This is the question I continued to ask myself after watching last night’s State of the Union Address. After watching President Obama talk for a little over an hour, it was obvious that there was much discord in the room. Throughout the speech he seemed to be calling everyone out in hopes that they would attempt to work together for solutions to the country’s problems. After his speech was over there was the rebuttal from the Republican party. To me, the fact that there is someone ready to blow holes in what the President says before he even gets out of the room good speaks directly to my question. Was everything that he said true? Probably not. Will all of the things that he is pushing for happen? More than likely not. Is the chance lessened by the fact that everyone believes that they can do a better job than the person they are sitting next to at the table? You bet they are.
I don’t claim to be political by any stretch of the imagination. I try to stay current on thoughts an ideas because I believe it is a good idea to know where money is going and what my country is doing to keep us safe and educate our children and keep us moving forward for years to come. But I notice that every time I try to get a little deeper than that I’m turned away by the ugly underside of politics that shows its head in times like these. Something tells me that there has to be a way to wade through some of the egos to get to a working medium. If it weren’t for the fact that I’m sure that people are being paid to stand and clap, you would think that everyone had a great working relationship and was willing to take major steps toward fixing the problems in our country. But if that was really the case, I don’t think we’d be sitting here in the constant aftermath of problems that beset us.
After watching this whole thing, I thought about the church and how we relate to each other. I saw some nasty similarities. Unfortunately, lots of times there are people in the church who always feel like they can do a job better than the person doing it. There are factions and cliques that use harsh words in relation to the leadership and it creates instant division. At the same time, people spend time talking to the pastor or leaders and encouraging them to keep up the good work. It reminds me of the initial walk into the room for the President and his exit after he finished the speech. That may be the most superficial parade I’ve ever witnessed…except for right after church in the foyer. Eerily similar again…
Unity seems to be the one thing that everyone is asking for and no one is willing to really work toward. Maybe I’m speaking with cynical overgeneralizations, but that’s what I see. I see it in our country and I see it in the church. I don’t know if will ever happen in either place. But when it comes to the church, there’s one thing that always stands in the middle and if we continue to move toward that, we have a better chance to get this right. The cross, has been, is and always will be right where we need to be. If we aren’t moving toward it, then we will find unity a fleeting thought. So here’s what I’m going to do: I’m going to keep praying for my country and I’m going to keep moving toward the cross. Who’s with me?
Thanks for writing this. I have always seen churches as terribly political and have used that as an excuse to stay away from them (even though I am a politics junkie…and a hypocrite, apparently). I am curious about whether you think it’s EVER possible to have a church – any organization, really – that’s free of those dynamics that come up whenever you have a leadership structure and a set way of making decisions within a diverse group of people? I am doubtful, but I think that the politics can be particularly daunting to outsiders/newbies/the “unchurched” who are really just seeking an experience where they can learn and worship. Freestyling your faith (TM) is so much more attractive when the alternative is getting involved in some mess you don’t really understand about who sits where/sings what/preaches which week/etc.
I love the title Freestyling Your Faith. That MAY be the title of my next post. If I can work it out in my head (which I’m sure I can), you will see that pop up soon. Credit will be yours.
In other news, It seems like the church should be a place that is free from that dynamic, which would then make things more attractive to people who aren’t already there. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case.
But should that be the expectation? I feel like I just use it as an excuse not to fully engage, lol. EVERYWHERE I go is political, but somehow we expect that in an institution where the stakes are really high for believers – i.e. people’s spiritual well-being and salvation on the line – and expect that decisions won’t be tough?
For real question: is there anything to be learned from the early church on this? All I can remember is Acts 2, but I’m no scholar, so I’m not that good at theological analysis
But I suspect there are even things to learn from how Jesus led when he was on earth, as well as how early Christians operated after he flew up to the sky (I can’t remember the big church-y word for this).
There is a TON to be learned from the early church. It’s funny that you mention that because I’m in the process of studying to lead my church through that whole thing. I think all of this points to that first church, especially for believers. The best we can do as a church is point people to the cross.
The other thing that is true is the fact that business is a part of the church. Should everyone be a part of that? I think not. We should be built on the trust that people are led by God and are leading us in a way that mirrors God’s call on the church. Yes, we have gotten way past that because of the fact that people are human and sinful and have burned people and betrayed their trust. So I think the best medium right now is to have a place that is still led that way, but people have some freedom or checks and balances type thing. But we have to be able to show that people’s spiritual well-being is first and foremost. After all, that’s what we are here for.
It is easy to find reasons to not engage. Never said any of them are good, but there are lots of reasons. At the end of the day, people are people and the screw stuff up. But are you trusting God more than you’re trusting the people? Do we believe that those people are really following God and is there evidence within the structure and leadership of that church?
Add A Comment