On a recent Sunday in Canton, Georgia, a group of American Christians found themselves on a mission.
It was a very specific mission, though like many missions these days, it had merch.
It had live music.
Doug PagittCourtesy of Vote Common Good
Ryerse raised his hand in greeting.
We can tell the good honks from the bad honks.
Thats a good honk.
The small crowd on the lawn tittered knowingly.
202, one of the most sweeping voter-suppression laws in the nation.
Happens all the time.
Pagitt gesticulated with the conviction of a tent-revival preacher.
Were here to remind you: That has never been true.
Its not true today, and its not gonna be true tomorrow.
One such adfeaturesvideo of the late Rev.
They are also making the case that disaffected evangelical Republicans could provide Harris path to victory.
to the rally in Canton.
Its the first time in 30 years that a Democrat won Kent County.
That doesnt happen in those counties without that being Evangelical people.
Theres just too many of them there.
Evangelicals for Harris organizers have come to the same conclusion.
Democrats dont think about voters under a religious tab.
They dont sort by religion.
For Republicans, its the first sort.
Jesus loved his neighbor; Trumpaccuses them of eating their pets.
Jesus welcomed the stranger; Trumpwants to deport them.
Jesus lifted up the poor; Trump only helps the rich.
Jesus empowered women; Trump treats them as sexual objects to control.
Jesus proclaimed the truth; Trump is a pathological liar.
Jesus humbled himself; Trump exalts himself as the chosen one.
This is what Jesus was resisting throughout the New Testament.
Thats a misunderstanding of what were trying to do.
What were trying to do is not persuade the 85 to 95 percent that are not flippable.
Theres an on-ramp for a different way of engaging.
This, of course, is by design.
I would consider myself traditionally orthodox when it comes to human sexuality.
I would consider myself to be pro-life and anti-abortion.
But in this election, there is no traditionally pro-life candidate, says Rev.
I dont believe Trump is pro-life, Scott continues.
I dont believe hes pro-choice.
I believe Trump is multiple-choice.
It depends significantly upon the audience that he is speaking to.
So my next step is to ask, Who is the pro-family candidate?
I very much believe that the Democratic platform this year is the pro-family platform.
Until Trump came along, this meant assiduously trying to work with both parties.
I never wanted to engage in electoral politics, Ball continues.
But I came to see that democracy and the rule of law were threatened.
If those things are threatened, then my ability to do my nonpartisan climate work is also threatened.
For Pagitts organization, heartfelt disruption is often the point.
banner across the Supreme Court steps.
They were not proclaiming their faith.
By contrast, Vote Common Good seeks no cover.
It gladly owns the disruption it causes; it wants that to run deep.
What I often say is were not trying to take America back for liberal Jesus, you know?
Were not trying to win some purity contest.
Were trying to win an election.
We are agnostic about the faith of the candidates we work with.
That agnosticism certainly applied to Georgia state senate candidateJ.D.
Jordan, whom Vote Common Good was supporting at the rally in Canton.
Vance first declared, we had all these fun ideas, like Get to Know Your J.D.!
Says Pagitt, We dont technically endorse candidates; they endorse the common good.
Ive been a Catholic my whole life, Bell said before speaking at the rally.
Its really hard to go across that steep message of You have to vote Republican to be a Christian.
They thought that everything that went into ActBlue from anyone went to Black Lives Matter.
I was just like, Its like PayPal.
It just processes money.
Its just the processing arm.
I think you believe that our different views on abortion make you more moral than me, hell say.
For the conversations that arent lost causes, however, Pagitt treads far more lightly.
We know the social costs that people are paying and how they internally feel, Pagitt says.
In their experience, theyre going from, I was the hero when I did this behavior.
Now Im going to do the opposite behavior.
How am I still the hero?
You have to help people get there.
Part of our theory of change is that behavioral change happens before identity change, explains Ryerse.
Were not out here trying to make more Democrats.
Were trying to get people to behave differently, i.e., to vote differently.
The permission structure is, Listen, Im not asking you to be a Democrat.
Im asking you not to vote for Donald Trump in this election.
Once behavior changes, of course, theres the possibility of changing identity as well.
By that logic, Trump himself if not the conditions that created him is not a predicament.
Solving the problem of Trump takes action.
There was a rally with Rep. Katie Porter to attend that evening.
There was a meeting with California teachers and school-board members the day after that.
By Wednesday, theyd be headed to an event in Goodyear, Arizona.
Come Thursday, theyd be Omaha-bound.
The mission was upon them, by God: There was action to take, an election to win.
There were hearts and minds and souls to encounter.
There was faith, hope, and love yet to spread.
