The Gospel, the Church and Politics

I have watched with great interest as Christians have interacted and responded to another round of presidential elections in our country. I have seen ultra-passionate responses all the way to complete disinterest on the part of my fellow-believers. As a pastor, I am very careful about expressing my thoughts about the upcoming election. Some might be tempted to think that I am fearful of offending someone or fearful of what the ramifications might be for myself and the flock that I pastor. While those are legitimate concerns, my greatest concern is how my comments portray the gospel. **Disclaimer** I graduated from college in 1989 with a major in Accounting and a minor in Political Science, I love politics, my political views are very much shaped by Ronald Reagan being president during my first years of interest in politics. That being said, I am a follower of Jesus first and foremost, which is of far greater importance than political ideology. In fact, being a follower of Jesus should shape and mold our political ideology. I am troubled by what I am seeing and hearing coming from the hearts of fellow believers.

I will begin with the one extreme that I see, that I shall call the “Uncaring Dual-Citizen”. This is the person that sees themselves as solely the citizen of heaven and does not care about exercising their citizen stewardship as a citizen of our great country. My major problem with this kind of person is that they are not using all that God has given them to be salt and light in a culture that desperately needs the influence of followers of Jesus. The gospel, the glorious news of redemption, reconciliation and restoration found in Jesus Christ, would dictate that we should use our rights as citizens to influence and affect our nation toward the gospel. The person who does not exercise his citizenship rights of voting and of speech for the good of the gospel is missing a tremendous opportunity to be salt and light. We are called to submission to our civil authorities in Romans 13, and we have a say in who is given that authority by the way that we vote for candidates who support biblical ideals (note that I did not say conservative agendas…).

Perhaps, even more troubling to me are the excessively passionate Christians on the opposite extreme who jam our Facebook feeds with political diatribe, who demand that pastors practically campaign for certain candidates or parties (from their pulpits!), and who think that American Democracy is as “Christian” as a King James Bible or a hymnbook in a pew! (Note to the grammar police… I know the previous sentence broke about 14 rules!) The Bible does not view one form of government as better than another, the Bible does not teach that capitalism is the preferred view of economics. What really bothers me is that many of my fellow followers of Jesus seem to lose their sensibilities when in the political debating fray. There is never a good reason for a Christian to be rude, to be pugnacious, to be “holier-than-thou” in their defense of their ideology and candidate. I find this to be true especially in the area of pro-life proponents (which, by the way, I am).  The Bible DOES indeed teach us to value human life, but to do it in a way that is rude and unloving in many ways robs from the message and diminishes the gospel that we are trying to uphold. I saw this kind of rudeness, sharp dialogue and lack of love this past year when our state of Ohio wrestled with Issue 5. When it comes to politics, it seems that we, as believers, forget our words (written and spoken) reflect on the gospel of Jesus Christ. If we would only be as passionate about our Savior and about other believers, could you imagine what our churches would be like?

So, I have ranted and yes, I do feel a little better. The question is, “What would I do to fix the problem?” I am so glad that you asked!

• First, I would remind us all, as followers of Jesus, that our first allegiance is to Christ and not a political party, an ideology, a candidate, our wallets, and I could go on…
• Secondly, I would ask that followers of Jesus would vote like Jesus would vote. (I can see the “VLJV” bracelets coming off the production lines!) How would Jesus vote? Jesus would vote for ideas and candidates that upheld gospel principles. Jesus would probably not vote along party lines for the sake of the party. Jesus would engage in conversations regarding politics, but would do it in a way that magnified the gospel rather than diminishing it.
• Third, I would counsel fellow followers of Jesus to utilize all the citizen rights given to them for the sake of furthering the Kingdom of Heaven. Too often we vote to improve our wallets, or to advance our own causes. This year, I would ask my fellow Christians to vote through the lens of a biblical worldview.
• Last, pray, pray and pray some more! We are to pray for those in authority over us, we are to pray for that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven, and we should be praying for this upcoming election.

