Evangelicals and their false god of politics

As I look at the concerns of evangelicals on social media over the past year, I have come to the conclusion that the God of evangelicals today is not Jesus but politics. When God proclaimed in the Ten Commandments, "You shall have no other gods before me," He was writing about any priority or concern that would take our primary attention off of Him. This is why, speaking of money, for instance, in Matthew, he says, "You cannot serve God and money." 

Many things can supersede our highest commitment to Him. I suggest that power and politics have become a false God of Evangelicals. One can trace the genesis of this back to the founding of the Moral Majority in 1979, founded by Jerry Falwell Senior. Those were heady days for the religious right. It was pivotal in bringing Ronald Reagan to the White House, a friend of evangelicals, and the religious right realized that it could wield power previously unknown as a voting block. 

Evangelicals became a powerful lobby in the halls of power. The seduction of power is not the purview of politicians alone. We, as evangelicals, were seduced as well. We became convinced that we could turn the levers of power and solve the issues of our nation through the election of allies in the White House, legislation that was in our interests, and turn the judiciary in our direction.

Having these allies, friendly legislation, or addressing the concerns that we have as believers was not wrong. However, in the success of our efforts, we started to believe that the key to our nation's success and to the advancement of Christianity was to be found in political power rather than in the God we worship, who is above all, over all and in all. Our confidence moved from God to political power. And in the process, political power became a god that rivaled the one and true God.

This also led many evangelicals to ally themselves with the Republican Party because this is where their power base existed. Pastors and evangelical leaders became spokespersons for their party. They often became unapologetic cheerleaders for politicians who lacked any moral compass or personal integrity - or concept of truth. After all, they were joined at the hip to a political party, and come "hell or high water," they intended to hang on to that power. And power has become the key to national transformation in the minds of many rather than God and the Holy Spirit. In fact, numerous posts by evangelicals in the run-up to the recent election insinuated that one could not be a believer and vote for other than the Republican Party. 

When we ally ourselves with a god that is not God, we often overlook corruption, lies, ungodly behaviors, and unrighteousness because we cannot offend our power base. Power corrupts evangelicals and the issues they attend to, just like power often corrupts politicians. Power becomes a god, and in the end, political power starts to defuse our ultimate power that is found in Christ and His transforming work in our lives. 

Regardless of how we as individuals vote, the marriage of the religious right with a political party has done us no favors. It has diluted our influence, caused us to overlook unrighteousness, and has stolen our prophetic voice in society. When one cares about power and the influence it brings, we move away from speaking truth to power.  

Jesus did not and does not carry the card of any political party. Nor did Jesus or Paul say much at all about the politics of their day, which were far worse than the politics in our nation. Why? Because neither Jesus nor Paul put their trust in the political system. Rather, they put their trust in God, the transformation of the Holy Spirit, and a Gospel that has the power to transform individuals, communities, and institutions. Jesus put it well when he said, pay to Caesar what is Caesar's and pay to God what is God's. Perhaps we have paid more attention to Caesar than to the concerns of God.

All of us are at risk of elevating various gods above the one God who claims our full allegiance. In our individual lives, we can elevate our work above Him, we can put our trust in our resources rather than Him, and we can also put our trust in political parties rather than in Him, whatever that party is. Or the power that comes with allegiance to a political party. 

Can Christians impact the political system? Yes! Daniel did in his day serving one of the worst tyrants of the ancient world. Wilberforce did in the abolition of slavery in England. We should be deeply thankful for men and women of faith who serve in government and live out their convictions in their places of influence. Paul had supporters who were in high places of government in his day. 

Should Christians challenge unjust laws or practices in the fabric of our society? Yes. But we have been very selective in what we concerned ourselves with. Absent from the concerns of many white evangelicals, for instance, is the concern for racial reconciliation and justice - a concern of the prophets throughout the Old Testament. And Paul, in the New.

We have been outspoken on the issue of abortion and the evil that it is and have neglected the truth that to be pro-life is to be pro-life in all situations and for all people. Being pro-life means that I care about righteousness, justice, and fairness in all of society. The command, "Thou shall not kill," is stated in the negative because one cannot catalog all the ways that we keep this commandment by enhancing the lives of those around us, caring for the needy, the hurting, the poor, and the hungry, or in dealing with racism that destroys the dignity and opportunities of many - those who are without power or marginalized by society.

We should always use the means that we are given to bring about a better nation. Jeremiah advised the Jews living in captivity to pray for the peace of the city in which they lived and to contribute to its success. For us, that includes using the political system, courts, and legislation to pursue a more just society.

But politics is not the ultimate answer to our nation's ills. As God told Solomon, "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14. 

If we spent as much time cleansing our own lives, seeking the face of God, and praying for our nation as we do arguing about politics and engaging in the political system, we would see a more righteous and just society.

Only God is God, and He is the One who can bring healing to our nation. All other gods, including our god of politics and power, will not and cannot. 

The place that resolve and focus plays in successful organizations

 

Resolve is a quality that is often in short supply, especially in ministry organizations. I define resolve as the ability to chart a course that we know to be right and to not deviate from that course. We may change our tactics regularly but resolve is the discipline of going a long way in a specific direction to reach a specific result.

Why is resolve often in short supply? First, we have not done the hard work of determining exactly where we should go and therefore when a new or better idea comes along we grab that in our effort to be successful. In fact, when leaders in many organizations lay out a new plan to their staff, many yawn, and ignore the new direction as they have become used to the flavor of the month. Charting a ministry path that will yield significant results takes a great deal of thinking, prayer, dialogue and effort. Easy answers are rarely great answers. They are often common answers when what is needed is something other than conventional wisdom.

In the absence of being sure of one's direction and having a set of values that undergird that direction, resolve is not possible. Instead, we settle for an easy solution that is easily changed when a new idea comes along.

Resolve is also in short supply because any direction or strategy you choose will elicit pushback from somewhere. That pushback may be valid if the hard directional work has not been done. But pushback will come and leaders, boards and staff often cave when faced with opposition. 

One of the most important traits of good leaders is that they have done their homework, are sure of the direction the organization needs to go and don't cave no matter how much opposition they face. This is not about hubris because a good leader runs process and has key people with them. It is about courage to do what is right in order to go where God is calling them to go. Undeterred by those who don't agree. 

Courageous leadership is willing to go where the organization needs to go and to push the organization out of the comfort zone and into more missional work. That takes resolve because there will be any number of reasons to retreat or take an easier route.

Some suggestions to those who want to grow their resolve.

• Make sure you have done your homework and understand where your organization needs to focus.
• Be prepared for pushback because organizations naturally gravitate to the comfortable.
• Have a communication strategy that is clear and allows for dialogue in order for individuals to grasp the new reality and adjust to it. Clarity matters!
• Be sure you have a guiding coalition of key individuals who can help you convince others and who will give leadership to the new direction.
• Keep the main thing the main thing. Don't be diverted from your central message and focus. Talk about it, demonstrate it and over communicate.
• Remember that people grasp new paradigms differently. Some will get it with explanation. Many will require a great deal of dialogue. Some will only get it when they see it. Be patient but keep pressing forward. Don't deviate from your central message and direction.
• Let people know that the organization is going in the direction you have committed to. This is not the flavor of the month. It is going to happen! And demonstrate that by your own actions.

Resolve sets some leaders apart from most leaders. It also sets some organizations apart from most organizations. It is a disciplined and courageous commitment to a course of action that will maximize an organizations effectiveness.