Christians in Politics and Public Life

As you go to the polls today, I want to encourage you to remember the following things - from my sermon series, Christians in Politics and Public Life.

Far as the Curse is Found
We serve a King who is Lord of everything and nothing is beyond his reach. Christ is relevant to every sphere of life - public and private; secular and sacred. As Abraham Kuyper says, “There is not one square inch of the entire creation about which Jesus Christ does not cry out, “This is mine. This belongs to me.”

The reach of God’s kingdom extends “as far as the curse is found.” Therefore as followers of Christ we seek to apply the work of Christ in every arena of life – personal, relational, societal, institutional and yes political.

Love Your Enemies
We live in an upside down kingdom, which requires us to love our enemies! Christ died for democrats and republicans. At the end of the day, winner and loser alike must be treated with respect and love and that goes for their supporters.

Understand Biblical Values
Philippians 1:27 reads, “Live out your citizenship in a manner worthy of the gospel.”
Our citizenship is measured by our faithfulness to the gospel not our loyalty to a political party.

We are committed to a biblical agenda that seeks to identify the core issues of the Bible and to engage politically, guided by those values. A cursory study of the Bible tells us that these values at least include the sanctity of human life – born and unborn, compassion for the needy, social justice, peace among all peoples, protection for the powerless and the removal of divisions. Your own list might be a little different but what matters is that you have developed one from the Bible and attempt to consistently live and vote by it.

Remember, we must apply these biblical values in a fallen world. Life is messy and our candidates, like us, are imperfect. It is unlikely that you will ever get to vote for a candidate that embraces all the biblical values to your satisfaction. So you will have to choose. You must weigh the values and decide in this election which is most important to you, to our country, to the world and to God. It is inevitable that true Christians will decide differently.

And we also must admit that Biblical Values won’t give us the answers to everything. There are political ideologies and values that are not inherently Christian or unchristian. Things such as top down or bottom up economics, big business or big government, public or private education, gun ownership, federal Vs state rights, and private or national health insurance. Christians will find themselves divided over these issues.

We Are a Colony on Earth
But in the end, as citizens of heaven our greatest obligation and responsibility is to represent the colony of heaven and to challenge everything that contradicts it. Anyone can be a Democrat or a Republican. Only God’s people can be the church – a colony of heaven that embodies the life of the future here on earth now. This isn’t easy. In fact, the hardest thing to do as an alien is to keep your identity and yet live it gracefully within the dominant culture. But our country needs us to maintain this colony existence and to be a sign to the truth and a prophetic voice in our day.

The Way of the Towel

Lately, I have been thinking - and preaching - about our way of living in the world. As we have seen in the book, Heroic Leadership, the Jesuits refer to it as nuestro modo de proceder- our way of proceeding, or going about life. I would like to say, our "way of being in the world."

What I am seeing with fresh eyes is that our "way" is defined by the cross and by the towel. I believe the monastics often referred to it as the "cruciform" life - one modeled after the cross. In John 13 it reminds us that Jesus had all power and knew his place as God and so he took off is outer garment, wrapped a tow around his waist and washed the disciples feet. Jesus said that in humbling himself and washing the disciples feet, he had given them an example and they should do as he had done. In Philippians 2, Paul tells us to have the same mind as Christ, who did not cling to his equality with God but emptied himself and became a servant.

I am certain that we must hold the resurrection and the cross together in tension but it also seems that we are drawn to model our way of being in the world in two opposite directions - either based on the resurrection or the cross. Those modeling life after the resurrection tend to focus on victory, prosperity, conquering, Kingship, winning, while those modeling life after the cross focus on humility, service, sacrifice, and suffering with others.

Since I know they both matter - cross and resurrection, I would say at the moment that in our thinking one tends to beget the other. If our way of being in the world is modeled after the cross, we see the resurrection bringing us life, freedom and power to fully enter the world as servants and to enter the fray of human suffering in order to humble ourselves that we might lift others. If our way of being in the world is modeled on the resurrection, we tend to see the cross as liberating us from weakness, suffering and the world so that we can enjoy living the victorious, prospering life that is ours in Christ and we call others to enjoy it with us. I am inclined to think that the way of the cross is other centered and the way of the resurrection tends to be ultimately self-centered. Kind of like either Christ gave me power that I might serve or Christ served that I might have power. The difference may sound slight but I believe in the long run it is huge.

The fundamental question is, "Which does the New Testament offer as the model of our "way of being in this world?"

Overcoming Fear

Today, I had an insight about a way to circumvent my fear of failing. It started as I was reading the book, On Becoming A Leader by Warren Bennis. In chapter three titled, "Knowing Yourself", Bennis was relaying the perspective of Marty Kaplan on a learning attitude.

What occurred to me is that instead of seeing a situation as an opportunity to fail or succeed, I need to see it as an opportunity to learn and grow.

This is especially important, when I feel afraid to act, because I might fail to get it right or fail to meet others expectations. My fear usually produces high anxiety because my worth is threatened by the possibility of failing. But what if the outcome is not about if I succeed but if I learn. What if each decision or action were not a test of my ability to be right but an opportunity to get hands on experience in learning something new or improving my skills .

What if challenging situations no longer held the power to determine if I am a success or a failure but only the power to teach me. I feel much better being challenged in my ability to learn than my ability to succeed. If I don't get it right, I am not a failure, I just know what doesn't work, and the next time I will try something different.

In my mind this takes the power away from life experience to determine my worth and instead gives me the power to make life experience my teacher.

