Posts Tagged ‘election’

One thing that no one can deny any longer. It isn’t 1950 any longer. America is not like 95% of our churches. At the massive Obama celebration party in Chicago last night, it was a multi-ethnic, multi-socioeconomic, and multi-cultural blend of Americans.

For most of our churches, they find themselves on November 5 wondering how they grew to such irrelevance. They find themselves out-of-touch with the larger population, most wishing for a return to yesteryear. In pockets of America, there remains an ambivalence about true integration in worship.

The church of Jesus Christ can not be HIS church and not reach out to all ethnic groups, socioeconomic levels, and cultures. It has been content, for the most part, in preserving the comfort of its existing members. It has done this primarily by only reaching out to those that would help undergird its existing values and allow its current leaders to remain in control.

Just as the leadership of our nation was jerked radically away from one group on November 4, the church needs a radical jerk away from its love affair with complacency and selfishness. 

The heart of the Father is for all peoples, everywhere, to know and love His Son Jesus Christ. Our churches need to seek humility, forgiveness and begin the journey of joy by actively reaching out to all with the gospel of Christ. It’s not Jesus that people in our country have rejected. It’s the church’s narrow proprietorship of Him.

Other’s Voices: Mark DeYmaz

Ed Stetzer wrote an entry yesterday that I thought shared the appropriate spirit and tone for all of us who call upon Christ as Messiah and Redeemer – whether Red State or Blue State – in this significant political redirection for the U.S.

He quotes a letter from a Methodist pastor posted at Ben Witherington’s site:

There is always – always! – a “contrarian” bent to the Christian political angle. After all, in the Roman empire the complaint filed against Christians was “they are turning the world upside down” (Acts 17). In a world that does not love the Lord Jesus, we will expect to find ourselves at odds with business as usual; we shun a judgmental spirit, but we do not refrain from making judgments. “The Church is not simply a ‘voluntary association’ that may be of some use to the wider public, but rather is the community constituted by practices by which all other politics are to be judged” (Stanley Hauerwas).Abraham Lincoln told the truth about “sides” who boast of God: “Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; each invokes His aid against the other. The prayers of both could not be answered… The Almighty has His own purposes.” Knowing this, we treat each other charitably, and look to God for something better: “With malice toward none; with charity for all… to bind up the nation’s wounds – to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.”

 

Stetzer goes on to say:

We’re about to choose a new leader for ourselves, and, regardless of who wins, some American Christians will be frustrated and disheartened. This is a difficult election for many Christians, but it should not– it cannot– eclipse our mission. And while politics and presidents can connect to the outworking of our faith, God uses the preaching of the gospel in word and deed to bring redemption to the broken, forgiveness to the sinful, hope to the lost and the real “change we need.” It is not an elected official who will transform the country, but the grace of God at work in his church– that is what changes lives, transforms cultures and turns cities upside down.

November 4th will come and go, but our mission remains the same, and our hope remains secure. That’s change we can believe in.

I wholeheartedly agree. After all, it’s not just wise and gracious, but as believers in Christ, we are citizens of another kingdom, with a higher loyalty. We must be able to minister to all peoples, and political polemic after an election cycle must be shelved in order to pray, encourage, and seek the good of the land we live in. This election may be about America getting what we truly deserve rather than what we want – whichever way we all voted.

“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2.1-4)

Also, the people of Israel were told to pray for a culture that was not their own when they were living in captivity in Babylon. This is rather strange, all things considered. Rather than urging them to pray for “deliverance,” they were instructed to pray for the prosperity and success of the culture in which they lived in captivity. This may be a more appropriate perspective for all those who bemoan the results of any election, present or past…

“Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” (Jeremiah 29.7)

I mentioned last week that many of the “fact”-checking sites are proving more and more to be exceptionally biased in which facts they report (or don’t report). Senior Research Fellow at the University of Maryland John Lott has written an excellent article on this all-out effort by the MSM (main stream media) and supposedly objective “fact” check sites to skew their selection and interpretation of election year data to favor the Democratic ticket.

In addition to that is the stunning and willful refusal of the MSM to report the impact and message of McCain’s huge speech on the economy yesterday in New Mexico. Constantly criticized (even by me) for not outlining more vigorously his ticket’s economic plans, McCain is ignored and slighted when he does do so. This article shows that even what was reported intentionally omitted the most significant part of his speech which focused on the economy.

