Church, we must do better

As I have been walking thru life these last few years, I have come to some realizations about my faith. It's been a long process. It's been a deep process. It's an on-going process. Like a lot of people, my faith needed some adjustments during the 2016 presidential election. I had long felt an unease about being called an evangelical Christian. The assumptions that label has did not feel like the mantel I claim as a follower of Christ. As I have explored the intertwining of my faith and politics, I came to the conclusion that there is no political party that I can allow to be my public voice. There is no political party that can replace my faith in Christ. 

There shouldn't be any political party replacing or standing in for your voice or faith in Christ either. 

Church, we must do better. This is a call to anyone who professes Christ as Lord. If you are living in America, it is time to wake up from your sleep. It is time to declare allegiance to no man. Instead, bring your allegiance to the one who loves you so deeply, He shook up political structures and teaches a way revolutionary to the status quo. 

Maybe that's to revolutionary. Perhaps it seems ridiculous. I challenge you to think about all the people in power thru the New Testament that called Jesus insane, the devil and a liar. All the times the apostles were called drunk, disorderly and thrown in prison. Remember that your ancestors of faith are people who were given promises that were not fulfilled for generations. Some are still unfulfilled, awaiting the return of our Messiah King. 

My brothers and sisters. It is time to rise up and step into the arena with your brothers and sisters in Christ. No matter what they look like, no matter where they worship. No matter who they vote for or where they spend their paychecks. We must stop allowing social constructs to dictate how we follow the Bible. Instead of allowing pundits or news broadcasts to tell us the news, let us instead open our Bibles to find Truth. It is a season of repentance and renewal. A year of Jubilee is here! 

Jubilee is a time to celebrate and forgive. Forgiving and asking for forgiveness are the hallmarks of our faith. Not in our own power, but in that of the Holy Spirit. Because we can, because we must start making changes to our comfortable lives. Let us return our places of worship to powerhouses of change. Instead of letting them languish as club houses. Let us get into the community. Meeting the needs of widows and orphans. Calling out injustices not just in a general way, but when we see them in the store. When we hear about them from our kids. I don't mean injustices that 'threaten our way of life' I mean the ones we are called to stand up for in the Word of God. 

What are the ways you and I can do this? 

1. Start supporting ministries instead of coffee shops. Places like IJM and A21 are on the front lines of helping those caught in slavery to become free. 

2. Support and help with local efforts to bring hope and meet physical needs. Places like a hospice, food pantry or hospital are good places to start. 

3. Get involved in church ministry. It has been studied that only twenty percent of the people do eighty percent of the work in a church. That is abominable. We can and must do better. Be an influencer to a child or teen. Be the voice that's louder than Social Media. 

4. Get educated on ideas and issues outside of your normal circle. I went to a conference about unity and my biggest take away was how segregated our world has become. We all have our own newspapers, websites and news channels informing us. This all works together to give us a very mono-view of the world. Let's change the channel and see the world from a different place. 

5. Join a book club in your community. A lot of libraries offer this. Being in our community is the best place to learn about the needs of our community. 

We can do this Church! Let us remind the world with love that we are present. Let us come down from the ivory tower of our comfort and get our feet wet in the mud. It's where we are called to be. Jesus commanded us to go out into all the world and preach the good news. So let's do it!