Red, White, or Blue (or even purple)

As our country gets closer and closer to the November elections and now that we finally have two candidates, things are heating up in the political realm. As a Christ-follower, I know that my hope is not in either political candidate or politicial process or political group. Obama talks alot about change, but real change can only be brought through Jesus and followers of Jesus who live out the kingdom of God in the here and now.

But back to Republicians and Democrats... I was driving somewhere recently and saw a sign that said, "Seeing Red, Vote Blue" and I thought to myself if I'm not red, and I'm not blue, what am I? So I thought I guess I'm white. I'm not fully comfortable with either candidate, as I mentioned in a previous post. So I guess I'm more independent than anything, though I am registered as a republican.

Recently though I heard another way of putting it. Marcia Ford wrote a book entitled "We the purple". This is what I found on that idea,

"Independent voters like Ford have been dubbed “Purple” voters for their penchant to blend Red- and Blue-State politics (not to mention Green and all manner of politics that have avoided a primary color designation). But far from being indecisive or non-committal, Ford contends that Purple voters are passionate about politics, so much so that they’re unwilling to passively play into the two-party system that stifles real dialogue and effective governance. She writes, “When a candidate is not beholden to a major political party, that candidate is free not only to speak her mind but also to engage in more creative problem-solving.”

Ford also points out that the two-party system has been especially poisonous for faith communities who are often held hostage by religious political rhetoric that tells voters they risk spiritual and/or personal failure by voting the wrong way. Ford, who left a church that became politicized, writes, “While pastors were preaching the Republican line, the spiritual life of their congregations was draining away drop by drop.” And it’s not just a problem in conservative churches: partisan politics plays out in liberal mainline, African-American and other churches. “As paradoxical as the image may seem, if Christians remained morally centered, their votes could swing all along the political spectrum.”

So I guess I am either white or more likely purple....I just don't fit nicely into either republican or democrat. I have been encouraged, challenged and deepened in my faith and in regards to politics from reading Greg Boyd's awesome book, "The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the quest of political power is destroying the church" I would encourage everyone, whether red, white, blue or purple to read this awesome and challenging book.

Way Out People Know the Way Out

I came across this quote (Way out people know the way out) while listening to and reading one of my favorite authors, Michael Frost. It has stuck with me. All too often in our churches we settle for the safe, the easy, the mundane. We are more like the rabbits in the book Watership Down who long to stay underground in the "safety" of the rabbits warren (home). We need to be more like the main rabbit character Fiver who isn't content to stay where he is and play it safe. He wants to set out into the world and be on adventures. I can hear the rabbits thinking that Fiver is crazy... and all too often that is what we do in the church with people who don't seem to fit the "Mold".

I know when I have a different idea or opinion than the majority at our sponsoring church (which happens now and again) sometimes I speak up and sometimes I don't. I am sometimes afraid of what people might think (I wish I didn't feel that way at times) of me or the idea. My prayer is that I will speak up and share more, even if the idea is way out there. After all "way out people know the way out."

As an aside, I will be leaving tomorrow for 2 days in Pittsburgh with my cohort group that I went to London with. We are working on our papers and presentation for our retreat in which all the various cohorts from the past year will get together. My part of the paper deals with the need for leaders to take risks in our emerging postmodern world (that's a surprise). Pray that it is a good two days of dialogue, discussion, and some fun thrown in the mix.

Mission

This past Sunday night at our Veritas House Church we got to support 2 college students who are a part of Veritas. These two students are going on Summer Project through Campus Crusade. One is going to Chicago and the other to Milwaukee. We were able to give them each a check to support their mission work as well as lay hands on them and pray for them. This is one of the most rewarding parts for me, when we get to commission people from within our ministry to go out and be the hands and feet of Christ in the world. So my prayers go out to Courtney and Joe as they leave on these extended mission projects.

Speaking about mission projects...we have been doing alot of thinking and praying about how we as Veritas need to be more missional, not just as individuals but as a community. We have also been doing alot of praying, talking and thinking about our future and these two things are coming together at the same time, I believe for an awesome purpose. God is at work within us pushing us towards greater missional engagement with the community around us.

One of the statements that has stuck with me for the last several months is "if your church (or ecclesia) suddenly disappeared from your community would anyone not only miss it but grieve the loss" This has been driving me to ask that question in regards to Veritas and how we might move forward from this point into more faithful missional engagement. Continue to pray for us (Veritas, as well as Kim and I) as we look towards the future and seeking to help partner with Christ in building His kingdom.