Three Dangers of Politicalization

Mike Leake

I’ve been going through my library recently. This means that I’m dusting off a few books that I’ve barely even cracked open. I have a problem. I’ll find great deals on used books and I’ll put them on my shelf and they’ll blend into the background and I’ll forget they exist. So, I’ve been enjoying reading some of these books that I’d ignored.

One of these books is a neat little cultural commentary from the early 90s called Power Religion: The Selling Out of the Evangelical Church. It has selections from Sproul, Carson, Packer, Nettles, etc. One chapter I read was written by Chuck Colson on the relationship between the church and politics. It was originally written in the late 80s but Colson updated it a bit for the book. I find this absolutely fascinating.

For those of you who aren’t history nerds, you’ll need to know who Chuck Colson was. He was a powerful political person in the Nixon administration. But he ended up doing time because of his involvement in the Watergate Scandal. Colson, while in prison, came to Christ. He became a vocal minister of the gospel and started Prison Fellowship, a great ministry for prisoners and their families. Colson also continued using his gifts in writing on cultural issues impacting the church.

Keep in mind that this was written prior to Bill Clinton being in office and at the tail end of the Reagan administration. In this chapter Colson speaks of the dangers of utopian activism. He says, “Christians should not unwarily plunge into the political marshlands, thinking they will drain the swamp. There are traps. I know; I used to set them” (34). Colson goes on to tell stories of how during the Nixon administration they would strategically use people of faith to further their political agendas. After telling these stories Colson gives three pitfalls to politicalization

1. The church will become just another special-interest group.

2. Christian leaders who are courted by political forces may soon begin to overestimate their own importance. Colson notes,

A side effect of this delusion is that rather than lose their access to political influence, some church leaders have surrendered their independence…Although such rationalizing is understandable the result is exactly the opposite; they keep their place but lose their voice and thus any possibility of holding government to account. (36)

3. The gospel becomes hostage to the political fortunes of a particular movement. Here he notes the hand-wringing which takes place from Christians on both sides of the political aisle. As if the church of Jesus Christ will collapse if a political party doesn’t win the day.

“Only the church free of any outside domination can be the conscience of society…”

I’ll refrain from commenting here. I think the words of Chuck Colson given as a warning in the early 90’s should speak loud enough.

—

Photo source: here

Read This! 03.19.19

Mike Leake

Lyell Statement on Sexual Abuse

This is painful. Come, Lord Jesus. It’s also really important to reflect on these last few paragraphs as regards to policy and how to handle sexual abuse in the church.

The Weakness and Strength of Being an Autistic Christian

It’s good to listen to things such as this.

10 Most Encouraging Things Said to Pastors

These would all be encouraging…except #5. That one is going to blow up in your face.

Are Only Few People Saved?

I appreciated this reflection on the number of elect.

Don’t Mistake Transfer Growth for Evangelism

So good.

Village Poet

It really can be tempting to pursue platform instead of just being faithful to the audience God has given you. I think my own writing has been impacted by this.

FAQ on The Valley of Vision

I had wondered so many of these things about this classic.

Am I Sitting Under Healthy Preaching?

Well, are you enjoying God more? I suppose the preaching could be good but the soil in which we receive it could be a bit off.

It’s almost baseball season. I don’t think we’ll have anything similar to 2015 but maybe the Royals won’t lose 100:

Don’t Miss the Gorilla

Mike Leake

Have you ever heard of the phrase “selective hearing”? If you are married, I know you have. We men are accused of having selective hearing all the time—but did you know there is selective seeing as well. Consider this:

Most people don’t notice the gorilla. Many do, however, notice the terrible 90’s fashion. We have a tendency to focus on one thing to the exclusion of others. I’m convinced we do this with the Bible as well.

Consider Ephesians 4:28. “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.”

What we’ll tend to do is look at the place where we are knocking it out of the park. Many of us will be tempted to stop at the, “let the thief no longer steal”. We will analyze our actions and because it’s been awhile since we jacked something from Wal-Mart we’ll think we are good and then move on. Others, might read this passage through the lens of the victim and see how it calls those to give to those who have in need. You might be the one in need and so you are going to be looking at this text and saying, “how come people aren’t helping me out like they should”. But you might miss the gorilla in the middle of the text.

