X Stop the "Stop the Steal"

 

The Plague and the Promise Stop the "Stop the Steal" View this email in your browser

“White evangelicals” have a distinct identity in political parlance. The group designated is those white evangelicals who embrace the personal life of the man and support his claim that the election was stolen. While millions of white evangelicals voted for Trump in support of his policies, many do not accept his claim that the election was stolen or other claims that he makes. Enough do, however, to warrant this separate categorization.     Like any group in our democracy, “white evangelicals” have the right to this belief. But these people are also part of the Body of Christ, the church. How they behave and what they believe reflects on Christians and impacts the perception of the Christian faith by outsiders. Their support goes beyond policies to what should embarrass. My fear is that they have damaged the name of Jesus Christ and harmed the witness of his church.    I do not write as a critic of those who voted for Donald Trump. I support their right to vote for him. My concern is for the negative reputation this group brings to the Body of Christ and our Lord.   “White evangelicals” are not a monolithic group. There are several positions, however, that most hold in common, including stealing the election. They are distrustful of the election committees and suspicious of  most sources of news. They lament the acceptance of same-sex marriage and the influence of LGBTQ community. They see a trend to “cancel culture,” a revisioning of history. In addition to these widely held positions, “white evangelicals” also extend their support into the realm of conspiracies and Messianic attributes.    Some outsiders think of “white evangelicals”as under the powers of spiritual deception. Others see the influence less ominous but as a spell cast over them. For my purposes here I use the image of fog. That is, they are unable to see because of being in a fog. I have respect for their intelligence. I believe they can evaluate facts, realize the truth, and pull away from the fog.   That sounds patronizing, I realize, but let me give two facts easily verified but rejected by “white evangelicals”—the recounts of the states and the character of the man.   If we follow the logic that the election was stolen, then somehow massive numbers of votes were lost. We should then be able to pinpoint the states whose electoral votes could have turned around the election. They would be Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. But after multiple recounts, closely observed and certified, the results in these states stand uncontested.   Two things can be said of Donald Trump. The first is that he is a liar. He frequently has stated  that he won and that he won by a landslide. The public knows these are false statements. A writer for the Washington Post tracked his misrepresentation of facts and stated that the sum of them after four years was 30,000. If some wish to discount the number because of the source, even if reduced by 1/2 the number is an astounding and embarrassing 15,000 times he falsified facts.   The other fact takes in his personal life. The former editor of Christianity Today wrote that Trump was “grossly deficient in moral character.” Consider the question of the source of funds for payment to a porn star.  Whether or not Trump had the affair was never in question.  Even a cursory exploration should eliminate him as holding “family values.”    “White evangelicals” continue their attachment to this man, knowing these realities. Yet, this is a man who should not be held up as a witness to Christ’s transforming power   The implications of this are hurtful to followers of Christ.  “White evangelicals’” advocacy for Donald Trump would seem to put the church’s blessing on a liar and a man without moral principles. If Christ is known by his disciples, who would be drawn to him by such a disciple?   The church of Jesus Christ is made up of “children of God without blemish shining in a crooked and broken world.” We are “God’s temple,” “the pillar and foundation of truth,” “the assembly of the upright.” The church is a holy and divine institution.    My hope is “white evangelicals” will love the church. This is not about repudiating any of Trump’s policies. I only pray they will acknowledge the wound to the Lord’s name and, for that reason alone, turn to the light and the truth.    This concludes the series “The Plague and the Promise.” Though far from being an expert on the causes of the wrath of God, I would say that the damage to the name of God from “white evangelicals” grieves the heart of the Godhead.    As we move into Lent, my hope is that those with these views will join me in a long time of self-examination and repentance, that we will gain a new love for the truths of God and the beauty of his church. Then we will find the power of his forgiveness and the power of that witness to the world.   The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us all.    Tad de Bordenave

IX Artemas and the church in Crete (Huh?)

