New Morning Minutes Series
Hey guys,
It’s here! Morning Minutes is back!
It’s been a crazy couple of weeks watching disasters unfold. It’s a great time to get serious about studying God’s Word. It’s an awesome time to recognize that our God is at work even when we can’t see it clearly!
Brothers, We Are Not Politicians.
A long time ago John Piper wrote a fabulous book called "Brothers, we are not professionals" , a series of essays to pastors to abandon the professionalization of the pastorate and pursue the prophetic call of the Bible for radical ministry.
Today I'm adapting the title to an area that I believe has become necessary and appropriate to Christians in our feeble attempts to politicize the world.
I made a mistake last week.
In an effort to inform people, I suppose, I posted a conservative article on Facebook highlighting a ridiculous exchange between Bernie Sanders and Russell Voight in which Senator Sanders mocks traditional Christian beliefs and accuses Christians of being hateful and insulting in their narrow view of salvation through Christ alone.
I call it a mistake because as I think about why I posted the article and what effect it had, I find that both my reasoning in posting it and the results I got were expected and useless.
Oh, don't get me wrong: the article did achieve a reaction. It created a thread of resentful sentiment and harsh opinions that were quickly and strongly shared with anyone who had the energy to listen and engage.
But the ultimate fruit of it? Expected. And useless.
Which makes me wonder once again as to the wisdom of engaging in politics on social media platforms.
In the last year there has been much said about politics and Christians and Christians in politics and how Christians should approach politics.
Many have given their opinions on what Christians should or should not do.
Many have given their opinions on what Christians should or should not think.
Many have given their opinions on what Christians should or should not believe.
And frankly, the more opinions I've read, and the more noise I've endured, the more I've come to conclude that there is an indirect correlation between the absoluteness of our political opinions and our impact on others.
In other words, the more we holler about politics the less anyone is hearing us.
When we yell louder about what's happening in the public governmental forum, one of two things happens:
- Those who agree with us applaud us more loudly.
- Those who disagree with us stop following us.
And when it comes to making a lasting kingdom impact, Jesus loses.
Now listen, before you get in a huff, let me clarify that I'm not advocating you disengage from the public sectors and lose your opinions.
I'm just asking you - no, I'm urging you, as a follower of Jesus Christ, to consider the cost of your opinions on those who might not walk in truth yet.
Is your dogmatic approach really necessary, or might there be a better way to engage?
If our goal is to win an argument, let's resolve to stop right now.
If our stance reflects an offensive arrogance unwilling to listen and engage, let's choose to pull back and wait for a better time to opine.
If others more professional than us have handled the topic more gracefully, perhaps choosing to amplify their voices by liking their opinions and sharing them cautiously and wisely is best.
Or maybe we work behind the scenes: we listen, we learn, we write letters to our elected officials, we campaign and God forbid, some of us might even become professionals.
It might be time for us to remember that the most powerful weapon we have to impact change in our country and in the lives of our friends and family is when we get on our knees and beseech our Father in heaven to move, to break down walls, to soften hearts.
No amount of Facebook likes or retweets comes close to the power of prayer we have in Christ.
I follow several Christians on social media who are diametrically opposed in their political view points to mine. Every time I read their status updates, my ulcer grows and my anxiety escalates. So far I have yet to change my views despite what I glean to be their forceful attempts at changing me. Either that or they're just frustrated and need to vent.
Yet I can also assure you that if we claim the name of Jesus Christ as Lord of our lives we will be spending eternity together. And that's a good thing.
Brothers and sisters, let's remember that we are not politicians.
We are Christians, follower of Jesus Christ.
Perhaps it's time we act like it.
And speak like it.
And even more importantly love like it.
Hey on a completely different note, let me remind you of the completely positive Faith Boosters I've been dropping every few days on Facebook. If you don't follow me on social media, you can subscribe to my YouTube channel here to be notified every time a new episode airs. Here is an example of the latest FaithBooster! You're gonna love it!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBHRDO3Kv0w]
A brief and riveting personal update
I can't decide if I should tell you about my new Amazon Fire stick today, and the ethical dilemma it poses, or if I should gloss over that and simply update you on what's on my burners.
This April there's nothing on my back burners. Everything is front and center.
This is also my Birthday month which means I'm getting older again, which means I don't have as long to live relatively speaking, which means I need to get on the ball and stop being so lazy.
Anyone who knows me is rolling their eyes right now.
But honestly, this is just a typical day in the life of a single Christian. We might look like we're being very productive but it's just because we're not spending time arguing with spouses or doing monkey business, and we're not wiping snotty noses and folding laundry.
That saves us at least 18 hours in a day.
But we do Netflix, so take away 14 of those saved hours and it still leaves us 4 hours ahead of y'all married folks.
Anyway, as I was saying, this is a busy month.
I'm working on two new projects this month that I CANNOT WAIT to tell you about and this is not just me hyping it up. I'm totally serious. You're gonna love what I'm putting together for you. Straight up.
This month I'm also going to Oklahoma. This is a thing. I mean, if you've never been to Oklahoma, baby you ain't livin' yet. I'm already making room for fried pies and well, fried pie.
I'll be speaking at the BGCO again this year, but get this - someone made a typo in the program and has me on the main stage. Yeah, baby. I'm gonna be flying high in OKC. If you're planning on being there, don't say you weren't warned. And if you're worried you're missing out, you better believe you are.
I'll also be rounding up the local colleges this month - Judson next week and Moody Grad Chapel the following week. Eat your hearts out millennials everywhere. We're taking this thing down.
Lastly, I'm headed to Lebanon at the end of the month despite the president's electronic device ban for middle east flights. Not gonna lie, I thought about backing out when I got wind of this nonsense, but my soft heart got the best of me. There are refugees to care for and nothing's gonna stop me now.
Seriously, though, we're hosting our next Medical and Dental trip to care for Syrian refugees and turns out we still have room for more donations. It's the craziest thing, but the giving has been below our expectations. No pressure, but if you like Syrian refugees this is the time to show it.
Haha.
Just kidding.
I mean, not really...but...sort of.
Anyway, I'm also hosting an Arabic Bible Conference in Lebanon for singles again this year - on my birthday. Yup. This is how truly amazing I am. I can't get my friends to celebrate my birthday with me so I now host conferences to make sure someone does.
On a high note, my Bible is falling apart which according to Spurgeon means I'm not. Some of you might have been concerned about me after my touchy feely blog last week (read here) which is why I figured I needed to balance the touchy feely side of Lina with this other half that many of you know and love. Alas, we are both one and the same.
So. With that in mind, I was totally serious about you donating to the Leb work. Here's the link to make it easier for you. If you don't give I promise to....well, I promise nothing.
I love you just the way you are.
And don't ask me about the Firestick cause I'm not tellin. Ever.
Yours,
L.
PS if you're massively disappointed about the lack of spiritual emphasis on the blog this week, here's a post from the archives, and a free chapter of my book Thrive, and a verse I've been meditating on: 2 Corinthians 4:7 "But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us", and just to make sure you remain a satisfied customer, here's a link for a podcast that will surely rev you up.
