Kaitlyn Schiess is a journalist who researches and writes on the intersection of faith and politics. Her writing has appeared in Christianity Today, Relevant and Fathom Magazine, and she is a staff writer at Christ and Pop Culture. Kaitlyn is a graduate of Liberty University and is currently completing her Master of Theology at Dallas Theological Seminary. She is the author of The Liturgy of Politics: Spiritual Formation for the Sake of Our Neighbor, now available from InterVarsity Press.
Key Questions for Kaitlyn Schiess
-What do you mean when you say that evangelicals were not sufficiently political in the 70s and the 80s?
-What would you say to Christians who think that we should pull out of politics?
-How can a ministry leader help people convinced of one party to be more reflective?
-What are the four false gospels that evangelicals believe?
Key Quotes from Kaitlyn Schiess
“Part of the problem was not that we were so political [in the 70s and 80s], but that we were insufficiently political.”
“All of a sudden, we ended up in a position where the whole range of political views for one this one party were seen as uniquely Christian when they probably weren’t.”
“The answer to [the challenges of politics] is not not engaging anymore. I think it’s engaging more carefully.”
“When we engage politically, there are so many things that are trying to grab our attention affectively, they want to grab our hearts.”
“[Pastors], how are you spiritually forming [your congregants] in ways that counteract those political stories?”
“Politics is not just about policies and leaders. It’s about the direction of our spiritual formation, which is always directed towards a political end.”
“People’s hearts are captured by these really strong political forces…a lot of what’s happening is their identity, their sense of what is good in the world and what kind of world we should be seeking to create, are really different. Those are really emotional responses.”
