{"id":25111,"date":"2024-11-06T08:26:23","date_gmt":"2024-11-06T13:26:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=25111"},"modified":"2024-11-06T08:26:23","modified_gmt":"2024-11-06T13:26:23","slug":"what-should-christians-do-if-their-candidate-loses-pastor-explains-reveals-how-inadequate-understanding-of-scripture-drives-non-voting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2024\/11\/what-should-christians-do-if-their-candidate-loses-pastor-explains-reveals-how-inadequate-understanding-of-scripture-drives-non-voting","title":{"rendered":"What Should Christians Do if Their Candidate Loses? Pastor Explains, Reveals How \u2018Inadequate Understanding of Scripture\u2019 Drives Non-Voting"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_25114\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-25114\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/140\/2024\/11\/sad-election-laptop_credit-Adobe-Stock.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-25114\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/140\/2024\/11\/sad-election-laptop_credit-Adobe-Stock.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-25114\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Adobe Stock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Allen Jackson is on a prayer-filled mission to help Christians navigate the complexities of an ever-contentious election cycle, offering advice on how to respond if one\u2019s chosen candidate loses.<\/p>\n<p>Jackson, pastor of World Outreach Church in Nashville, Tennessee, saw his church organize a 48-hour prayer event over the weekend, encouraging believers to lift America up to God.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve been praying for our nation for weeks and weeks now but, as we approach the election, we wanted to make a bit of a more focused effort,\u201d he recently told \u201cHigher Ground With Billy Hallowell.\u201d \u201cSo, we took out a 48-hour block of time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>World Outreach Church then invited people to join together to pray for the nation, encouraging them to coalesce to appeal to God \u2014 and take action.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t want to stand on the sidelines and watch what\u2019s happening,\u201d he said. \u201cWe want to be participants in what God is doing in the Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Listen to him explain:<\/p>\n<p><iframe style=\"border-radius: 12px;\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/episode\/3or9Ml28c7VqT6VVb0nmqx?utm_source=generator&amp;theme=0\" width=\"100%\" height=\"352\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Jackson also responded to reports that tens of millions of Christians won\u2019t be voting in 2024, expressing his belief that withholding a vote isn\u2019t helpful.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome of us have kind of been trained that what our assignment is to pray and then that God does everything else,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m a tremendous advocate for prayer, but I think that\u2019s an inadequate understanding of Scripture and our role with our journey through time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jackson continued, \u201cI believe that God provides all we need for our lives but, if I sit in my house and pray for food and I don\u2019t plant the garden, I\u2019m probably going to get hungry. And I think if we want a civil government that is God-honoring, then I think we have to be engaged in the process.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The preacher likened the dynamic to praying for healing but still seeking a doctor for treatment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think Christians need to vote, must vote \u2014 no excuses,\u201d Jackson said.<\/p>\n<p>As for how believers \u2014 and all Americans \u2014 should react if the election doesn\u2019t go the way they want, the preacher offered some advice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s better if we process it early than not wait until real-time,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cAnd if the election outcome doesn\u2019t satisfy you \u2014 whatever your imagined or preferred outcome was \u2014 I think we have to recognize that we still have an assignment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He added Christians \u201chave a future beyond time\u201d and a deeper mission outside of mere electoral wins.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI like to think of elections \u2026 it\u2019s kind of the equivalent of a stress test when you go to the doctor for a physical,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cYou get on the treadmill, and they hook you up to the EKG, and maybe they monitor your oxygen intake or output. It\u2019s a snapshot of your physical health. It doesn\u2019t make you \u2026 less healthy or sick. It\u2019s just an evaluation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the same vein, he said elections are an evaluation of the nation\u2019s spiritual health, with the person who is chosen serving as a representation of values and policies. Ultimately, some Americans \u2014 and Christians \u2014 might not like the result of certain elections, to which Jackson has some advice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat I would say to the Christians: if you\u2019re disappointed by the outcome of the election, it\u2019s not time to panic,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s time to begin to seek the Lord in a new way. We\u2019ve got to change some behaviors, change how we engage with culture.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jackson encouraged believers to seek \u201cgreater influence\u201d in their God-given spheres of influence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe election is really an evaluation of where we are,\u201d he continued. \u201cIt\u2019s not the beginning of the end. God\u2019s still on the throne and the sun will come up tomorrow. We may not like the outcomes and the consequences may be difficult for a season, but that\u2019s the nature of our journey through time.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"color: #666666;\">This article originally appeared on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.faithwire.com\/2024\/11\/05\/what-should-christians-do-if-their-candidate-loses-pastor-explains-reveals-how-inadequate-understanding-of-scripture-drives-non-voting\/\">Faithwire<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Allen Jackson is on a prayer-filled mission to help Christians navigate the complexities of an ever-contentious election cycle, offering advice on how to respond if one\u2019s chosen candidate loses. Jackson, pastor of World Outreach Church in Nashville, Tennessee, saw his church organize a 48-hour prayer event over the weekend, encouraging believers to lift America up&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":627,"featured_media":25114,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2444,2140,4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-america","category-election-center","category-faith","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What Should Christians Do if Their Candidate Loses? Pastor Explains, Reveals How \u2018Inadequate Understanding of Scripture\u2019 Drives Non-Voting<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2024\/11\/what-should-christians-do-if-their-candidate-loses-pastor-explains-reveals-how-inadequate-understanding-of-scripture-drives-non-voting\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Should Christians Do if Their Candidate Loses? Pastor Explains, Reveals How \u2018Inadequate Understanding of Scripture\u2019 Drives Non-Voting\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Allen Jackson is on a prayer-filled mission to help Christians navigate the complexities of an ever-contentious election cycle, offering advice on how to respond if one\u2019s chosen candidate loses. 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Pastor Explains, Reveals How \u2018Inadequate Understanding of Scripture\u2019 Drives Non-Voting","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2024\/11\/what-should-christians-do-if-their-candidate-loses-pastor-explains-reveals-how-inadequate-understanding-of-scripture-drives-non-voting","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Should Christians Do if Their Candidate Loses? Pastor Explains, Reveals How \u2018Inadequate Understanding of Scripture\u2019 Drives Non-Voting","og_description":"Allen Jackson is on a prayer-filled mission to help Christians navigate the complexities of an ever-contentious election cycle, offering advice on how to respond if one\u2019s chosen candidate loses. Jackson, pastor of World Outreach Church in Nashville, Tennessee, saw his church organize a 48-hour prayer event over the weekend, encouraging believers to lift America up&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2024\/11\/what-should-christians-do-if-their-candidate-loses-pastor-explains-reveals-how-inadequate-understanding-of-scripture-drives-non-voting","og_site_name":"Beliefnet News","article_published_time":"2024-11-06T13:26:23+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/140\/2024\/11\/sad-election-laptop_credit-Adobe-Stock.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Billy Hallowell","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2024\/11\/what-should-christians-do-if-their-candidate-loses-pastor-explains-reveals-how-inadequate-understanding-of-scripture-drives-non-voting","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2024\/11\/what-should-christians-do-if-their-candidate-loses-pastor-explains-reveals-how-inadequate-understanding-of-scripture-drives-non-voting","name":"What Should Christians Do if Their Candidate Loses? 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