Five Hundred Words > Home ( DNN 4.3.5 ) - The Journey in the New York Times

Location: Blogs Five Hundred Words
Posted by: Tim McNabb	6/19/2008 2:45 PM
My church, The Journey (Journeyon.net ) was profiled in the NYT as an example of the political diversity some perceive creeping in among evangelical Christians who were thought to be monolithically Republican. Our lead pastor Darrin Patrick is quoted stating that 60 percent of the congregation are Democrats. First, my love for my brothers and sisters in Christ immediately and unequivocally trumps whatever soft loyalty I have to my (current) party. All kingdoms of this world will end, but my spiritual family is eternal, and I endeavor to keep that truth in my heart. Given that value, I am uneasy about the "We're not like 'those Christians'" vibe I get. Here is why. The Journey has taken a lot of heat for their work in taking the eternal Gospel and placing it in context of the current generation. For instance, my Baptist brethren believe that the consumption of alcohol is a sin but the leadership of The Journey have determined that having a discussion at Schlafly Bottleworks has a benefit for the Kingdom of Heaven that is worth pursuing. We at the Journey have a work set out before us, and it is not the place of others to elevate cultural preferences and perceptions to holy writ. We are all Christ's servants, and absent an accusation of clear and objective sin, I would ask my brothers to hold their public tongue and simply pray that His Son be glorified. Inversely, many evangelicals see their work in politics as part of their ministry. A good friend of mine, an Iowa native, was a delegate to his state's Democrat party platform meeting. Above the precinct level, his perception was that Evangelicals were welcome so long as they kept their Jesus to themselves and went along with the secular progressive agenda including a wide variety of things that would give a practicing Christian pause. Is it any wonder that many evangelicals for whom politics was a work set before them would gravitate to the GOP? Who are we then to tacitly disparage how they pursue their ministry? My button-down Ralph Reed brothers may not wear sandals and hemp shorts to church, but they too are Christ's servants and deserve loving deference absent clear and objective sin. It can be fashionable to dump on one group to differentiate yourself from another but we must resist. I was appalled that a pastor simplified his brethren's opposition to an environmental petition as simply conflicting with an undefined "right wing agenda" as if concern about the human costs of environmental proscriptions can be dismissed as mere partisan perfidy. Ultimately, we have a responsibility to carefully guard against unneeded disunity. Remember that we are family. They will not know we are Christians by our Progressive street cred or our Conservative Bona Fides, but by our love for one another, and it cuts both ways. Further, I think it is important to not allow the secular folk use use us to club one another.
Copyright ©2008 Tim McNabb
Permalink \| Trackback

Comments (1) Add Comment

Re: The Journey in the New York Times	By Letitia (The Damsel) on 6/20/2008 6:20 PM
Good comments. I'll link this to my blog. Letitia

Your name:
Title:
Comment:

Add Comment Cancel