Christians & Politics Article from November 06

I have spent time in the far right side of Christianity with gun-toting, King James carrying, Republican voting, love the military fundamentalists. In fact, I grew up in that and for most of my early life, did not think that you could vote Democrat and be allowed into heaven. In fact, I guess we somehow thought that when we were washed by the blood of Jesus some political red remained on those who were truly regenerate. I think it got worse during my growing up years with the national figures encouraging the church to take control of the political arena and effect change using candidates, campaigns, and every means possible to impact legislation for the cause of the kingdom.

Over the last several years I have begun a journey with God that took me some distance from that hard core Christianity to studying the life of Jesus. His life seems considerably disconnected from the life of the Christians that I have rubbed shoulders with and, more specifically, my life that is more like a frolic in the mud. His life that he offered seems like a wish as likely to be filled as a day in the candy store for my 5 year-old. I began to pursue living the teachings of Jesus and realized that, along with a mountain of attitudes and heart changes, my political views and strong emotions did not match the Jesus I wanted to follow.

I began to follow with interest the Christian authors and speakers who offered another view. I read Donald Miller’s books and enjoyed his view that Christianity includes Democrats, not just the right wing of the Republican Party.

I attended a church in Minneapolis with a pastor that was leading the church away from identifying Christians through their politics and refusing to allow the church to become a political machine. I was moved by the prayers for terrorists who need the love of Jesus as much as my neighbors. I relish the idea of being in a church that doesn’t literally or figuratively check voter registrations before allowing you to become a member.

I read McClaren who shared a view of Kingdom living that is more than individualistic. He emphasized that the true call of Jesus’ teaching is that, as families, churches, and a nation, we should turn the other cheek and overcome evil with good.

I was thrilled with a bigger view of the kingdom. I reveled in the joy of being a part of something bigger than I had ever imagined. Some things have begun to bother me.

I do believe that Jesus calls us to pray for our enemies, but the Bible also says that the role of government is to protect its citizens through the use of the sword (Romans 13). I have seen the hatred that soldiers have toward ethnic groups because of the vile nature of war. I hate war and I hate what it does to my friends who serve their country. I hate the broken bodies and minds of those injured and of their families. I hate the poison that is spread with the true spiritual enemy convincing us that the enemy we should hate is someone of a different race or religion.

So is it possible to wage war serving our nation and do it without hatred and animosity for the people on the other side? Can someone wearing the uniform of the US Armed Forces live a beautiful kingdom life? Can they, in the midst of the worst ugliness, bring beauty and the light of love and perhaps even bring Jesus right into the horrible situation? How do moderate and left-leaning evangelicals approach war, our soldiers and our Commander in Chief?

What I hear from some of the moderate or left-leaning evangelical Christians, is an attitude of disgust and hatred for the President. If he has deceived us, and if his motives have not been pure, and if you consider him worse than the terrorist, what kind of response should you show him? If Jesus calls us to pray for the terrorist, he also calls us to pray for those in positions of authority. If the kingdom is to be implemented in a corporate sense, then it can not be done selectively. We can not choose to show the love of Jesus to those who are training for terrorism and then withhold love from the President or Republicans.

It is so hard to live out the kingdom life. Some of you pray daily for the president and our troops. Some of you pray daily for the terrorist leaders that God would bring grace and salvation to their homes.

Perhaps we need to share the load equally. Those of us leaning to the left need to pray for Republicans and Democrats and leaders we believe are dishonest. Those of us leaning to the right need to pray for terrorists. Finding the passion and compassion to love justice and its application is a start in the right direction, but being unilateral in our dispensing of compassion is not our right or responsibility.

We will not share the kingdom life with terrorists by bombing and killing enough of them that they embrace our offer of God’s grace.
We will not share the kingdom life with right-leaning Christians by spewing vitriol at the leaders of the Republican Party.

Matthew 5:13-16 (MSG) “Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.
Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand – shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.”

We are here to reveal the beauty of God on earth and in the lives of other people. I know for me that there is a temptation to decide who is worthy of receiving the beauty of God, or maybe even I decide who has any beauty in their life. I am being pushed by God into that uncomfortable place of getting rid of my system of evaluating people. I realized that moving from the religious right to the moderate evangelical just gave me a different list of people that I disdained and had a difficult time praying for.

Matthew 5:21-26 (MSG) “You’re familiar with the command to the ancients, ‘Do not murder.’ I’m telling you that anyone who is as much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. Carelessly call a brother ‘idiot!’ and you just might find yourself hauled into court. Thoughtlessly yell ‘stupid!’ at a sister and you are on the brink of hellfire. The simple moral fact is that words kill.
This is how I want you to conduct yourself in these matters. If you enter your place of worship and, about to make an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you, abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with God.
Or say you’re out on the street and an old enemy accosts you. Don’t lose a minute. Make the first move; make things right with him. After all, if you leave the first move to him, knowing his track record, you’re likely to end up in court, maybe even jail. If that happens, you won’t get out without a stiff fine.”

