By Rachel Baber
I’ll admit it, I came into this year thinking about the election. In fact, before I was a Capital Fellow, almost a year ago, I talked to Lauren Stephens (now Herndon, woo!) about what she thought it would be like to do a fellows program in DC during a highly contentious election. We talked about how the election would likely generate great conversations about how to be a Christian in all areas of our lives.
2020 has turned out to be so much more than just a contentious election year, but the election did still happen a few weeks ago. And, we as Fellows have had many conversations about what it means to engage politically within a Christian worldview, including how society has shaped us to make snap judgements about the “other side,” and how we need to push past that to see everyone as a beloved child of God.
We watched a documentary right before Election Day from AEI called For Love of Neighbor: Politics for the Common Good. This documentary explores how and why Christians should engage politically, arguing that politics can be a very concrete way to love thy neighbor. After all, there are many people that are particularly vulnerable to the workings and changes of the government.
What struck me in the documentary was a statement from Justin Giboney, the co-founder of the AND Campaign, which is a group of Christians seeking to address the sociopolitical realm with the gospel. He said we should look at policies through the lens of the gospel first, then our preferences and convictions second. This might sound self-explanatory, but in the hyper-politized society we live in, it was very convicting to me and made me want to think more deeply about why I hold the beliefs that I hold.
We have repeatedly talked about how the government is an imperfect solution to the brokenness in our world, a brokenness that can only be redeemed by our perfect savior Jesus, but it can still be a solution. As Capital Fellows, we have reckoned with the ways to steward the privilege given to us for the good of others. In the backdrop of the election, it is clear that engaging politically is one way to do this.
I’ve realized that as Christians, we have a really unique opportunity to push against the “us vs. them” narrative that is so pervasive in the current political arena. As it says in Romans 3:22-24, “There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” We are all children of God and we all fall short, everyone from the voters to the media personnel to the President and the President-elect.
I’ll leave you with a word of advice from a sermon one of our pastors gave a few weeks ago on Oneness in John 17: Don’t demonize the candidates—or those who voted for them— because Christ hasn’t called us to sameness but instead to united-ness, in Him and through Him.
Pictures from the Week
Some of the fellows have been getting into tennis!!
A ladies pizza night!
Although daylight savings makes the sun go down really early, at least it’s given us some beautiful sunsets.
We made RAGs (randomly assigned groups) to encourage time together!
Become A Capital Fellow in 2021-22
We are now receiving applications for Season 15 of the Capital Fellows program!
The next program year runs from late August 2021 through mid-May 2022. If you are a college senior or recent college graduate - or know someone that is - we would love to hear from you! The Early Application Deadline is November 30th!
Want to learn more before you apply? Join an upcoming informational webinar. Click here for dates and times.
Pray for the Capital Fellows
Thank you for praying for the Capital Fellows each week! In this part of the year, the fellows are exploring what it means to follow Christ through servanthood. This can be a difficult topic because it presses into aspects of life that are most strongly connected to our identity and sense of meaning. It can be hard to hear God's Word as it calls us to have a radically transformed mind about our comfort, careers, wealth, and power. Please pray that during this year, fellows will increasingly see that they are not only called to do acts of service, but to be servants - at work, at church, at home, and in the world around them. Please pray that this season will help to form strong, biblical foundations for a lifetime of radical servanthood.
Want to pray for the Capital Fellows throughout the year? Download this handy prayer guide for your phone or tablet.
Benefits of The Fellows Initiative
You probably already know that Capital Fellows is one of 30 fellows programs in The Fellows Initiative network. But, did you know that the sponsors of TFI offer great benefits to Capital Fellows alumni? For example, Reformed Theological Seminary offers a 33% tuition discount for 5 years. You can learn more about TFI's sponsors by clicking here.
If you know of a graduate school, seminary, employer, or other organization that would be interested in becoming a sponsor, please contact TFI by clicking here. Thanks!
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