In October, 2023, I was one of a group of concerned Christians gathered around a table in Denver who formed the J29 Coalition. So I was surprised to see Meghan Basham’s claim in First Things that my colleagues and I actually founded a front for the Democratic party. I was also surprised to read that we are trying to nefariously inject progressive politics into the evangelical church. Why was I surprised? It is because both claims are false. In actuality, the J29 Coalition wants to help the political imagination of the Church we love be shaped by God and his kingdom, not partisan politics.
As a registered independent who has voted for Democrats and Republicans over the years, I’m not interested in propping up either party. Neither is J29. I don’t know the party affiliation of the other founders of J29, nor do I care. We don’t know the party affiliations of the pastors and ministry leaders we serve, nor do we care.
Is J29 actually a leftist organization? If not, Basham wonders why only left-wing foundations support it. First, there are donors not mentioned by Basham who are not left-wing. Of those she does mention, Todd Stiefel of the Stiefel Freethought Foundation is neither a Democrat nor a progressive. And while the Hewlett Foundation has supported pro-choice organizations, it has also supported The Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute. These are clearly not left-wing organizations. Neither is J29.
We agree with Basham that our theological beliefs have implications for political issues. We just deny that those implications always land on the right. Or the left. Or in the center.
For example, if being conservative on immigration means what it appears to mean to many today, then that poses serious questions for followers of Jesus. Christians should start with the belief that every single human being is made in God’s image. There are a variety of possible implications of that theological truth. One is that we should protect people within our borders from violent criminals who want to enter our nation and do us harm. Another implication is that people who are here legally, US citizens, or veterans shouldn’t be indiscriminately taken into custody or detained by ICE. Good people who have come here to escape poverty, violence, political or religious persecution, or are seeking a better life for their children should be treated with dignity and respect, regardless of what ultimately happens with their immigration status. And no one should be sent to a prison where they will be tortured, or incarcerated in conditions that are inhumane.
None of this means we should have open borders. Nor does it preclude limits on who and how many people we allow into the US. It does mean we should have substantive, civil, and productive discussion and debate about the ethics of immigration and the role of the church. One can oppose the current immigration policies of our federal government, policies that are also advocated by many within MAGA, without being “woke” or trying to “inject progressive politics into the church.” The work of the J29 Coalition is not about wokeness or progressive politics. It is about allowing Christ and his kingdom to shape our views on political issues and how we engage one another in political discourse. Faithful followers of Jesus will disagree on issues. When that happens, we should disagree in ways that honor Christ.
Basham is skeptical that J29 wants to combat extremism and foster better political discourse in the church because no leader or coach “voted for the candidate the majority of Christians supported in the last election.” At least one coach voted for Trump in the past. But part of the reason that few if any voted for Trump in 2024 has to do with the extremism he at times supports and the unhealthy political discourse he exemplifies and encourages, as these are things J29 opposes.
Not voting for Trump doesn’t mean one is a liberal. Plenty of conservative Christians didn’t vote for Trump, for reasons that had to do with their faith. I’ve been Nevertrump from the start. I also voted for George W. Bush twice and Romney once. As far as I know, nobody around the table in Denver in 2023 voted for Trump. This was due to deep concerns about his character and the ways in which some of his actions and policies undermine democracy and vital American institutions. These concerns should matter to all, regardless of party or where one falls on the political spectrum.
Basham also claims that J29’s coaches are part of “a host of political and theological liberals” brought in to influence pastors and their people. But many of the examples she gives don’t add up. There are plenty of political and theological conservatives involved in J29. I was a coach for the 2024 pastor cohort, and I’m an elder at a PCA church in Kentucky. It doesn’t get much more theologically conservative than that.
I won’t go into detail about every person Basham includes in her “host of political and theological liberals.” But it will be helpful to look at a few.
Carmen Imes teaches at Biola University, where professors must agree to a doctrinal statement including belief in the inerrancy of the Bible, that human life and personhood begin at conception, and that marriage is a covenant between one man and one woman. It’s simply false to claim that Imes is a theological liberal.
Basham characterizes Elizabeth Neumann as a political liberal because of her views about immigration. But she fails to mention that Neumann served in the George W. Bush administration, focusing on issues related to national security and counterterrorism. She also served in the first Trump administration as Assistant Secretary for Counterterrorism and Threat Prevention at DHS. She is neither a political nor theological liberal.
Finally, Basham brands Pastor Caleb Campbell as a liberal because he “admitted that up to 80 percent of his congregation left due to his progressive politicking on immigration and race.” He admitted nothing of the sort. These former members left because he challenged Christian nationalist views about immigration, race, and politics more generally. That’s not progressive politicking. Rather, it’s trying to cultivate a political imagination within the church that is formed by the kingdom of God, rather than nationalistic misappropriations of the Bible.
Some of the people who are involved with J29 in some capacity would not identify as political or theological conservatives. But that’s a good thing. We should be willing to work with people with differing views in the political and theological realms. People involved with the J29 Coalition are willing to work alongside people they disagree with because they share common ground related to civil discourse, strengthening democracy, and more importantly helping the church bear witness to Christ in the political realm.
We can learn from one another in the midst of disagreements. More than that, we can actually disagree and be friends! If we want to help foster civil discourse among people who have political disagreements, what better way than to bring together people who have political disagreements and engage in civil discourse? This is part of what the J29 Coalition does.
The J29 Coalition is not trying to convince pastors or their congregations to become less conservative. Our goal is to equip pastors who want to disciple their congregations in kingdom-shaped politics. Our hope is that those congregations develop a political imagination that is not captive to partisanism on the right or the left, but rather captivated by the kingdom of God.
We share the goal of doing “the hard and holy work of forming believers according to the Word of God” that Basham’s article extols. That’s at the heart of what the J29 Coalition is doing. We want to help people—left, right, or center—to see politics through the perspective of God’s kingdom, not a partisan lens.
As the Bible tells us, God’s kingdom is a kingdom of righteousness, peace, faith, hope, love, humility, compassion, gentleness, and wisdom. God’s kingdom transcends our partisan divides. The J29 Coalition’s reason for existing, and our prayer, is that Christ’s church would do the same.
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