POLITICS MAY BE RUINING YOUR MINISTRY
By Superintendent Michael Traylor
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You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
(Galatians 3:26-29)
“As people of faith, our challenge is to rise above political ideology and lead on moral grounds. Don’t go right, don’t go left, go deeper.”
Jim Wallis in On God’s Side
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This last election cycle was the most polarized and divisive election that I have ever witnessed. The degree of violence and vitriol revealed just how sick our society is. Too often the dominant political narratives of our regions and family heritage often define our church culture, which in turn defines and informs the church’s mission. In other words, many churches have become co-opted by political agendas and have lost their true identity.
University of Notre Dame Political Scientists recently published a study (Campbell, Layman, Green, Secular Surge, 2021) which sought to analyze the phenomena of the rising population of people who have no religious affiliation over the past decade. What they found was that often those who described themselves as non-religious often did so in reaction to political identities of religious movements, regardless of the political orientation of the religious organizations they were most familiar with. Even more fascinating was that the study showed that often those people who considered themselves without a religious affiliation were often very devoted to activism that was often in harmony with churches with a political identity they were adverse towards. This is important, as the authors demonstrate, because people were not offended by political action, advocacy, or activism of the church, but the church’s identity being politicized. In other words, saying that your church is conservative, liberal, progressive, or patriotic has a variety of meanings that mean different things to different people. Each of these labels may describe an approach to politics but are often used as words that either include or exclude people.
This is not solely an American phenomenon. Rwandan Theologian Emanuel Ketongole watched as his Christian nation (over 94% of Rwanda in 1993 identified as Christian) descended into the most horrific violence imaginable. One million lives taken in one hundred days by people who were ethnically similar and in the family of Christ. He would state prophetically:
- If Christian-identity has any chance of subverting or at least resisting the tribal loyalties of our time, Christians will have to recognize the ways in which politics, not only shapes our view of the world and ourselves, but also the tribal patterns we so easily overlook.
I rarely use the words “conservative”, “liberal”, “progressive” or even “moderate” to describe anyone or anything. The reason is that I have learned that rarely do those terms represent a concrete and consistent ideology. More often, they are used to represent terms of inclusion or exclusion. Let me give you an example. Conservative can mean to conserve existing values or social order, or it can mean to be risk-adverse (like a conservative investment). Either can be applied to a social policy, politics, or even the reading of scripture. However, the interpretation and ideological application and consistency is not widely known by the listeners. For instance, we may desire the neighborhood centered living of the early 20th century (we want to conserve it) but we do not want to conserve the discriminatory practices that prevented many from participating in those neighborhoods. So, when someone speaks of being conservative, it is often unclear what we are talking about. The same could be said for the term liberal. Liberal can mean non-traditional values or a generous approach to something.
One could argue that Jesus advocated for non-traditional values in his Earthly ministry context and could have been described as liberal. Accurately, one could argue that Jesus sought to conserve many cultural values of his day and could be described as conservative. Yet, Jesus specifically worked hard to represent an alternative way to the political identities of His day. His message would support aspects of the revolutionary zealots, the conservative Pharisees, the progressive Sadducees, and even the isolationist Essenes. In the same way today, many political movements have components of their platform that are consistent with the kingdom message, but none can claim that Jesus is “for” them or would identify “with” them. Either way, the use of the term is often without a specific ideology but a means of identifying a person or policy as part of “us” or “them”.
More often, the use of terms like conservative or progressive has more to do with our identity and affiliations than an actual ideology. When a self-identified conservative person labels someone or something “liberal”, it often has more to do with that person being labeled as “not part of us” than a particular ideological difference. Likewise, a self-identified progressive person sees the label of conservative as someone who is antagonistic to the progress of society.
Consider this scenario: A pastor, who considers himself a strong conservative was called a “liberal” by one of their board members because he had a difference in opinion on a style of preaching. The board member’s attempt was to label the pastor outside of the in-group. Both the board member and the pastor were strongly anti-abortion, upheld traditional views of sexuality, and the authority of scripture, but in this case, the use of the identity was not designed to describe differences in ideologies or philosophies, but just a means to disparage the other.
The issue is not whether there are ideologies or policies used by self-identified conservatives or progressives that are consistent with kingdom ethics. The issue is that these terms speak of an identity that is inconsistent and laden with unintended meaning that most often serves to block, reject, or exclude people who do not identify with the given political label.
As followers of Jesus, we will advocate politically to bring about change as advocated by Jesus, but that is different than using a political label to describe yourself or others. Free Methodist founder BT Roberts often voted for candidates in different parties, refusing to be affiliated with any political party.
Jonah was sent to the pagan nation of Assyria, who had little regard for the ways and the people of God. God’s mission was to call the people of Assyria to come to him. The story revealed God’s care for humanity without regard to their ethnicity, ideologies, or practices. The same mission exists today except that instead of sending a single prophet, we are all “called out” to love our neighbors. We dare not allow our identity in Christ to be eclipsed by a political identity that rejects some of our neighbors.
I believe everyone, specifically, every church has a Nineveh. Nineveh is a metaphor for people who may be completely different in identity, value systems, and practices but that God loves so much that he sent his only son to die for. The Apostle Paul would state:
- Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. (I Corinthians 9:19-23)
The core issue is that of identity and not politics. The kingdom of God is wide enough to include a spectrum of political beliefs, but we must allow our participation in the mission of Jesus define and describe our identity. It is out of that identity, that we are able to extend grace beyond every cultural, political, ethnic, and socioeconomic barrier that exists.
