One Man’s Opinion

I recently saw a Nightline segment about Rev. Joel C. Hunter who was recently elected to head the Christian Coalition.  He has stepped down before he even served one day. There is no scandal, no deceit, and no real bad behavior going with him. He simply wanted to broaden the right wing Christian group’s focus. He felt just focusing on gay marriage and abortion was not only polarizing but there are other issues the group could focus on.  He wanted to take the group in a compassionate direction with more focus on the poor and other social issues. This seemed to scare the board members who felt it would scare off supporters and cost them money. Rev. Hunter said about his stepping down “just a basic philosophical difference …. I saw an opportunity to really broaden the conversation and broaden the constituency. I’m really over this whole polarization thing.” 

I believe he is right; it is time that Christians, conservative and liberal start looking at what they are doing. Being political and separating into groups of right and left is causing many to feel disillusioned with the state of the Christian church. As far as I can tell Jesus was not aligned with a political party nor was he friendly with the powerful Church leaders. I was happy to hear someone within the dirty realm of Christian politics was pushing for a more Jesus model of dealing with issues. The unfortunate truth is these groups care more about hot issues than actual people and spreading the Gospel. I understand politics is a big part of people’s lives but sometimes it does a lot more harm than good. I am not a supporter of the Christian Coalition, nor have I ever been. I honestly didn’t pay a lot of attention to them until this latest story. I felt finally someone in that world was trying to get things back to where they should be. Gay marriage and abortion are hot issues that play on peoples emotions and are generally seen as the be all end all issue of the political right, The problem is they aren’t the biggest issues facing Christians and should not be presented as such.  

Finally I am sick of people calling someone liberal if they are in support of peace and compassion. If that is the case Jesus Christ was a flaming liberal. I also think it is dumb to see someone as a conservative if the feel abortion is something they have strong convictions about. We are Christians not members of parties. You can be left or right politically but when it comes to our faith we need to stop separating into groups because we are to be one body. Call it idealism, which is likely is, but I feel Jesus didn’t want to see his people hurting each other, name calling and putting label son people who see differently on political viewpoints.  

I am not a Republican, Democrat or anyone else because I feel they are not representatives of who I am. I certainly do not believe the represent the Christian faith in anyway. Politics are a man made thing that is naturally corrupted by the power that comes with the job. I feel that I need to look at all sides and be able to choose based on my convictions. I first and foremost rely on my faith and the teachings of Christ. It would be nice to see the preachers preach and leave the politics to the politicians. I doubt that will happen but at least if the preachers are in
Washington maybe they should present Christ in a way that is representative of who is really is. Whether left or right if these Christian men and women believe that God needs to be in politics then show them who Jesus really is.

*Originally written on Nov 7th 2006*

This week the Evangelical movement in
America was dealt another big blow when Pastor Ted Haggard was outed for having a gay affair. Haggard who was a huge leader in the Evangelical church as well as a big player in the conservative political arena was taken down quickly by his own poor judgment. Though this was an obviously well timed confession by his accuser it doesn’t excuse the behavior of Haggard. I felt for him as I watched these events unfold, I can’t imagine the pain his family is going through. The doubts his wife must have and the internal battle that is going on inside this man. It is obvious that there are a lot of questions going through many people’s heads right now.  People want to know why he lied. Why he acted on his urges and how could someone so opposed to homosexuality be involved in a relationship with a man?  The hypocrisy is blatant and has sent waves throughout the church.

