3 Books I Wish Every Christian Would Read on Politics

theological, spiritual, and practical primers

Yesterday, I wrote about how antithetical our current political tendencies are to the way of Jesus. We must do better. And I’m happy to report, I think many Christians are.

We need to reground ourselves in our God-given purpose of seeking his kingdom first.

I believe the following three books are a good place to start.

Personal Disclaimer: I'm sure that if I were to look, I would find a disagreement or two with each author. And isn't that precisely one of the things that makes our politics so toxic? It tempts us to dismiss someone entirely because of a single disagreement, despite mountains of agreement? Whatever I may disagree with is far outweighed by the overall value of what each book has to teach.

Affiliate Disclaimer: The links below are affiliated links. That means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you if you choose to make a purchase through the links provided in this post. So, thanks in advance!

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First, a theological primer:

Jesus and the Powers by Michael Bird and N.T. Wright

(Find it here to support local bookstores.)

If we hope to engage politics as Christians, we must first understand how Jesus himself related to political power. Bird and Wright provide this theological foundation, exploring Jesus's confrontation with and redefinition of power.

What makes this book so valuable is how it exposes the false dichotomy between viewing Jesus as either apolitical or as a conventional revolutionary. Instead, the authors present Jesus as profoundly political but in a way that transcends and transforms our understanding of politics itself.

My favorite insight from the book is what the authors call "the paradox of power." Jesus demonstrated that true power operates differently than worldly power. While Roman authority functioned through dominance, violence, and self-promotion, Jesus exercised power through service, sacrifice, and self-giving love. When he told Pilate "My kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36), he wasn't suggesting his kingdom was irrelevant to worldly affairs but that it operated according to radically different principles.

Bird and Wright carefully unpack how Jesus's crucifixion represents the ultimate confrontation with political power. As Colossians 2:15 declares, on the cross Christ "disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in his." The crucifixion, which appeared to be Rome's victory over a Jewish troublemaker, was actually God's subversive triumph over the powers of domination. The resurrection then vindicated Jesus's approach to power, demonstrating that self-giving love ultimately overcomes coercive force.

The implications for Christian political engagement are profound. We are called neither to withdraw from politics nor to uncritically adopt its conventional methods. Instead, we participate in politics while embodying an alternative vision of power—one marked by service rather than dominance, reconciliation rather than division, truth-telling rather than manipulation.

As Bird and Wright remind us, "The Jesus who called his disciples to render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar, while rendering to God what belongs to God (Mark 12:17), was simultaneously acknowledging Caesar's limited authority while relativizing it." Our political witness should reflect this same nuanced approach—recognizing legitimate governmental authority while always prioritizing God's kingdom.

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Next, a spiritual primer:

The Spirit of Our Politics by Michael Wear

(Find it here to support local bookstores.)

If Bird and Wright establish the theological framework for Christian political engagement, Wear provides the spiritual primer. Having served in the Obama White House's faith-based initiative and advised numerous campaigns, Wear writes with both spiritual depth and political experience.

What sets this book apart is Wear's application of Dallas Willard's ideas about spiritual formation to political engagement. Willard famously argued that "the kind of person we are determines what we actually do." Wear extends this insight: the kind of politics we have depends on the kind of people we are.

This perspective shifts our focus from merely advocating specific policies to examining how our political engagement forms (or deforms) our character. As Wear writes, "Politics doesn't just reflect who we are; it shapes who we are becoming." When we engage politically through fear, outrage, and dehumanization, we become people characterized by those same qualities—regardless of how "Christian" our policy positions might be.

Wear challenges the common Christian approach of baptizing standard political tactics with religious language. Instead, he argues that spiritual disciplines like silence, listening, humility, and self-examination are essential prerequisites for faithful political engagement. Drawing on Matthew 7:3-5, he reminds us that before addressing the speck in our opponent's eye, we must remove the log from our own.

Particularly valuable is Wear's discussion of the spiritual discipline of hope. Political discourse today traffics heavily in apocalyptic rhetoric—if the other side wins, it's the end of democracy/religious freedom/civilization itself. Such catastrophizing corrodes our capacity for reasoned debate and compromise. Against this tendency, Wear argues that Christian hope—grounded not in electoral outcomes but in God's sovereignty—frees us to engage politics with both conviction and patience.

"When our hope is ultimately in Christ," Wear writes, "we can advocate passionately without demonizing, disagree firmly without despairing, and pursue justice persistently without becoming bitter." This spiritually formed approach doesn't make us political doormats; rather, it enables more effective long-term witness because it doesn't exhaust our moral and spiritual resources on the outrage of the moment.

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Finally, a practical primer:

Compassion & Conviction by Justin Giboney

(Find it here to support local bookstores.)

While the previous books establish theological and spiritual foundations, Giboney's work serves as a practical guide for engaged citizenship. As co-founder of the AND Campaign, Giboney writes to help Christians navigate political engagement with both biblical values and civic wisdom.

The central insight of the book is captured in its title—the need to balance both compassion and conviction in our political witness. Giboney argues that contemporary politics forces a false dichotomy on us. Either we embrace progressive policies of compassion while abandoning traditional moral convictions. Or we hold fast to conservative moral convictions while neglecting compassionate policies. Christians, he insists, must refuse this binary.

"When Christians divide compassion and conviction," Giboney writes, "we end up with an incomplete gospel and inadequate political witness." Jesus demonstrated both unflinching moral clarity and radical compassion for the marginalized. Our politics should do the same.

Giboney offers practical wisdom for maintaining this balance. He advises Christians to "distinguish between ideology and issues"—recognizing that no political party or movement fully aligns with kingdom values, while still engaging specific issues with clarity and conviction. He encourages believers to "prioritize justice and righteousness over partisan interests," even when doing so creates tension with political allies.

Some of Giboney's most valuable advice concerns communication across political divides. He suggests practicing "charitable interpretation" of opposing viewpoints instead of assuming the worst motives. He recommends developing "bilingual" political speech—the ability to articulate Christian convictions in both religious and public reason language, depending on the context.

Perhaps most challenging is Giboney's call for "principled pluralism." This approach acknowledges that while Christians should advocate for policies aligned with biblical values, we must do so within a diverse democratic context where others have equal right to advocate from different worldviews. Principled pluralism rejects both theocratic impulses and the privatization of faith.

What makes Giboney's guidance so valuable is its practicality. He addresses questions like: How should Christians engage with political parties? When is compromise appropriate? How can believers maintain convictions while building necessary coalitions? His answers avoid both naive idealism and cynical pragmatism, pointing instead to a principled but achievable approach to citizenship.

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These books won't resolve all our political questions or challenges. But they will help form in us the character from which faithful political witness can emerge. They remind us that before asking what positions Christians should take on political issues, we should ask what kind of people Christians should be in public life.