The two things we are always told to never bring up are ‘religion and politics’ because they can be the most divisive of subjects.  It seems these two subjects stir the deepest of our core beliefs and therefore the rawest of our emotional responses.  I love and stand 100% in agreement with this statement by Samuel Rodriquez.  “At the end of the day, this will be a…prophetic movement driven by the impetus of the Cross.  What is the agenda for this new movement; it is not the agenda of the donkey or the agenda of the elephant.  This movement stands driven by nothing other than the agenda of the Lamb.”

     All you have to do is watch Fox News, read the Huffington Post or subscribe to Glenn Beck to see what is happening in America.  Just an FYI I do read and listen to all of the above and more so that I am an informed citizen. We are more polarized than at any time in American history other than Civil Rights era of the 1960’s and when we had a disastrous Civil War of the 1850’s needlessly taking the lives of millions of Americans.  As the church we have a responsibility to take a stand, but let us stand for the right reasons and lead with the right spirit.  The church is as divided many times as our political parties because we have identified with issues more than Christ.

   Dr. King famously said that Sunday morning is the most segregated day of the week. That was over four decades ago, and yet reality tells us that Sunday morning is very much still the most segregated day of the week. This could also be said of the differing political positions that we hold within the church. The history of White Evangelicals has been focused around the two issues of life and marriage while the ethnic portion of the body of Christ has focused on social justice issues like poverty, education and racial inequality.  

     A new Christ centered movement is arising that sees no need for these polarizations especially when it comes to the one body of Christ.  As the body of Christ we must be willing to listen to one another, embrace one another and love one another.  We must move beyond an ethnic, political or patriotic identity into a Christ centered identity. It is learning to walk in truth and love.  It is learning to stand up for truth while caring for those who are marginalized in society and since Jesus did both so can we, it is as simple as that.

     We can no longer identify with a morality-centered gospel, but to a Jesus centered gospel that intersects with all the facets of life.  It is about the church becoming a truly serving community and being willing to embrace the message of the Cross-while being at the center of cultural change.  We must not check out of society, but truly be salt and light.  It is the character and love of God that will demonstrate to the world that we don’t want to enslave them to some unattainable set of rules, but liberate them into the freedom that is only found in the gospel.  Civil governments can only take us so far and they can never accomplish what only the power of the gospel through a church focused on apostolic mission can do to impact a community. 

     How can we as a part of the body of Christ accomplish this task?  I am in no way talking about politicizing the gospel since the mixing of politics and religion has always led to some type of tyranny.   Just read your history books and you will see that it is a cocktail that always harms the common good of humanity.  I am talking about living as a believer and being a responsible citizen in whatever social structure in which we live.  Yes that can mean taking a stand that others may not like, but it could just as likely being willing to keep your mouth shut even though you have a right to speak out.   

     We must refuse to allow the left and the right polarizations to stir our baser instincts, which pushes us to become motivated by our emotions.  Emotional responses lead to irrational acts and we easily fall into the stampede of the herd. First of all our motivations must be based on love and understanding.  A disciple is a disciplined learner who studies, investigates and then responds in love based on understanding.  Don’t believe every headline you read or sound bite you hear, but take the time to truly investigate before speaking out or reacting.

     It is important to be educated on the issues of the day.  Jesus and Paul both understood what was happening in their time.  In America we live in a democratic institution where we have the right to vote and in voting we voice our opinions.  I have friends who refuse to vote for Democrats or Republicans, but vote for the Constitutional Party.  Yes there are more than two parties in America, but all the money is vying for power through the donkey and the elephant at this time in our history.  I am not even going to tell people how to vote and I don’t tie morality to how you cast your ballet.  Voting is a matter of conscience and good godly people vote for a plethora of different political parties and have differing reasons on how they come to their conclusions for whom to vote.  Honestly I am already looking beyond this next election because in the end I will continue to do what I do no matter what party is in power.  I will vote my conscience, but no matter who wins I will continue to follow the agenda of the Lamb by loving and serving wherever I am.

     In my next posts I am going to examine how we should view and interact with civil authority along with society as members of the body of Christ. 

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