I have my own take on all this.  What I see is a man who struggles with his own sexuality despite speaking against it. He is a man who has been blessed with power and abused it. He is a man who was looked at as a leader, a pastor and a servant of God and now is being humbled before that God. I am not angry with Ted Haggard, I feel for him and his family. This is not the first time we have seen this happen, a prominent preacher makes some bad choices and is taken down in a very public manner. My friend’s father was probably one of the most well known preachers to fall from grace in front of a national audience. He has since been restored and God is blessing him more and more now then probably ever. I pray that this situation will find Pastor Haggard repenting and asking forgiveness. I believe in the grace of God and that through that grace he can be restored.  Maybe not to the height of popularity but in a way that could have an even greater impact. These situations make me sad because it is something that could hurt others who already have a bad view of the church. It is also sad because of how Christians who are strong in their faith will handle this. Many times when these things happen the mentality is to bury the person, kick him when he is down and write them off as never being true. The fact is none of us are perfect, none of us are without secrets and none of us are without sin. If you are angry with Pastor Haggard that is ok right now.  If you are feeling hurt by this again it is ok but if you feel the urge to hate this man, you are wrong. If you are a believer but are not aligned with his politics, do not delight in his demise.  If you are thrilled to see him fall you are wrong because of something as petty as politics you are wrong. Forgiveness is the hardest thing sometimes but as Christians WE MUST FORGIVE!!!!!  No exceptions and no excuses. He is a brother who has fallen from grace and it is our job to help him recover. Pray for him and his family. Pray for the accuser that he does not view all Christians as hypocrites.  This was a horrible thing for Ted haggard, for the church he served, for his family and for the organization he led. It showed us flaws that are ugly, it showed us a lack of accountability among these large Christian groups and churches that they never saw this going or stayed silent. In the end it was another example of how sin and pride can destroy everything we have. The important message though in all of this is the grace of Jesus Christ that can and will forgive this man. That is the key.

I wanted to address one other problem I see in all of this. One of the major reasons this information came forward when it did was political. It was brought to attention because of Pastor Haggard’s stance and push to prevent gay marriage.  This is not going to be a paragraph about my views on the subject of same sex relationships this is about politics and the church. I have always been vocal about my politics, but I have also always felt they have no place inside of the church. Clergy should not be involved in the political process no matter what the cause. Though many of the prominent political pastors are of right wing political affiliation there are also those on the left.  Everyone from Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson to Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are in my opinion abusing their calling. These are ministers who were ordained and lead or led churches. They have preached the gospel and served their congregations. Unfortunately they also have aligned themselves with political parties, candidates and issues that polarize, confuse and inflame people. This is not what a Pastor should be doing. The church is a place to worship, to be fed spiritually and to focus on Christ not on elections. I saw on Nightline a story about Rod Parsley who is a huge TV preacher based in
Columbus Ohio, he is actively campaigning for certain candidates. He even was holding a campaign sign while preaching!!!!! This is a gross abuse of Gods house in my opinion. Jesus was not political, he was not aligned with a certain form of government, he was God incarnate. He was not here to change policy and back candidates.  He wasn’t here to sway fellow believers to a certain way of thinking about political issues.  He was here to die for our sins and bring us to the foot of his father, our God. I am disgusted by politics invading our churches, and our Christian faith. Jesus was not a republican or democrat, he was God.  He never taught that we should pick a party and support a certain political view. He taught us to love each other, preach the gospel, heal the sick, feed the hungry and take care of the poor. He never said this is the ordained Political party of my kingdom that is because politics don’t matter in the end!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We argue so much about wars, policies, and taxes. We fight amongst ourselves about issues that in the end aren’t going to condemn or save our souls. Politics do not determine who gets to heaven and who doesn’t. To stand up in a church and endorse a candidate or say this is how you should vote is wrong. I will stand by that and I believe it is. The church is not a place for campaigning, though it has been used as such. Christians are to be involved with society, they should vote and hold their own political views. They should be able to make decisions based on their own feelings and thoughts. To say that a political party represents the Christian faith is not only offensive but it is completely false. The media has latched onto the growing political presence that Christians have made in this country. They paint a picture that is one sided, very conservative and very negative. The fact is the Christian faith is full of Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, and even some Communists. It is also full of Conservatives, Liberals and everything in-between. Jesus would most likely be ashamed of how we have used him in politics as an angle to get votes or as a way to make people look bad. I believe we are called to fight for justice and social issues but not with in the political arena, especially our clergy. I am a pastor, not ordained, but I preach the gospel and have worked in ministry long enough. I do not bring my politics into my ministry; it is my own personal beliefs. I share them in certain situations and I will speak out when I feel it is necessary but never in a church or during a speaking engagement.  We can still fight for justice without mixing it up with political figures, without shaking hands with politicians and with out selling our churches out. I will never agree with pastors who are constantly plugging candidates, making appearances with them or telling people how to vote. It is wrong and is not part of the work of a pastor. If they want to be a politician then go into politics but leave your pulpit. Christians can be in politics, they can run for office but if you are called to serve as a minister then serve as a minister. Do not abuse that by bringing corruption into the body of Christ that is not what the vocation entails.