There’s a fascinating article in the New York Times (found via Ed Cone) about a pastor at an evangelical mega-church in Minnesota who denounced the practice of churches closely identifying with a particular political party or getting involved in political issues. The pastor, the Rev. Gregory A. Boyd, refused to allow anti-abortion activists to set up tables in the church, refused to endorse political candidates or to allow pamphlets for candidates to be distributed and eventually gave a series of sermons titled "’The Cross and the Sword’ in which he said the church should steer clear of politics, give up
moralizing on sexual issues, stop claiming the United States as a
“Christian nation” and stop glorifying American military campaigns." In the process he lost about 20% of his congregants and a church fundraising campaign fell well short of the church’s goal, but he says he has no regrets.
What is most interesting to me is that as I was reading the article I realized that I had assumed all along that all evangelicals are right-wing, super-conservative, pro-war, Bush evangelists. I had fallen into the trap of lumping everyone into the same category, of not giving evangelical Christians the credit for being able to think for themselves.
Kind of scary how easy that is to do.
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Befuddled 
Easy trap to fall into, yes. That said, yes, evangelicals make up a big chunk of the GOP base, and a very important chunk because they turn out to vote so reliably. And they probably make up an even bigger chunk of that 36% or so of Americans who continue to approve of the job Bush is doing.
But when you get down to the level of a particular issue, many evangelicals are all too ready to peel away from the GOP. The environment is one such issue in particular.
“Does Evangelical Christian = Republican?”
The obvious answer to your question is “No.” Neither party accurately and fully represents the Truth of God’s Word in every area. But of course, there’s much more to the conversation…
P.S. to Lex: I don’t know that it’s as much about “peeling away from the GOP” as it is about clinging to the truth of the Word and following after Christ.
Thanks for the comment Cara. I agree with you, and I have to say that I find everyone who uses religion for political gain, no matter which party or which religion you’re talking about, to be hypocritical.
BTW, keep up the great work you’re doing with the Greensboro homeless.
Thanks, Jon. But believe me, it’s not work. I’m just serving people I love. It’s an honor and privilege and I’m thankful God keeps giving me the opportunity to do it.