A Post-Election Plea to the Church - R

I, like many Americans, am uneasy. 

This election has me unsettled. Not just because of my personal political views. Not just because of the hostility in our nation. Primarily because of the nature of the church in America. I've had a lot of thoughts rolling around my head the past few weeks and I needed to get them out. Here are the big things troubling me about where we are as God's people and a few things that I think we can do about them. I attempted to be as non-partisan as possible with this post, but you can tell me how I did. 

I am deeply disturbed by the strength with which American Christians are clinging to their respective political parties. Christians on both sides of the aisle remain convinced that their party is the sole beacon of Christianity in the American wasteland. With that comes a tendency to overlook, excuse, justify, explain away, or ignore the deep faults that have presented themselves in institutional politics. We have somehow confused our politics with our religion so that if someone attacks our party, we feel they must be attacking our God. There's a technical term for this, of course:

Idolatry.

I don't know of anyone who legitimately believes that an individual or a political party is God. I do, however, know plenty of people who operate out of the assumption that their party speaks and acts on God's behalf. Idolatry is looking to something that is not God in the place of God. God is not confined by a political party. God does not smile or frown upon one political system over another. 

My advice comes from the renowned theologians .38 Special: hold on loosely. I plead with my Christian brothers and sisters to hold on to your politics with an open hand. Your political party will not free this land from corruption, sin, and hatred. Your political party will not solve every societal woe, every social justice issue, and every instance of human suffering. And your political party will never restore the world to the state of eternal shalom that God promises his people. Whether you begrudgingly support the lesser of two evils or staunchly believe that your party is what's best for the world, you must acknowledge that they will never accomplish the work of God.

We were given a voice, and the two best uses of that voice are lifting praise to God above and speaking out for the people who cannot: the unborn, the immigrant, the poor, the oppressed, the imprisoned, the homeless, and the ill. Political parties pay very smart people a whole lot of money to defend themselves - they can manage without us. 

Are you feeling defensive yet? Good, I am too. I can't tell you how abundantly guilty I am of this specific form of idolatry. I find it's always uncomfortable when our commitment to Christ conflicts with any other commitment. Don't run from that discomfort - it's never a bad thing to challenge yourself and test your own heart.

Next, we need to talk about America. One of the scariest things to threaten the American church is extreme nationalism. America, because it has enjoyed world power for a quarter of a millennium, is thought to be God's chosen nation on par with ancient Israel. I have seen many people share this verse from 2 Chronicles in reference to American politics:

if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. - 2 Chronicles 7:14

Rarely do I see any sort of context provided. This verse comes in the larger story of Solomon consecrating the temple. Two verses earlier, God says “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices." The promise above speaks directly to ancient Israel, but we try to force ourselves into the narrative. Does it still have use for today? Of course! It tells us about the Creator God, it tells us about what he values, and it tells us of his relationship with his people, Israel. What it doesn't do is provide specific instruction for America during this election.

America is not a theocracy. America was not called out of Egypt. America is not God's chosen people. Israel does live on, but it is not in the form of America, it is in the church. It's strange to say this, but we are no more favored as a nation than North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, China, or the USSR. The Roman Empire fell, the Byzantine Empire fell, and America will fall. The church, however, will endure.

This brings me to another point that we seem to be confused about: the role of government. There are things that pretty much all of us agree that a government should do. A government should operate under a system of laws to prevent anarchy. A government should have some means of enforcing those laws. There also some things that most of us agree a government should NOT do. A government shouldn't act with absolute power. A government shouldn't control every aspect of everyday life. And of course there are roles of the government that we argue a lot about that I won't get into.

But one thing we need to get on board with is that the government is not the church.

I know, I know. Duh. But go with me. Many Christians seem to operate out of the belief that the government and the church have the same goal, or at least that the government may one day be molded to have a common goal with the church. We are going to vote for the candidate or party that we are confident will operate out of our Christian ideals. In this way, we expect the government to win where the church has lost.

