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Thoughts From James Bell

Dear Friends,

As much as I try to be one who keeps politics out on the pulpit, or my teaching, if you live in the United States it is becoming harder not to address it. It fills the airwaves, social media posts, news station reports, and conversations at the cafeteria, gym, workplace and home. Each source and person has their own particular slant, and to totally ignore the conversation is to be out of touch. Therefore, the “thought” I share today (which was sent to me this morning by a friend) I pass along to you. I do so because his words struck a chord in me. Not everyone will agree. I know that and accept whatever consequences or feedback I will receive because of it. After all, when does total agreement on everything ever happen nowadays? (Though as one who has studied much history, I know it's more than naïve to suggest there was ever a time when everyone agreed on everything.) 



Yet, that be as it may, I offer you this post by a man named James Bell, a pastor from Michigan. I know little about him since the post did not come with a bio attached, but from what I can see he is a Jesus-loving, Kingdom of God furthering, Lordship-believing, Gospel-affirming pastor. I appreciated his words (below), and as a pastor I must say I relate entirely to his struggle. I offer this excerpt as a worthy and biblical perspective to consider. Enjoy.

“Over the past few weeks, I’ve been called a coward by both the left and the right for not “choosing a side.” I’ve been accused of third-wayism, or riding the fence. I’ve been called a puppet for the right who overlooks presidential immorality, and also a pastor compromised by leftist ideology. These accusations come from both sides, each convinced that my refusal to fully ‘align’ proves hidden loyalty to the other.

That reveals the problem. We now live in an either-or world. You are either left or right. There is nothing in between. The demand to choose sides exposes confusion about lordship. The question is not left or right. The question is who is Lord.



Politics offers identity, belonging, purpose, and enemies. Jesus offers a Kingdom. The gospel declares a King who refuses to share His throne. When politics becomes the highest good, disagreement becomes dangerous and loyalty becomes enforced. What follows is not moral courage, but conscience captured by ideology. When politics becomes mixed with our faith, it begins to claim what belongs to God. It is treated as a savior, asked to deliver ultimate hope and meaning, and it demands total allegiance in return.

Scripture does not belong to the left or the right. When we force it into those categories, we distort it. From the beginning, Christianity was not an ideological alignment but a lived out allegiance to Jesus as King, shaping engagement with every sphere of life without being owned by any of them.



Jesus’ disciples make this clear. He intentionally gathered men who would never have chosen one another. Simon the Zealot believed Rome was corrupt and deserved violent overthrow. Matthew depended on Roman authority and believed cooperation was necessary for order and survival. Outside of Jesus, these men would not have shared life together. Yet Jesus called them both—and refused to let either ideology become central. He trusted neither revolution nor empire. He announced a Kingdom that exposed the failures of both.

Jesus did not demand political agreement. He demanded allegiance. Their differences remained, but they were reordered under a higher authority. Neither Rome nor revolution was ultimate. Jesus was.

Politics still matter—but they are not supreme. Jesus confronted injustice without hatred, hypocrisy without violence, and power without coercion. He refused emperor worship and revolutionary bloodshed alike. What some dismiss as third-wayism is simply refusing false lordship. This is not fence-sitting, it is obedience to a higher King.

 


Christians must be free to speak truth to all power. Abortion and sexual ideology, racism and cruelty, violence and hypocrisy must be confronted wherever they appear. If we can only critique the other side, our conscience no longer belongs to the Kingdom of God.

The world demands a side. The gospel declares a throne. Faithfulness is not choosing a camp. It is choosing a King.”



With Our Eyes Fixed on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our Faith, Pastor Jeff 



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