One of the most difficult conversations for a Pastor to have is anything that has to do with Washington D.C. Unless I am chatting over lunch with good friends…I avoid it.
Pastors (and Christians in general) will usually be labeled “too political.” You will also get the “he is just a right-winger,” “has an agenda,” etc. Often those accusations are legit and create a larger gap between us and those we are trying to reach…not for a vote, but for Christ.
When do you get to the point where as a believer your opinion has to move beyond politics and become an issue of Christian responsibility? I have a major distaste in my mouth for all things GOP and do not think politics is anywhere near the answer to our problems. I also think the democratic party has become so radical that it is difficult to justify for any Christian. I do not think “Change” comes to Washington or through Washington, the Courts, Protests, or whatever. I believe Change comes from the saving regeneration of the Holy Spirit made possible by the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ.
As a Christian (keep in mind the word Christian and not conservative), there are times where you have to throw all ideology out the window and think with a worldview that is biblical. We have to discuss the things that are much more spiritual than political.
Yesterday, our President said that we will be a champion for homosexuals. A champion?
This is such a difficult issue for young evangelicals. Unlike the generations before us, we have friends who are gay. We see our “gay friends” as no different than our heterosexual ones. Our view of homosexuals is not the crazyness we see protesting with face-paint in a gay-pride parade, but rather our friend we talk with at work everyday.
As a Christian, how does one respond to Obama’s promise to be a Champion? Not a champion for the unborn, hungry, or elderly…but for a lifestyle that Scripture clearly speaks against.
This is so tough! Why? People who are not Christians should not and will not act like they are. Why should they? Can they? This person does not need to “get straight.” They need the Gospel…not an orientation fix. There are lots of straight people in Hell. I could care-less if someone who is not a believer, is gay. They have much bigger issues.
A Christian who is gay is a completely different story and should be ministered to with the love of the very Jesus he/she (and you) claim to believe in. As a lifestyle that goes to the emotional level of being who they legitimately believe they were made to be…this is a long, long, process that we cannot even begin to comprehend (talk about this later). These really are two VERY different circumstances.
I think the topic/reality of homosexuality will be (might be already) the #1 perceptional divide between the Church and society as we move deeper into the 21st century.
As Gabe Lyons and Dave Kinnaman wrote in 2007 regarding the perception that Christians are “anti-homosexual,” we cannot underestimate how a morally relativistic generation, along with sophisticated media and political strategies, have created a tinder box for Christians’ reputations in this regard.
Over the next few days I am going to write about how we can still love our friends who happen to be gay, while not being their “Champion” in the process. Christians often come across as arrogant, uncaring, jerks when engaging any conversation with or about homosexuals. An iron fist of political policy is how many want to operate in Christian circles. I am not sure that is what Christ would have done and I wrestle with this issue daily. I hope we can have some good conversations about the reality of our current culture and society.
This is not political.