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REGISTRATON IS NOW OPEN FOR
LEADERSHIP SUMMIT 2021
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Join us in Denver, Colorado for our Leadership Summit 2021
1PM Friday, June 25th
thru
1PM Saturday, June 26th
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No one lights a lamp, then hides it in a drawer.
It’s put on a lamp stand so those entering the room have light to see where they’re going.
Luke 11:33 (MSG)
Don't forget to share your Neighboring stories on our Basecamp Chat.
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From time to time, we are in need of pastors to fill TRC pulpits. This can vary from one Sunday, to three months of Sundays depending on the situation. Pastors take vacations, sabbaticals, bereavement leave, etc. and the pulpit sits empty unless we can fill it.
Therefore, TRC is compiling a database of pastors who are willing to serve in this capacity. The individual churches will pay for travel and accommodations, if applicable. An honorarium will be offered by the local church as well. If you are interested in participating or simply want more information on TRC's Pulpit Supply, click on the button below.
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As we near Easter, there are a few things that you should do to make it easier for people to find your church. These are simple tasks that are often overlooked in the hustle and bustle of preparing for Easter. We only get one chance to make a first impression - make it a good one.
- Does your website have the correct service times? Are you adding services for Easter? Make sure people know when to show up. This is also a good time to check to see if your website is updated with a current photo and bio of your pastors and staff.
- Is your church listed in the local paper and online church directories? Many local papers publish Easter service times at no cost. This is where many will go to find a church if they do not currently attend one. Online church directories (i.e. churchfinder.com) are other avenues for listing your church.
- Are your Welcome Packets updated? These are things that attenders will take home with them. They should contain information on the programs (childrens, youth, etc.) including who to contact with questions.
- Is there a follow up plan for new people? Who, what, when and how are the questions to be answered. Who will follow up with people joining you for the first time? What will you say? When will you follow up? How will you get the necessary information to follow up?
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ONLINE COURSES AVAILABLE IN AFRICAN LANGUAGES |
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The NY/NJ Metro Ministry Training Center is pleased to begin a new online cohort for theological and pastoral formation that will be taught directly in Swahili (and other African languages as needed) via Zoom. The tentative course schedule and enrollment form is attached below.
Cost:
Recommended tuition for each student is $65 per credit hour. A minimum of 8 students per cohort is ideal. When this is not possible, churches and/or conferences are encouraged to give an additional Love Offering to help compensate the instructor.
Vision:
The influx of African Immigrant Kingdom leaders into the USA is a great opportunity for the FMCUSA to advance the Kingdom of Jesus. However, a robust theological and pastoral formation program that is directly taught in native African languages is largely missing. In response to this opportunity and challenge, we seek to multiply the African teaching ministry of the NY/NJ Metro Training Center into Annual Conferences across the USA. As we launch this initiative, we seek to raise $75,000 over the next three years to mentor a next generation of instructors—"reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others” (2 Tim 2:2). We invite you to join us in carrying this vision, raising support, and identifying potential candidates whom God is calling to equip the saints through the spiritual gift of teaching.
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TRC signed up to take advantage of Amazon.com's "give back" campaign. Amazon Smile is a program where you can designate a charity to receive a percentage of any purchase made on Amazon.com.
If you buy things off Amazon, please consider designating TRC as your charity. How to get started:
www.smile.amazon.com - find The River Conference of the Free Methodist Church, Lakewood, CO on the charity list, select it. Now every time you order something from Amazon, you must enter through the smile.amazon.com website, you'll see what charity you're supporting in red letters. Then start shopping. Amazon will automatically deposit donations into our checking account.
If you buy things off Amazon, please consider designating TRC as your charity.
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TRC COVID-19 State Resources
Below are the websites for all the states in The River Conference that have current information on COVID-19. Stay informed. These websites have the most current information for each state. Simply click on the state and it will take you to the corresponding website.
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TRC DISTRICT LEADERS
ARIZONA
BOISE
COLORADO/NEW MEXICO
NORTH TEXAS
SOUTH TEXAS
SPOKANE
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Upcoming Committee Meetings
Thursday, April 1, 2021
MEG Monthly Video Conference
Tuesday, April 6, 2021
MAC Monthly Video Conference
Thursday, April 8, 2021
Property Team Monthly Video Conference
Thursday, April 15, 2021
Board of Directors Monthly Video Conference
Thursday, April 22, 2021
Nominating Committee Video Conference
Tuesday, April 27, 2021
District Leaders Video Conference
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Find out what is happening around the Free Methodist Church. Click below to view the respective newsletters |
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Light + Life Magazine is FMC's primary vehicle—not only are the bishops writing lead articles each month to highlight and expand on the five values of the FM Way, but the entire issue each month rounds out on the theme with related articles, interviews and stories. The magazine is now entirely online—and with a few clicks, people can also discover study guides for in-depth study in groups and read the January and February articles that they missed. The study guides might also serve as prompts for sermon preparation.
When FMC stopped printing Light + Life Magazines a year ago, Light + Life Communications sent opt-in emails to the list of people who were subscribing to the print edition. Over the past year they’ve realized that the vast majority of people in our churches were never on that mailing list because they picked up a magazine in the church lobby so never needed to subscribe. Many don’t even know that the online magazine exists!
And then, please also give them this link so our people can choose to opt-in for weekly emails highlighting a couple of articles each week. Click Here
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