In response to the Christianity Today editorial article this day after our Independence Day celebrations, some of you have wondered ‘what’s the alternative?’ Sure you recognize the spiritualization (particularly the Christian kind) of America’s symbols, documents, and history is dangerous, but how else do you influence change in America for Christ? If you do not harken back to the days of old, if taking a trip back to the founding of our nation and Christian heritage does not matter, then what does?

Whenever I share with church people what I do, I always draw blank stares, like they don’t get it. Sure, being on the Hill for ministry reasons is just plain unique, in and of itself, but they don’t get why being there for purely missional/kingdom of God, and not political, reasons is so key to bringing about change. After working on Capitol Hill as an aide to a Senator and working as a missionary for Jesus for nearly three years, I am convinced more than ever that the Church in America must resist the temptation to first change the culture of Capitol Hill. Instead, we must begin by changing individual lives in that community.

The Hill-world is no different than any other community in America: it is filled with hurting, lost, broken individuals. The only difference is that these 23,000 staffers and 535 members are legislating from that brokeness! I wish Christians would realize that Washington is not going to change by sending yet another Christian lobbying group (which is what Christian Coalition and the newly resurrected Moral Majority truely are) or bowing down to the”glory” days of our founding or spiritualizing this country’s symbols; the Hill is not going to change through Christian lobbying efforts or Christian heritage re-education. No, it will change when the power of the gospel of Jesus invades that community, when the Church is Jesus’ eyes, ears, feet, hands, heart, mind, and mouth, while expressing His love through those parts.

So with that said, what does it look like to influence individual lives on Capitol Hill, to be missional? A few examples from my work in missions: I just finished leading an 8-week group that trained staffers to disciple other staffers, six staffers were trained and will partner with us to disciple interns and staffers on Capitol Hill; in another example, I just submitted an 11-page proposal to better train Christian staffers to engage other staffers in spiritual conversations and story-tell the Gospel Redemptive Narrative in the hopes of a spiritual revival all led by staffers; in a third example, I wrote a small group study called “Incarnational Living” for my House of Representatives small group that will hopefully light a fire under a handful of guys butts to actively and deliberately be Jesus to their lost co-workers. These are just three examples of what it looks like to missionally bring about life change in individuals on the Hill.

And what is the hope in all this activity? What do I dream late a night happens in the community of the Hill-world? As I previsously mentioned, Capitol Hill alone is literally run by 23,000 postmodern young adults (average age is 27), roughly 75% are unsaved. And these staffers are leading very broken lives that need the restoring power of the love of Jesus and His gospel. It is out of this hurting, broken, lost, sin-marked heart/mind/life that policy is being written. I guess the vision, and it is a lofty one at that, is to see people’s lives transformed for the good of the Hill community, for the good of America. When the Hill-world sees a spiritual revival and awakening, when a congressional staff member’s mind and heart is renewed by the gospel, he/she will “be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Do you see the vision? Do you see why it can happen no other way than life transformation through the gospel?

If the Church in America seriously desires to bring about a cultural change on Capitol Hill, it must being with individual life change. Instead of beginning by trying to change the culture through call-in campaigns, mass letters, demonstrations, and public relation threats by evangelical leaders, begin by dropping to your knees in prayer for the gospel of Jesus to invade the Hill community and the hearts of Her inhabitants. We must begin with the gospel, so that a staffer can be given a new heart out of which the Christian life flows. As more congressional staffers live out of their new heart, the Hill community will change, the legislation written from these hearts and minds will reflect the desires of God, and America will be led well.

Articles like the one in Christianity Today, however, remind me of how backwards the Church approaches Capitol Hill and the rest of America’s government, and how far She is from this kingdom-vision…

be His,
jeremy