Some Political Thoughts...sort of

Since our quarterly business meeting didn't take very long this evening, I had a few spare moments to fill. Below are some thoughts I shared with my congregations....only after we closed the business session!

I have been disturbed by recent decisions and actions by the new Obama administration. This has caused me to examine my long held position as a political non activist. Should I have been taking a larger role as a cultural warrior? It has not been a good week.

But on the other hand....I spent time listening to Christian radio this week. The shrillness of those voices did nothing to tempt me to "preach in camo" this Sunday. (Though in SW LA that might really do something for church attendance.) Instead my concern only increased. Because now I was concerned about my country and the church!

I worry that the reaction to these so called "obamanations" could truly distract the church from its most important tasks. You see the church is not called to win the culture war or to make the majority moral again. Even if we could ensure a political and legal structure that ensured morality, it would not necessarily draw men and women to Christ.

I fear that our eyes could end up on the wrong prize.

But what do we do about the expansion of abortion on demand? How are we to impact our culture? I am still convinced that Acts 19 holds that key. Witchcraft and idolatry were pushed to the brink of extinction in Ephesus. Not because the right leaders rose to power or new laws were enacted but because the gospel powerfully took hold of lives!

So how should we plug in politically? The follow up discussion about our political role unfolded this conclusion -- we participate and take a stand not to change others, but because we have been changed.

Therefore, I will continue to strive to make the Gospel my only rallying cry. It is the least I can do for my Savior. And it is the most I can do for my country.

As promised....the occasional political rant

The election is less than a week away. I look forward to participating in the incredible privilege of voting. I also look forward to this train wreck of a campaign being over! (I am so excited, I spent the evening making one of those calendars with the doors that you open each day.)

At this point in the campaign it is an American tradition to declare with great disgust that this is nastiest presidential race ever. I typically chuckle when I hear that because our nation had some doozies in its formative years that have long been forgotten but would be difficult to match.

But we might actually be onto something this time.

However, this time it is not the candidates that are to blame. Line up the voters, the media and the candidates and amazingly it is the politicians who have the most to be proud of!

The print and television media's bias against McCain and Palin has been transparent and I hope will in time be at least somewhat embarrassing to those involved. On the other hand, many of the anti Obama emails I am receiving hourly almost make me look forward to getting the pharmaceutical emails as a change of pace. (I have been tempted to forward the pharmacy emails to the political emailers and political emailers to the pharmacy folks, but instead I am wearing letters off the DEL key.)

Who knows....maybe next time things will be different.

A Distracted Church

"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God." Psalm 20:7 A timely variation of this verse could be "some trust in Republicans and some in Democrats...."

It is my fear that nothing distracts the people of God in our country quite like a presidential election. [At this point I might have to grant some of you permission to determine to no longer read this blog.]

This is not to say that people of faith should not prayerfully take their faith into the voting booth and carefully and diligently make sure no chads remain. But the bluster of the campaign pulls us away from our true call and worse causes us to abandon our truest positions of power. When we occupy ourselves with politics it is often at the cost of the gospel.

To make matters worse the chariots and horses before us are not really in that great a shape. Somebody should get a carfax report on these rides. A recent report from Lifeway Research reported that 80% of Southern Baptist pastors intend to vote for a particular candidate and only 1% intend to vote for the other. Now, I may or may not be in that majority but I find it a little puzzling that there would be such a sweeping support for a man whose lifestyle has been made possible by his wife's beer distributorship empire (I think there have been some SBC resolutions concerning alcohol), who criticized leading evangelicals as "agents of intolerance" and whose marital fidelity at least in the past has been questionable (an issue that in other administrations has been very important to us).

Please do not take this as an endorsement of his opponent, because it is not. It is just to point out that our state of distraction causes us to develop enthusiasm in places we never would imagine. But we do so because we must win!

If we don't win, the world will come to end. (Don't believe me, just check your email in box for anything that begins with FW:FW:FW:FW:FW.) Our people are frightened about what will happen if "our guy" loses. But I have checked...Our Guy does not lose!

May we be ready before and after the election to help our folks stay focused on that which has the greatest impact in all circumstances -- Jesus Christ and Him crucified!