The Politics to be Played

I got this article which should provide an interesting read. It's by Randy Alcorn.
Below is an except. The full article can be found here
I have never been into politics, though as a young pastor I saw political awareness and involvement as necessary. Then twenty years ago I had a terrible experience with a well-known politician in our church, who was widely considered by the Christian community to be a David standing against the Goliath of the secular media. (He used that terminology himself.) Unfortunately, he was not what he claimed to be.As one of his pastors I knew the inside story. One day I heard him speaking on a Christian radio talk show, claiming the elders of his church were totally supporting his campaign for reelection. In fact, we had met with him and counseled him not to run, for some compelling personal reasons involving his family and Christian testimony.On hearing the program I called my friend and fellow-pastor Stu Weber and said “unless you talk me out of it, I think God wants me to call in and ask him some questions.” Stu agreed, so I called and confronted this man in front of a large listening audience. While I tried to be gentle, I asked him if it was true that the elders of his church had asked him to step down from office due to issues in his personal life. He said that was not true. I said “I’m one of your elders, and it is true.”To say the least, this was controversial, and I took a lot of heat for it, including from our Christian church attorney (who a year later abandoned his wife and children in an adulterous affair). But it was and is my belief that when someone is a public figure who takes his case to the citizenry, and lies about such things in the name of Christ, it is a church leader’s duty to refute his statements. Correcting a person’s public deception with publicly stated truth trumps the normally good principle of confidentiality.I tell you this story because I admit this unforgettable experience colored my view of politics, and still tends to make me skeptical when I hear about Christian politicians. (Despite the fact that I know some very good ones.) I’ve often been disillusioned by insincere candidates, including professing Christians, who say whatever people want to hear, revising their message according to their audience.Today, I am less enthusiastic about political parties than I’ve ever been. I’m a Republican largely because I adamantly oppose abortion. But my concern for the poor, racial justice and the environment—all of which have a strong biblical basis—make me sometimes identify more with the concerns of Democrats (though I don’t always agree on their proposed solutions). But I could never be a Democrat as long as that party remains hostile toward the rights of unborn children. Yes, there are prolife Democrats, but they are a small minority.And by the way, if I had a choice between voting for a prolife Democrat and a prochoice Republican, I’d vote for the Democrat in a heartbeat. (No, child-protecting and child-killing aren’t the only issues, but I can never regard them as secondary; I might write in a third alternative, but I will never cast a vote for someone who won’t stand up for the right of unborn children to live, yes, even if I agree with them on every other issue.)I am aware that there are other smaller political parties and though I’ve not chosen to do so, a good case can be made for joining them. My position on conservativism and liberalism is expressed in an article I wrote after the “Republican Revolution” of the mid-nineties, in which I stated that we should neither seek to be conservative nor liberal, just Christian. We should go wherever being a follower of Jesus takes us, regardless of whether it fits a label or a particular political party. There was plenty in that article to make both liberals and conservatives unhappy, and believe me, I heard about it.....

Thinking Right

I got “introduced” to Pastor Chan recently through the Passion Movement. He made so strong an impression on me that I subscribed for his pod cast. I recently learnt that he made a dramatic decision which changed the life of his church towards God.
The church was on track to spend 20 million dollars to build a new building. He told the elders it was repulsive to spend that much money on themselves, and he could never pastor such a group of people. He said that he, as a pastor, would be responsible for that before God.
He suggested that every time an offering was taken that it was divided equally - half spent on their church, half spent on others outside the church. This is the only way Christians can claim that they love their neighbour as much as themselves
He further suggested building a park with an amphitheatre that the community could use and they could hold services in - and would cost less money; the rest could be given away. When one asked about the weather, Chan reminded them of the Green Bay Packers (an NFL Team) fans who sit through a blizzard for the season every year. Packers fans are that dedicated for the team; are Christians that dedicated to sit outside in Southern California weather so that Jesus, who is starving on the other side of the world, can be fed?

The video explaining why the Church decided on this course of action can be found here
Sometimes I wonder whether I haven’t left the weightier matters and concentrated on less important matters.
I’m going to keep my eyes on Jesus in a world where I really don’t belong.