Divided in politics, united in Christ
Two Christians — one a Republican Party delegate, the other a Democratic Party delegate — recently spoke to The Christian Chronicle Podcast about how they express their faith through their political activism.
Shay Cathey, a member of the Central Pointe Church of Christ in Dallas, is vice chair of the Texas Democratic Party.
Michele Woodhouse, a member of the Biltmore Church of Christ in Asheville, N.C., is Republican Party chair of North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District.
In Episode 78, Cathey and Woodhouse share their thoughts on how Christians can run counter to the current political culture and rise above its negativity.
Related: Listen to the full interview with Shay Cathey and Michele Woodhouse on Episode 78 of The Christian Chronicle Podcast
B.T.: Talk about how you got into party politics. What motivated you and moved you in the direction of working in a political party?
Cathey: I saw it modeled in my home. My mother was a precinct chair. She was a grassroots activist. I saw her working to change things and better things in our community. I saw how she managed her responsibilities as an elder’s wife, as a mother with her job and (was) still very committed to changing her community.
I actually worked for our state party right after college and then for a state senator in his campaign, and it felt like the ways I needed my community to be seen and the ways I needed to advocate aligned more with one party than the other, and that was what I was hearing, and so that’s where I decided to lend my effort.
Michele Woodhouse and husband Eddie at the Republican National Convention.
Woodhouse: I’d say my journey is probably quite different. I was raised in the Detroit area. Both of my parents were longtime union workers, as were most of my family, so my parents were both Democrats, and I was raised a Democrat, registered as a Democrat. When I went off to Michigan State, when my father dropped me off, he said, “Don’t get arrested at a protest.”
I voted Democrat until Bill Clinton. I voted for Bill Clinton twice. … I became a baptized believer as an adult, and when Bill Clinton lied to the American people about having an affair with a young woman under his purview, that was it.
I changed my party affiliation the next day. And I look at myself — I’m a Christian conservative who’s a Republican, in that order. And I’ve been very involved in the Republican Party really for the last, you know, probably 15 years.
B.T.: By the time I reached my 30s, I didn’t feel like I could be both a party man and an ambassador for Christ. I felt like in order to be active in the party, I had to show outward contempt for people in the other party.
Have you ever felt that tension yourself, being an ambassador for Christ and yet having to fight off that feeling that maybe your party wants the party to be your primary identity?
Woodhouse: I don’t think about it in that way at all, and I’ll tell you why. I go to church with people of all kinds of political affiliation. And we know, statistically, probably 50% of the people that go to church and that identify as Christians in this country don’t even vote. … It’s not part of membership in the church, and it’s not my place to ask that question.
I feel no pressure from my party to say words of hate or ugliness to Shay or anyone on the other side of the aisle. But anything can become an idol. If people let it become an idol, if it becomes their golden calf, that’s for them to work out with the Lord … whether it’s politics, your job, money, whatever the case may be.
“If people let it become an idol, if it becomes their golden calf, that’s for them to work out with the Lord … whether it’s politics, your job, money, whatever the case may be.”
On Sunday morning I’ll sit with 180-plus people at church, and the person I sit the closest to at church, my husband, and I don’t agree on 100 percent of issues.
And so why would I expect or have an immediate reaction that I should with other people that I worship with? What we share is the most important thing, and that is our salvation.
Shay Cathey at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Cathey I’ve absolutely felt the tension — felt it and, to some degree, still feel it. I think we have forgotten, to Michelle’s point, that politics is something that we do. It’s not who we are. And if you don’t first see me as a Christian, a Christian wife, a Christian mother, a Christian friend, a Christian this, this, that — if you start to see me only as who I vote for, then we’re starting off at the wrong place, and I do think that has become pervasive.
We’ve gotten so far in the weeds on this that I could see how it can be challenging. I could see how someone can say, “I don’t want any parts of this. It’s interfering with my ability to lead and love the way I want to.” But I think what we’re both saying is that we believe it’s the opposite.
We believe that you lead with who you are as a Christian, and you can have conversations about why you have chosen your party platform, your candidate. … You start with, “I believe this, and this is why I’m led to think or vote this way.”
B.T.: What good things do you see God doing that counter the dominant narrative of disunion and discord and trouble in our world right now?
@christianchronicle
RNC delegate Michele Woodhouse and DNC delegate Shay Cathey on Episode 78 of The Christian Chronicle Podcast. #ccpodcast #churchofchrist #faithandpolitics
♬ original sound – The Christian Chronicle
Woodhouse: I see God’s hand in every single aspect of the day, every aspect of the day. But I also see that we are called to do the work. We are called to be the light, and while I see his majesty, I know that when I decided to become a Christian, that you make a commitment, right? It is a dedication to be a disciple.
And we are called to go into the ends of the earth, whether that is the mountains of North Carolina or wherever that might be — Milwaukee at the RNC — to spread the word. So I see God in all things, and I want to do everything that I can to be part of sharing that good news.
Cathey: To borrow a line from the musical “Hamilton,” “How lucky we are to be alive right now.”
I see God moving in just the most amazing ways. As our world evolves and technology evolves, I do think there is a calling for kinder, gentler parties as we move forward.
“We are at a unique space where we can say, ‘Look, God expects us to do better.’ He wants us to participate in our civic responsibilities, but he also wants us to love the people who we are voting with and those who are elected.”
We are at a unique space where we can say, “Look, God expects us to do better.” He wants us to participate in our civic responsibilities, but he also wants us to love the people who we are voting with and those who are elected.
And loving doesn’t necessarily mean agreeing. Loving means respecting, treating them as though they are a child of God, but also calling for respect and unity and love, and I feel that. I feel that God is moving in this way, particularly in this election.
The post Divided in politics, united in Christ appeared first on The Christian Chronicle.
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