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Titles, Connections, and the Public Square

Finding the antidote to the high costs of achieving and maintaining credibility.

My now “commemorative” VIP ticket to today’s inauguration.

[First Things]

Please let us know if you are interested in joining or hosting a discipleship cohort, Bible study, or reading group.

This week, we begin releasing the 2025 season of the Faithful Presence podcast! In our first episode, Rev. Michael Langer gives an overview of Faithful Presence and why whole-life discipleship matters in our current cultural moment. Episode two features an interview with David Bahnsen on “Work, Faith, and Ideological Formation,” followed by an interview with Dr. William Monroe on “AI and Human Flourishing.”

[The Devo] Titles, Connections, and the Public Square

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. 1 Peter 2:9-12

At noon today, Chief Justice John Roberts will administer the oath of office to Donald John Trump as he becomes the 47th President of the United States.

Over the past month, security personnel and event contractors have prepared much of the Capitol Mall area to host the 500,000 people expected to attend the event. The back portion of the National Mall was expected to fill with 250,000 unticketed people who did not have the title or connections to secure one of the 220,000 VIP tickets.

However, after making a few calls, I used my title and connections to secure one of the 220,000 VIP tickets that would have allowed me entrance into one of the special viewing areas. My pink zone ticket (pictured above) allowed me into the area of the National Mall closest to the ceremony, but my title and connections were not enough to place me anywhere on the Capitol grounds, let alone the stage.

Recalibrating Titles and Connections

Due to the cold weather, the event was moved indoors to the rotunda of the United States Capitol.

That is a leveling reality for people with titles and connections in the public square.

Now that the event has moved indoors, like the 250,000 without VIP tickets and most of the other 220,000 VIP ticket holders, I will watch from home or a local restaurant.

Only 1300 people have the necessary titles or connections to join the inauguration ceremony inside the United States Capitol.

To make sure I understood how things stood, late Friday afternoon, I received the following:

“The House Sergeant at Arms (SAA) has been informed by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC) that the 60th Inaugural Ceremonies will be held inside the U.S. Capitol. As a result, NO ticket holders will be able to attend the ceremonies in person. It is our understanding from JCCIC that tickets are now only commemorative.”

In other words, “If you are receiving this message, you do not have the title or connections to attend this event. Welcome to your reality.”

Washington, and the public square more generally, creates a hierarchy of titles and connections. But even these are fleeting. At 12:01 pm Monday, Senate-approved Cabinet officials and political appointees of the Biden Administration will have their titles stripped away. President of the United States, White House Chief of Staff, Secretary of State, Deputy Secretary of Labor, Director of the National Institutes of Health, Chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities, Ambassador of the Federated States of Micronesia, and 4,000 others will have their titles removed and given to someone else. Such is life in the public square. 

Abruptly losing a title or realizing that your connections are no longer as beneficial as you thought can be disorienting, disheartening, and even destabilizing. Having your political agency recalibrated downward is not a new phenomenon and can have a negative impact on how people engage the public square. 

Thankfully, the gospel offers us the stability needed to maintain a posture of faithful presence. This is exactly what Peter is reminding the recipients of his letter: as Christians, we are given titles and connections that endure across every administration. Peter details these titles and connections when he writes, 

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Chosen, Royal, and Holy

Titles inform our sense of value. As children of God, Peter uses these titles to convey a sense of value grounded not in the public square but in the love of God and the work of Christ. As we have stated many times throughout this extended study of  1 Peter, the majority of first-century people hearing this letter had little or no political agency. However, they were chosen, royal, and holy. 

We, too, are chosen, royal, and holy. That never changes. Regardless of our bona fides, success or failures, age, gender, race, education, physical ability, family of origin, or public square acknowledgment, Christians are chosen, royal, and holy. Your divorce, infertility, disability, wealth, past sin, addiction, incarceration, low GPA, poor performance reviews, election defeat, firing, or public humiliation may, in fact, be your reality. They may impact your success in achieving or maintaining titles and connections in the public square. But you are always chosen, royal, and holy to God, your Father. 

A Race, a Priesthood, and a Nation

Like titles, our connections have a way of centering us and allowing us to persevere through times of monotony, opposition, and suffering. Again, this was the everyday experience for Christians in the first century, the second century, the third century, and every century since. This can result in feelings of isolation and even fear. Sometimes, we might even look upon those who appear to be a part of a more culturally prestigious community with malice or envy. 