The gospel doesn’t just make thieves stop stealing. The gospel turns thieves into glad-hearted workers. It addresses directly the heart of the thief. We might be taking a five-finger discount at the local convenience story, but if our hearts aren’t passionately laboring for the good of others, then we aren’t yet living up to our calling.

There’s a special little way that we Westerners have answered the problem of the thieves heart and it only goes half way as we’ll see in a moment. We assume, “Ah, the problem with the thief is that he isn’t willing to work. If he wants that fruit that isn’t his then by golly that’s his fault for not working hard enough. If he’d work harder then it’d rightly be his and he could enjoy it and celebrate it.” But this is where I think we might be tempted to miss the gorilla in the text.

That isn’t what Jesus says in the gospels and it certainly isn’t Paul’s antidote here. Remember it isn’t just that we are to “not steal” we are also to put on the positive clothes. And the positive clothes isn’t just merely work for the things that you want. Friends, we might not be stealing but without new clothes we are still naked and disobedient.

The antidote to the thief isn’t the hardworking American dream. Hard work is a huge part of it as we’ll see in a moment. But the gospel answer cuts not only at the work ethic it cuts at the heart of desire. It cuts out the selfish impulse of the thief and replaces it with the impulse of a hard-working and glad-hearted giver. Jesus does precisely this in our lives.

This is just one little text to show you our propensity to miss the gorilla in a text. So, slow down. Don’t just see what you want to see but dwell on the text until you taste in it the savor of Christ.

—

Photo source: here

Why “We Need to Reach the Young People” Might Distract Your Church

Mike Leake

“If you don’t reach young people your church is going to die”.

I have heard that sentiment quite frequently when thought leaders (whatever those are) get together and discuss revitalization in local churches. Logically it’s absolutely true. If an organization does not perpetuate it will not survive into the next generation. It is right for a church to be concerned if they only have gray heads. But there is an underlying theology within this statement which I believe will lead to death instead of life.

Peel off a layer of that onion and you see what dominates the conversation is self-preservation. It’s not unnatural to not want to die. It’s quite normal to not want a beloved organization to die. In fact, God can use a drive for self-preservation for His glory. A church which realizes it is dying is far better than one living in denial. A church which says, “we’ll do anything to not die” is in better shape than one which says, “we won’t change even if it means death”.

But a church cannot stay there. Because a church focused upon it’s own survival is a church just waiting to die. The church, just like disciples, is meant to be self-denying for the sake of the kingdom. Doing things which are motivated by self-preservation are opposed to the ethics of God’s kingdom. A church might even “turn around” by a good focused mission. But if the foundation is self-preservation instead of kingdom-expansion, don’t be surprised when the good news of Jesus becomes more explicitly secondary.

What about rather than saying, “your church is going to die” we say “your church is going to lose its impact on the community for the sake of Christ’s kingdom”? This is getting at the real tragedy behind a church closing its doors. It’s not simply that a beloved institution which once gave great memories is now terminated. The real pain is that influence for the kingdom is no longer happening in this sphere.

There does need to be a focus on reaching young people with the gospel of Jesus. (Just as there is a focus on reaching for Christ all those made in God’s image). But if you start with self-preservation that focus is only going to go so far. Because what happens when you actually begin reaching “those” people and it changes the dynamic within your beloved institution? That old impulse of self-preservation is going to rear its ugly head.

The key question isn’t, “do we want to reach the young people in our community”. Rather, the key question is whether or not our hearts are kingdom focused instead of self-preservation focused. That will help with asking the right questions about what our Lord calls our particular local church to do well. A particular local church might not ever be the church which reaches hordes of young people. Or it might. That’s up to Jesus. Our job is to be faithful with what we have been given in the place in which God has called us to serve.

Ask kingdom questions. Don’t ask self-preserving questions. That changes everything.