 

Why pay attention to Artemas? No one has heard of him. His entire entry is: “When I send Artemas to you in Crete…” (Titus 3:12a) And why attention on the church in Crete? No mention of it in the early histories.    That’s the point. The bold and faithful work of the kingdom went on in places and people that we have never heard of. Their witness established the church in places beyond Ephesus, out of sight of Philippi, and across mountains from Derbe.    Artemas and the church in Crete today are alive and numerous.  The churches of St. Artemas do not look for recognition. They may not excel in optics—those technical devises that put some churches on the map--nor do they have a knack at soundbites. But they do the things that God wants done. In the presence of the wrath of God they show the path to his promise.   What provokes God’s wrath? The infidelity of his people, serving two masters or more, reinterpreting God’s truth, exploiting the powerless, leaving the hungry hungry and the captive abandoned, immorality that becomes normal, the loss of “the key to wisdom,” the pomp without the power, the rich who keep their wealth, the powerful who keep their power---to mention a few.    That’s the point of highlighting Artemas and the church in Crete today. They are well known before the Lord. Their agenda comes from the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church. Here are four focal points they follow.   Sorrowing. The  sorrow and mourning of the widow of Nain touched Christ’s heart deeply. At the grave of his friend Lazarus, he wept. Yes, he enjoyed a wedding feast and many dinners, but he was a “Man of Sorrows.”   Sorrow is near at hand today. The pandemic has sown many tears, much anxiety, and endless fear. For many, they see no silver lining. No good emerges, no light or balm exists. Just sorrow. The church of St. Artemas sits alongside the saddened, offers no platitudes, honors the grief, listens to the stories endlessly repeated. The forlorn need that—a place to weep, a friend to just stay by them and hold hands, just as Christ did and would do.   Acceptance. How could the woman at the well—the one with a live-in and several previous husbands--converse with Jesus except that she sensed his acceptance? How could the Rich Young Ruler continue his challenges to Jesus unless he heard the savior’s love with his answers?    The art of listening and accepting is scarce. Code words have taken over the direction of the exchange. After all, we must make sure the other knows our disagreement. And when that is done, conversation has ended. We have stumbles over the numerous hurdles that prevent civil discourse.   Acceptance lets the other person speak with no objection countered, no correction made. Acceptance means that we give the other person respect. They don’t need to know if we agree or not; what they need is our understanding and esteem, our honoring their views.  What is the cost of that? Pride. What are the values of that? Humility and love.   Prostitutes.  Yes, prostitutes. And don’t let’s forget lepers. Two nights before he was crucified, Jesus chose to dine at the home of a leper and was visited by a prostitute. Those are the people whom he said would be at the front of the line going into heaven. They found an oasis of love and forgiveness in a world that rejected them.    The Church of St. Artemas has people who have not sequestered themselves in a world that is merely a mirror of themselves. Their friends are men on corners with signs for help, women with scars of abortions or addictions, children who have dropped out, people just out of jail, hustlers who can scam with skill.   What they find is friendship. And with friendship comes their disclosures long hid and deeply buried. Instead of being greeted with shock and embarrassment, the surprise of unconditional love brings them a humble joy and profound gratitude.  Gradually they find a faith, a gratitude, a dependence, and a love eager to show the same mercy with their companions.   Foot washing. What could be more counter-cultural? What are the values so mightily pursued today? Houses on display, titles, toys, and an air that verifies all. Nothing resembling an upward glance from a washbowl at a person whose feet are being washed. But Jesus told his disciples the pathway to greatness… Be a servant.    Servanthood is one of the most liberating roles we can take. It needs no room for pretense, forfeits any reward and adulation, puts aside precious time and money, and simply and sincerely asks, “How may I help you?” Servants have shoved to the side those things the culture values. Foot washers are free, happy, and pleased to see others clean. Foot washers need no more agenda than simply to tell God that they are available. Those whom God brings forward find a cleansing in depths never anticipated.    Back to Artemas and the church in Crete. Forward to the churches of St. Artemas today. In a world where “everyone is doing what seems right in our own eyes,” God sees a people who love him and who open the path to his promise of blessing.