“What if I can’t find a qualified E18 candidate to vote for? What am I to do?”
This is the big question and it will take both posts 9 and 10 to give my full take on the solution. This post (part 9) is the long term strategic answer (IMHO) and part 10 is what I endeavor to do immediately as I approach the voting booth (for your consideration).
The sad reality is that we are in the mess we are in, here in America, because the Church has abdicated its role and presence in the civic arena. I understand that politics can be dark and evil. For many, they consider politics to be the “poison of the pulpit”. It’s not hard to make that case. However, one could make the same case concerning any arena of life which has human input that it has elements which are dark and poisonous. That doesn’t justify abdication. The Bible doesn’t shrink away from speaking to every area of life. Our lack of participation has come home to roost. When there are, by some estimates, over 30 million unregistered, evangelical, Christian voters, it takes no sociological detective to know why we are facing evil at unprecedented levels.
The problem is rooted in the Church’s passivity and misunderstanding of a comprehensive Gospel. Just as ancient Israel experienced evil leadership and national hardship due to it’s carnal heart, rejection of the Law, and backsliding, so America has found itself in a similar state due to our carnal (collective) heart, rejection of the Gospel, and backsliding.
Voting will not fix a spiritual issue. Repentance is the only remedy. I can vote for party platforms and partially obedient candidates, but the outcome will never produce righteousness as God would want it.
Secondly, the Church (again, in general) is not issuing the call for civic ministers (Romans 13) and doing the due diligence of discipling those responding to that specific call. We have no E18 candidates because we have not “begotten” such servants. Have you ever seen a small group or Sunday School class that was designed for the discipling of civic officials? When was the last time the tables were turned and instead of hundreds of pastors sitting in a room listening to politicians instruct church leaders in public policy, we saw hundreds of politicians sitting in a room (better yet local churches) and listening to a pastor train them in civic ministry?
Long term strategy demands a paradigm shift to bring forth the very answer to our lament.
Thirdly (and finally), we have been reluctant to fearlessly obey the Scripture in the selection criteria. We are reluctant to trust God and find a way to obey His Word and would rather trust political strategy and compromised coalitions to bring about righteousness. We become situationists during election cycles and suspend our biblical worldview in the act of voting. We really do believe (unfortunately) that the end justifies the means. I would argue that our current state of national dysfunction has more than adequately challenged that notion.
So, what is a sincere, Bible-believing Christian to do?
Before the next post where I offer some suggestions that I have found helpful in my own desire to be obedient, let’s answer these long term questions…
1. Are you in a culturally engaged local church? Are you seeing signs of a church which loves it city, state, and nation through acts of service, sharing the Gospel, and demonstrating the “salt and light” of God’s ways through civic participation in public policy? You can’t be frustrated with the direction of your community, schools, state, or nation while you sit in a church which chooses to be silent on the most basic and relevant issues of the day.
2. Is your pastor(s) teaching the congregation about a biblical template for civic engagement? I’m glad you are getting great counseling from the pulpit on your marriage and family. I’m glad you are learning about how to prosper and get to the next level. But you need training in how to approach the civic mission field. Maybe a well worded email to your pastor (in a good spirit) asking for training in these matters might be the exact thing he is needing to jump into this arena.
3. What are you doing individually and corporately to recruit, train, and support E18 candidates? I’m as frustrated as the next person to the lean field which presents itself. There are good people participating and they need our continued support and encouragement. That said, are we doing our part to make sure the “bench” of candidates is deep for future elections?
Until we make our gains in these areas mentioned above, what can we do to make a difference in the use of our vote?
Stay tuned…
Post 10 offers some suggestions…
No Comments