How to respond in a harsh political climate?
As Wisconsin continues to experience political unrest heading into recall elections, and another national political campaign season gets under way (does it ever really end here in America?), we should think carefully about our responses to the political divisions in our community.
Our pastor Zach Nielsen, on his blog Take Your Vitamin Z, shares a meaningful quote from Tim Keller, pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, on how the gospel transcends political alignments and the power struggle but how Christians are nontheless compelled by the gospel to be radical players in how society addresses its problems:
Secular people have a strong belief that religion is really just about social power. There is a need to place every church somewhere on the ideological spectrum, from liberal left-wing to conservative right wing. But the gospel makes the true church impossible to categorize. Justification by faith brings deep, powerful psychological changes: 'Though I am sinful, I am accepted based on the good of Another.' This truth converts people.
On the other hand, the gospel of the Cross and Kingdom brings deep, powerful social changes. It defies the values of the world: power, status, recognition and wealth. The gospel is triumph through weakness, wealth through poverty, power through service. This changes our attitude toward the poor and toward our own status, wealth and careers. A gospel-centered church should combine zeals that are ordinarily never seen together in the same church. This is one of the main ways we make people look twice and take our message seriously.
