To say that November 4, 2008 was a night to remember is a bit of an understatement. Not only did we cross a racial boundary that need to be crossed, we crossed many other dividing lines as well to make the election of Obama extra special. Based on some of the exit polls that I heard; those making over $100,000 voted for him, 61% of those who voted for him were white, and a large percentage of white women voted for him. People need hope and they want a country that is united, which is a central theme to Obama's message.
I also think that the voters sent a very strong statement to those in government "we want the problems solved" and along with that was to "put an end to the political fighting and help us". The country is in need of someone that can energize people to make the necessary bold moves, very similar to that of Kennedy's speech on why to go to the moon "not because it is easy but because it is difficult", which took a nation to the moon. We will have to make some tough choices and we need to do it together to have a future that looks brighter than ever.
The church should also take few pages from Obama's play book and become their brothers keeper. Obama's political campaign really used the model that Martin Luther King Jr used, grass roots movement by the people, which caused change in the political landscape.
The Church needs to take these two lessons and learn. If we, the church, intends to change the world for Christ, it will not be done in the halls of government as the Moral Majority attempted to do during the Regan era but in the hearts and minds of men. This will mean that we talk and listen to people and not stand on a street corner and scream at them. How can we convince our brother that we care about his soul when we don't care about him in the here and now (I will follow this thought later).
2 comments:
I think that you touch on many buttons that have always plagued my heart, soul and mind about the church, and in general, organized religion. Historically, I wonder sometimes if Martin Luther was the worst thing that ever happened to the church, or moreover, was "The Church" the worst thing that ever happened to Christianity. This has pulled at me since I was in my early 20's. Being raised in the Baptist tradition I think now - that I am approaching 40, that the biggest mistake ever made with the Christian tradition was by Peter himself. He failed to get clarification.
"On this rock I build my church," Christ said.
I think Peter made a terrible assumption here without getting clarification. I think Christ meant by "the rock" he meant "the one" or "the individual." And with that the message was to be broadcasted. Peter was executed before any more recon could be obtained, Paul arrived on the scene after a very bad appointment with his optometrist and hello mama... the most brilliant campaign in history was born. And thus came on the Catholics.
It can be argued (and I am going to in an up comming blog) that Christianity is the worst thing that ever happened to Jesus Christ, much in the same way Tom Cruise was the worst thing that ever fell upon L. Ron Hubbard.
"How to organize segregate and isolate you religion from the rest of those who you don't like...page 64!"
You know it's bad when others perception of Christians is equivalent to this...
"I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ." - Mahatma Ghandi.
We Christians (little Christs) need to start acting like Him, and quit playing up to a particular political party that is only using us for their own gain. That is not why we belong to Him. Let's get to work for Him, and quit playing games over 2 or 3 hotbutton issues that are being dangled in front of us every election cycle.
When church leadership calls a candidate a muslim or the antichrist who is a professing Christian, and when a priest calls for church members to repent or be banned from communion for voting for a democrat, the church has stepped way out of bounds from where it should be.
Amen Bro!! Amen!
IndianaMackerel
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