It seems appropriate after two conventions to take a moment to pause and think about how politics divides the church.

It’s helpful to know that politics divided the first disciples, especially before Pentecost. N.T. Wright in How God Became King does an excellent job of helping us remember just how much there was a political expectation of the Messiah, and how Jesus Christ himself turned ideas about leadership and kingship on their head.

There is no doubt that the church is in an ugly political season, and I myself have been caught up in the sort of demagoguing that I deplore. I have my own political views and at present find myself unable to support either parties nomination for President, though I remain a political conservative and will likely support many conservatives down ticket.

Even as that’s essential, it doesn’t define my Christianity and it shouldn’t. I believe Christians should be deeply involved in policy and politics, but when we stop seeing our literal brothers and sisters in Christ as fellows in the kingdom of God than we are letting something not of the Lord play into our lives, and I am weak in this area.

If you are looking for a reasoned and decent post on why someone might support Donald Trump (click here), if you are looking for a passionate and progressive defense of a prophetic nature to support Clinton (click here).

I can do neither, but I understand Christians who will be drawn to both, what I would urge us is to let our common bond in the Lord be more important than what will inevitably befall the nation.

Our common Christianity is of greater value than the politics of the moment, and if we can not find ways to hold that to a higher degree of value than we will be unable to demonstrate to society what disagreeing in mercy and grace truly looks like. Whatever the future holds our common bonds in faith will be more important than where ever we happen to find ourselves in the course of events.

Alexei Laushkin is a Board Member of the Kingdom Mission Society, Vice-President of the Evangelical Environmental Network, and writer of the Foolishconfidence blog. His views are his own.