DownshoreDrift

Prophetic vs. Political: Dueling Deacons

I have been talking a lot about a Christian's involvement in politics and how we should be prophetic instead of just being political. We should point to the higher reality of the Kingdom of God and the person and ethic of Christ in all that we do. Here is an example of two men running for office that might be coming close to expressing that more positive reality. Jay Love (R) and Bobby Bright (D) are running for Congress in Alabama's 2nd District. This is where I live and where Montgomery is located. Bobby Bright is Montgomery's mayor and I have talked with him several times. He seems like a decent man. I have never met Jay Love. What is interesting about this race is that both men are deacon's in First Baptist Church, Montgomery. The USA Today wrote a story on it that was very positive and explained their desire to keep the race on the up and up and influenced by Christian ethics (HT: Steven Taylor). Praise God!  Jay Wolf, pastor of FBC and someone that I highly respect, has called upon both men to honor Christ in their campaign. I am praying that they keep a positive witness as they articulate their differing views. As Christians, we don't have to agree on everything, but we do need to love one another and treat one another with respect.

If Love and Bright are able to focus on the issues and maintain their Christian love for one another, honoring God above their desire for political power and seeking above all to serve the people of Alabama's District 2, then they will certainly exemplify the character of a deacon and will provide an example of being prophetic instead of political.  Jesus does make a difference. 

Lifeway Placing Warning Labels On Certain Books?

Brad Robertson (HT: Joe Kennedy) tells us that Lifeway is placing warning labels on books that it sells through it's Read With Discernment campaign (read his follow-up post HERE). Apparently, people were complaining about some books by authors like Rob Bell and, ugh, gasp, Donald Miller.  So, Lifeway has started putting labels on certain books to tell people that they are to read these books with discernment because they do not fit with traditional evangelical theology (according to customers who complain to management and Lifeway's trustees).

So, I guess that there's too much money to be made off of Blue Like Jazz or The Shack to pull it off the shelves completely - they're just sticking a "Read With Discernment" label on it. As Brad Robertson cleverly pointed out, shouldn't we read everything with discernment?

If we are going to start with these books (you can actually learn some pretty great things about God from Don Miller, by the way), PLEASE tell me that we are going to put some labels on some of the marriage books and the books on "7 Steps to the Perfect Christian Family" and "5 Steps to Never Having a Problem Again If You Follow These Additional EASY 10 Steps."  Good grief.  Does John Hagee qualify as "historical evangelical theology"?  His "eschatology" books are all over the place in Lifeway stores. Once you start with this kind of labeling, there is really no end to it - especially if you look at what is out there in Christian book stores.

So, here's my idea: I think that we should all go to the closest Lifeway Christian Store and pick up a book that is rather man based and self-help oriented in it's approach to the Christian walk and complain to management about it. Write a letter. Maybe that book will get a warning label put on it and someone might think twice before buying it. This might not be a bad thing after all!

Global Warming and Gustav

"The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it,
       the world, and all who live in it" - Psalm 24:1

It appears that the Arctic Ice Shelf is disintegrating rapidly. Huge sections of it are breaking off with no hope of reforming under the current climatological conditions. I know that many Evangelicals, including Baptists do not believe in Global Warming, and if they do accept that the earth is actually getting warmer, they do not believe that it is caused by humans. Whether it is accepted or not, there is hardly a consensus on what we can or should be attempting to do about it.  It seems to me that as believers in the Creator God with the Holy Spirit empowering us and the Bible as our guide, we should be able to give well thought out guidance on the great issues of our day. The environment is truly a concern for all of us, and if global warming is being caused by the emission of human produced greenhouse gases as many scientists say, then it seems that we might be able to formulate some solutions. What do you think?

I am thinking about starting a series on an evangelical approach to the major political/social issues of our day in the run-up to the election and this will likely be one of the issues that I tackle.

Speaking of the environment, I want to give a major shout out to the state and local governments of Louisiana, and the Federal Government for their preperation during Hurricane Gustav. Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana did an excellent job of providing leadership as did Ray Nagin of New Orleans. FEMA came through and President Bush was on the scene in ways that he was not during Katrina. It appears that all levels of government learned from the mistakes of Katrina and that the people of New Orleans and surrounding areas learned as well. I also praise God for the storm weakening instead of strengthening and for the levies holding in New Orleans. All in all, that area of which I am a native, has much to be thankful for.

