Like many people I was very disappointed in the Indiana primary results. I will never support Trump. I was #nevertrump before #nevertrump was formed. He is routinely caught telling lies, he shows signs of egomania, and he has demonstrated little of the competence we need in a leader, all of which cause me to consider him unqualified to be our president. I have no confidence that Trump would deal with the important issues plaguing this country. Indeed I expect he would likely make most of them worse. The Christian case against Trump has been powerfully made by Michael Brown and others.

Now it seems our options are limited. We have Trump on the one hand, and on the other hand we have a couple of Democrats who are pro-abortion and do not support religious freedom. Conservative Christians are right to believe that this Democrat party wants nothing to do with them and will not protect them from being labeled second class citizens.

Yet, perhaps there can be value in the Trump candidacy. Maybe now is the time to give Christians the opportunity to start developing a truly Christian political expression. For too long, too many conservative Christians have been tied to the GOP and have had to carry its baggage into their ministries. Now that the Republican Party appears to be in the process of making an unacceptable nomination for president, this is a great opportunity begin exploring the idea of taking the best of that party and rejecting the rubbish in it.

I know that some will say that we cannot do this. They will say we must support the Republican party in our two-party system. If Hillary Clinton gets elected there’s a high risk that she would name several Supreme Court Justices who would take us further down the path toward ending religious freedom in America.

But Trump has clearly shown no understanding of religious freedom either. To vote for him on the off chance that he might possibly make a useful appointment or two also links Christians to all the vulgarity and immorality that is certainly linked with him. To participate with the coalition seeking to put him in office would damage our witness so much that even with religious freedom our witness would become ineffective.

As important as religious freedom is for us, standing for our principles is even more important. Let me be very clear about what I’m saying. This is not about winning elections (not in the short term, at least). That would be an unrealistic thing to expect. This is about reclaiming the integrity of our Christian witness. We could survive a Hillary Clinton presidency. Christians have lived in cultural exile before. Our Christian witness cannot, however, survive the damage that would come by being closely associated with a political party led by Donald Trump.

Though it may be hard for Christians who have been Republicans their entire lives to accept this, political parties can outlive their usefulness and value. At that time it is right for them to fall. Perhaps this is that time for the Republican Party.

So in other words, I’m suggesting it might be time to begin considering the option of forming a distinctly Christian political party. In the short term a Christian party might not do very much. But consider the possibilities long-term. For example, minority Christians are often very socially conservative and tend to support issues of religious freedom. But often Republican initiatives unnecessarily turn them away. A Christian political party could be free of Republican handcuffs to pursue a comprehensive immigration policy that truly protects our borders while compassionately considering how to handle those illegally in our country. That party could talk to Christian black leaders, not BLM activists, to learn what kinds of policies they really want for their communities. Free from Republican shackles, a truly Christian party could be multiracial and serve the entire Christian church.

A truly Christian party need not be beholden to big business, which we have seen is often indifferent to important issues of religious freedom. We have seen Republican governors turn their backs on those issues, under the pressure of big business. A Christian political party could focus on policies that strengthen small businesses where most of the jobs are created anyway.

I am excited at the prospect of a Christian party reaching across the Republican/Democrat political divide. I know this would not necessarily be pleasing to conservative and progressive hardliners, but for many of them their politics seems more important than their faith. One of the attractions of a Christian party would be the opportunity to unify across the current Republican/Democrat divide.

So how would we start such a party? I do not have that answer. I just want to put the idea forth and see what happens if we start the conversation, think about what might happen with a Christian party, and see whether someone more politically savvy than I would know how to get one going. In the meantime Christians could begin our breakaway by naming a write-in candidate to vote for in November.

I do not think a new Christian political party would solve all our problems. Much of today’s Christianophobia is embedded in our culture. Politics can only deal with so much of it, so we need to engage the broader culture more effectively than we have been doing. We should not look at a Christian political party as a panacea for all of our ills. But such a party would allow us to label ourselves in the way we want, and not align ourselves with unchristian images that come with Republican leaders such as Trump. For that reason alone, even though it would not address all of our concerns, I think it would be wise to consider putting such a movement together.