What makes us Vineyard?

I have been part of the Vineyard movement for a little more than 23 years now. In all this time we have continued to struggle to define ourselves. It seems important to us to know what we are and what we are not. We often speak in terms of identifying our DNA. In essence, we want to know what underlying beliefs, values, and practices define our “modo de proceder” – our way of proceeding – doing things – being in the world. It helps as we try to explain ourselves to others but even more important, as we try to reproduce ourselves in new people and new churches. I would like to suggest 7 things as foundational to the Vineyard.

1. The Kingdom of God is already here but not yet complete – This gives us a framework from the “future” to understand our present. Maybe, most of all, it allows us to understand the whole of the Christian life within the tension of success with failure; victory with defeat; wholeness with brokenness; joy with suffering.

2. The church as an eschatological community – Our way of living as a community of God’s people is determined by the future – a future that is becoming a reality in the present. What we will be shapes how we live now. It is God’s vision of the future that defines our life together today.

3. Real Presence – We expect the whole of our life and ministry to be enlivened and empowered by the real presence of God through the Spirit. We feel his presence; are touched by his love and hear his voice.

4. Everyone gets to play – Every person is important and has a valuable contribution to make in the church and in the world.

5. Servant Leadership – The opportunity and privilege to influence others is won by our service not by power. Loving others earns the trust to lead them in the fulfillment of shared vision.

6. Cultural authenticity – We are not Vineyard because of the commonality of our culture but because of the authenticity of our cultural expression to the context in which we are living.

7. Practice as a priority over Dogma – While the bible is authoritative for our faith, we are more concerned to live what we know than to know more.

I would love to hear your thoughts on what makes us who we are as the Vineyard.

Shaped By The Word

The Authoritative Source

I catch the news everyday – the radio program, Morning Edition; Wire services on the internet; international and local Network Television news; and Night Line before going to bed. I like to be informed.

However, in light of our current sermon series, one thing should be clear; the above programs are not my authoritative sources on sex. No, that would be the Bible.

In addition to sex, we face a host of significant challenges – the war in Iraq, Pre-Emptive Strike Theory, terrorism, radical Islam, Israel & the Palestinians, global warming, foreign oil dependency, poverty, high school drop out rates, gang violence, abortion, Aids in Africa, health care in America, the costs of education, racism, the quality of public education, and potential economic recession.

We may think of these as political issues and no doubt they all have political dimensions. But more importantly, they are all inherently moral and spiritual issues.

The question is, “Where do we get our primary input for determining our approach to these critical concerns?

I appreciate television, radio, internet and newspapers. I appreciate books, documentaries, conversations, and talk radio. But I also believe these sources are terribly insufficient to shape a truly Christian approach to any of these issues. They inevitably fail to account for the “new way of being in the world” that was inaugurated in Jesus.

Romans 8:29 says, “He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him.”(MSG)

We need to be shaped by the Word of God through the power of the Holy Spirit.

A Life-Long Commitment

It is primarily through the Bible that we come to know the mind and perspective of God; that we have our desires, expectations and will formed to match his; and that we avail ourselves of the power of the Spirit to be healed and transformed so we can be like Christ in the world.

This requires a consistent and life-long exposure to God’s voice and power through the written word of the Bible. It is like sitting in front of a fire on a cold day in February. Initially you feel its warmth but after awhile you literally become warm. The heat has been transferred into your own body and you have been changed.

Over the years that I have followed Christ, I have tried to give myself many and varied exposures to this life-shaping Word. Here are some that I have done and recommend:

Read – I prefer to read from a contemporary translation like the Good News, New Living Translation, or The Message. I have read the Bible from cover to cover a few times in my life, but have mostly made my way slowly through books of the Bible.

Listen – I have listened to dramatized readings of the Bible on video and CD.

Pray – I create prayers, and sometimes songs, from its words. None of these are worth publishing, but are simply expressions of my heart to God. I have also used the Divine Hours, compiled by Phyllis Tickle. This multiple-volume series is based primarily on the Psalms.

Reflect – I often sit, read a little, and listen for God’s voice and heart.

Study – I have spent countless hours over the years pouring over and trying to decipher its meaning and significance for my life and the church. I have read books on theology, biblical analyses and commentaries on specific books of the Bible.

Write – I have filled seven journals over a period of 20 years with my understandings, prayers and responses to the Bible.

Memorize – I have committed small portions of the Bible to memory.

Discuss – I have talked with others, especially in small groups about the Bible’s meaning and implications for life.

Live – I have tried, tried again, and am still trying to live what I learn from the Bible and allow it to transform my thinking, feelings and behavior.

The Challenge

I do not do these things because I am a pastor, nor do I do them because they are easy. I do them because these disciplines are needed in order to grow deep with God and in order to change. I know the temptation to create a million excuses not to study or find time for these disciplines. But things of great value are rarely easy.

In our fast delivery world, we like to give things a try and, if they don’t deliver quick results, we try something else. But the Bible does not give up its secrets or its power easily. The Bible requires patience. It’s more like a good friendship or a marriage. It takes a lifetime commitment to understand its complexities or mine its rewards. There are seasons – good and bad, high and low. Sometimes you drift apart but the commitment gives you time to drift back. Sometimes you feel like you really know the other and at other times, you wonder if you know them at all.

I encourage you to shed all excuses and plunge into serious and committed pursuit. Become one who is changed, shaped by the word through the power of the Spirit. It is life-changing and it is worth it.