So who am I going to vote for? Do you REALLY think I am going to answer that one here?  I am going to vote for candidates who value life and will defend the lives of the unborn, I am going to vote for candidates who will use their influence and position to serve rather than be served (I know, I am very idealistic!) I am going to vote for imperfect people who are elected in an imperfect system and I am going to leave that in the hands of the perfect God Who gives them the authority to govern. 

Headed to Haiti

Happy First Day of Spring! As I looked at my calendar this morning, I was floored by the reality that in just over a week I, along with 7 others, will be getting on a plane and flying to Haiti to spend a week ministering to the children of southern Haiti. This trip is the fruit of the vision and planning of a man in our church and good friend of mine, David Stelzer. I admire David so much because he had an idea, he prayed about his idea, presented his idea and then pursued it with energy and enthusiasm. I see this trip as an extension of the people of our church, it was the people of our church who supported this idea, who made it possible for me to go, who provided and prepared over 600 pillow case dresses for young girls in Haiti, who gave and gave tennis balls to be given to the young boys in Haiti.

Next Friday, March 29^th, we will board a plane in Columbus to fly to Miami (yes, I am taking my talents to South Beach… for a night!). Early in the morning on Saturday we will fly from Miami to Port au Prince, Haiti. We will travel by van from Port au Prince to Les Cayes. On Sunday, we will help our host family, the Wray’s, serve approximately 1,000 children a meal and work with their Sunday School. We will be acting out the story of Jesus and Peter walking on the water. I have been thinking of this story and thinking about what one can accomplish as long as they keep their eyes on Jesus. I pray that this trip will be about keeping my eyes on Jesus. Monday through Thursday we will be leading soccer clinics at this camp… http://harvestinternational.org/cmhome.html

I am looking forward to interacting with the Haitian children and helping them to learn Luke 10:27. For those not familiar with the verse, it says,          “And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

(Luke 10:27 ESV)

This is why we are going to Haiti, because we love the Lord and we love His children in Haiti. We will also be teaching them the story of the Good Samaritan also found in Luke 10. I pray that our time in Haiti will make me less and less like the priest and the Levite in the story and more like the Samaritan.

I am looking forward to attending a prayer meeting on Thursday night in the town of Torbeck. I cannot wait to worship with brothers and sisters in a different culture. This is the church where our missionary, Beth Newton, attends. I am especially looking to spend Friday with Beth, to see her ministry firsthand, to meet her co-workers, see what she faces daily, just to get a feel for what her life is like in Haiti.

On a completely unrelated note… This coming Sunday, March 25^th, a man who I love and admire will step down as the pastor of a church where he has served faithfully for 35 years (I think it is at least 35 years…). This is the only pastor that this church has had. What a model of faithful, dedicated, loving service to the Lord and the people of his church Dr. Roger Vogel has been. I am sure that he had no small part in my preparation for God’s call on my life. I am thankful to be able to attend an afternoon service that will be held in his honor this Sunday.

On a much less important but fun note… How is your NCAA bracket looking? Mine is in disarray, but my final four of Ohio State, Kentucky, Carolina and Michigan State are all alive and kicking! I wouldn’t be surprised if OSU makes the final four and the championship game… Why? Because I will be out of the country and unable to see them! If it takes me leaving the country for them to win a championship, so be it. GO BUCKS!

Keep on pressing!

