God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It

Recently I've been reading this book by Jim Wallis and I have been finding myself very intrigued. Jim Wallis' political aspirations seem to have a lot in common with Tony Campolo's Politics. As a conservative Christian mostly endorsing the Republican candidates and ideologies, I didn't think that this book would appeal to me. But a lot of what Jim Wallis has to say is inspiring; especially this thought: "Many of us believe that by replacing one wet-fingered politicians with another, we can change our society. But it never really works and when it doesn't we get disillusioned. We then get tempted to just grumble, withdraw, or give up altogether on ever changing anything. But that's where we make our mistake.

The great practitioners of real social change, like Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi, understood something very important. They knew that you don't change a society by merely replacing one wet-fingered politician with another. You change a society by changing the wind."

Then Wallis writes on about how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. after securing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 decided to visit Washington D.C. to speak with Lyndon Johnson about the possibilities of voting rights act for black Americans in the South. When Lyndon Johnson told him that that was politically unrealistic especially right after the Civil Rights Act, Dr. King did not complain, withdraw or give up. Instead, he organized the famous march in Selma, Alabama now known as the Bloody Sunday. Dr. King was able to pass the voting rights act only 5 months after the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

We as Christians are called to be this kind of "wind-changer." But living in the US, we have a hard time envisioning what that looks like; we have a hard time mixing our religion with politics. Whenever a pastor such as myself speak on political issues, people cry "foul" referring to how most Christians feel about pulpit politics; that politics and pulpit don't mix. We really have to think about this. Who we are as Christians should not shy us away from speaking on what we believe. We should be encouraged to speak on what we consider moral and ethical based on our biblical views on life, liberty and justice for all. We are called to be the light of the world; to be a city on a hill; speaking the truth and standing up for what we believe in, never forgetting that we are to do it by our love & because of our love; not by our hidden agendas or hate.

Couple of weeks ago, I preached from the pulpit on Prop 8. The problem we have with those who oppose Prop 8 is that we don't love them. Many of us are either indifferent or consenting; some of us have even voted "no" on this proposition. That's not love. Love is when we care about them enough to speak on what we really believe: that homosexuality in practice is immoral and sinful. If we truly love them and care about their lifestyle, we would have to tell them the truth in the most loving way possible so that they can begin to think whether their lifestyle is right or wrong. I also realize that there are many Christians who are speaking against the gay lifestyle, posting signs up urging to vote "yes" on Prop 8. They are adamant about this issue, but the problem is that they don't really do it out of love; they do it out of either hate or to advance their political agenda. I believe this is almost worse than indifference or consent. That's why the Bible says, "If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing." We are called not to be nothing; we are called to be more than conquerors, ambassadors for Christ. So, let us live for His glory; Live for Him that we may represent Christ; to change the wind by our LOVE.

I See the King of Glory

I see the king of glory
Coming on the clouds with fire
The whole earth shakes
The whole earth shakes

I see his love and mercy
Washing over all our sin
The people sing
The people sing

Hosanna
Hosanna
Hosanna in the highest

I see a generation
Rising up to take their place
With selfless faith
With selfless faith

I see a near revival
Stirring as we pray and seek
We're on our knees
We're on our knees

Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me

Break my heart from what breaks yours
Everything I am for your kingdoms cause
As I go from nothing to
Eternity

It's rare that I can express what I feel completely in sink with lyrics from a praise song, but I've been really meditating on these words. As I prepare to begin a new sermon series on Jonah, I realize how all of us to some degree are running from God. Not literally running in the sense that we are being rebellious, but more indiscriminately; subtly. We conduct business, live our lives from day to day, going through the motions and we don't realize how racial, how discriminatory, how offensive we are in our disposition. We refuse to see from God's perspective how he has labored and invested even in the lives of our social, political and religious enemies. It's not that we can't see from God's perspective; not that we can't be broken with what breaks the heart of God; we just simply refuse. On the contrary, Jesus defused; the hatred Jews demonstrated, the disdain of the teachers of the law, even the betrayal of his disciples.... Why? Cuz I believe he saw the kingdom of God; he was the King of Glory. When will we see it? When will we realize that the same God who lavishly showed his grace and mercy to us desires the same for those who we deem "unworthy"? When will the vision of the kingdom of God capture our hearts, our minds and all that we are to become a genuine follower of Christ?
I pray that NOW is the time....