Pathfinder Mission in Waveland, MS came out okay. There was no flooding and they found everything in tact when they returned. We praise God for that. You can check out some pictures here. 

Christian Political Engagement as Witness and Apologetic

I've obviously been thinking a lot about politics lately, as have most Americans. I've continually made the statement that Christians are to be prophetic on issues instead of being political. We are to live from the ethic of the Kingdom of God rather than the power plays of the kingdoms of men. Being prophetic is about adhering to the truth while being political is about grasping for worldly power, something that is forbidden to Christians. That does not meant that we should not be engaged in politics. Political activity is only the way that human beings govern themselves and establish an ordered society. Christians should most definitely be involved in that. But, we should always involve ourselves in the political process on the basis of truth instead of on the basis of ideology or party affiliation. If we lean toward worldy ideology without being tied to the truth of Scripture, we end up sacrificing truth for political expediency and we become nothing more than a special interest group attempting to get our own way. It all becomes very selfish and unchristian.

That is why I brought up the issues with Sarah Palin over the past few days. I am not rejecting her as a candidate or as a person. I am a conservative, so you can probably figure out which way I will end up going in this election. But, it is important to praise the good in our candidates while also sticking to our convictions on the issues that matter to us. Sarah Palin and her husband both work very long hours and they have 5 children. She has a newborn with Down's Syndrome. Her 17 year old daughter is 5 months pregnant. I would imagine that her husband will quit his job if they move to Washington, so he will obviously be around with the children and that is a good thing. I bring all of this up because we've never had a female candidate for our highest offices who was a mother of young children. What we say about that has everything to do with the message on the family that we have been proclaiming for 3 decades now. We can't just jettison that message because we have a chance to have access to the White House and get conservative justices elected to the Supreme Court.

If Sarah Palin Were a Liberal Democrat . . .

What would be the reaction of conservative, Evangelical Republicans? Or, Republicans in general? That is the question that is lingering in my mind this morning and I believe that the answer has a great deal to do with the public witness of of the evangelical church in America.

Over the past 20 years or so, I have witnessed evangelical leaders, preachers, and conservative Republicans use instances of working, career pursuing mothers and unwed teen pregnancy as examples of family and moral breakdown in our country. Liberal Democrats were regularly attacked for their views on these issues (see Dan Quayle and Murphy Brown in 1992). I found myself in agreement with the principles espoused by the Right, but uncomfortable with the way that these issues were used in regard to party politics. I am ardently Pro-Life and believe that sex should wait until marriage. I believe that a parent's first priority is to their children over their career and I believe that it is best if the mother can stay home with the kids, although I fully understand that that is not always possible financially. I also would not put that on anyone in a legalistic way because people are free to make their own decisions on this issue. That is my opinion and I would not judge anyone for choosing a different course, as long as their children were taken care of.

When Sarah Palin was first announced, I thought it was a good choice.  I greatly respect the work of governors and I did not see the experience issue as being a concern. I also did not think that the fact that she was a woman or a mother of 5, even an infant with Down's Syndrome, would disqualify her. But, I did wonder how she would manage all of these challenges and how conservative evangelicals would view this, because I have always heard a different message from them regarding motherhood and raising children. Then, when it was revealed that Palin's 17 year old daughter was 5 months pregnant, I expected there to be some type of statement about the dangers of teen sex and/or the need for parents to be attentive to their children and "focus on the family." That is what we've heard for the past 20-30 years from evangelicals, right?  I have been surprised.

From a CNN article entitled Evangelicals Rally Behind Palin After Pregnancy News, this is the response of some of Conservative and Evangelical leaders:

Waveland, MS Update - Pathfinder Mission

Apparently, the flooding in Waveland appears to be around the back bay of Bay St. Louis. I saw a report from one of the beach roads that heads to the Gulf in Waveland and everything was dry. So, that would mean that Pathfinder Mission and all of the homes that we helped work on have escaped flooding. I praise God for that.  More updates as they come in . . .

