Another assassination attempt. Brazen gerrymandering. Billions of dollars in fraud. Immigration fights. Partial government shutdowns. Anyone need more rage bait?

I have a question for us: Do perceived “losses” in elections or current events make you angry? Raise your anxiety? Do “wins” lighten your spirit and put a spring in your step? 

Yes? Well….me too.

Rejoicing or lamenting over political and cultural events is not unbiblical (e.g., see Lamentations, Psalm 137, or Nehemiah 1). However, lamentable events in Scripture typically had dramatic and personal effects upon the lamenters…think being exiled. 

While in our society we do sometimes personally experience the lamentable result of political or cultural injustice, if you’re like me, you likely spend way too much energy being anxious or downcast over stuff with little or no personal impact…like election results on the other side of the country, or a temporary legislative setback in Congress. Honestly, I hate it when my “team” loses. 

As Christians serving in our public schools, it’s easy to get stuck in a “culture war” mindset. The pressure to pick sides is relentless. And that’s just where our true enemy wants us—seeing other citizens as the enemy and hardening our hearts to our neighbors. We become focused on defeating people—crushing their arguments, scoring political points, or forcing compliance through power. How many of us love to watch social media clips of our political opponents (who are made in the image of God and objects of His love) losing a debate, preferably in humiliating fashion? The culture war mindset tempts us to fight on the enemy’s ground using the enemy’s weapons. This is a recipe for defeat, even if we “win” a few political battles.

My friends, let us instead walk in a “Kingdom war” mindset.

The Kingdom war calls us to win people. As the Apostle Paul reminds us in Ephesians 6:12 (NIV), “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” We fight not with human weapons of anger or coercion but with His weapons in His ways. 

But aren’t we supposed to fight the spread of evil in our society? Clearly, yes. While all of us are called to fight the Kingdom war, some of us are called to engage in the culture war directly (e.g., advocating for just laws, running for school board, or defending our rights in court). But the issue is how. 

Jonathan Edwards shows us the way, writing that we may reprove our neighbors “with politeness and without bitterness…without angry reflections or contemptuous language…as a man would reprove another…more to deliver him from the calamity into which he has fallen than to be even with him for the injury he has brought on him.” Cap Stewart of Unpop Culture summarizes Edward’s point beautifully: “We are not at war with our ideological opponents—we are at war for them.”

And in this war, we play the long game: seeking to win our neighbors, colleagues, and students for Christ. 

This is not a call to retreat or ignore the battles around us. It is a call to fight them with Kingdom power, by following the leading of the Spirit and by displaying the fruit of the Spirit. 

Is the Holy Spirit at work in our schools? Absolutely…and sometimes dramatically. You may have heard about heroic Principal Kirk Moore of Pauls Valley High School in Oklahoma. When a former student entered his school armed with two guns and a Columbine-inspired plan, Moore courageously tackled and disarmed him, even after being shot in the leg. Moore’s pastor, Andy Harrison, describes him as humble, selfless, and deeply faithful, noting that Moore even asked for prayer for the gunman and credited God’s hand in the moment…the hand that I believe caused the gun to jam when the shooter aimed at a female student and pulled the trigger.  

While you may have heard about Principal Moore, I doubt you’ve heard about Terry Orange, a Christian Educators member, former combat helicopter pilot, and JROTC instructor in one of Kentucky’s most progressive school districts. In the most recent Teachers of Vision magazine, you can read (or listen on the Kingdom Educators Podcast) how Terry has faced repeated opposition for living out his biblical worldview—targeted by false accusations and even set up by a school counselor who planted students in his classes as part of a scheme to get him fired. In the face of this frequent opposition, Terry regularly prayed with a fellow believer: “Lord, pour us out. Use us up…We are Yours.”

One day, during a chaotic lunchtime fight in the cafeteria, the Holy Spirit prompted Terry to counterintuitively turn away from the fight and notice a troubled student retrieving a blue backpack. Feeling “propelled by God’s presence,” Terry tackled the student just as he pulled out a loaded pistol. The gun slid across the floor—a round already chambered. Terry held the student down until help arrived, preventing a terrible tragedy. 

Why is Terry Orange not a household name? Because after he refused his school district’s request not to mention God in interviews, they squashed the story in the media. 

Why do I share two stories of heroic Christian Educators who moved in the power of the Spirit to stop school shootings? One reason is to demonstrate how badly we need Christians serving in our public schools. But the second reason is more relevant to my point here: if these two could trust the leading of the Spirit in these life-or-death moments, we can certainly take the risk to trust the leading of the Spirit in our less dangerous daily opportunities…like praying for our colleagues or agreeing to advise the Christian club. 

And don’t forget the power of walking in the fruit of the Spirit. Well before the incident with the gun, God used the fruit of the Spirit demonstrated in Terry to bring conviction upon that student planted in his class to get him fired. She experienced love and fair treatment, not the prejudice she was coached to expect. In response, she tearfully confessed her part in the scheme and honored Terry in the process. Not only that, but she encouraged all her LGBTQ friends to take his class! That’s how we fight the Kingdom war. 

Let me leave you with a few happenings that are invitations for us to witness God’s hand and intercede for His purposes in the Kingdom war:

• A new Gallup poll shows 42% of men under 30 now say religion is “very important” to them—up sharply from 28% in 2023. I love that young men are leading a return to Jesus in our nation!
  
  
• In a 9-8 ruling, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court upheld Texas’ law requiring public schools to post the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
  
  
• The activities of the national teachers unions offer many opportunities to get angry, like organizing May 1st walkouts that are causing schools to close in Wisconsin and North Carolina, spending over $1 billion of members’ dues on leftist politics over the last 10 years, and even praising the Satanic Temple. So let’s practice. Rather than letting these things fuel rage, prayerfully step out to talk to your colleagues about leaving their union and joining Christian Educators!

Remember, like the stories of Esther and Daniel (and Terry Orange), God often works by allowing the enemy to overplay his hand and, in the end, glorify Himself and honor His people. But partnership with Him in this Kingdom war means we may need to patiently wait, passionately pray, and sacrificially love…all the while resisting the temptation to get angry or fearful. Let’s look for opportunities to step out in faith when led by His Spirit in our public schools!

P.S. I was able to watch a pre-screening of The Story of Everything, which hits theaters tonight. If you are interested in how evidence that the universe had a beginning has actually guided scientists toward belief in God, it’s definitely worth your watch. Your students can even get free tickets!