I Don't Have a Party. I Have a Kingdom.

Politics can end friendships, divide families, split churches, and ruin a Thanksgiving dinner. A follower of Jesus is a Christ follower first, before any party, platform, or candidate. As Pastor Marty Sloan put it, "I don't have a party. I have a kingdom." So vote as a responsible citizen, walk humbly in every political conversation, and keep living on mission long after election day.

How should Christians think about politics?

Start as a Christ follower, not as a member of a camp. On Kingdom Over Culture, Pastor Marty Sloan said the hard part is that many of us come to politics with an agenda taught to us culturally, relationally, or experientially. Then we try to bring the kingdom into it from a different starting point.

That is a problem, because believers are driven by truth. In Pastor Marty's words, the political climate in America "is never first and foremost truth-based." It is votes based: what can I say to get the most people on my side?

None of this means a Christian has to stay silent. Pastor Marty said it is a little ignorant to believe a Christ follower cannot speak up about things that hit his life or his family. The Bible is full of kings, kingdoms, borders, and governments. Jesus Himself was crucified by the Roman government at the request of the religious leaders. Yet God's kingdom does not depend on any earthly kingdom. It works through them, but it has no end.

He will reign over Jacob's descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.

Luke 1:33

How do you walk humbly in a political season?

Pastor Jason McElwee named what ruins so many family dinners: no one is willing to be humble, and everybody wants to be right. He pointed to a verse he believes should be part of every political conversation.

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Micah 6:8

Pastor Marty's answer was simple: walking humbly means I don't know everything. My viewpoint may not include all the facts. During the 2020 stay at home season, he and his wife tried an experiment. They watched three news channels for half an hour each. Each one told a different story about the same events. Everyone, he said, tells us the bias, the agenda, or the plan.

So Christ followers have to be truth seekers, not people waiting to be told what is true. He noted that trust in the church has dropped while trust in government has grown in many ways, as if a claim must be true because a candidate said it. "Some call it the political season," he said. "I call it the lying season." Knowingly saying what isn't accurate is deception, so dig below the surface before you repeat it.

What does "I don't have a party. I have a kingdom" mean?

It means your first allegiance is to a King whose kingdom is not on earth. Pastor Marty challenged anyone whose motto is "red till I'm dead" or "blue no matter who" to rethink that position. Neither party gives us a clear biblical view. When you vote, you are voting for a direction, not just a person.

For clarity, he shared that he is a registered independent, and Pastor Jason said he is too. "That's not my party," Pastor Marty said. "I don't have a party. I have a kingdom."

Pastor Jason said that allegiance frees you. You are not tied to a party's promises or its wins and losses. You can still care about real issues, cast a vote as a responsible citizen, and live with the tension when someone you voted for does not act biblically.

What matters most to Pastor Marty when he votes?

As a pastor, his core issue has always been the freedom to worship God. He pointed to a familiar verse and asked what was in Jerusalem at the time. The answer: the temple.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May those who love you be secure."

Psalm 122:6

Pharaoh tried to hold back the worship of God, and so have other systems since. Pastor Marty once preached in a majority Muslim nation, and a month after he left, the authorities locked the doors of that church because it was a Christian church. Taxes, gas prices, and the cost of bread are real concerns, he said, and those conversations matter. He simply comes at them from a different angle, asking which direction best protects the freedom to worship without hindrance.

How should Christians act after an election?

Keep being the church. Pastor Jason has seen people win a political argument and lose a chance to share Jesus. Once that moment is gone, it is hard to get back.

Pastor Marty recalled the masterclass he taught at Calvary before the last presidential election. He told the church that whoever won, "we need Jesus." He also told them that how they voted would not change how he treats them, relates to them, or loves them. He doesn't need to know how you voted, and he doesn't assume he knows.

"My hope is not in the state house or the White House," he said. "My hope is in God's house." The kingdoms of men have always tried to replace the kingdom of God, and the political charge he saw in the COVID years, with its arguments over masks and vaccines, has only grown in the years since. A kingdom mindset has to outrank every other one.

Who is supposed to shape the culture?

Not the government. Pastor Marty said the church has handed its task to governments for centuries, and it was never meant to be that way. Before God built a government, He built the family. Before the family, He built a walk with Himself. Then Israel asked for a king.

Now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.

1 Samuel 8:5

Having traveled the world, Pastor Marty said the division he sees in American politics is not the same everywhere. Politics keeps people divided just enough to keep a slim majority on one side. Candidates promise to bring everyone together, and it rarely happens. Scripture points to a better source of unity.

How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity!

Psalm 133:1

Where there is unity, the psalm goes on, the LORD bestows His blessing. Only Jesus can bring people together, Pastor Marty said. Everyone else is serving small kingdoms, but Jesus is the Son of God serving the kingdom of God. That is the line the episode ended on.

Common questions

Should Christians vote?

Yes. Pastor Jason McElwee encouraged believers to pray, vote, and exercise their freedom as responsible citizens, looking at the issues through Scripture. Then, after the election, keep being the church.

Can a Christian be loyal to a political party?

A Christian's first allegiance belongs to Christ's kingdom. Pastor Marty Sloan, a registered independent, says neither party offers a clear biblical view, so vote for a direction rather than out of party loyalty.

How do I talk about politics with family without a fight?

Walk humbly, as Micah 6:8 says. Admit you don't know everything, listen before you argue, and care more about the person in front of you than about being right.

Where should a Christian put their hope after an election?

In Jesus. Whoever wins, we still need Him. As Pastor Marty put it, his hope is not in the state house or the White House but in God's house.