“Wouldn't it be great if I had neighbors that, you know, we pretty much agreed on everything?” asks Andrew Isker on the Tucker Carlson Network. He laments a by-gone era in the United States and hopes to build a “Christian Refuge” based on faith and freedom. “We, you know, agree on everything politically, culturally, all of that. And then you don't even have to talk about it. It's just have normal life together.”
This is a tantalizing idea: life together in peace and harmony with your neighbors. But is it a biblical idea? Can Christians expect to live as the peaceful majority and should Christians seek out such societies? Pastor Adriel Sanchez addresses several of these questions in his recent episode with Sola Media.
Should Faithful Christians Move to More “Christian” Communities?
Isker has moved his family from Minnesota to Tennessee in search of a more Christian community where people “hold similar values.” He is not alone in his pilgrimage. The last decade has seen many Christian families move from liberal parts of the country to states that are considered conservative. Pastor Sanchez said Christians of course have the liberty of conscience to move where they feel is best for their families, but it should not be considered a decision of faith.
“Don't think of this decision, though, in terms of faithfulness to God,” he said. “[It’s not] I'm going because I'm being faithful to God as much as it's a question of wisdom—general Christian wisdom, and general Christian liberty as well.”
Sanchez points out that you can be a good Christian or a faithless one anywhere—as evidenced by the saints that live around the world in various countries and communities.
“Faithfulness to God isn't determined by who your governor is, but who you are. You can be a faithful follower of Jesus in California and an unfaithful follower of Jesus somewhere else.”
Rather than where to live, Christians should consider how to live. The apostle Peter writes that while Lot lived in Sodom, “he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard” (2 Pet. 2:8).
“The question is, how should we as Christians respond to the evil in the world?” Sanchez asks. “Do we need to separate ourselves from the world and build Christian enclaves? Is that what the apostles did? …Was this the attitude that caused the Christian gospel to spread from Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth? The answer is no.”
How Can I Live in a Community That Hates Me?
There are certainly people who are very vocal with their criticisms of Christianity, Christians, or the church in general. It might be easy to feel hated for your beliefs by the broader community you live in. But, Sanchez suggests, it could be that we simply don’t know our neighbors well enough.
“I think it's delusional to think that, if you live in a blue state, everyone around you hates you,” he says. “I live in a very progressive neighborhood in San Diego and each of my neighbors is different. If you live in a place like San Diego or Minnesota and you think everyone around me hates me, [and] you never go outside, then the reality is that you're fleeing from is an illusion. Get to know your neighbors, have conversations with them.”
Paul tells the Corinthians to purge immorality from within the church, but reminds them that they cannot escape it outside the church without escaping the world altogether (cf. 1 Cor. 5:10). And how would they be a witness to the world if they were not in it? In the very next chapter, Paul says, “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:11).
We are not meant to flee this world, but to live in it as lights in the darkness. Sanchez says:
“This church exists not just for the parts of the world it likes, our political allies and friends. To take Christians out of the world is to take the soul out of the body. It's a way of making sure the world perishes. It was a God-inspired love for the world that compelled Christians throughout the Roman Empire to lay down their lives for neighbors who were suffering with the plague. Through their obedience, God brought about the transformation of the empire that would not have happened if the early Christians had adopted a mindset of flee and build.”
Is it Wrong to Build Churches with Like-Minded Christians?
It is a natural desire to want to feel comfortable with those around you, but Sanchez warns that Christian communities and churches that are too monochromatic aren’t challenged to love those who are different. “The result of this is political affinity groups that are loosely religious,” he says. “Their focus is on reclaiming lost cultural power with the strategy of retreating from places that are difficult to do ministry in order to build something lasting through which they will be able to take dominion of their non Christian neighbors without actually having to get to know them.”
Our churches need to be in places where the lost can find us, and the lost need to be welcomed at the door. That means our churches need to be filled with “Men and women who, like Jesus, aren't waiting for sinners to destroy themselves, but pursue them with conviction and compassion.”
Living in the world while not being of the world is a difficult calling, but every Christian is called to do it.
“If you really want a Christian nation, it's not going to happen by gathering a community of your online friends to disengage from actual evangelism and follow you to an enclave in Idaho or Texas,” said Sanchez. “The world needs Christians whose confidence is in God's Word and who know that living in a blue state doesn't keep that word from accomplishing its purposes.”
You can listen to the full episode of Pastor Adriel Sanchez responding to Andrew Isker on Sola Media’s YouTube channel: “Rebuilding Christian America? Adriel Sanchez Responds to Andrew Isker on Tucker Carlson”
