Back in 2023, I read a post in an EFCA electronic publication written by Amy Medina, a Reach Global missionary who spent many years working in Tanzania.[1] There was a paragraph that really stood out to me at that time, so I made a note of it in my list of potential topics for me to write about. Three years later, it seems to be the time.

Here’s the paragraph, writing about how it felt to live in a foreign culture:

“I expected to feel alienated from the surrounding culture. In engaging a foreign culture, my job was to be a learner first. I entered with the mentality that people act in a way that makes sense to them, so I needed to find out why. I didn’t agree with everything I saw in the culture, but I did everything possible to understand before criticizing. I discovered humility goes a long way when communicating with those who see life differently than me.”

I am writing this article on November 3, election day for the 2026 mid-term elections. I have no idea of the results. I live in California, so I have a pretty good idea of the results here, but I have no idea of the actual nationwide poling results. As far as I know now, it could go either way.

As leaders in Christ’s local church, how do we shepherd the flock entrusted to us through their experience of the election results? Unless one goes to a “one-party church” where the other party is clearly not welcome, there will be sheep happy with the results, and sheep unhappy or even frightened by the results. How does one lead? How does one prevent divisions?

Here’s where the joys of being citizens of heaven come into play. As Christians, our primary citizenship is in God’s kingdom. Citizenship in our secular kingdom is secondary. How to lead the flock entrusted to us through this season? That’s something to talk about. Here are some ideas to discuss with your team, staff, and/or board.

• What, in a practical way, does it mean that our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20)? How can we share this with the flock in a way that they can embrace its meaning and apply it to their daily lives? What are the things we need to teach and practice as examples to the flock in this post-election season? If we ignore this, will it just go away? Is it good enough to have it festering underground rather than above the surface?

• Is the command to love one’s enemies applicable to political opponents? How can we leaders demonstrate what this means in ways that prove to be examples to the flock?

• Does the humble learner approach described by Amy Medina and used by cross-cultural missionaries apply to cross-cultural interactions in this post-election season and beyond? How can we leaders be examples of this? What behaviors should we encourage our flock to display in such contentious times?

• Does our disciple-making strategy include training in cross-cultural (or cross-political) interactions? Is the goal to change the other’s mind on the political matters or to introduce them to Christ so that they will become mature citizens of His heavenly kingdom?

• Does our discipleship training include how to have productive conversations with people who have very different opinions about matters than we hold – conversations that major upon listening and understanding rather than convincing or arguing? We can “win” the conversational battle but lose the eternity battle for human souls. How does one end a conversation where we significantly disagree but remain committed to God-honoring relationship? If we don’t teach this, how will people learn? Who in the church has the responsibility to teach and model this?

I’m thankful that the mid-term election “silly season” is over and looking forward to the glut of candidate’s signs going away, but the divisions within our culture will persist and they will sneak into our churches if we let down our guard. Actually, divisions will barge into our churches unless we continue preventive measures to counteract our culture’s divisive inertia – they seldom sneak in quietly. Fostering and protecting the unity of the flock is something to talk about, and now is a good time to do it.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35 NIV)

Let us know if we can help and how your conversation goes. Contact Bob Osborne by e-mail at bob.osborne@efca.org. 

This is one of a series of articles intended to facilitate and guide church leaders’ conversations about significant issues that often are not talked about among pastors, boards, and church leadership teams. Visit the EFCA West website to see prior Something to Talk About articles.