I am of the belief that morality cannot be legislated. Christian values will never be imposed on the nation by force. I loosely paraphrase one of my professors when I say that it is unreasonable to hold the world to the terms of a contract that they haven't signed. It's unreasonable to expect our nation to abide by Christian values when they have not been shown what's so good about the good news. 

If we are trusting the government to be the key agent of bringing God's kingdom to the world, the church has failed.

While it is the responsibility of the government to govern the nation, it is the responsibility of the church to transform the world. The church will not do this through the acquisition of greater power or influence or even by gaining a louder voice in the white house. It will only do so through self-sacrificial love. The kind of love that enables a person to look at their neighbor and say, "I love you more than I love winning." We can only transform if we submit to being transformed. We can only heal the sins of our land if we address the sins immediately in front of us, starting of course with the ones we see in our own plank-filled eyes. 

I want to leave these tedious ramblings with two points.

First, we're all worshiping something. With our words, with our actions, with our concerns, anxieties, and attention. By these, the world will see what we worship. In the upcoming weeks, I want to take special care to ensure that I am not worshiping an individual, a political party, a political system, or a nation. I want to worship the God who gives us a nation devoid of borders, of all people and nations and languages. Anything else is no less than idolatry.

Lastly, now more than ever, we live in a world in dire need of unity, which should mean that we live in a world in dire need of the church. But, as is often the case, the church looks a whole lot like the rest of the world right now. if we want to change the nation, it starts with us. It starts with creating a community that catches the attention of all those outside of it. Today, I think that means that we need to create a community that is single-mindedly focused on the kingdom of God. Everything else is secondary: political affiliation, country of origin, language spoken, money in your bank account, or color of your skin. If we can agree that our citizenship is in heaven, that should mean we've agreed on the only thing that really and truly matters. 

It sounds simple, it sounds cliche, but it also sounds like exactly what every single one of us needs. The stakes have never been higher. We of all people must make a commitment every day to engage in love.

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." - John 17:20-23

~RJS~ 

i peaked in high school ~m

Revelation 12:11 – They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death

rust or rigor mortis

I went out by myself this morning and ran through some old tennis drills, because what else is there to do on a sunny and 70 degree morning during quarantine, right? I always prepare a small speech in my mind explaining what I’m doing or why I’m so bad when I go hit the ball by myself, in case someone shows up and sees me embarass myself. You know, the normal stuff like “yeah honestly it’s been years since I actually played,” or “let’s be real I peaked in high school.” After sending the third ball sailing over the fence in the span of 15 minutes, I thought to myself wow, I really did peak in high school. In the same breath of thought I knew that I was just out of practice. Life has really picked up since the good ol’ days and my coordination and athleticism have really taken a nose dive in the process. I couldn’t help but think about the other things that seem to have lost regular movement and acquired rust or rigor mortis in the meantime since high school. The shortened list includes my snapchat game, my cooking skills, my ability to pull off cargo shorts, and, getting real here, my “talk about Jesus to strangers while striving to look like Him” abilities. I look back to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes that I was blessed to share leadership of, the spiritual conversations I would recklessly dive into with random friends or acquaintances, and my willingness to pray at the drop of a hat and all I can think is man.

Those were the days.

practice

Thankfully God has continued to convict me in other ways and helped me grow and he’s still my best friend and yadda yadda, but these are a couple areas of my life that haven’t been called upon in quite a long time.

Sports or whatever else was important a few years ago seem to have mostly been pushed aside to make room for the more pressing agenda items such as not getting kicked out of the rental, looking for the next strategy to acquire more funds in hopes of having a good life, or finding the right church family to worship with. But today while I felt drops of sweat appear on my back and forehead and more tennis balls seemingly shotgunned outside the fences as a result of my random swings, I kept thinking about how important practice and movement of the individual parts is in the maintenance of the whole.

Peaking in high school just meant that I was at the peak of the amount that I practiced.

good ol’ days?

