How Do You Know When It’s Time To Flee A Deep-Blue Hellhole?Joel Webbon’s book Fight by Flight makes the case for leaving blue states. Indeed, such trends could shape future elections for the better.BY: BENJAMIN TERPSTRA
JULY 24, 2023
Sharon is as tired as her husband. Work takes them away from their kids. They both need a break, but can they afford a vacation? Sharon also misses her folks in Texas, and they miss their grandkids. To add despair to exhaustion, her church is more intent on making members feel good than doing good. Indeed, Hollywood culture is shaping her area more than Christ. Even their governor seems more focused on transitioning tomboys than fixing crime. Before bed, she tells her husband: “Where are our taxes going?” The rent is overdue.
Sharon is just a symbol, but her issues are all too real. They’re why thousands of families are leaving (fleeing?) California and other deep-blue states. It’s a sociological phenomenon. Like it or not, families are voting with their cars and plane tickets for red states. Many Christians are among them. Sociologists and pastors alike are paying attention.
A new book, Fight by Flight by Pastor Joel Webbon, advances the view that it’s OK to leave deep-blue states. Indeed, such trends could shape future elections for the better. As Webbon says, “If less than 100,000 conservatives/Christians living in California had moved to Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, or Wisconsin before the 2020 election, the whole world might look different. 6 million votes for Trump in California, and all we needed was 76, 514 (less than 1 and a half percent).”
It’s worth considering. Conservatives/Christians feel pressured to stay in places where they have little effect. In Sharon’s case, a move to Texas from California would honor her father and mother. She’d also have more time with her children and husband. She’d have more money to spend on essentials and experiences that reflect her family’s values. And as for her evangelical tradition? Not everyone is called to be a professional missionary, and there are mission opportunities in Texas.
Permission to LeaveBoiled down, Webbon says that leaving godless places is often loving godless places.
Fight by Flight has been praised by Megan Basham of The Daily Wire and Steve Deace of Blaze TV. This slim book is one of the most interesting reads I’ve come across in years. Part theology, part memoir, it’s a reminder that simple ideas can carry much weight. Webbon has a gift for distilling time-tested values for use in many contexts.
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Source:
https://thefederalist.com/2023/07/24/how-do-you-know-when-its-time-to-flee-a-deep-blue-hellhole/
