AaronMarcelli.org

Posted By Aaron Marcelli on June 29, 2009

Yesterday at church we had a very nice patriotic flavored worship service.  It began with a solo rendition of our national anthem that made me want to play baseball, there were large U.S. flags hanging in all of our auditoriums, and our pastor spoke to our country’s history, current condition, and the place of Christians in our culture.  Rather than bashing our politicians or claiming that God has removed His hand from our country, which is what I hear most preachers do in such services, Matt encouraged us not to use our culture as a monitor for the health of our country.  He also laid the responsibility on us as Christians to make a change where we are rather than trying to just get one of “our guys” elected.

But the part of his message I wish all Christians were tied to a steel chair and forced to listen to was the closing challenge in which we were encouraged to be able to embrace others in meaningful dialogue.  For too long the church and Christians in general have been rightfully tagged as ignorant, arrogant, judgmental, and close-minded.  Our pastor’s challenge was that we be able to intelligently and compassionately be able to discuss some of our country’s most pressing and controversial issues.  Though I disagree with some of the stances he took on some of the issues he mentioned as examples of this, I could not agree more than Christians should neither shy away from such discussions, nor waste them by coming off as rude and uneducated.

A college professor told me that he thought Christians should always be the most informed people in the room.  In a three minute window, do you think the average church member could speak to the issue of the dependability of Scripture and come off as both intelligent and kind?  Do we sound insightful as well as full of mercy when we as Christians share our opinions on Jesus?  We all have “pet” issues that we sometimes walk through the malls hoping to overhear a debate on so we can chime in, but when such opportunities arise, are we saying things in such a way that command any respect?  Christians can get very opinionated in the name of God and many believe their “Bible-based” ideals on abortion, gay marriage, or the supremacy of Christianity should be made law when the system of Christianity itself supports choice and delights in those who do right because they want to, not because government forced their decision.

Though part of me wants everyone to think and believe like I do when it comes to both spiritual and political matters, I have come to believe the way we believe is just as important as what we believe.  So whether right or left, democrat, republican, or indifferent, may we as believers and followers of Jesus act like the One we pursue in changing our world through our limited means, and when the time is right, embrace our world in meaningful dialogue, speaking in a way that is both intelligent and compassionate.

Category: Churches, Politics
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