I don’t think that God is so much concerned about exactly what derogatory words I used to describe the terrorist or political leaders that I don’t like, or my boss, or the guy driving next to me on the highway. God wants us to see human life as invaluable, because human life is in the image of God. When I begin to see the people around me as incredibly valuable because they were created by God and they bear his reflection, I won’t keep people off of the list because of what they have done.

As I am writing this in November of 2006, the US is days away from an election and still fighting wars in two locations with threats from at least 2 other nations. The emotions and passions are running high and both sides feel so much is at stake. Both sides are right—so much is at stake.

This is a battle of good and evil and in the spiritual conflict, the only way we can lose is by destroying/decimating the enemy. We can not win with mental conquest and verbal humiliation. The victory will come when the love of God moves us to see every person around us the way God sees them—immensely valuable and incredibly beautiful. I know that when I can look at the terrorist and George Bush and John Kerry and Kim Jong II with the eyes of Jesus, then I have found the life that I have been looking for.

Hearing From God

Last year I wrote a book about hearing God's voice. I am learning to practice listening to God (John 10) but still find that it is a discipline.
The last several weeks I have really been enjoying conversations with the people I love the most about this topic. There is a consensus that we don't have all the answers and we are all still learning. The one thing that has been the focus is how do we share with those who have not experienced hearing God's voice.
I am not talking about atheist or pagans (I find it easy to talk to them about my experience with God), but Christians who have never heard from God.
The Christians I am refering to, all talk about their relationship as something very personal, but they have never had a conversation with God. Sure, they have all spent lots of time praying and reading the Bible.
I have had a couple of authors that I really enjoyed that I read every book they had written and then I sent them a letter or two. I do not consider that to be a personal relationship.
I can't believe that Jesus prayer in John 17 leaves us in a place where a distant God leaves us generic instructions for 2000 years of generations in all different cultures and then from a distance grants the boons of his faithful followers.
Jesus said in John 17 that his followers have the same relationship with the Father that he (Jesus) has with the Father. I don't think Jesus had one way conversations with his father.

My point here was not to make the case for hearing God's voice (I got started and couldn't stop myself), but rather to think about how to introduce this topic to Christians who don't believe that God can/will talk to individuals. I don't think it is a matter of only those with "enough faith" get to hear God. It does seem to me more a matter of taking time to listen to God than having enough faith.

Having had the chance to spend some of my days walking with God and listening for/to his voice, I want everyone I know to experience that. How can I invite you if you don't believe it?

Living with God as the King of your Dome

A methodist church has been encouraging their members to give up spending for Lent. They asked the members to print out the card above and tape it to their credit/debit cards.

I think this is an excellent way for us to begin to give God control of our lives. If we let God have control of our finances there are several benefits. (I know none of this is new and maybe it doesn't help anyone else, but for me this is an area where I need constant reminders.)

First we will probably spend a lot less money on the things we are being pushed to buy through all the marketing around us. If we can break free from being consumers it will free us from a bondage that has a huge impact on our souls.

Second, if we are living first to allow God to control our monies, we will have to walk away from competing with anyone over the accumulation of wealth. We will no longer have to worry about how we rate compared to someone else.

Third, it will help us avoid other conflicts. In our marriages and extended family life, money issues are the most frequent catalysts for disagreements, arguments and fights. If we can give God control of our money it would seem obvious that we would have significant reduction in conflict with the people in our lives.

Fourth. God will surely have us more concerned with issues of poverty and need and we will begin to see the world through his eyes and use our resources in a way that is consistent with The Lords Prayer - "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven".

Maybe starting with the Lenten season as a trial is a good test to see if we are ready to give God our credit/debit cards.

The Fire

By Shari Virtue

Histories, contracts, mistakes, items purchased,
Debts, time wasted, theologies, old dreams,
Diversions, divisions, distractions, disasters,
Heat, ashes, cleansing, sleet,
Quiet, peace, forgiveness,

New beginnings, renewed vision,
Hurts relinquished, systems destroyed,
Paper trails dead-ended,
Heat, ashes, cleansing, sleet,
Quiet, peace, forgiveness,
New paths

Eat my flesh and drink my blood

Our family has been reading through the gospel of John and over the last couple of nights we read John 6. I have been meditating on John 6:43-71 and I do not feel content with the spiritualizing of the passage that I have always used to interpret it.
I do believe that there is a spiritual element to what Jesus said, but....

Why did he make such a big deal about it being his flesh and blood? Clearly some people quit following him because there was no doubt that he was teaching some really disturbing stuff.

How does it tie into the communion formulary used in the other 3 gospels and restated by Paul in 1 Corinthians?

Was it just a test to weed out the non-serious people? How many people do you know that would continue following Jesus if he told them that it involved cannibalism? (I think my daugther Hope said it best, everytime we talked about eating flesh and drinking blood, she said "Thats disgusting, I hate blood".)