Atheist's Confession

“If I firmly believed, as millions say they do, that the knowledge & practice of religion in this life influences destiny in another, then religion would mean to me everything. I would cast away earthly enjoyment as dross, earthly cares as follies, & earthly thoughts & feelings as vanity. Religion would be my first waking thought, & my last image before sleep sank me into unconsciousness. I should labor in its cause alone. I would take thought for the morrow of Eternity. I would esteem one soul gained for heaven worth a life of suffering. Earthly consequences would never stay my hand, or seal my lips. Earth, its joys & its griefs, would occupy no moment of my thoughts. I would strive to look upon Eternity alone, & on the immortal souls around me, soon to be everlastingly happy or everlastingly miserable. I would go forth to the world & preach to it in season & out of season, & my text would be, what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world & loses his own soul?”

Challenging I would say....

Visible Community: Where Are We?

It's June. I have begun my 5th year here at CHEM officially. How time flies when you're having fun! This has been the longest stay for me at any church and it's been feeling more like home lately. I guess it's a good thing.

A lot of good things are coming into fruition; our plans and visions are falling into place, including the KM's plan to build the new sanctuary. Our move to 1st floor will inevitably follow. The merge between EM and college seems to be solidifying and the EM staff along with ED staff are geling together more. I guess these are good things....

But what of our theme this year? How are we doing? What are we doing to become the VISIBLE COMMUNITY we have set our course to be? I ask mainly because Chris, our newsletter editor asked me to write an article on it, but I realize that this is a needed evaluation for us. Originally, the idea of "visible community" came from Dietrich Bonhoeffer's book "The Cost of Discipleship." In it, he dedicates a chapter on what it means to become disciples living in a visible community together. He reasons that because of incarnation, Christ becoming "visible," the Church must follow in his footsteps in becoming the visible community. Without this effort, becoming a genuine disciple of Christ is futile. So, I ask once again: how are we doing in becoming that visible community God calls us to be?

In answering that question, I could go into details about how I feel we are becoming a visible community, but pastor's perspective is always biased. While majority of congregation might feel that we are not doing well, pastor could feel like we are and vice versa. So, this question really needs to be asked to the congregation, instead of me rambling on and on about how we are becoming the visible community or not. One thing for sure though. Becoming a visible community is not a 1 year project. It will take a lot of groundwork building up the relationship between departments (college, young adults, family, high school, etc.) that's been absent for so many years. The key is building relationships; friendships. The key is discipleship; to raise Christ followers who care about people; who loves one another as Christ loved us (John 13).

So, I've been putting all my eggs in one basket; our discipleship groups scheduled to begin this Month. I believe that even though we're calling it "discipleship" our agenda is to build relationships more than anything else. At least, it will begin with that before we move on to really learning how to follow Christ. Actually, we're hoping that these things will happen symbiotically. We have 6 leaders in place along with people who are interested in joining this effort. It's not too late to get on board because officially the discipleship will begin in July. So, going back to the original question: How are we doing in becoming the visible community that God calls us to be? If you are asking me, I guess I'll let you know in couple of months.

Humility of Jesus

As a follower of Christ, I've been struggling to get myself back on track in my spiritual journey to grow. I've been having a hard time feeling connected with God and wondering what I could DO to grow and to become more zealous for God (it's been a long layover). D. Willard and Richard Foster comes to mind immediately; how I need to be trained more on spiritual disciplines in my life. Stop doing the wrong things and the start doing the right things, at least, to become more in tune with that in my life. But I realize that even though "DOING" and "NOT DOING" things are important, I've been stagnant, because of the lack of humility in my life. I'm not only talking about lacking humility in the sense that I'm prideful; nor am I only referring to lacking humility in the sense that I'm living a self-centered and self-reliant life. What I'm really talking about in terms of lacking humility is essentially my conservative, religious & legalistic outlook on what it means to be a disciple of Christ. When I evaluste honestly my walk with God, I wouldn't describe myself as a Bible thumping, extreme fundamentalist. I don't beat the people over the head with 10 commandments and the do's and don'ts of Christian life. However, like everyone I have a hard time understanding humility that we must find in Christ alone. So, even though it's tough to admit, I find myself making Christian life to be Christ plus something; Christ plus growing the church; Christ plus preaching well; Christ plus doing the right things and shunning the wrong things. This is not the humility of grace of God and grace of Christ's humility. Grace is Christ alone; nothing more & nothing less. And living a life "out loud" is to really find humility. That's why Jesus said, "Come to ME, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Andrew Murray said it this way, "His humility is our salvation and His salvation is our humility." What an incredible insight! It's living in this humililty that will free us from any legalism (religious or liberal legalism--refer to Tim Keller's definition of liberal legalism). It's living in this humility that will lead us to the green pasture of his REST, not only offered now, but for all eternity.

