spread it far and wide. Lord knows that Western Christians need to understand that Christian nationalism is flawed; but the center of the Church is no longer in the West. Now is the time for Christians around the entire globe to learn from Western Christianity’s mistakes and to reject the temptation to pick up the sword. Otherwise, we will see the heartbreaking cycle of violence continue in a new generation, staining the name of Jesus once more as rising powers in the Global East and South flex their muscles and attempt to build their own Christian Empires. 

The sword is a lot easier to carry than the cross. Every generation since Peter sliced off the servants’ ear in the garden of Gethsemane will be tempted to establish God’s Kingdom through violence. But that’s not the way of Jesus. And Christians of every tribe, nation, and tongue need to be reminded of that. 

[For a book that does a great job of critiquing Christian nationalism both in principle and as it has been practiced in America, I recommend Paul Miller’s The Religion of American Greatness: What’s Wrong with Christian Nationalism. Paul Miller is himself a practicing Christian so this book is an insider’s view at the philosophical and theological issues with Christian nationalism.]

[For another book that is a bit shorter and less academic, but was written 18 years ago so it’s a bit out of date, I’d recommend Greg Boyd’s Myth of a Christian Nation. This book was one of the biggest influences on how I shifted in my political and religious views away from Christian nationalism and to my current views.]

The Atlantic Article That Explains How InterVarsity Can Postpone America’s Collapse

I read a fascinating article in The Atlantic that explains that the collapse of every civilization often can be linked to two main drivers of instability: broad economic stagnation, and too many elites. Oxford researcher Peter Turchin explains: 

“All human societies experience recurrent waves of political crisis, such as the one we face today. My research team built a database of hundreds of societies across 10,000 yearsto try to find out what causes them. We examined dozens of variables, including population numbers, measures of well-being, forms of governance, and the frequency with which rulers are overthrown. We found that the precise mix of events that leads to crisis varies, but two drivers of instability loom large. The first is popular immiseration—when the economic fortunes of broad swaths of a population decline. The second, and more significant, is elite overproduction—when a society produces too many superrich and ultra-educated people, and not enough elite positions to satisfy their ambitions. [emphasis added]” 

In our current day, we know that many working class Americans have been left behind, but Turchin explains that even college-educated Americans aren’t doing well across the board anymore, because too many people have college degrees in comparison to the positions available to them (even in STEM fields). He writes: “Competition is healthy for society, in moderation. But the competition we are witnessing among America’s elites has been anything but moderate. It has created very few winners and masses of resentful losers. It has brought out the dark side of meritocracy, encouraging rule-breaking instead of hard work. All of this has left us with a large and growing class of frustrated elite aspirants, and a large and growing class of workers who can’t make better lives for themselves.” 

Turchin goes on to explain using historical examples that the most likely ways that this tension will be resolved is either through a violent revolution that has the effect of wealth and status redistribution, or if elites are willing to “sacrifice their near-term self-interest for our long-term collective interests.” 

And this is where InterVarsity comes in. 

You see, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship is a campus ministry that helps to disciple tens of thousands of college students at 700+ colleges and universities across America—representing the next batch of Turchin’s (potential) elites, entering an incredible competitive environment. Through Bible studies, worship, and discipleship, we work to help college students encounter the living Jesus and follow him in every area of their lives. But the thing about following Jesus, is that Jesus calls people repeatedly to love their neighbors, to forgo self-interest, to be willing to sell all their possessions and give to the poor, to love their enemies, to deign worldly status….in short, to be willing to give up all the trappings of being an “elite” and to instead identify with the meek, humble, and lowly. In InterVarsity we regularly study stories of the early church pooling their possessions and eliminating poverty; we reflect deeply on the dangers of the selfish pursuit of wealth and power. We hear how different Jesus’ Kingdom is compared to the kingdoms of this world. We encourage students to take practical steps to go outside of their elite college bubbles to serve the poor, to sacrifice for the sake of others, to work for justice for the oppressed. In short, InterVarsity is an institution uniquely poised to help potential elites to be willing to sacrifice their near-term self-interest for long term collective interests. 

[I am describing InterVarsity because it is the organization I work for and know best. But any faithful Christian institution that follows Jesus’ teachings will hopefully guide its adherents to similar conclusions.] 

Not everyone appreciates this aspect of following Jesus. In fact, it is this anti-elitist tendency within Christianity that the atheist philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche especially despised. He labeled it as “slave morality” — a morality created by the weak, oppressed, and humiliated people of the world to feel better about themselves. He thinks this slave morality is an obstacle to true human flourishing, which he believed requires people with strong wills to dominate others and disregard any ethical limits. Nietzsche argued we need elite “Ubermen” to dominate and lead, lest the world collapse into mediocrity. (And of course, there are many who call themselves Christian who would agree with Nietzsche’s prescription for more strongmen). I obviously disagree with Nietzsche’s desire for more strongmen. But in terms of his diagnosis of Christian theology, I think Nietzsche is correct— the New Testament does indeed promote a version of “slave morality,” and passages like the Beatitudes or Philippians 2 illustrate that perfectly. In Philippians, Paul says we are to take on the mind of Christ, who made himself a slave. And if the Son of God took on the form a slave in order to suffer and die for others, then how much more so should we his followers be willing to forsake our own elite power, status, and possessions! 

That said, if we assume Turchin’s analysis is correct, organizations such as InterVarsity are playing a small but key role in keeping America from a collapse into violent revolution. College graduates that are following Jesus might choose to exit the elite rat race and pursue less-glamorous alternative callings, thus filling gaps in the lower rungs of society and simultaneously making the elite economy less competitive. Others may remain elites but do so in alternative ways, such as by giving generously or leading their companies and institutions to pursue goals that benefit the world long-term (even if they are less profitable in the short-term). Politics can look different when the voters and candidates choose to love their enemies and seek the “shalom” of their cities rather than pursuing a strategy of divide and conquer. Even the most elite Christians can do a lot to serve the least of these: it was Bono who advocated for Jubilee debt forgiveness of African nations, and helped get the PEPFAR anti-AIDS program passed during the Bush administration which has already saved 25 million African lives. 

None of this is to say that America’s trajectory can be corrected by a few thousand college graduates desperately trying to follow Jesus. Yet, just as a small bit of yeast can leaven a large batch of dough, it’s possible that the lives of a handful of faithful people refusing to live like the other elites might just be enough to turn the tide. Stranger things have happened.