Today's Orlando Sentinel has a good essay on Christian involvement in political issues by Joel Hunter, pastor of Northland Community Church. We visited Northand a few times, including when they were still meeting in a partially-coverted roller skating rink. ("I knew him when....") For many reasons it's not the church for us, but there's no doubt they do good work.
A few points from the article:
- [B]etween the liberal's panic of a Christian lockstep toward theocracy on the left, and the fundamentalist's paranoia about America's persecution of Christians on the right, a growing number of conservative Christians believe we can be more constructive in our political involvement. Intent on dousing the fire in the morning, many of us see a need for more positive approaches and expansion to more oft-mentioned biblical issues.
- [W]e must change our tone. Fear and anger get immediate, but usually destructive, results. Ideas compete; radicals attack. Let's stick to discussions of solutions rather than accusations of those who disagree with us.
- [W]e must desire more than political gain (and be linked to biblical values rather than a political party). Winning at the ballot box can mask the need to be more personally responsible for our neighbor.
- [W]e must quit slinging slogans and propose our biblical ideals in an intellectually credible way....Governments don't need more special-interest lobbyists; they need more groups that can work with them in creating solutions.
- Jesus said, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's" (Matthew 22:21). In this country, our government ("Caesar") doesn't just expect taxes; it expects participation—input, service, and political involvement from every citizen, including the Christians. Public service should be a normal part of every Christian's spiritual responsibility.
