John Fetterman, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Candace Owens and Trump

Something is happening.... and it's probably not what you think. If you’re not grounded and perceptive enough to see it, you will miss it.

In recent months, we have seen Senator John Fetterman fall out of favor with his Democratic counterparts and move toward centrist and even more conservative-leaning positions.

We have seen the wildly outspoken conservative Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene publicly fracture from the Trump administration and express deep dissatisfaction with the direction of the Republican Party.

For well over a year, we have watched the Democratic Party struggle with a lack of clear, unifying leadership in the aftermath of the Biden presidency.

We have seen growing disappointment from Trump supporters over what they view as gross under-delivery on promises of transparency, particularly as it relates to the Epstein files and broader accountability.

We have witnessed former Biden Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre loudly exit the democratic party citing "internal dysfunction".

In the aftermath of Charlie Kirk, we have seen a sizable fracture within the right, spurred by influential voices like Candace Owens, whose interpretations increasingly diverge from those of the mainstream Republican Party.

And we have witnessed a peaceful meeting between Trump and New York’s newly elected democrat socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani, that left some betrayed and others pleasantly surprised by the civility.

There is so much more I could draw your attention to.

But I’m not merely listing observations. I’m highlighting an astounding pattern:

Things are getting twisty. Familiar territory feels less familiar. Lines are blurring. Categories are becoming less clear. Loyalties are being questioned.

And I believe this may be the gift we didn’t know we needed.

For too long, many of us have sat comfortably in our blue or red recliners, certain that the battle was simple and that our clarity came from being on the right team. But critical thinking atrophies when comfort is found in group identity and groupthink. More importantly, your discernment erodes. 

Sure, you may be a conservative. But perhaps you have never had to seriously examine the ways you do not fit neatly into the Republican model of 2025.

Sure, you may be a liberal. But perhaps you have never had to question the ways you do not align perfectly with the Democratic framework of 2025.

And perhaps these deviations never had room to breathe honestly or be evaluated until teams stopped being teams.

Let me take it one layer deeper. Perhaps until now, you have never had to examine the ways in which you've placed blind hope in earthly leaders to tell you which way to turn.

I believe we are being given an opportunity. A chance to re-evaluate to whom and to what we have pledged our loyalty.

One of my favorite Scripture passages is found in Joshua 5:13–14, when Joshua asks an approaching military commander, “Are you on our side or theirs?” The commander replies, “ Neither—I'm on God's side.”

We are living in a time when 'right' and 'wrong' are becoming less abstract. Evil is incarnating itself in everyday places. While typing this blog, a notification appeared on my phone— a video showed a man standing in a busy intersection in Taiwan, throwing smoke grenades before wielding a knife and attacking those around him. And here in the Western world, we are still reeling from the aftermath of recent acts of terrororism on Bondi Beach in Australia and Brown University in Rhode Island. And these are only the forms of evil we can see, not the countless hidden harms that persist in the shadows, beyond our immediate awareness.

To put it frankly: we no longer have time to play this political game of “your team versus mine.” We have run out of time.

If you are reading this, I pray you are humble enough to admit it.

It is no surprise that I believe a spiritual awakening is the only way out of the mess we have found ourselves in. That I believe Christ is the ultimate and final antidote to evil, both now and in the age to come.

But even if you challenge that conclusion, I still invite you to seriously evaluate the moment we are living in and the opportunity we are being given to reconsider our loyalty to rigid team identities.

There is coming a time (if not yet) when you will be forced to discern matters that refuse to fit neatly into a political box. When that moment comes, do not let partisanship become a stumbling block.

One practical step I have taken over the years is refusing to label myself by any party name. Yes, vote your convictions. But consider replacing labels with descriptions.

Instead of “Democrat,” try “I lean liberal.” Instead of “Republican,” try “I hold conservative values.”

This may be the first step in lowering walls and creating space for clearer thinking, deeper dialogue, and collective moral clarity as we face the challenging landscape ahead.

Grace and Peace