This afternoon I met with a local pastor friend at his invitation to talk about the tensions between church and politics. We wound up talking mostly about evangelism and pondering how to help people develop relationships in order for communication of the Good News to occur. But before we parted, we got back to the original question as to how we keep the doors of the church open to people of all political orientations without making the Good News so public-forum-averse the Church has nothing to say at all about concerns like blessing the poor or rescuing the pre-born. It is much like the tension often found between a focus on evangelism and a focus on discipleship, a tension harder to balance than it first appears.
There is a tug of war going on inside American Evangelicalism between declaring the Good News and demonstrating the Good News. It is not a new skirmish. In fact, it has been a struggle for over a hundred years now -- ever since Finney's and Moody's 19th Century Evangelicalism splintered at the dawn of the 20th Century. Living the life of faith can sure be complicated at times. Which is exactly what Jesus said we would discover if we take this life of faith seriously.
Earlier today while attending a meeting of the Human Services Coalition of Oregon, a panel was reviewing the plight of society's most vulnerable in light of the economic downturn and subsequent funding cuts. At one point as they digressed, my mind wandered to this tension between demonstrating and declaring the Good News. We as Believers feel other tensions as well, such as how the Gospel is to be declared (relational evangelism vs. proclamation evangelism). And demonstrated (what part should the church play, if any, in individual or corporate acts of compassion and justice?). We may say our answers to concerns about demonstrating the Gospel should be kept separate from our mandate to declare the Gospel, but in reality the two are inseparable.
For example, during the 1950s, Evangelical and Pentecostal church leaders worked to stay out of the Civil Rights movement and at times even voiced opposition to the movement, while at the same time warning that the evangelism of African-Americans would impede the evangelism of White Americans. Such crass attempts at triage -- to say we cannot reach one group or we won't be able to reach another -- are, sad to say, not isolated lapses in the Church's commitment to follow Christ at all costs. And then there are churches who get so activized they forget the One whom they worship.
Sitting in that morning meeting I thought about how important it is that no one ever feel unwelcomed at church meetings because of political orientation. One friend, who once pastored in a Latin American country torn by civil war between the government and communists, shared with me how he had leaders of both sides of the conflict sitting in his congregation Sunday after Sunday. How much that contrasts with a church I recently visited in the States where snide remarks were made from the pulpit about our current American President. Never mind whether or not that was appropriate toward the President. How does that make visitors feel who think differently than the pastor? Either way, it made me less inclined to go back.
And yet, what happens if we go to great lengths to make the church inclusive as some have attempted to do in making the church politically neutral for the sake of avoiding divisions or alienating seekers, or out of concern for protecting their non-profit status? In so doing, are we creating a false dichotomy in the life of faith? Does such an avoidance of all things socio-political lead to a sense among Believers as well as outsiders that faith and justice have nothing to do with each other? Does such neutrality inadvertently legitimize a politically centrist approach as the most spiritually valid position? Does avoiding the causes and concerns of society and the world lead us as Believers to a purely internalized faith devoid of relevancy to life on earth? Do we conclude that we can declare without demonstrating God's love?
A friend sitting next to me in the morning meeting whispered at one point that perhaps as we have become less of a Christian nation, we have become more individualized, meaning we are less concerned about the communities around us and even less concerned about the poor. I'm still not sure what to think of his observation. But I do recall the Apostle Paul saying he could go along with the particular priorities of the Jerusalem church about worship and life styles as long as the Believers did not forget the poor.
If you are wondering where I am headed with all this, I am just asking questions, wrestling with thoughts I have had for most of my life and wondering if I will ever find conclusive answers. Maybe you are blessed with easy answers, but I'm not sure how satisfying or how true to the Gospel such easy answers can be.
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