To many of my evangelical brothers and sisters in Christ, I am a heretic (or at least will be by the time many read this article). As one who once bought into the notion that evangelicalism and the GOP were a marriage made in heaven, I struggle with anger when I consider the bill of goods that many evangelical leaders have sold us since at least the 1970s.

That marriage was consummated with the election of Ronald Reagan in the 1980s when the Moral Majority and others like them decided that the church's mission was to fight a culture war. The marriage has been strong ever since.

However, as I have gone through a period of self-examination, as I have examined my beliefs and understandings of Scripture, I cannot help but believe that evangelical churches' organized alignment with the Republican Party and the supposed "culture war" is anything but a marriage joined together by God. Rather, it is a marriage that must be put asunder, if not by man, then by the truth of Holy Scripture.

Here are four reasons why I believe that churches should not align themselves (as organizations) with political parties, campaign for political candidates from the pulpit, or become involved in a culture war:

1. Such positions do not align themselves with the Church's mission. The Great Commission, Jesus' instruction to his disciples to spread his teachings, provides our marching orders as evangelical churches, and nowhere does it mention a mission to influence the culture or support particular political positions. The Great Commission is not just the primary mission. It is the only mission. Certainly, cultural influence may result as a byproduct of carrying out the mission. But that's just it. It is a byproduct.

2. Whenever the churches organize for one party and against others, whenever they organize themselves for a culture war, they also organize themselves against many of the very people we were sent to rescue.

This is related to the first reason, but is important to point out since our political stances as organizations place not just individual Christians, but the entire body of Christians at further odds with some people who are already set against the truth of the Gospel. Why would we want to further complicate the distance between us and the lost world? Still, this is what we have done since we decided that our mission was to promote political candidates and fight a "war" against human beings.

3. Churches (and individual Christians) are are commanded to fight a spiritual war and not a war against flesh and blood. I don't think there is any reason to further elaborate here.

4. We are commanded as churches (and individual Christians) to take on the nature of Christ. It is difficult to find instances in this "culture war" when our leadership (and evangelicals in general) has exhibited the nature of Christ. The latest presidential election highlighted this perhaps better than any other.

For instance, one prominent evangelical leader and pastor proclaimed that he wanted "the toughest son of a you-know-what" to become president. Many Christians shared similar sentiments. When we vocally and viscerally support candidates like our current president, when we berate those who do not share our lifestyle, beliefs or moral values, we further drive ourselves from accomplishing the mission of the Church.

Certainly there is nothing wrong with individuals supporting candidates or voting for or against issues according to their beliefs and values. But the church needs to be organized for its original and ongoing purpose. Plus or minus anything is disobedience.

Michael Wicker is a writer and professor in Nacogdoches. He wrote this column for The Dallas Morning News. Email: Wickermichael33@yahoo.com