So, there you have it. You don’t transform America by seizing political power. 

Where we have been

You transform it through stable Christian marriages that will produce healthy, successful children.

You transform it through Christians who preserve their availability to God by refusing to become enslaved to debt.

You transform it through Christians whose good work makes them increasingly responsible for more of the planet.

And you transform it through Christians who make disciples.

Why four behaviors are enough

Some may object that this is insufficient, that these four behaviors don’t cover enough of what matters to make a difference. Or they might argue that there are not enough Christians, so that even if all of them did these four things it wouldn’t effect real change.

But the important thing is that these are four major behaviors with multiplicative effects. The Pareto Principle, or the 80/20 rule, states that roughly 80% of consequences come from 20% of the causes. It shows an unequal balance between inputs and outputs, meaning a small number of causes usually drive most of the results. The key is picking the right causes, and I’ve explained why I believe I have done precisely that. Each of these four behaviors has a multiplicative effect.

A stable marriage doesn’t merely affect two Christians. It affects their children, and potentially their children’s children. Financial freedom doesn’t merely improve a Christian’s bank account. It increases his capacity for generosity, ability to take risks, and availability to God. Vocational excellence doesn’t just affect the Christian. If he becomes extraordinarily competent, he will be given more responsibility, and his decisions will affect employees, customers, and culture. Disciple-making is explicitly reproductive: disciples make disciples.

Transformation doesn’t require a majority when the behaviors producing the transformation multiply themselves.

Underestimating politics?

Others may argue that I’ve underestimated the importance of politics, and that no real change happens without political change. I’ve already addressed in the post on making disciples why self-government is better than law. As G.K. Chesterton said, “If men will not be governed by the Ten Commandments, they shall be governed by the ten thousand commandments.” Self-government by many results in more freedom for all.

There is something else to remember: if Christian political leaders combine craft with their calling (see post on work) and lead well, we will have substantially better government.

Good government is not all about policy; it is very much about good leadership. Politics matters and laws matter, to be sure. But governing is a craft and a calling. A good leader is almost always better than a good policy and a bad leader more destructive than a bad policy. 

On sanctification

Lastly, some may ask, “What about sanctification?” It is true that changed people change the world. 

But if I were to tackle the fullness of sanctification, this would be a sixty-part series rather than a six-part series. Instead, I have picked four things any Christian could do: marriage fidelity, financial responsibility, vocational stewardship, and making disciples.

One needn’t be Mother Teresa or St. Francis of Assisi. 

Where the power resides

The power for lasting change isn’t primarily in Washington. It’s distributed among millions of ordinary people—in their marriages, their financial decisions, their work, and the people they disciple.

You don’t need to win an election to stay married.

You don’t need Congress to authorize you to get out of debt.

You don’t need political power to combine craft with your calling.

You don’t need a government program to make a disciple.

Change doesn’t require the right politics or perfect people; it just requires the people of God doing the right things. GS