John Kingston And Joel Searby To Launch "Christians Against Trumpism & Political Extremism"

BOSTON, Aug. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Social entrepreneur and founder of American Awakening John Kingston and longtime political consultant and pastor Joel Searby today announced the launch of "Christians Against Trumpism & Political Extremism" in partnership with Stand Up Republic.

The campaign will mobilize Christians to publicly stand against the Trumpist culture of predatory behavior, outright lies, poisonous rhetoric and undermining of American ideals and institutions. Movement leadership will also oppose these tactics when employed by other political extremists, both left and right.

This campaign is an initiative of Stand Up Republic, a 501(c) 4 organization that works to mobilize a national cross-partisan constituency to defend and strengthen American democracy.

"We stand against living, speaking and behaving in ways antithetical to the gospel, and any extreme politics emboldening these dangerous patterns among Christian supporters," said Kingston, chairman of the initiative. "As people of faith, we have lost our standing and witness in society, because we are often as racist, politicized and polarized as the culture around us — and, in the Trumpist era, sometimes lead the way in those dark categories.

"Standing against Trumpism is an important part of a reformation movement for the declining Church, which desperately needs renewal and awakening," said Kingston. "If we are going to rebound in the next decade, we must once again nail the truest of our values to its door.

"So few public Christians have been willing to oppose political behaviors that stand in direct opposition to the values of our faith. Worse, some of our most well-known leaders have embraced Trumpism in all its forms, so that Christianity is now often defined by the inverse of its values," Kingston concluded.

"Christians Against Trumpism & Political Extremism will be a community for Christians who oppose Trumpism and its degradation of the gospel, even as we pray for our president and love our brothers and sisters who support him," said Searby. "As Christians, we don't stand against a specific person, as we are all made in God's image.

"In our polarized culture these problems cut both ways. With the extreme Left we often see the incitement of violence as a tool for social change," Searby added. "God is not a god of chaos. We are against the demonization of people with different views and the 'cancelling' of perceived political enemies. Along with Trumpism, both extremes undermine our dignity as a nation and as human beings."

John Kingston is a lawyer by training and Fortune 500 senior executive by experience, whose faith has inspired him to invest his fortune in awakening America to values that made her a nation unrivaled in human history. Kingston gained national attention in the 2016 and 2018 political cycles with innovative and inclusive campaigns positioned against the extremes of American politics, and has been active in national arts, culture and political movements for two decades.

Kingston's book, "American Awakening: Eight Principles to Restore the Soul of America," was recently released by Zondervan, as part of the American Awakening movement (a "campaign for the soul of America") he founded in 2019.

Joel Searby, a long-time Republican political operative, left the Republican Party in 2016 to help recruit an independent candidate for president and ultimately managed Evan McMullin's 2016 independent bid. Searby has since worked to advance independent candidates and reform spiritual awakening through various efforts.

Kingston and Searby share a long history with Stand Up Republic and its founders; after McMullin's presidential campaign, McMullin founded the organization with Mindy Finn, and Kingston was its initial donor.

For more information, please visit http://www.ChristiansAgainstTrumpism.com or contact [email protected].

SOURCE Christians Against Trumpism & Political Extremism