Rediscovering Christ: Seeing Beyond Progressive and Conservative Lenses

This post kicks off a new series I’m writing for Seeds and Water Collective about the three main worldviews shaping our culture: Progressive, Conservative, and the Way of Christ. Each week, I’ll unpack how these worldviews approach topics like power, freedom, justice, belonging, and more. My goal isn’t to argue for one side, but to look honestly at how both left and right often miss the heart of Jesus, and how the Way of Christ offers something entirely different. This is an invitation to consider a completely different way to live, love others, and follow Christ in a deeply polarized culture.

The Charlie Kirk story has really shaken me.

I’m heartbroken seeing Christians I know celebrate him as a Christian martyr. His death and the loss his wife and kids now live with is deeply tragic. Death is always a thief, and their grief deserves compassion.

But I can’t ignore what his version of Christianity represented. It was loud, shallow, and built on power. Christian nationalism has become a sickness in the church, and his violent death has brought that sickness to the surface.

Over a year ago, I wrote these words:

“Christian nationalism sickens me. If I see an American flag draped over a cross or Jesus holding an assault rifle, or a family Christmas card where everyone’s smiling and holding guns, I shake my head in disbelief. And the people doing this aren’t atheists or agnostics, they’re Christians. The greatest blasphemy against Christ today is being committed by millions of Christians in America.”

My friend and former professor, David Fitch, recently wrote about how Jesus’s relationship with power works in a completely different way. He said that Jesus didn’t win through government, force, or violence. He won through the cross, through love, humility, and sacrifice. Jesus turned down political power when it was offered to Him. He told His followers not to lead by ruling over others but by serving them. That’s the power we are called to live into again and again.

Just a few weeks ago, I sat at lunch with a group of progressive pastors and community leaders, and the topic turned to Charlie Kirk. I was astounded that they spent ten minutes spinning conspiracy theories about his murder, claiming he was killed by right-wing Trump supporters. I just shook my head in disbelief. Both progressives and conservatives are prone to getting trapped inside their worldview bubbles. Each side builds its own story about power, enemies, and control, and both can lose sight of Jesus in the process.

My wife Karrie put it perfectly when she said, “People are obsessed with controlling the outcome, both the left and the right, and that is not the Way of Christ.” The way of Christ is not about managing outcomes or securing victories. It is about trusting God in the unknown, walking faithfully even when we cannot control what happens next.

When I hear about students at my sons’ school trying to start a Turning Point USA club (thankfully the school said no), or when I see Christians online raising the flag of Christian nationalism in their grief, it makes my stomach turn. I don’t hate them. I love them. My heart aches for them and for everyone harmed by this twisted version of the gospel.

Even some retired pastors I admire, including the one who baptized me, have started cozying up to this movement. It breaks my heart. They taught me about Christ, yet somehow missed the lesson about the danger of power. Tolkien showed it in The Lord of the Rings: even the good are tempted by the ring of power.

I think of my grandparents, missionaries and pastors in Apartheid South Africa, who saw the evil of White Christian nationalism firsthand. The church they pastored here in the U.S. recently hosted a watch party for Charlie Kirk’s memorial service and political rally. I can’t imagine how heartbroken they would be.

One of the most sacred moments of my life was the last time I saw my grandfather before he died. He couldn’t speak anymore. I sat beside him, nervous and unsure, until he reached out and held my hand. For several minutes we just looked at each other, and I felt God whisper, Be like him.

I know my grandfather would speak out against what’s happening now.

I’m proud that most of my extended family sees through the lies of Christian nationalism. We recognize the evil for what it is. But I’m still grieving. I’m lamenting what the church has become in so many corners.

And yet, I still have hope. I believe more people are waking up. I believe the scales will keep falling from eyes. My friend Doug said it well: “Both sides want to use human means to achieve their manufactured version of salvation.” But salvation has never been something we can manufacture. The way of Christ is the way of surrender, not control.

I believe that, in time, the true way of Christ, humble, self-giving love, will outshine every counterfeit kingdom built on fear and control.