i’m worried that somewhere along the line of big cars and bigger houses, part of the christian world has forgotten that one simple verse…

religion that god our father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. james 1:27

it has been frustrating, to say the least, to watch rich nathan and the vineyard church of coulmbus get pounded for their involvment in the global justice movement all because of one man’s involvment. it’s funny that jim wallis’ involvment sparked so much debate and protest around the conference. in rich’s latest monthly letter to the church he gave some excerpts from e-mails sent to him…

I heard that you were going to speak at a prayer breakfast for the Devil (Governor Strickland). If you are a MAN OF GOD and not just some limp-wristed preacher, who gets a thrill out of being around the world’s power players, you will rip into this evil monster. [After I had the privilege of preaching at the Governor's prayer breakfast, we saw 40+ commitments to Christ.]

For months now there has been a smoldering issue in the local church. The “social justice theme” has been whispered about and kept under wraps. Now it is beginning to come out, a movement by 30 local churches under the guise of revival are unleashing this socialist, anti US, anti family, anti bible bilge on the local church. This group stands for redistribution of wealth, they call homosexual marriage and abortion narrow issues and try to make believers feel ignorant for standing by the Bible as the true word of God. [This was sent in a mass email to believers all across Central Ohio.]

rich’s letter calls for the need to learn civility as a church. what we should also learn is that money, greed, power and control are not things that we need. saying that homosexual marriage and abortion are narrow issues may be over the top, but basing your vote on those two things alone in and of itself would be somewhat ignorant. as much as the bible and christianity says that those two things are wrong, (and i agree), basing my vote on those two things alone does not change the state of things in my life or in the us, where the people we vote for make the rules. banning abortion and homosexual marriage will not change the state of the economy. it won’t change the decaying state of healthcare and insurance. and it won’t de-monopolize big oil, and their bid to rob middle class americans. banning abortion won’t change the fact that the government owns big business and vice versa.

banning homosexual marriage won’t change the fact that their are still huge social injustices being done throughout the world. just take a moment to read john mccollum’s blog on any given day. when you’re done visit asia’s hope to make a difference in the life of one of millions of children…

i think the bigger social injustice would be ignoring the issue altogether to focus on who is involved in the movement and what they stand for. i think rich’s letter said that best too…

We don’t all have to agree about everything. Still less should we simply silence our convictions. But there is a way for people (especially those who claim to have the Spirit of Christ) to disagree without becoming disagreeable and to not always indulge our need for self-expression. The way forward is for us to re-learn the old lesson of civility as a church and as a culture.

just my thoughts…