Being a Servant

Yesterday we were so blessed to have the Director of Skyview Ranch in Millersburg, Ohio, Jeremy Hales with us for the morning at our church. He preached from 2 Timothy 2 on the subject of the seven choices a servant of Christ must make. It was very interesting timing in my life to hear the message. About a 45 minutes before Jeremy preached I was sharing with my teammates who are going to Haiti about “Going with the Right Heart” and my thrust was that we must go in the mindset of Jesus. By that I meant that we needed to adopt Jesus’ mentality that Paul shares with us in Philippians 2. Jesus chose to take on the form, the role of the bond-slave. It didn’t get any lower in that culture than to be a bond-slave. Thinking about this reminded me of John 13 (the passage of Scripture that we will come to this coming Sunday (3/11) at we continue our journey through John at JIBC.) In thinking about what Jesus was trying to accomplish, I do not think Jesus was trying to “show up” the disciples or embarrass them… that wasn’t Jesus’ way. No, Jesus clearly stated what His intention was, it was to set the example for His soon to be “leader-less” followers. The way they would best function would be to learn to serve one another. That still holds true for us today, the way we function best as the body of Christ is to learn to serve Christ and to serve one another. This is accomplished by giving up our rights, our dreams, our agendas for the sake of another, for the sake of Christ. Servants do not get to choose what their tasks will be, when they will get to perform them or how they will be done. Servants do what they are told to do, how they are told to do it and they do it when they are told to do it. In Jesus’ case, feet needed to be washed. They needed to be washed before dinner, they needed to be to be done by a servant. I can only imagine how the disciples, who had just earlier done their best to avoid be the “one” to have to wash feet now must have thought as they saw Christ, the Messiah, their Lord, take off his outer garment, wrap a towel around His waist and start to wash the hard, dirty and most likely gross feet of each disciple. Jesus knew this and we need to know this too, the way up is to go down, the way to rise is to serve… I think it is hardest at times to serve the ones we spend the most time with, our families, our friends, our brothers and sisters in Christ. In my case, I can get pretty motivated to go and serve in Haiti, but I do not get nearly as excited to wash the dishes for my wife or go and visit a shut-in, or I could go on, but you get the idea… It all comes down to my motivation. Am I motivated by a sense of duty? Duty can be a pretty hard motivator. Am I motivated by pride or a desire to be known as a servant? That completely undermines my service… Or, am I motivated by love, yes, love… A love for God that motivates me to love others, including the others closest to me… Love will motivate you and me to pick up a towel, move toward the dirty feet and imitate our Savior… Happy washing!

Has it really been that long?

So, I was bumping around on our church's website and noticed it had been almost 2 years since I have blogged. If the website is going to have a blog, shouldn't someone be blogging on it? So, here goes... no promises on how many posts will be added per month, per year, per whatever!

Things rolling around in my dome...

1. I am afraid of spiritual lethargy. I am afraid of it for myself (I know its devastating effects). I am afraid of it for the church that God has called me to shepherd. It is a scary thing to realize that you or ones that you love have become lethargic. So, what does one do when he/she senses that they have become lethargic? The short answer is to cry out to God and beg Him to "restore the joy of His salvation". After we do this, then it is up to us to shake the lethargy by getting up and getting going! Get going in His Word, get going by seeking Him through prayer, get going by looking beyond ourselves and living beyond ourselves by showing His love to the ones around us at home, at work, at school, wherever our journey takes us...

2. I am intrigued by Jeremy Lin. I do not watch too much NBA, I guess I am more of a college basketball "purist". I find myself glued to his highlights on Sportscenter and I even watched a whole half of the Knicks playing the Mavs yesterday. I love this kid's humility, his grit, his desire to glorify His Heavenly Father. You don't have to look too far on the internet to find that Christ in completely interwoven in this young man's life, his speech and the way he conducts himself. (And he has a nifty crossover dribble too...)

3. In less than six weeks, I, along with 7 others, will be in Haiti. I can't wait! This past weekend our church (mostly the ladies of our church, but a few brave men, too!) gathered on Saturday and Sunday to make over 330 pillow case dresses to hand out to young girls in Haiti. I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when we hand them a dress and a Bible story book! I can't wait to teach them the stories of Jesus walking on the water and the Good Samaritan through drama. I can't wait to spend the week leading soccer day camps for kids who are happy to just have a tennis ball to kick around. I imagine that I will leave Haiti a much "richer" man than I entered it. I can't wait to see another region of the Kingdom of Heaven!

4. One last thing... I am currently wrestling with this coming Sunday's text as we travel through the gospel of John on Sunday mornings. In John 12 we are told that God has "blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they should see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them." To have a heart of unbelief is a dangerous, deadly thing. The answer is to believe in the Light, Jesus Christ!

Oh, and one more thing, it is good to be back after a LONG time away from the land of blog...

What are you reading these days?

Every once in a while I get asked the question, “What are you reading?” I am always glad when I am asked this question IF I am reading something at the time. No one has asked me lately, so I thought I would answer the question anyway!


