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Christian Political Activism
October 18, 2008
How best to utilize our present liberties to ensure our liberty in the tomorrow.
During seasons of heightened political activity good pastors are often pressed by their church communities to become vocal concerning the trigger issues of the day. To some Christians in the USofA this means the need for the pastors to encourage their churches to lend their support to a particular candidate or party. I believe to do so would be a serious tactical error. There may well be a healthy and more prudent course of action for those of you who live in lands where a representative form of government encourages citizen participation. With that said I encourage the concerned reader to consider the following question followed by my thoughts as to how the Christian should go about their political activism apart from the local church.
Q. If you are a concerned Christian are you already an activist yourself?
What follows is but a suggestion. Its application is known to be very effective. Christians who strongly believe they need to motivate their fellow citizens should do so through the formation of ad-hoc groups that could and should encompass any and all of their fellow citizens who do not necessarily share their core religious beliefs or their world view. Unless you can enlist the labors of citizens who do not share your core beliefs and world view, but who do agree with your primary issue(s) such as the environment or abortion, you will never see the desired changes written into law. To win you must win public opinion. You must convince the electorate you have the correct position or you will be ignored. How then should a concerned citizen seek victory in the political arena? Start a Ad-Hoc1 group. It will serve as a focus group.
To start an ad-hoc committee of concerned citizens against abortion or any other issue of importance find a few members of like minded folks in your church and from within your community. See a lawyer to put together a charter and then apply for not-for-profit status. Encourage all who serve the Ad-Hoc as trustees to register as an independents. Be prepared to give of your money and time to reach your common goal. Lobby your elected offices and go door to door ringing doorbells while passing out your literature. Hold community dinners and invite speakers who agree with your primary issue. Write your letters and lick your postage stamps. Purchase time in the media. Use the Internet and email wisely. Always enlist the help and membership of others who share the common objective but be very careful for those who would manipulate the ad-hoc group for their own ends.
It's a lot of hard work but in the end you can at the very least say you made an effort to educate the voter. You may also sleep better at night. Educated voters tend to stay educated from election to election. Work hard to elect like minded candidates without being partisan. Raise a large kitty of cash and they will be knocking on your doors. That's the way it is.
Non-partisan Ad-hoc groups can and should be organized by a wide variety of like minded individuals. Non-partisan ad-hoc groups can lead the charge to winning the debate over issues such as abortion or the local sewage project without the need to hinder the effectiveness of the Gospel ministry in your community or state. We need ad-hoc groups out there who support candidates from all parties. This makes good sense because there are liberals out there who vote against abortion just as there are conservatives who see green when it comes to the care of the environment.
Everything in politics is not black and white. That's the reality of the political circus. Up until now Christians have allowed themselves to be led around by carrot issues by a single party. Why? Because heart string carrot issues are used by the politicians to manipulate Christians to serve as their foot soldiers. Once the election is secured the manipulators will eventually dispense with the foot soldiers because they deem them to be a liability. It is for this reason there are so many Christians who believe they have been used by the likes of Bush, Falwell, Robertson and the Reids. Look back and consider the Newt Gingrich led invasion of Republicans in the House of Represenatives. It was only a matter of time before the new Republican majority became as fat and callous as the old liberal democrats they had replaced. Guess who is speaker of the House? We have two groups to thank. 1) The laying fat republicans who betrayed us, and, 2) ourselves. Let it never happen again! Trust no one poltical party. If we are able to convince a great many of our fellow citizens that the issues we address are of the highest priority then the candidates will serve our agenda and not the other way around.
I have enjoyed membership in a union for the last 37 years. Within our nation unions have a divided membership. Why is this so? It is simply because there are good moral union members who stand against abortion, NAFTA, child labor and numerous other issues but who also do not feel comfortable supporting the increase in size of the welfare state. If they have their way the socialist agenda of a good many union leaders will ultimately lead to bigger government and reduced rights for our fellow citizens. We need to learn to speak to union people about the issues that concern us in a non-partisan manner. There's also a lesson to be learned. Many unions claim to be non-partisan but anyone who has enjoyed union membership for any length of time knows the truth. They are very partisan. Do not follow their example. Be non-partisan and mean what you say. Do not allow the political right or the left to consider you as an ally. The objective is to enjoy such great social and moral influence candidates will see it desirable to identify with you.
I've personally co-initiated and participated in an ad-hoc group and know first hand how motivated people can use it for the good of all. You might also want to look into the existence of other such groups in your area. Why duplicate the labors of other like minded neighbors?
Now if you haven't inserted yourself into the political process long before and after an election don't go crying to your pastor about his silence in the pulpit. A true political activist works hard as hell in between elections because when the candidates begin to open up it is already too late to influence them.
One more thing. If you are a Christian never, I repeat never, rob God of his just due in your life. Never compromise your time and fellowship with our God through His Spirit at the expense of being an activist. Pastors and other church leaders who agree with the purpose and methods of your ad-hoc group may feel comfortable to give his name to the common cause --not as a pastor but as a fellow citizen.
Conclusion. Never expect your pastors and churches to do what you can do much more effectively.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1Ad hoc is a Latin phrase which means "for this purpose. It generally signifies a solution designed for a specific problem or task, non-generalizable, and which cannot be adapted to other purposes. Common examples are organizations, committees, and commissions created at the national or international level for a specific task; in other fields the term may refer, for example, to a tailor-made suit, a handcrafted network protocol, or a purpose-specific equation. Ad hoc can also have connotations of a makeshift solution, inadequate planning, or improvised events. Other derivates of the Latin include AdHoc, adhoc and ad-hoc. (see <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hoc>)
October 18, 2008
How best to utilize our present liberties to ensure our liberty in the tomorrow.
