Hot, hotter, hottest
Editor’s note: Last week’s newsletter promoted a movie that beautifully addresses two very hot topics: Catholic and Protestant, as well as Evangelical and Pentecostal. Neither can hold a candle to the heat generated by today’s… (pun intended!)
Prayer has been polarized!
Here’s the painful reality: in the highly polarized world we’re living in, no topic is immune to division. Even whether or not we should pray!
I recently had some pastors express reticence to join the pastor prayer summit unless we were also willing to talk through massive pain from political polarization. Some others criticize that view, but I actually agree. Praying together and speaking the truth in love is a both/and, not an either/or.
Last week was the National Day of Prayer. Some see it as co-opted by a sentiment leaning toward Christian nationalism. Others are infuriated by that last sentence. Many bypassed last Thursday altogether.
This Sunday (May 17) is an appeal for a National Rededication of America as we approach our 250th birthday as a country. If you’re unaware of the blazing heat of fervor for and against, let me simply say… your echo chambers are impressive!
What color are the weeds?
In Matthew 13:24-30 (and explained in 13:36-43) Jesus told a parable of the wheat and the weeds (KJV “tares”). Do you know what’s not true of the wheat and weeds? One isn’t red and the other blue. The enemy’s entire strategy was to plant weeds indistinguishable from the wheat until much, much later. If there’s a more apt parable for our nation than this one in 2026, I haven’t found it. As soon as some other highly time-sensitive priorities settle for me, I’m eager to dive deep into all the New Testament teaching tied to this parable.
The clock is ticking…
Burying our heads in the sand is never a good strategy, although it certainly can appear mighty appealing! Personally, the calendar is being used by Holy Spirit to encourage me (literally put courage in me) to raise topics that my prior-to-depression-healing self would have happily ignored. Seven short years from now, the Global Church will be right in the middle of the most monumental fifty days ever – between the 2000th anniversary of Jesus’ death and the 2000th anniversary of the birth of the Church. In the USA, if we can’t work through these divisive topics as mature believers now, we won’t just have isolated celebrations that give our neighbors great reasons to ignore and despise us. It will be much worse than that – blatant competition that shouts as loud as possible why our celebration is right and theirs is wrong. That’s one reason why in Tucson we’re intentionally gathering to pray together now. (See the next block about May 24, 2026.)
The goal: humble listening that leads to learning
I have close friends on both sides of the political divide. Which means that my Facebook wall contains posts every day that point out how grossly in error the other side is. Here’s a both/and for you… they both make some good points! I actually believe the New Testament overall teaches that our hearts aren’t good OR bad, but both. Jesus is pulling our weeds and watering our wheat every day.
Author in the witness protection program…
I won’t tell you who wrote the following (though some of you will know immediately anyway) simply because he’s high profile on one side of the divide. I’ll simply say in advance… these are some wise words:
What most of us dislike about government is actually the defilement and perversion of the function by people and systems. This dislike is certainly understandable. They also dislike a political spirit… It was a political spirit that led the efforts to crucify Jesus! A political spirit seeks to gain control of people and promote its own agenda through fear, manipulation, deception, corruption, violence, craftiness, and unscrupulous activities. God opposes these things, and so should we.
If we could get all Christians to differentiate between government (the function), politics (the process of attaining governmental power), and a political spirit (the perversion of the process for gain and control), it would change their perspective. The body of Christ would have no qualms about becoming involved in government and no hesitation in discussing it in our gatherings and circles. We would understand that we can promote righteous government without promoting political parties.
God certainly is not a Republican or Democrat, and we should never blindly support a candidate or cause just because of party affiliation. He does, however, care greatly about who rules. “Everyone rejoices when the lovers of God flourish, but the people groan when the wicked rise to power” (Proverbs 29:2, Passion Translation).
So… should we be praying fervently for the USA on May 17, 2026?
Yes. And every other day, too. Whether you like or dislike (or a much stronger version of either) the official elements of what’s being proposed on May 17, praying for our nation/world is always Biblically encouraged.
In prayer,
Dave Drum, Founder of J17 Ministries