I like to be creative. I am most energized when I’m coming up with a fresh insight, a never before articulated metaphor, or building an original product. For many months, while I was developing The After Party course, writing the book with Nancy French, and catalyzing the production of Songs for The After Party, my creative juices were flowing big time.

In the last few months, I’ve been working hard to promote all of these already-created products. I’ve appeared on dozens of podcasts and webinars, given numerous interviews, and traveled many hundreds of miles to speak in New York, DC, Ohio, Illinois, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington State, and other locales. In this mode, I have been mostly repeating the same messages each time.

And each time I do so, there’s a tiny voice inside me that whispers: “Curtis, this isn’t new material. This is boring. You’re boring. They are getting bored.” But then I look at the person interviewing me, or peer out in the live audience, or read our incoming mail. In the actual responses, I see something very different: hunger and thirst. 

Their responses remind me that what feels most attractive depends on where you are. When you are luxuriating at a high-end restaurant, tap water can seem boring. But when you’re wandering in a desert, this same offering feels vital. And many Christians — at least the kind that are drawn to our work — feel like they now dwell in a political wasteland.

So, I’m learning to submit my anxiety about being creative to Jesus. I’m trying to be less insistent on the personal luxury of originality. Instead, I’m trying to attend to what people need right now. 

In my own spiritual growth along these lines, I think of Peter. He was another disciple who liked to consider himself as one marked by more than just the ordinary. He was the one who insisted: “Lord, though all others will abandon you, I will never desert you!” (Matt. 26:33) It is only after Peter is disabused of his extraordinary status that he grasps anew what it means to love Jesus. In John 21:15-19, humbled by his failure to live up to his words, Peter is restored by Jesus’ instructions to love his sheep, a command that Jesus further defines for Peter as feeding people with what they most need at the moment.

Peter listened to Jesus that day. I think this is why his later material addressed to fellow Christian —  written long after he heard Jesus’ words — is, well, kind of basic. The two canonical letters of Peter aren’t particularly flashy or bursting with unique insights. He himself seems quite at peace with his own repetitiveness: “So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have.” (2 Peter 1:12). Increasingly, I think that Jesus followers who consider themselves as “creative” in some way need to go through their version of Peter’s spiritual growth: where we come to love Jesus and his people more than our own creativity.

So, in that same spirit, I offer you this summary, “10 Things to (Keep) Reminding Ourselves This Election Season.” If you’ve already been paying attention to The After Party and my message here these past months, you’ll note there’s nothing new or flashy here. These are, indeed, the basics. This is tap water. But at this moment, perhaps you too will be nourished by being “reminded of these things.“

1. Politics won’t save us – Every election feels like the moment when everything will be made right, but no candidate or policy can fully fix what’s broken. Our true hope is in Jesus, not any earthly savior​​ (Heb. 10:23)
2. Focus on the “how” over the “what” – We often get wrapped up in political debates over policies or parties (the “what”), but what matters more is how we treat others, especially those with whom we disagree. Hope, humility, and most of all, love of the other must guide our political behavior​​.
3. Jesus First – Christians should be involved in politics, but with the awareness that no political party perfectly reflects the teachings of Christ. We should engage as citizens of the Kingdom of God first, and subject all other attachments to that highest allegiance.  
4. Politics isn’t about purity – Just like in other areas of life, applying purity codes to politics—whether you’re “right” or “wrong”—misses the mark. Jesus crossed political lines to love both the tax collectors and the zealots​​, and he had no problem being identified with those others called “sinners.”
5. We’re all going to be groaning on Nov. 6th – Yes, half of our country will be groaning at the election results. But Scripture tells us that every single one of us should be in this state. We as humans are joined together in groaning for the final redemption event (Rom. 8:22).
6. The relational stakes are higher than political ones – Families, friendships, and even churches are breaking apart over political differences. But what’s at stake is more than who wins an election. Your deepest relationships will matter far more and for far longer than what this election brings. With those people — especially those who will feel differently than you about the results, please try to remember the Biblical command to “rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep” (Rom 12:15).
7. Anxiety can lead us astray – Fear drives us to make political idols out of candidates or causes. Pay attention to what behaviors, news sources, and interactions drive up your anxiety, and make wise choices accordingly. “Guard your hearts and minds in Christ” is the corollary to “do not be anxious” (Phil. 4:6-7).
8. Institutions matter – We often treat institutions as tools to get what we want, but they have intrinsic value. Churches, governments, organizations, and schools carry their own dignity and worth in the eyes of God. Just like we shouldn’t tear down another individual just because that person doesn’t deliver some result we want, we also shouldn’t do so with our institutions. This commitment is especially important in this political moment when our political institutions are certain to disappoint a large number of people in terms of the results being delivered.
9. Cancel culture isn’t biblical – It’s easy to “cancel” those we disagree with, but the Bible calls us to radical hospitality, even toward those with whom we clash politically. The true Christian response to disagreement is love, not exclusion​.
10. Don’t forget to sing together! – When faced with their impending crisis, the Gospels tell us that Jesus and his disciples partook of their Last Supper and then sang together (Matt. 26:30; Mark 14:26). As we face election season, we need to do so also. Research shows that when people sing together, they connect with each other in deep ways, even across seeming differences. This is why we created Songs for the After Party: to give churches a way to sing together in this season. Check them out – especially if you are involved in planning your church‘s worship service on the Sundays before and after Election Day.

Onward,

Curtis