The American church's political witness has been distorted by partisan capture on the right and reactive disengagement on the left. Neither is the Christian option. The right has too often enlisted Christ in service of a political project. The left has too often abandoned the field, treating political engagement itself as a compromise. Both moves let the political order set the terms of the church's witness rather than letting the church's allegiance to Christ set the terms of its politics.
This series develops a theology of Christian political witness that holds Christ's authority over politics without enlisting Christ for either party's cause. The question is not which side the church should pick. The question is what it means to be the church in a political order that wants to absorb the church into its own logic.
The Series
A multi-episode arc on the long-form Thinking Christian podcast
Beginning September 15, 2026. Guests include Veronica Ogle, William Cavanaugh, Michael J. Rhodes, David Koyzis, and Norman Wirzba: theologians and political theorists whose work shapes the constructive case the series is making. Each conversation treats a single dimension of the question with the patience the contested terrain requires.
Bonus Episodes for Patreon Members
Several additional conversations with the series guests, available to Thinking Christian Patreon supporters as the series airs. The public series is complete on its own; the bonus episodes are extra conversations on the same questions, for the listener who wants the conversation to keep going. Coming Soon.
Downloadable Guide
A free guide to the series, available for download, working through the major moves the series makes and offering discussion questions suitable for use in a small group or leadership cohort. Coming Soon.
Related Resources
Serpents and Doves
Serpents and Doves: Christians, Politics, and the Art of Bearing Witness is James Spencer's developed treatment of the question this series engages. The book and the series are companion projects: the book lays out the argument at length; the series tests it in conversation with theologians whose work intersects the question from different angles.