Snippet: "Own the libs."

Snip·pet | ˈsnipit | noun a small piece or brief extract.

This snippet is Nancy French toward the end of an interview by Skye Jethani on The Holy Post Podcast. She recently published a memoir called Ghosted: An American Story. She has been a ghostwriter for many Christian and political authors.

“The reason I keep butting my head up against all these Christian institutions over and over and over is that no one can admit that they do stuff wrong, you know? And so I wanted to sort of model this because I did so much wrong, especially in my ghostwriting life, you know, in terms of owning the libs and making people drink liberal tears and all that. Like that was what I did. And so I sort of wanted to lead with that. But also, I mean, it's not like otherwise, I'm this amazing, virtuous person, you know, it's just like, I'm just a person. I trust God. It looks weird. Sometimes it looks clumsy. Sometimes I make huge mistakes. But man, how much fun is it that we serve a God who is so much better and bigger and more generous and you know…our pettiness…is no match for his generosity of spirit….”

Earlier in the interview she explains how she would apply dishonest tactics to “own the libs.”

I talk about some of those kinds of tactics this weekend in the sermon.

I also talk about the inability of too many people to admit the flaws on their side of the political aisle. And how, when we do that, it makes us look like rubes.

This isn’t a one-sided thing. Every side of the political spectrum does this. I’ve done it.

Rhetoric is powerful, and it can be and often is misused.

Photo by Conor Samuel on Unsplash

Politics in Church...Relax...and Invite Someone

We’re kicking off a 4-week series on how to be Christian in the election. It’s the perfect week to invite someone. Really, I mean it, and I’ll tell you why.

Think back to when we did a series on justice. It was 2020. Do you remember anything justice-related that happened that year?

If you were here, I can bet you were wishing you had invited someone.

That same year, we did a series on sexuality.

At Pizza with the Pastors, so many people told us they checked out those two series online before coming, and that’s why they came. And so many Five Oakers have told me that series like that make them proud to be part of this church body.

Both of those series were sharable.

Both spoke to a need so many people have—to hear what the Bible says in a way that reflects grace and truth, compassion and conviction.

That’s our guiding principle as we approach politics in this series.

So, relax. Come. And invite someone who is looking for a fresh approach in a world filled with vitriol and culture warring.

Photo by Jas Min on Unsplash