During seasons of heightened political activity good pastors are often pressed by their church communities to become vocal concerning the trigger issues of the day. To some Christians in the USofA this means the need for the pastors to encourage their churches to lend their support to a particular candidate or party. I believe to do so would be a serious tactical error. There may well be a healthy and more prudent course of action for those of you who live in lands where a representative form of government encourages citizen participation. With that said I encourage the concerned reader to consider the following question followed by my thoughts as to how the Christian should go about their political activism apart from the local church.
Q. If you are a concerned Christian are you already an activist yourself?
What follows is but a suggestion. Its application is known to be very effective. Christians who strongly believe they need to motivate their fellow citizens should do so through the formation of ad-hoc groups that could and should encompass any and all of their fellow citizens who do not necessarily share their core religious beliefs or their world view. Unless you can enlist the labors of citizens who do not share your core beliefs and world view, but who do agree with your primary issue(s) such as the environment or abortion, you will never see the desired changes written into law. To win you must win public opinion. You must convince the electorate you have the correct position or you will be ignored. How then should a concerned citizen seek victory in the political arena? Start a Ad-Hoc1 group. It will serve as a focus group.
To start an ad-hoc committee of concerned citizens against abortion or any other issue of importance find a few members of like minded folks in your church and from within your community. See a lawyer to put together a charter and then apply for not-for-profit status. Encourage all who serve the Ad-Hoc as trustees to register as an independents. Be prepared to give of your money and time to reach your common goal. Lobby your elected offices and go door to door ringing doorbells while passing out your literature. Hold community dinners and invite speakers who agree with your primary issue. Write your letters and lick your postage stamps. Purchase time in the media. Use the Internet and email wisely. Always enlist the help and membership of others who share the common objective but be very careful for those who would manipulate the ad-hoc group for their own ends.
It's a lot of hard work but in the end you can at the very least say you made an effort to educate the voter. You may also sleep better at night. Educated voters tend to stay educated from election to election. Work hard to elect like minded candidates without being partisan. Raise a large kitty of cash and they will be knocking on your doors. That's the way it is.
Non-partisan Ad-hoc groups can and should be organized by a wide variety of like minded individuals. Non-partisan ad-hoc groups can lead the charge to winning the debate over issues such as abortion or the local sewage project without the need to hinder the effectiveness of the Gospel ministry in your community or state. We need ad-hoc groups out there who support candidates from all parties. This makes good sense because there are liberals out there who vote against abortion just as there are conservatives who see green when it comes to the care of the environment.
Everything in politics is not black and white. That's the reality of the political circus. Up until now Christians have allowed themselves to be led around by carrot issues by a single party. Why? Because heart string carrot issues are used by the politicians to manipulate Christians to serve as their foot soldiers. Once the election is secured the manipulators will eventually dispense with the foot soldiers because they deem them to be a liability. It is for this reason there are so many Christians who believe they have been used by the likes of Bush, Falwell, Robertson and the Reids. Look back and consider the Newt Gingrich led invasion of Republicans in the House of Represenatives. It was only a matter of time before the new Republican majority became as fat and callous as the old liberal democrats they had replaced. Guess who is speaker of the House? We have two groups to thank. 1) The laying fat republicans who betrayed us, and, 2) ourselves. Let it never happen again! Trust no one poltical party. If we are able to convince a great many of our fellow citizens that the issues we address are of the highest priority then the candidates will serve our agenda and not the other way around.
I have enjoyed membership in a union for the last 37 years. Within our nation unions have a divided membership. Why is this so? It is simply because there are good moral union members who stand against abortion, NAFTA, child labor and numerous other issues but who also do not feel comfortable supporting the increase in size of the welfare state. If they have their way the socialist agenda of a good many union leaders will ultimately lead to bigger government and reduced rights for our fellow citizens. We need to learn to speak to union people about the issues that concern us in a non-partisan manner. There's also a lesson to be learned. Many unions claim to be non-partisan but anyone who has enjoyed union membership for any length of time knows the truth. They are very partisan. Do not follow their example. Be non-partisan and mean what you say. Do not allow the political right or the left to consider you as an ally. The objective is to enjoy such great social and moral influence candidates will see it desirable to identify with you.
I've personally co-initiated and participated in an ad-hoc group and know first hand how motivated people can use it for the good of all. You might also want to look into the existence of other such groups in your area. Why duplicate the labors of other like minded neighbors?
Now if you haven't inserted yourself into the political process long before and after an election don't go crying to your pastor about his silence in the pulpit. A true political activist works hard as hell in between elections because when the candidates begin to open up it is already too late to influence them.
One more thing. If you are a Christian never, I repeat never, rob God of his just due in your life. Never compromise your time and fellowship with our God through His Spirit at the expense of being an activist. Pastors and other church leaders who agree with the purpose and methods of your ad-hoc group may feel comfortable to give his name to the common cause --not as a pastor but as a fellow citizen.
Conclusion. Never expect your pastors and churches to do what you can do much more effectively.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1Ad hoc is a Latin phrase which means "for this purpose. It generally signifies a solution designed for a specific problem or task, non-generalizable, and which cannot be adapted to other purposes. Common examples are organizations, committees, and commissions created at the national or international level for a specific task; in other fields the term may refer, for example, to a tailor-made suit, a handcrafted network protocol, or a purpose-specific equation. Ad hoc can also have connotations of a makeshift solution, inadequate planning, or improvised events. Other derivates of the Latin include AdHoc, adhoc and ad-hoc. (see <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hoc>)