Cultural Reformation

Hold a voter registration drive on a Sunday -or- how about a month of Sunday’s?

I hang out with a number of pastors who are deeply involved in public policy matters and what is conventionally called “politics” and I can tell you that even in our churches we are constantly amazed at how many people are not registered to vote. I have even had staff pastors who somehow navigated around that responsibility. (By the way…we got that corrected.) If that is a reality in a church and with a pastor who is highly engaged, I can only imagine the statistics to be higher in churches that neglect this important aspect of Christian stewardship.
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I just returned from teaching a weekend seminar training Pastors and Christian Leaders to be involved in public policy and the “political” arena. (READ the previous blog on the Bonhoeffer Institute) A great portion of the time is used to unveil the historical roles of pastors in this arena, dispel myths that prohibit their involvement (especially the 501c3 myth), and lay out the Biblical case for their leadership in public policy discussions, elections and legislation. It is always fulfilling and amazing to watch the room as the epiphany takes place that this is a part of the calling of shepherds with their sheep. Slowly, there is an awakening that is occurring with the ranks of the clergy in America.

However, that being said, we are playing the proverbial game of “catch-up” because Pastors have fallen asleep at the wheel for at least a generation. The awakening is, of course, the first step to reformation but the subsequent steps are equally as important. The question naturally arises, “Where do we go from here? What can we do to potentially turn the direction of the culture around?”

Where to begin?

It seems so overwhelming…

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 Equipping Pastors to Engage the Culture

A little over a year ago I was invited (including my wife) to join approximately 25 pastoral couples on an all-expense paid cruise by the Alliance Defending Freedom. The cruise had a two-fold purpose…

1. To train affiliate lawyers in arguing first amendment cases before appellate courts more effectively on behalf of churches, religious organizations, and Christian individuals.
2. To solicit pastors to become more engaging from their pulpits and ministry to the issues of religious liberty and first amendment speech.
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  Five Keys in making Politicians more accountable

“Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! Why have you despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in His sight?”
‭II Samuel‬ ‭12:7-9‬a NKJV

It seems as if I have been to an innumerable amount of conferences, briefings, and meetings that attempt to interface the servants of the Lord with our civil servants. Assuming all hearts are genuine and sincere, this can be a useful dynamic. Politicians want to meet pastors in order to access and win their influence with people. Pastors want to meet politicians to express their concerns and thoughts with regards to public policy. It is a quid pro quo that has been happening for literally centuries. Whether it is a President, Governor, Senator, Representative, Mayor, or the County Council, there is a needed and appropriate relationship that should exist between the clergy and our civic leadership. I recognize the fact that our political leaders are not monarchs, just as I recognize that not all clergy can be labeled “prophets”. My point is simply that there is a relationship which should exist between these two jurisdictions. My ancilary point is that relationship has deteriorated which has become one of the reasons we find our culture in the predicaments it finds itself in.Continue Reading

The proposition of these short Facebook posts is to challenge the thinking of Christians who have disconnected their voting choices with any sense of Biblical precept. I am certainly open to challenge as well as addition to any of the foundational precepts I have put forth. My only caveat is that it must be tied to the Scripture. Please do not suggest tactical strategy or instantly offer the, “We can’t give the election to THEM” retort. I want to hear a clear exegesis and exposition of what the Lord would expect of us as Christian citizens. It must be tied to precept because should you post it, know that I, as well as others, will evaluate it. This is not to cause division. It is to cause a Biblical fidelity and accountability to begin to take place.

The typical follow-up question would be, “In a two-party dominated system, what happens if both candidates are unacceptable or one is minimally more acceptable than the other?” (The lesser of two evils argument)

Great question.

The answer is best summed in the following videos that I highly recommend…

http://stepstopoliticalepiphany.com