It seems like the stars just aligned for the good ol’ days, doesn’t it? Everything worked together for the combination of available time to be spent, determination, and the other available resources that created some kind of formula that made memories that will last forever. The idea of being a Christ follower with no fear seems to be a thing of the past. I know looking back it seems I wasn’t afraid to speak my mind or offer Jesus as the solution to an issue where it seemed he didn’t belong. But those days seem so far away. It is so easy to look upon our current lives with sorrow or regret of what we’re not doing, or what we’re doing wrong. Paul is someone who often encourages sorrow as a necessary step in a walk toward growth:

          2 Corinthians 7:11 - “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what zeal, what readiness to see justice done!...” 

Mismatched priorities need only to be realigned, and being out of practice means only that it’s a good idea to get out there and practice again.

There is no longer such thing as a world that will not be fighting for your attention constantly. In the midst of this pandemic that we’re experiencing, one would think that more opportunities for spiritual growth would be created than ever. But I, for one, have had trouble sorting through the notifications on my phone well enough to even make it to online church on Sundays. We may have mistook the word “opportunity” for “convenience.” I truly don’t think that anything worthwhile will necessarily be convenient, and being a follower of Christ is no exception. If we’re not practicing, rust builds, joints stiffen, and tennis balls may fly out of the fence.

they’re now!

I’m so thankful for a God who not only allows space for rust to build and joints to stiffen for our learning, but also is the first to provide the WD-40 and cleaner for when we learn enough to get back out there. He empowers everyone in different, beautiful, and powerful ways. There is room to practice again, and convenience can come later. The good ol’ days are ahead of us if we want them to be! I’d challenge you to search for rust that’s been created by this pandemic or other circumstances that have perhaps caused a lack of practice somewhere in your life. Commit to practice and don’t forget the incredible grace with which we’ve been provided a chance to start fresh.

Are the things fighting for our attention more important than the peak of our faith?

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 - “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” 

The good ol’ days? They’re now!

The Next Day Was The Same: A Poem of Lament

The news crosses unbelieving ears. Shaky knees touch shaky ground. Eyes search solemn faces for any hint of dishonesty. One of you will tell me this isn’t my new reality. I live that day in denial, searching for his face around every corner.

I pray it’s all a dream. But the next day was the same.

Shock ripples through campus. The week is marked by heads hung low, voices hushed, and eyes reddened. He somehow had no idea how much he’d be missed. We hope he knows now.

Tears stung as they ran unchecked. And the next day was the same.

I want a reason and I find none. I want logic and I find none. I want peace and I feel none. I want more faith and I gain none.

My cries to God remain unanswered. And the next day was the same.

Here's what they tell me. God is present in the silence. God is loving in the doubt. God is patient in my anger. God is constant in his love. God is perfect in his plan.

He was there that day. And the next day was the same.

Here's what they tell me. There will be perfection. There will be no crying and no pain. We will be resurrected with him in all his glory. We will be joined in perfect unity with God.

We will raise our hands in worship. And the next day will be the same.

[Ab]using the Bible - R

Let's talk about the Bible.

Warning: this may get unpleasant and step on some toes. But it needs to be said.

If you, like me, were raised in the church, you've probably spent an enormous amount of time talking about the contents of the Bible without talking about the Bible itself. Namely, it's interesting the many different philosophies with which people read it, often without realizing their implicit assumptions. And this has a real impact on how we discuss, interpret, and live out the Bible today. 

Well sure, you may say, but the Bible is the Bible. It says what it says, it's God's word. How hard is that? We take every word seriously and we live out the commands. You don't get to pick and choose which parts of the Bible to follow.

It's this exact notion that I want to challenge. Namely, I want to ask two questions of this belief: do we really read the Bible that consistently? Also, is this how we should even be reading and using the Bible in the first place?

If this makes you uncomfortable, I beg you at least hear me out. Approach this conversation with an open mind. I am not challenging the authority, inspiration, or usefulness of the Bible. I write this as a professing, believing Christian, I promise. Let's have a conversation.