Going back to Lott, he said in his article:

Where is the outrage over Biden not understanding what vice presidents do? For Biden, his inability to correctly say what vice presidents do was surely his “gotcha” moment.

Yet, this mistake during the debate was hardly unique. Biden got a lot of things wrong in the debate that are going unnoticed by the fact-check media. Take just a few:

Lott goes on the name several instances. This coincides with another piece (“Biden mangles the Constitution”) written last week about Biden’s inept interpretation (and apparent ignorance) of the Constitution’s description of the role of the vice president. While chiding Palin about Cheney being the “worst VP in history,” aspiring VP Biden obviously doesn’t even know what his own job description will be. 

To be fair, he admitted during the debate that should he ever assume the highest office in the land, it would be “a national tragedy of historic proportions…” (Yes, I know that’s out of context, but it’s still funny).

If you haven’t called your legislators yet to voice opposition to the bailout, do it NOW! Don’t give up just because you’re tired and think they won’t listen.

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The Baseball Crank began a 3-part series yesterday called “The Integrity Gap” and as a first installment has a long piece on Sarah Palin. Part 2 will be about Obama, and Part 3 will be about the senior members on the ticket, Biden and McCain. Interesting way to structure things.

 

However, if you have time time, you simply must sit down and read Part 1. It’s a well-researched piece about Palin and her career. If integrity is a significant issue – and I believe it’s one of the only one that matters, you may find your vote changing.

Without integrity, how can anyone be assured that all the rhetoric, promises and roadmaps will lead to anywhere? Without integrity and moral tenacity, how can the American public know that a President and Vice President won’t spin and dodge their way into a White House that flips so much it ought to be known as a Huddle House?

For what it’s worth, I thought Palin did exceedingly well last night. I wish she’d jumped on Biden’s 14 misrepresentations/lies. However, Palin misstated herself several times as well, though not as patently misleading as Biden did. If you go to FactCheck.org, you’ll see them basically saying that both candidates were equally deceptive. However, even FactCheck.org has been questioned in recent weeks and unfortunately may be guilty of bias itself. Arrgh. Who’s going to Fact-Check the Fact-Checkers? It all comes down to interpretation and the worldview you bring to the table.

When these “fact-checking” sites aren’t botching the facts, they can sometimes be found dressing up opinion as fact. (Source)

Biden came across as being more factual because he threw out numbers, stats, years, etc. However, most of those have been “Fact-Checked” today and come up as misleading. Palin stuck to her guns and presented a positive, hopeful face for change with broad, government-reducing idealogy. 

However, I think the McCain ticket needs to re-articulate itself as to what its plans are for reducing government, waste, corruption, etc. I know it is published and promoted, but apparently not to the extent that it is getting to the American people. Surveys still show that folks have no idea what the McCain strategy is. That’s probably because the MSM is a multi-billion $ ad campaign for Obama. McCain has had to resort to YouTube and the blogosphere to communicate his message effectively.

As for the integrity issue, even Clinton supporter and former Special Counsel to the White House for President Clinton Lanny Davis said this in August 2008:

 “You know, I would consider voting for McCain on character and on the kind of human being he is because I have great – I know him – I have great admiration for him. I would sleep well at night if John McCain is President. But on the issues, Barack Obama is for the issues that I care about.” (ABC Radio’s “The Sean Hannity Show,” 8/25/08)

Does it have to come down to character vs. issues? I don’t think so. After hearing Biden extoll some of the issues of his ticket last night in the debate – global warming (which he said is 100% caused by mans’ activity – can we say naive?), same-sex couple rights, punishing successful people (he calls them “the rich”) with higher taxes (since when is it wrong to be successful?! And don’t the rich create MORE jobs, businesses, and pour more money into our economy?), I just don’t know that there are any issues that they support that could possibly lure me to their ticket.

And by the way, if you’re receiving all your political information from the TV or newspaper… don’t. You’ll be sure to get Obamified. At least get on some political blogs – both conservative and liberal – and read well. Tell me what you notice in tone, spirit, and insight and information in those sites.

Here are three I read almost daily. The first two are conservative, and the third is more liberal:

• The Townhall – I usually read Hugh Hewitt’s material
• Powerline – Latest entry: Biden Mangles the Constitution in Debate
• Daily Kos

What blogs or sites do you read for news and informed insight?