We did some research on transubstantiation and consubstantiation. Clearly there is a problem with needing a priest to turn the elements into the body of Christ, but I am intrigued with some of the other parts of these two views.

HOW BIBLICAL IS PREACHING?

http://www.carey.ac.nz/pauls_blog/ProblemWithPreaching.pdf

I am sure alot of people do not agree with this article by David Allis. I have not had time to think thoroughly about what he wrote.

I do agree that from what I have seen (I have been in over 500 evangelical churches in the US and a handful in Europe), the vast majority of preaching is done TO an audience of Christians who have a negligble change in their life after sitting through hundreds of preaching events.

My personal experience is that I am much more likely to respond to God when I am in conversation with other Christians, than from hearing a lecture from the pulpit. (There have been times when a preaching lecture really did impact my life). I have also seen that there seems to be more impact from my time spent talking with people as compared to my preaching.

Politics

I don't have any original thoughts about politics, but I am starting to find a place that I think is compatible with my relationship with God and my place in this earth.
Jesus asked those who wanted to be his disciples to adapt a radical way of living life (ie turn the other cheek, go the extra mile, love the poor). I am working on making those an integral part of my world view.
Living it personally for me was seperated from a corporate or national application. I guess it was part of the way that I was educated, and my lily white heritage that caused me to view Christianity as a completely individualistic decision. In fact there was very little value for identity other than an extreme form of nationalism
The way I was taught the meaning of the book of Galatians was that there is only one way to be a true child of Abraham and that was through a individual decision to accept Jesus as Savior. There is no more corporate salvation. I am not sure I was taught anything beyond that, but the extension I made was that following the teaching of Jesus (Matthew 5-7) is an invitation to individuals.
I am quite sure that if Jesus were to give us application of his teaching to our current situation, he would tell us that as churches, cities, states, and a country, there is blessing available to following his teaching (ie turn the other cheek - even if it involve terrorists) as a group.
I am not proposing that followers of Jesus should seek politcal office so that they can lead the country in some kind of Christian ceremony, or nationalize discipleship. Rather, we should be modeling the right behavior by the way we talk about terrorists, and other people who we have decided are evil.
The reason I am thinking about this now is due to my struggle to decide who I will vote for (or even if I will vote). I am trying to find a way to take the teachings of Jesus and apply it to choosing someone to lead our country in the best way. I have heard a whole lot of rhetoric from both the left and the right the republicans and democrats, but very little substance.
I am not sure that any of the 10 republicans or 10 democrats would make an iota of difference if they were elected president. I wish someone who would offer a real change. Not a National Pastor, but someone who would be thoughtful in executing his office in a way that would be less offensive to the world and cause less offense to the world who sees us as a Christian Nation.

Community

I have been trying to find a way to create community. (I assume from the books and conversations that I have experienced that I am not alone in that endeavor). I have studied the subject and tried to put on paper the necessary elements, guidelines, for starting - maintaining community.
Even when I had people willing to enter community covenant with me, the structure became a barrier to the community we were trying to create.

In our new neighborhood, we have neighbors that we have only known for 1 month. Last night we just dropped over to say hi. We stayed for 2 hours and had political debate, laughter (intense smiling for Catharine) and lots more. We hadn't seen them for 4 days and it was great to catch up with them.

We don't have any formal structure. We realized early on that we had shared values: 1) expanding the kingdom in our neighborhood 2) openess and being real 3) desire for community

But the biggest reason we are finding it easy is that we enjoy being with them. That creates an environment where we will seek to live life together and we have the chips we need to confront each other.

I am really excited about this huge opportunity, but I have no idea how to help you find it.

Changing Church

Over the last 18 months I have gone through a long journey. In June of 2006, I left Crossroads Church and left behind the title of pastor. I began a long journey of re-examining my views of what church is, what it should be, and what that means for me. The long journey I began has not ended and I am sure at some point in the future I will look back and realize that right now I am only a few steps into the journey.

The journey has included being a church attender/member again for the first time in 10 years. Part of that experiment was awesome, but most of it left me feeling despair and brought me to a decision to leave church completely.

Many of the books that I have read and the people I interact with have a view that seem to me to have lost any hope that the form of the church in United States can be redeemed in any way. So they advocate scrapping the whole thing and creating a completely new thing. I am excited for those who are experiencing church in a new form that is alive and dynamic.

I have recently been given hope that church can be redeemed. There is a part of me that would rather spend all of my time with non-religious people {for me I can then be the one who decides the form and format and encourage unchurched people to adapt my preferences for form}. Having hope for the church means that not only do I have to set aside my preferences for music style and teaching style, but I will be loving and living with people whose ideas and concepts of community seem silly to me.
I believe that my love for my neighbor who doesn't believe in God can be reproduced in a love for my very religious fellow church attender. With one I may lovingly cover his obscene language and drunkness and with one I may lovingly cover her religious practices that seem obscene to me.
If I find unsurpassable worth in my neighbor then I will sacrifice at great cost to myself to give them the love and value that God sees in them whether they are pagan or religious.