Journal: Southern Baptist Journal of Theology
Volume: SBJT 28:2 (Summer 2024)
Article: Interview With Jonathan Leeman On Christian Nationalism
Author: Jonathan Leeman

Interview With Jonathan Leeman On Christian Nationalism1

Jonathan Leeman

Jonathan Leeman serves as Editorial Director for 9Marks. He earned his MDiv from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky and his PhD in theology from the University of Wales. Today he edits the 9Marks series of books as well as the 9Marks Journal and is the co-host of the Pastors Talk podcast (9Marks.org). He has written and edited numerous books, including Political Church: The Local Assembly as Embassy for Christ’s Rule (IVP Academic, 2016), How the Nations Rage: Rethinking Faith and Politics for a Divided Age (Thomas Nelson, 2018), and Authority: How Godly Rule Protects the Vulnerable, Strengthens Communities, and Promotes Human Flourishing (Crossway, 2023). Dr. Leeman also teaches at several seminaries and serves as an elder at Cheverly Baptist Church in suburban Washington, DC. Jonathan is married to Shannon and they have four daughters.

David Schrock: Jonathan, let us start with an autobiographical question. You have done quite a bit of writing on church-state relationships, specifically your work Political Church and your new book on authority.2 How did you get into an interest in politics, and how has that informed the way that you have pursued life and ministry in the church?

Jonathan Leeman: This is a confession—slightly embarrassing—but when I was in high school, I was convinced I was going to be president. Somehow, I thought not only do I want to be president, but I am sure that I am going to be. And I think because from a young age, I had a certain moral bearing that caused me to lament many of the injustices and immoralities that increasingly characterized the world growing up in the 1970s, 80s and 90s, and I wanted to do something about it. So, like many people, I just thought—Peter in the garden—pick up the sword. That’s the best way to fix all these problems.

When I went to college at the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York, I majored in political science. I spent a year overseas working

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in the House of Commons in the European Parliament. In the summers, I interned for my congressman. I finished the undergraduate degree and went back overseas again to do a master’s degree in political theory and enjoyed that. Then, I worked for a political scientist named Bob Putnam [author of Bowling Alone] after graduating from grad school doing research for him. I thought I would do a PhD in political theory, political philosophy, but somewhere in there, God saved me and I found my life radically changed. And this was in Washington D...