Political Intrigue
Biblically, God created 3 institutions: marriage/family, church, and government. All of these institutions reflect various attributes of God and are vitally important for the welfare of mankind.
Over the last 3 years, I've spoken on politics only twice and one of those times was at a Rock leaders meeting. Both times I got a very strong positive response. A far majority were thankful that I went where many fear to tread (due to the fear of offending someone and the threat of losing our tax exemption status).
There was always a vocal minority, though, that complained. From those criticisms, one had reason and value behind it. It was a request for educating the church in advance of an election. To equip the people in our church on how to vote, not just who to vote for. I couldn't have agreed more!
So a year ago, I scheduled the president of the Iowa Family Policy Center, Chuck Hurley, to speak at our church. He wasn't a flashy speaker, but he spoke with such conviction and depth of insight that even those who had to work the next day stayed until after 10pm asking questions and dialoguing over issues. It was powerful. You can listen to the meat of his message on Citizenship at the Stonebrook website.
The only thing that was missing that night was the vocal minority. Since they all spoke with me, I knew who had concerns, but none of them... not even one... came. I found that both sad and suspicious. We announced this speaker well in advance and gave a clear and strong plug for the purpose of the event. Yet they did not show (by the way, almost all of the Rock leaders chose not to participate as well).
The usual suspects for such a response is apathy, ignorance, or stubborn rebellion (and yes, for some, inescapable conflicts).
It is not for me to judge what's in a person's heart and I have no interest in doing so, but it is for me to lead the church into the whole counsel of God. If you missed Mr. Hurley's message last Sunday, I encourage you to schedule time now (maybe even do it right now) and get tutored on the foundations of Citizenship.
Comments
I wish I could have been there but I was out of town. I listened to the message and it reaffirmed some of my beliefs about christianity and government and challanged some too. I signed up to get the newsletter from the IFPC. Can't wait to read some of that.
Posted by: Dan L at November 16, 2007 12:43 PMVery interesting guy... I'm not sure what to think about the God wants you to multiply thing (or why he brought up how many the Muslims are making), but on the whole I was very challenged by his talk and will change some things as a result.
Also, he spoke of the homosexual agenda cooking the books on their studies of kids raised by two homosexual parents. To be honest I've always been surprised that the data said they came out the same... I mean how couldn't they without a real mother and a real father. Still I would like to hear how they went about tampering with the data. Would you know a good resource for this?
Posted by: Steve O at November 16, 2007 03:18 PMGood question Steve: Here's what the IFPC website had for resources for homosexuality: http://www.lovewonout.com/
I wouldn't be surprised if he got his information there.
Posted by: Tim at November 16, 2007 03:44 PM"The usual suspects for such a response is apathy, ignorance, or stubborn rebellion (and yes, for some, inescapable conflicts).
It is not for me to judge what's in a person's heart and I have no interest in doing so, but it is for me to lead the church into the whole counsel of God."
Clearly you do have an interest in judging people's hearts because you just did so. On your public blog of all places. Maybe next time you should seek to understand the people you are leading instead of publicly maligning them.
Posted by: anonymous at November 17, 2007 12:45 PMIf you're offended by this comment, then please e-mail or call me and let's talk. There's no need to hide behind an anonymous label.
Otherwise, why are you concerned about this statement? If it is in error, please correct it. Jesus never condemned judging... only making a wrong judgment (John 7:24; see also I Cor. 5:12). I don't mind it at all that you just judged me as "maligning" people. If I am wrong, please correct me with the truth. I have nothing to fear with the truth (though at times it does hurt). If I am right, then why criticize what I say?
My heart's desire here is to help people (my church specifically) learn how to love people through involvement in the political process. The government has a significant affect on people's lives for good or for harm. I really want people to be wise enough to influence our government to do good. Maybe I went over the top in expressing my grief that more where not there to get equipped. If that's case, I do apologize.
So let's learn how to love one another together. It'll make life on earth a better place.
Posted by: Tim at November 17, 2007 01:22 PM