I am reading my Bible. A year ago at Christmas my wife bought me a new ESV Study Bible. I love it, it is probably the best study Bible that I have ever owned or come across. (Apologies to you who love your MacArthur Study Bibles…) Right now, in addition to my reading and study in I Samuel for Sunday mornings, I am reading through the Pauline epistles. I try to read through a complete letter in a sitting. It is helping me to think “big picture” in each letter. My favorite Pauline epistle is Philippians. I find myself coming back to chapter 3 when I am getting “too big for my britches”.


I am reading a book on preaching written by some of my favorite modern day preachers. The book is titled “Preaching the Cross” and is a compilation of sermons given at the inaugural “Together for the Gospel” conference in 2006. Some of the men who have collaborated together are Mark Dever, John Piper, CJ Mahaney, John MacArthur and Al Mohler. I am so thankful for the resources available today to the pastor. I am also thankful for godly examples like these men, who stand firm on the defense and proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is my desire to follow in their steps and be a faithful proclaimer and defender of the gospel.


I am also reading a book that was bought for me by a member of JIBC. The book is titled “Do Something” and was written by Miles McPherson. Mr. McPherson is not from my theological background and most likely would not be comfortable in our church and, most likely, I would not be comfortable in his church in California. This does not mean that I cannot learn from him and his book. Mr. McPherson’s premise is that we, in the body of Christ, have been equipped by God to accomplish something for Him and since He has given us all we need to get it done; we should be out doing it. It got me to thinking, if we, as a church, would each invest an hour a week in using our gifts, talents and abilities in His service through our church what an awesome thing that would be. Many are already doing an hour and more each week for which I am thankful to God. If we ALL got involved in this way, we could be an unstoppable force for the Kingdom of Heaven.


So, that is what I am reading right now. What are you reading? Take a moment and let me know what God is teaching you through what you are reading.

Connection

Is it just me, or have the last seven days been long and seemingly endless to you too? As I was reflecting this morning on my life in the past week, it seems that it revolves around SNOW! Between you and me, I am now officially tired of snow. Yes, it is beautiful to look at, I even enjoy pushing it around on my driveway from time to time, but it is no fun when your vehicle is buried up to its gills in it! One of the blessings of the past week is that many of us have had more time to reconnect as families which is a great thing. I think one of the things that has made the past week drag so slowly for me is that I have not had the opportunity to interact with my church family. There has been little of no connection with many of my spiritual family. We were designed by God to function in relationship with one another. When we are hindered in coming together, as we were this past Sunday and Wednesday, we are not able to experience the joy of encouragement and fellowship. When we come together as a church family this coming Sunday, I expect that there will be an excited energy, the kind of energy that comes when you are really looking forward to seeing the ones that you love. For many of us, it will have been two weeks since we have seen one another. It is my hope that by not having our time together this past week that we will be hungry to be together this week, that we will not take for granted the time that we have each week to spend together in praise of our Great God and hearing from His Word. Sunday is going to be a great day of reconnecting together as a part of the family of God. It makes me look forward to the day when God’s entire family will reconnect together for good in the presence of God. I am looking forward to reconnecting with you this Sunday.

Facing any Giants?

"For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."  When I heard these words come from the mouth of someone near to me that is facing a giant in their life, I was amazed.  We all face giants, some of our giants are emotional, some physical, but for the believer ALL of our giants are spiritual in nature too.  This Sunday morning we will contemplate David's battle with a giant named Goliath.  He could have also been named FEAR, because he put fear in every Israelite's heart except for David's.  What made David different?  I think the answer is in the words of Paul to Timothy at the beginning of this entry.  God does not give fear, God does not give confusion, God does not give anxiety, God gives us power, He gives us His never failing love and He gives us clear thinking.  Fear clouds our minds and is one of Satan's well used tools to cripple God's children.  No one invites a giant into his or her path, but God, in His infinite wisdom often places giants in our way so that we can witness and experience His loving care, His awesome power and His wisdom.  The next time you face a giant, instead of recoiling in fear, return to the loving arms of a powerful and faithful heavenly Father.  Hope you can be at JIBC this coming Sunday and learn how to face the giants in your life. 

PD