How much weight should American Christians give the election?

I think of it this way. Jesus came here the first time to accomplish something specific (announcing His kingdom and then dying to inaugurate it), not to provide a model for the church to follow. He specifically said His plan would be revealed by His spirit after He left. In writing Acts, Luke ties into that idea and makes the claim that the Spirit accomplished this through the apostles, particularly Paul, as they revealed Jesus’ plan and implemented it across the Roman Empire.

That plan, which Paul says he was given a uniquely important role in revealing and rolling out, didn’t concern itself much with which sort of government was in place or how beneficent or evil a particular ruler might be, but on how churches are to shape their lives around the teaching, becoming one-minded “kerygmatic communities” in whatever government or society they find themselves.

As churches today, we can still do this effectively and with confidence because we already have the end of the story. We know that things will continue to get worse until they reach a point where if Jesus didn’t return and intervene, His promises would become null and void, and so He will return at that point, not as a meek, coiffed rabbi, but as a warrior with “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” tattooed on his leg, ready for battle. (Rev 19:11-16)