Peter's words are a pastoral salve to those of us who feel that way. He reminds us that we are, in fact, not alone but a race, a priesthood, and a nation. We are members of a community established by God and ruled by Jesus Christ. Peter does not intend to promote some version of Christian nationalism but to provide the elect exiles of the first century and us with a sense of community that transcends any other binding sense of community. 

The community that Peter is talking about is far beyond party affiliation, denominational identity, and fraternal membership. As Christians, we are members of a race, a priesthood, and a nation into which we are sealed by the Holy Spirit. 

The Indicative of Faithful Presence

Perhaps no passage of Scripture is more leveling than, “Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

We are reminded that our membership in a “people for His own possession” is an existential change. Once, we were not a people, but now we are a people. These words carry significant weight. We were created to be a people, but seeking titles and connections to give ourselves value results only in our individual autonomy. While some voices in our culture laud this as an achievement, much data shows that without community, we are left with soul-deep longing. Of even greater import is the statement that our transference into a people is not due to anything we have accomplished but because we were shown mercy. We did not earn our membership in this community. It was bestowed upon us by God through the work of his Son, who offered his life as atonement for our sins. 

This is the gospel, and it is through the gospel that we are able to maintain a posture of faithful presence in the public square. We may lose titles and connections that affect our role in the public square so fast that it would cause us to become despondent if we were not chosen, royal, and holy. The changing of administrations might lead us to believe that the loss of our political connections has rendered us discarded and forgotten if we are not aware that we are members of a people, a priesthood, and a nation established for us. 

These indicative truths allow us to respond appropriately to the imperative call to participate in Christ’s mission of making everything new. 

Application Questions

What titles or connections have you accumulated? What access and privilege do they convey to you? How contextual or enduring are the benefits? What is required of you to maintain their usefulness?

Reflect upon the fact that those who have placed their faith in Christ are “chosen, royal, and holy.” How does this reality impact how you consider your other titles?

As a member of a people, priesthood, and nation established by God, how do you view the connections that this community brings?

[Faithful Prayer] 

  • Cabinet Agency: The Office of International Religious Freedoms (State), which promotes universal respect for freedom of religion or belief for all as a core objective of U.S. foreign policy. We monitor religiously motivated abuses, harassment, and discrimination worldwide and recommend, develop, and implement policies and programs to address these concerns. Especially for the continuity of critical services during the administrative transition. 

  • Think Tank, Lobby group, NGO: The International Religious Freedom Roundtable (IRF) brings NGOs, individuals, and government officials from all faiths and beliefs together to share information and stories of religious persecution and take multi-faith actions to advocate for and build religious freedom for all.

  • Weekly delegation: The Congressional delegation of Utah, which is considered the most religious state in the country. 

  • News: Senior legal counsels in all government agencies will be overwhelmed Monday with executive orders. Thankful prayers for the work of political appointees of the previous administration as they move into other roles. Prayers for wisdom, courage, and virtue among the incoming political appointees as they seek the flourishing of this nation through their vocational roles. For the steadfast faithfulness and perseverance of the tens of thousands of career government officials (GSs) who provide an important continuity of services. 

  • Personal requests: For someone in a new position dealing with a great deal of workplace toxicity and dysfunction. For someone continuing in a position dealing with a great deal of workplace toxicity and dysfunction. For someone who received a high-level promotion, that will bring unwanted attention to themself and their family. For someone hoping for a position in the new administration. For someone looking for work after departing the previous administration.

[The Page, The Pod & The Stack]

[What’s Happening?]

[Two Thumbs Up] Reiter’s Books, 1900 G St NW, Washington, DC

Since 1936, Reiter’s Books has provided books “for the inquisitive.” Whether you are looking for fiction or nonfiction, the latest from David Brooks, a copy of A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy, or something from a local author, Reiter’s books is an excellent place to find your next read. No, it’s not a big box store and is even on the small side of most independent bookstores. But Reiter’s is a wonderful place to have an Ethiopian coffee lovingly prepared by the owner, who loves to share her faith with customers. They have a wonderful selection of $5 books, a little nook to read and relax, and outdoor seating when the weather allows. 

But wait, there’s more. Need a last-minute passport photo? Reiter’s has you covered.  Located next door to the Washington Passport Office (aka: “Oh no, I need a passport right now”), they have an onsite station to get your photo taken so you can walk next door with your paperwork and get your State Department expedited passport.

Reiter’s Books in Downtown Washington, D.C.

[Last Things]

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