First, let's talk about consistency. I often find that the people who talk about the Bible in terms of simplicity and straightforwardness are talking about one or more very controversial issues: homosexuality, women's roles in the church, abortion, the interaction of Christianity with other faiths, etc. Now, I don't have the time nor the energy to try to argue one way or another on any of these issues. And let's face it, no one's mind will be settled by a blog post. But I do want to do a case study of sorts. The Bible does have plenty to say about these topics, it's true. And at face value, it seems like it should be rather easy to answer these questions. Let's talk.

Let a woman learn in silence with full submission. I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she is to keep silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Yet she will be saved through childbearing, provided they continue in faith and love and holiness, with modesty. - 1 Timothy 2:11-15

 I'm not gonna lie, as far as biblical passages go, that sounds pretty explicit. And when people are talking about women in ministry, this is often one of the first passages to get brought up. The Bible is clear on this, and this should govern how we operate in worship.

But as you may know, this isn't all that this chapter talks about. Let's look at what comes just prior to this.

I desire, then, that in every place the men should pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument; also that the women should dress themselves modestly and decently in suitable clothing, not with their hair braided, or with gold, pearls, or expensive clothes, but with good works, as is proper for women who profess reverence for God. - 1 Timothy 2:8-10

For some reason, this part gets far less attention. If we take the teaching on women seriously, shouldn't we give this equal weight?  Why don't we have the same argument over men lifting holy hands in worship? Why don't we also forbid women from braiding their hair, wearing jewelry, or purchasing clothes that are too expensive? Did Paul fall asleep at the wheel while writing this first part? Or is this a cultural issue?

My point in bringing this up is that you have to make some decisions when reading passages like this one. Most people would agree that some commandments in our Bible were more fitting for certain cultural aspects at the time when the Bible was written. For example, greeting each other with a holy kiss or treating our slaves with respect. But other commandments are for all people of all time. When people say that the Bible is simple to understand, they generally imply that the commandments fit on this side of the spectrum.

What I want people to realize is that all biblical reading involves interpretation, whether you realize it or not. As you read, you make decisions about how various passages are to bee understood today. Even if you claim to give the same weight to every word in the Bible, it is never that simple. If you argue that God is very clear about homosexuality in Leviticus, you have to acknowledge that God is equally clear about people with tattoos (Lev. 19:28), the fairness of purchasing slaves from surrounding nations (Lev. 25:44-46), or eating pork (Lev. 11:7). You don't get to pick and choose which parts of the Bible to follow.

Now, let's talk about whether that's how the Bible should be read.

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” - Matthew 22:34-36

And Jesus did NOT reply, "all commandments are equally important." Jesus did NOT reply, "it's God's word, I uphold all laws equally.

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” - Matthew 22:37-40

This is one of the only times in the Gospels when Jesus gives a straight answer to a direct question. Jesus is very clear about exactly where the people should place the emphasis in their Bible-reading. Not all commandments are created equally.

To put this another way: you don't get to pick and choose which parts of the Bible to follow. Jesus did it for you. The most important thing you can do with the Bible is to use it to love God with your entire life and to love your neighbor as yourself.

If you're using the Bible to shame, to judge, to ostracize, to cause pain, or to segregate, I'm very sorry, but you're just not using it correctly. There is no excuse we can give not to show love to every individual on the earth. God created them, God loves them, and God does not make mistakes. We have used scripture as an excuse to separate ourselves from God's people far too much.

If non-Christians had any impression of Christians using the Bible, wouldn't it be amazing if it was for us loving everyone fiercely? What would it be like if our reputation was openness, acceptance, forgiveness, and passionate self-sacrificial love? What if people stopped viewing the Bible as a rulebook meant to entrap and started viewing it as a guide to the purest source of love in existence?

Love your God and love your neighbor. If there is any passage that is for all people of every time, it's that one.

~RJS~