Kaitlyn Schiess

Kelley Mathews

Politics and discipleship--do they go together? How should church leaders approach politics? Well, politics and discipleship do relate, but not necessarily the way that some of us as Jesus followers think. Because of the division and confusion about this subject, we at BOW called for help for this highly partisan election year. Author Kaitlyn Schiess joins Kelley Mathews to discuss what having a healthier and more biblical approach to politics would look like.

Whether you're a church leader, a mentor or a parent, Kaitlyn can help you learn to communicate and assess political questions in a less strident way. Kaitlyn doesn't tell us how to vote, but instead she discusses about how to think and talk about this subject well.

This episode is also available on video if you prefer.

Politics & Discipleship Suggested Resources

Kaitlyn Schiess, The Liturgy of Politics, https://www.amazon.com/Liturgy-Politics-Spiritual-Formation-Neighbor/dp/0830848304

Kaitlyn Schiess, The Ballot and the Bible, https://www.amazon.com/Ballot-Bible-Scripture-American-Politics/dp/1587435969/

Vincent Bacote, The Political Disciple, https://www.amazon.com/Political-Disciple-Theology-Public-Ordinary/dp/0310516072/

Michael Wear, The Spirit of Our Politics, https://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Our-Politics-Spiritual-Renovation/dp/0310367190/

Connect with Kaitlyn on these podcasts:

The Holy Post Podcast, https://www.holypost.com

Curiously, Kaitlyn, https://www.holypost.com/curiously

Timestamps

0:32 - Introduction

1:19 - Why politics and faith?

4:35 - Who needs this conversation?

8:00 – How can church leaders/small group leaders, etc. approach politics in a healthy way?

12:34 - What are common challenges for pastors/leaders during election year?

16:47 - What are the deeper spiritual issues we need to grapple with?

17:16 - How would you address politics in a Bible study or small group?

22:19 - How is the Bible misused in our American culture?

27:40 - What would it look like for a church to have a healthy relationship with politics?

31:01 – Recommended resources

33:39 - Biblical instruction for our political lives

TranscriptKelley >> Welcome to the Beyond Ordinary Women Podcast. I am Kelley Mathews. And with me today is Kaitlyn Schiess. Kaitlyn is a friend from Dallas Seminary. Although I was long gone by the time she got there, I went back on campus as a GTA. Actually I interrupted a conversation she was having with Dr. Glahn, a mutual friend. I learned later that might have been the conversation where you guys were talking about you writing your first book. Was that right?

Kaitlyn >> Yeah.

Kelley >> Thank you. We're going to be talking about the church and politics because that's kind of like your shtick these days.

Kaitlyn >> Yeah.

Kelley >> And we welcome the wisdom you're going to share with us. So thank you for being here. Tell us how politics and faith became your go to topic.

Kaitlyn >> Yeah, I keep joking that it wasn't something that a career counselor ever said. You know, you really should talk about the two things you're not supposed to talk about at the dinner table, theology and politics.

Kelley >> Yeah.

Kaitlyn >> When I went to college, I thought I was going to go to law school. So I started out as a political science major, switched to history. But I thought the whole time I would go to law school. I went to a school in Virginia, Liberty University, that was very politically involved in the years that I was there. There were a lot of politicians on campus. There were a lot of media on campus asking students questions.

So at the same time that I was at a place that politics and especially the relationship between faith and politics was really central to the conversation happening around me, I was also discerning a change that felt really scary at the time, really uncertain, from going to law school to going to seminary,