Visible Community: A Praying Community

For several weeks, my heart has been broken because of what happened at NIU (Northern Illinois University). It almost seems like we are growing callous to these horrendous acts of violence, because so many occurences are being reported. At some point, we have to wonder why: why must the most powerful nation in the world suffer from another such erratic and meaningless tragedy, while Virginia Tech still lingers afresh on our minds? Experts try to make some kind of sense during these tragedies, playing the blame game without much success. I'm no expert, but I wonder if the fact that people in America feel lonlier than ever and feeling disconnected from their communities have something to do with it. We can look closely at all the perpetrators and we have to come to a realization that to some degree, they all felt disconnected, disillusioned, indignant and lonely. As a church, I believe that we must become a community that seeks to bring healing to such people and how will they ever see the church as a solution if we never become the visible community that God calls us to be?
The question that I want to address is how do we become this visible community that brings hope and healing to the hurt and the hopeless? I believe there's at least one passage that addresses this issue. In the Gospel of Matthew 21:12-17 it reads, "Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. "It is written," he said to them, " `My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it a `den of robbers.' " The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they were indignant. "Do you hear what these children are saying?" they asked him. "Yes," replied Jesus, "have you never read, " `From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise' ?" According to Matthew, after Jesus entered Jerusalem triumphantly, which began his final week facing the cross, he first visited the temple. Upon arriving, Matthew tells us that Jesus first "drove out" all who were buying and selling and secondly, he "overturned the tables" of the money changers. These descriptions indicate that the temple became a place of business. Why did God's temple become a place of business? In Luke 16, it is recorded that Pharisees loved money. The reason why the temple became a place of business is because the temple leaders, religious leaders loved money. Whether it's God's temple or God's Church we're dealing with, I have come to realize that our church becomes whatever our hearts desire. Temple leaders in their hearts loved money, so their temple became a place of business. In the same way, if we love money, our church will inevitably become a business. If we love fellowship, our church will become a place of fellowship. If we love numbers, our church will most likely grow in numbers. As people of God we have to constantly evaluate whether our church is becoming what our hearts desire, what we love and treasure.
So, if our church is not to become a place of whatever we love, desire and treasure, what is it to become? Jesus spells it out for us in Matthew 21:13, "My house will be called a 'house of prayer.'" When we stop and surrender all our self-reliant dreams and aspirations, to replace all that we love with an undying love for God, our church will become a house of prayer. In other words, the church becoming a house of prayer is a clear indication that we are loving God and putting our trust in him. This is counter-intuitive because when we come to love God, shouldn't our church become a place of action and words that indicates our love for God, rather than a house of prayer? Actually, we can be good in our actions and words, but that is not always a sign that we truly love God. There are plenty of individuals and organizations that perform "good" deeds; they are the model Good Samaritan. However, they don't necessarily represent God's goodness. So, our love for God and our trust in God is demonstrated by our willingness to come to God on our knees; not some humanitarian & noble deeds. Unless, we are willing to become a house of prayer, we'll never become a visible community that can bring hope and healing to the hurt and the hopeless. When Jesus corrected his temple, bringing change in their identity, what happened? According to the story, the blind came, the lame, the homeless, the hurt and the hopeless came. Their needs were met; they were healed. That's the beauty of God's community; his visible community.
It is my prayer and hope that we would become this kind of community. Community where we first get on our knees to seek God's will, because of our undying love for Christ, knowing that we can do nothing apart from God. Then we'll understand what being a visible community means because God will bring the lame, the blind and the sick so that they may come and find healing, hope and ultimately find our Lord Jesus Christ.

Visible Community and the Secret

I've been reading a book called "The Secret." What is the "Secret?" Secret is the law of attraction. The premise is that we are all connected and interlinked to the universe in such a way that our positive/good feelings attract positive/good results as well as negative/bad feelings attract negative/bad results. Although I haven't finished the book yet, this book resonates with Joel Osteen's book "Your Best Life Now." What I mean by that is this: both of these books have something in common, that is, they both are self-centered approach to a world full of self-centered people. The result is, it's a very marketable book. "The Secret" comes from a universalist's point of view where it really doesn't matter what religion you believe, because "The Secret" is transcendent of all religions.
At the heart of the matter, both of these books and the Bible are completely different. Bible comes from a God-centered point of view where as these books come from a self-centered and self-reliant point of view. As long as we miss that mark of our need to be God-centered & God-reliant in our lives, I would suspect any books or thoughts who claim to know the "Secret."