The flurry of interest in White Christian nationalism by historians, sociologists, and scholars of religion in the past few years has produced crucial insights into its innerworkings. This work offers a goldmine of insight and analysis for Christians against Christian nationalism as we develop a pastoral approach to resisting Christian nationalism’s influence in the local congregation. The work of deconstruction is well under way. However, the work of reconstruction is only beginning.
My vocation is to train pastors and leaders to lead and nurture Christ’s church. As I’ve sought to address White Christian nationalism in congregations and classrooms, the question I receive most often is this: “How can we effectively challenge the growing influence of White Christian nationalism? We understand what it is, but what can we do about it?” This essay is an attempt to offer some answers to this question.1
I won’t pretend to have my finger on the pulse of a comprehensive solution for pastors, leaders, and congregants. At the end of the day we need an interdisciplinary, ecumenical, multi-generational, multi-actor peacebuilding movement in order to interrupt White Christian nationalism’s influence. No singular celebrity pastor, scholar, or theologian can “fix” the problem before us. Either we are in this together or we are not in it at all. In what follows I will offer some pastoral approaches to challenging White Christian nationalism.
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strait-pastoralapproach- I have also addressed these questions in webinar form: Drew Strait, “Political Idolatry: Countering Christian Nationalism,” (webinar, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Elkhart, IN, June 15, 2), https://www.ambs.edu/what-is-christian-nationalism/. [↩]