Sarah Palin's 17 Year Daughter Is Pregnant

In other news . . .

While Gustav is battling the Gulf Coast, breaking news reports that Sarah Palin's 17 year old unmarried daughter is pregnant. The link to initial reports can be found HERE.  To continue my speculation from my previous post, I wonder what Conservative Evangelicals will say about this development?  From all accounts, Palin seems to be a good candidate with strong conservative credentials. I felt that McCain made a good choice to shore up his conservative base here. But, this throws a wrench in things, I would think. Contrary to what I thought consistency might demand, Evangelicals AND Baptists fell all over themselves in adoration of a Palin candidacy. Some have even said that among evangelicals "who read their Bibles" the response to Palin has been electrifying. How many are going to tie this to a breakdown in family values? How many are going to say that a mother should be there for her children instead of following a career?

Very Best Gustav Coverage - Wavelane, MS Underwater According to Reports

Half of Waveland, MS is underwater. Waveland was ground zero for Katrina and it is where our church has done all of its work. That means that a lot of people that we know and have helped are under water because the area that would be so affected would be the area south of the railroad tracks. Pathfinder Mission, the camp that our church helped establish, is located in this area. According to reports, there is a 12 foot storm surge in Hancock County. Not good.

I just called Charlie Elgin, the direction of Pathfinder. He has evacuated to Northern Mississippi with about 45 residents of Waveland. 

The very best coverage on Hurricane Gustav is to be found on the local news out of New Orleans. Here is a website that has all four news channels coverage at once. It is what I am now using to follow the storm:

http://www.maroonspoon.com/wx/gustav.html

By the way, if this levee on the Industrial Canal breaks, New Orleans Seminary in Gentilly will be immediately affected (for all my Baptist readers). 

My mom is okay in Picayune, MS, about 45 miles northeast of New Orleans. The electricity is out.  A tree has gone into my aunt's house, however.

Hamas leader's son, Massab Yousef, has become a Christian

Amazing what Jesus can do in someone's life. Massab Yousef, son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, the leading Hamas figure in the West Bank, has embraced Christianity and repudiated Islam, according to Israeli paper, Ha'aretz. He warns that the Palestinians will never accept peace with Israel because Islam advocates constant warfare with the Jews. The grace of God in Christ never ceases to astound me. Jesus can save anyone and He is the only real hope for peace in the Middle East.

Tracking Gustav

My prayers are with South Louisiana tonight. Houma, Louisiana looks like it is going to get slammed. I remember Houma as being the hottest place on earth. When I was little, my uncle used to live there and I remember traveling from New Orleans to Houma to see him in the dead of summer. It was a jillion degrees with humidity through the roof because the place is surrounded by marshland. Nothing but water around it, really. When Gustav comes up through there, the whole town will be under water. All of South Louisiana all the way to Baton Rouge is going to get nailed.

Here are my predictions: I think that the levees around New Orleans will hold, as long as they have strength left in them in the places that were not affected by Katrina. They are predicting a storm surge of 4-6 feet in Lake Ponchatrain and the levees should hold that. The West Bank of the Mississippi is in a mess, however. Water will come up from the Gulf of Mexico at around a 15 foot surge with little to stop it until it gets to the Mississippi on the other side of New Orleans. They are predicting major flooding there. We have some former church members who live there and are anxious to know how their home and church fares. We also have a couple from our church that is attending New Orleans seminary. They have evacuated to Montgomery and were with us in church today. They might be coming over tomorrow to watch the storm with us as I'll be watching it all day.

My Dad came up this morning to stay with us. 4 trees went into his house when Katrina hit and he doesn't want to go through the loss of electricity and all that accompanies these things. It took him 9 hours to drive from South Mississippi (usually a little over a 4 hour drive). My Mom and her husband are staying in my hometown of Picayune, MS, which should escape major damage this time.

Charlie and Marite Elgin in Waveland, MS with Pathfinder Mission have evacuated to a camp in North Mississippi. Folks from our church took their list of contacts and called people so that they would know that they could join them. About 45 people from Waveland went with them and are waiting the storm out up there. 

I hate hurricanes. May God be mericful.