Polarization is like powerful magnets placed throughout our ideological spectrum. They pull us apart and clump us into tribes. We have a hard time breaking away from the magnetic security of being with like-minded people, who reinforce our like-mindedness. Efforts to move toward others must labor against that pull.
For this reason, the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) and World Relief have published a short sign-on statement of repentance, renewal, and resolve. It is based on the 2004 NAE document For the Health of the Nation, an evangelical call to civic responsibility and a guide for public leadership.
The statement focuses on eight broad issues of moral importance that are rooted in biblical convictions: protecting religious freedom, safeguarding the sanctity of life, strengthening families, seeking justice for the poor and vulnerable, preserving human rights, pursuing racial justice, restraining violence, and caring for God’s creation.
Read the full article at Christianity Today.
Walter Kim became the NAE president in January 2020. He also serves as teacher-in-residence at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Charlottesville, Virginia, after ministering for 15 years at Boston’s historic Park Street Church. He has spent nearly three decades preaching, writing and engaging in collaborative leadership to connect the Bible to the significant intellectual, cultural and social issues of the day. He serves on the boards of Christianity Today and World Relief, and on the Advisory Council of Gordon College. Kim received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, his M.Div. from Regent College in Vancouver, and his B.A. from Northwestern University, and he is a licensed minister in the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference.