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Pastors do well to prepare the saints to resist the upsurge of polarization sure to come this election cycle.
Partisan factions don’t care about the blood bought peace & unity of the church. But we are called to “guard the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.”
Partisan factions don’t care about the blood bought peace & unity of the church. But we are called to “guard the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.”
1. Don’t ignore politics. Don’t let party platforms shape the moral compass & worldview of the Lord’s people.
Apply gospel principles to practical social realities. Give the saints a wider moral purview & capacity for compassion than their preferred political party.
Apply gospel principles to practical social realities. Give the saints a wider moral purview & capacity for compassion than their preferred political party.
2. Don’t let your political, social, or cultural identity limit your capacity for compassion and empathy.
Where people are hurting and mistreated, empathize with them and help them, even when it’s not politically expedient to do so.
Where people are hurting and mistreated, empathize with them and help them, even when it’s not politically expedient to do so.
3. Name the sinful caricatures that dehumanize people and threaten the unity of the church.
Name common sources of these caricatures across party lines. Ask the saints how listening to these sources helps them to better love their neighbors across social and cultural lines.
Name common sources of these caricatures across party lines. Ask the saints how listening to these sources helps them to better love their neighbors across social and cultural lines.
4. Lean into commonalities. We have one Lord, one faith, one baptism. These realities make a HUGE difference in how we relate to one another and the world around us.
5. Always side with love & justice. Not everyone has an equally valid, just, or loving political opinion.
As biblical leaders we must help people distinguish between more and less just attitudes and actions. We must gently call people to let unjust and unloving perspectives go.
As biblical leaders we must help people distinguish between more and less just attitudes and actions. We must gently call people to let unjust and unloving perspectives go.
6. Help the saint better understand the Lord’s Table & Baptism. These are visible signs of our unity & equity in Christ. (Gal. 3:28, 1 Cor 11:22)
We cannot come to the Table while despising or mistreating other saints based on race, class, or gender.
We cannot come to the Table while despising or mistreating other saints based on race, class, or gender.
6. continued..
“do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing?” 1 Cor 11:22
Humiliating the poor and marginalized is an absolute repudiation what the Lords table symbolizes.
The saints must reject any political rhetoric & legislation that does this.
“do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing?” 1 Cor 11:22
Humiliating the poor and marginalized is an absolute repudiation what the Lords table symbolizes.
The saints must reject any political rhetoric & legislation that does this.
7. Encourage cultural & social humility & patience
Encourage the saints to do more listening & learning. Be slow to speak, quick to listen, & slow to become angry.
Encourage the saints to do more listening & learning. Be slow to speak, quick to listen, & slow to become angry.
