Category: identity

These are my notes from Michael Brundeen’s session, “Being Purple in a Red or Blue World” at the 2011 MoRanch Men’s Conference near Hunt, Texas.
http://www.moranch.com

We live in a culture that quickly labels people

We in the United States are also very political

Politics is about power and money, and who gets what

Increasingly in our country, our messiah is the government
– the government becomes an idol of our own doing in this sense

As Christians we understand governments are necessary because we are sinful people and need to be governed
– our first allegiance, however, is to Jesus Christ
– if Jesus is Lord, no one else is (including Uncle Sam)

I have a problem with our schools telling our kids (as students) from day one that the government will take care of them

Caesar is government

Religion, politics and sex have over time become topics that civil society wanted to avoid

we are obligated to be more than spectators
– at a minimum that means we should all obey the laws, be informed voters and pay taxes
– if we are not informed we throw things to the wind, and when we do that evil wins

Your good works may involve running for office

You need to understand that power corrupts
– you need to strengthen yourself to withstand that influence

Jesus Christ gets your principal and primary allegiance, if

I am concerned that the government wants my faith to be kept away, and when we speak as Christians we are threatened with taxation

When I ask you to describe yourself, how quickly does the word Christian come off your lips
– many people are far more likely to say conservative, Texan, American, liberal, etc before Christian

Rather than working on problems in a community sense, we more often work on issues from a coercive, power standpoint (like seatbelt laws)

Comment from participant about Barry Goldwater’s friendship and respect for Hubert Humphrey
– the lack of that

We are less likely today to NOT act when we have a contentious issue
– more often we look for a 51%

1 Peter 2:9

“But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.”

Washington DC today is it’s own kind of Babylon
– there are two kinds of Babylon today: DC and Las Vegas

We need to be careful about the way our political ideas can become our personal identities

Privatized faith can be irresponsible

Politicized faith is definitionally unfaithful
– we should be Christians first

Allowing something else to come under the gospel and replace it is irresponsible

We must learn to be effective and consistent in our Christian witness to society without taking on the methods of contemporary politics
– contemporary politics involves demonizing your opponent

Love of neighbor obligates you to respect the opinions of others
– you don’t have to accept and agree with those opinions, but you do have to respect those opinions and those people

We should NOT be primarily goal focused on autonomy, pragmatism and convenience
– what works is what’s right

We have to be careful in our social witness falling into traps

Smallest indivisible unit for the Christian is two, not one

Autonomy has to have limits
– Paul called us to sacrificial love

How to innoculate ourselves?

Who are you listening to?

The way to have eyes to see is to spend time with the Lord
– our media will shape us

The system tends to grow in a way that perpetuates itself, so when people get into that situation they can lose sight of who they are, where they came from, and who they represent as elected officials

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

When I was a young college student (17 years old), I found myself spending lots of time alone in my dorm room. Realizing that I could only read so much, listen to so many cassette tapes, re-arrange the closet, I decided to venture out. I quickly ran into representatives from various churches, most notably, the Baptist Student Union.

It was a life-changing meeting for me, or at least, I hope it was. The BSU naturally offered me a place to be around other young college students. I came to look forward to their evening, once a week video series with enthusiasm. It was my first exposure to Christian speakers–aside from Mass and church. One of them was a man by the name of Tony Campolo. I truly enjoyed all his presentations, and after one of them, recognizing the futility of a life without divine purpose, I accepted Christ as my personal saviour.

I was reminded of this when I read this post at Ben Witherington’s blog sharing a sermon written by Craig Hill.

Whether or not we know God, the question that dominates our lives remains the same. At issue is where we look for the answer. The easiest thing to do, the thing that probably most of us do most of the time, is to follow the world’s lead, to buy (often literally) into a system of values that says, if only you could own this, or look like this, or do this, then you’d be happy, then your life would have meaning. But it is not real bread, it is not the stuff that satisfies. We are made for God, and only in God will we discover the meaning for which we long, and which is our birthright as God’s children.

At issue is WHERE we look. Wow, what a powerful idea. Imagine if I had stepped out with a fraternity rather than the BSU, where might my life had gone? Although I’d like to think I was smarter than a life of partying and drinking–my apologies to the sober and responsible fraternities–due to my social outcast experiences as a middle schooler, I am grateful that I felt comfortable enough to start looking at church.

This sermon reminded me of one I’d heard when I was 17 and in my freshman year of college. That story was told by Tony Campolo, a person whose words I greatly admired, but had never listened to again. So, since everyone is on the Web, I searched on Tony Campolo and discovered many of his sermons as audio files to download (subscribe to podcast feed as well). I encourage, urge you to go listen to him if you’ve never heard him before. The video of Tony Campolo speaking passionately, mopping his bald head humorously, is one that I can never forget.

The story is one I’ve heard again with different interpretations. However, perhaps because I heard it first, Tony Campolo’s version is the one I remember. It is about how, out of millions of sperm, I was the one. I was the one who had made it. I had run the race and won. While there might be more to it, that’s what I remember. This story touched me powerfully because it called attention to how special I was at a time when I didn’t feel very special at all. I had been picked on in middle school, and although I’d managed to forge new relationships in high school, I was still feeling very much alone and lonely. I knew I was vulnerable, that I had a choice to make. It was a reasoned choice, as strange as that sounds. That story, told by Tony Campolo, just affirmed me as a special person. The fact I needed that affirmation, and where that affirmation had to come from, made me aware.
Looking back to that night, when I sat with the BSU Pastor in his office, and accepted Christ as my personal saviour, I remember the feeling of being unable through sheer force of will to be a good person, to continue on. Like Michael Card in one of his songs, i decided to live like a believer, to accept I’m not up to the challenge by myself.

As I begin my first Christmas without my father, I am grateful of another time in my life when Dad wasn’t handy to provide the anchor in my life…my freshman year in college, when I was away. It was a time when I was filled with doubt, uncertainty, and I found fellowship a strange and wondrous experience. Through it all, I am grateful…yes, grateful that I accepted Christ that night so long ago, grateful that even though the world was a strange place, my first venture in it had people like the BSU folks to offer a smile and an encouraging word…and that they played Tony Campolo videos.

Now, over 20 years later, I can only feel gratitude that my Project was so well-defined early on, establish a foundation upon which I could move forward. That gratitude feels very much like peace.

I encourage you to read the Craig Hill’s sermon, as well as listen to Campolo.

I am not a professional blogger, but I am married to one! This is my first, forced if truth be known, blog entry. My husband, three kids, and two dogs and I have recently moved to a great new city. My husband has a great job, and I just found out that I will have a new job begining next Tuesday. After staying home for the past eight years, I am going back to a full time job. The best thing is that it will allow me to continue my “real” full time job as a wife and mother. I’ve been very happy as a stay-home mom. I’ve actually enjoyed keeping my house clean, participating in play groups, and being an active member of the PTA.

I never would have imagined that I could work full time and still be able to pick my kids up after school and put them to bed each night. I think its great that businesses are allowing Moms to work flexible hours, get the job done, and still be there for their families. I am looking forward to getting out, meeting new people, and making a difference in the lives of others.