‘Can Politics Be Saved?’ with Justin Giboney

Do you ever feel pressure to stay silent to fit into your political party’s talking points? Justin Giboney, attorney, ordained minister and co-founder of the AND Campaign, joins VOICES’ Where Ya From? podcast to explore how bringing our full witness to our political decisions and conversations can be a way of loving our neighbors as ourselves.

Guest Bio:

Justin Giboney is an attorney, political strategist, and ordained minister in Atlanta, GA. He is also the cofounder and president of the AND Campaign, which is a coalition of urban Christians who are determined to address the sociopolitical arena with the compassion and conviction of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He has managed successful campaigns for elected officials in the state and referendums relating to the city’s transportation and water infrastructure.

He’s the co-author of Compassion (&) Conviction—The AND Campaign’s Guide to Faithful Civic Engagement and has written op-eds for publications such as Christianity Today and The Hill.

Notes & Quotes:

I’m seeing Black Christian candidates who want to run for city council in Black districts being forced to run as secular progressives. And I’m like, “I know you don’t believe that.” It just really made me feel uncomfortable.
Because I’m in one party or the other, do I have to deny my witness? I just thought Christians weren’t having the opportunity to bring their whole witness into the conversation.
if you’re going to love your neighbor as yourself, then you’ve got to care about their wellbeing. You’ve got to be socially concerned about your neighbor. Politics isn’t the only way to do that. But it’s certainly a robust way to show that you care about your neighbor.
You need to know what you believe and you need to, regardless of the circumstances, be able to speak the truth in love.
The gospel is love and truth. And in many instances, these two ideologies that we’re fighting over and we’re somehow trying to fit ourselves into are missing one or the other. That’s where AND comes from—the love and truth. It’s the compassion and the conviction. It’s finding a way to combine the social justice and the moral order.