Yesterday, I was deeply grieved to hear the news of the killing of Charlie Kirk and the shooting at Evergreen High School here in Colorado.
Charlie Kirk
Charlie Kirk rose in fame because of his advocacy for conservative social and economic issues. In recent years, he also became an outspoken Christian. Ever since the pandemic, his focus on faith in Jesus as the ultimate answer became even more pronounced. He was also a father and a husband.
One thing I always appreciated about Charlie was the way that he welcomed polite and calm dialogue with people who had opposing views. Even if someone disagrees with another person’s political positions or opinions on things like gender and identity, that does not warrant murdering them and leaving their children fatherless.
Evergreen High School
I grew up in Jefferson County, which means that I played baseball at Evergreen High School. A good friend and fellow pastor is on staff there, and his daughter is a student.
When I heard about the shooting at Evergreen High School (a JeffCo Public School), it reminded me of April 20, 1999 – a day I will never forget: I was a sophomore in high school, also in a JeffCo Public School, when the shooting at Columbine High School (another JeffCo Public School) took place. There were people I knew at the school that day, and it shaped my final two years of high school in a major way – as it did our country, and the world.
Thankfully my friend and his daughter were not harmed, but the sense of unease that one gets after experiencing something like this lasts well beyond the event.
Pray
Please pray for our country, and for the hurting and frustrated individuals who are considering hurting others.
Please pray for healing and peace in the hearts and minds of those who witnessed or were affected by these tragic events.
Join me in praying what Jesus taught us:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Here in Colorado a piece of legislation—House Bill 25-1312—is moving through the State Legislature under the banner of protecting transgender individuals. However, this bill poses significant risks to parental rights, especially for parents who hold a biblical view of human identity, design, and flourishing.
The bill has already passed the Colorado House of Representatives and is now before the State Senate. If it passes that, it will go to the desk of Governor Polis to be signed into law.
The Centennial Institute at Colorado Christian University strongly urges the Colorado Senate to vote ‘No’ on the proposed bill. “HB25-1312 sets a dangerous precedent by punishing those who live out their biblical convictions,” said Greg Schaller, Centennial Institute director.[1]
What the Bill Says
Among other things, HB25-1312:
Directs courts in child custody cases to consider behaviors such as deadnaming (addressing someone using their birth name) or misgendering (referring to someone by their biological pronouns) as forms of “coercive control.”
Prohibits Colorado courts from recognizing laws from other states that restrict access to “gender-affirming care” (hormone treatment and surgery) for minors without parental consent.
Frames a parent’s hesitance or objection to gender transitions as potentially harmful conduct in custody disputes.
What Does This Mean?
1. Loving Parents Could Lose Custody of Their Kids for Holding Biblical Convictions A Christian parent who lovingly urges their child to embrace the gender which aligns with their biological sex, or does not sign off on making irreversible decisions like hormone therapy or surgery, could be accused of “coercive control” for upholding their biblical convictions, and have their children taken away.
2. Parental Disagreement Could Be Treated as Abuse HB25-1312 equates disagreement with harm, if parents do not affirm the child’s new name or identity. These legislators are trying to define what constitutes a child’s “best interest,” taking that decision away from parents – not to mention that they are defining the child’s best interest based on a particular ideology. If someone doesn’t share their ideology, they are deemed to be abusive and not acting in the child’s “best interest.”
3. It Sets a Precedent Against Religious Belief Christians believe biological sex is part of God’s design. To force parents to affirm something that they believe to be untrue puts them in a moral bind: give up their convictions or lose custody of their kids.
Jamie’s church is only a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol building, and Jamie discusses how their church has navigated some of the difficult social issues of the past few years by determining to be a “Christ alone” type of church.
In this episode, we discuss the goal of Christian unity in the midst of a divided society, and how to pursue it. Where do you draw the lines? How do you determine which issues are primary issues? And why is it important to love those who are different from you, in the Body of Christ?
Loving the Ones Who Drive You Crazy: How and Why Christians Should Pursue Unity in the Church – with Jamie Dunlop –
Theology for the People
Jamie Dunlop is an associate pastor at Capitol Hill Baptist Church, in Washington D.C. and the author of the book, Love the Ones Who Drive You Crazy: Eight Truths for Pursuing Unity in Your Church.
Jamie's church is only a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol building, and Jamie discusses how their church has navigated some of the difficult social issues of the past few years by determining to be a “Christ alone” type of church.
In this episode, we discuss the goal of Christian unity in the midst of a divided society, and how to pursue it. Where do you draw the lines? How do you determine which issues are primary issues? And why is it important to love those who are different from you, in the Body of Christ?
episodeleave a written review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
People
Continuing through the workshop that Aaron Salvato and I presented at this year’s Calvary Chapel pastors and leaders conference on the topic of Understanding Doubt and Deconstruction, here is Part 3, in which we delve into topics such as:
According to Pew Research, Americans are more divided along ideological lines – and partisan antipathy is deeper and more extensive – than at any point in the last two decades. These trends manifest themselves in myriad ways, both in politics and in everyday life. [1]
Drs. Kim and Hoffman met at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. Dr. Hoffman is lead pastor of Evangelical Friends Church of Newport, Rhode Island, and Dr. Kim is Professor of Practical Theology and the Hubert H. and Gladys S. Raborn Chair of Pastoral Leadership at Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University.
They are passionate about the Bible’s vision of the reconciliation of all things in Christ, and they care deeply about the Body of Christ and the Mission of God — and they share how this theology can play out practically in the way that we minister in a world which is plagued by division.
In this episode, we talk about when and how Christians should address hot topics in our societies, and some guiding principles for helping people navigate the cultural moments we find ourselves in.
Carrying Out the Mission of God in a Divided Nation – with Drs. Matthew Kim & Paul Hoffman –
Theology for the People
Drs. Matthew Kim and Paul Hoffman are the authors of Preaching to a Divided Nation: A Seven-Step Model for Promoting Reconciliation and Unity.
Drs. Kim and Hoffman met at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. Dr. Hoffman is lead pastor of Evangelical Friends Church of Newport, Rhode Island, and Dr. Kim is Professor of Practical Theology and the Hubert H. and Gladys S. Raborn Chair of Pastoral Leadership at Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University.
They are passionate about the Bible’s vision of the reconciliation of all things in Christ, and they care deeply about the Body of Christ and the Mission of God — and they share how this theology can play out practically in the way that we minister in a world which is plagued by division.
In this episode, we talk about when and how Christians should address hot topics in our societies, and some guiding principles for helping people navigate the cultural moments we find ourselves in.
Mentioned in this episode is Dr. Kim's book, Preaching with Cultural Intelligence: Understanding the People Who Hear Our Sermons
The answer is: Yes, but not in the way that many people might think of the word “political.”
A King and a Kingdom. The City of God and the City of Man.
The fact is that the gospel is political because it has to do with a king (Jesus) and a kingdom (the Kingdom of God).
The word “politics” comes from the Greek term politiká, first used by Aristotle, which refers to “the affairs of a city (polis in Greek).”
The promise of the Messiah, through the Hebrew prophets, was the promise of a king, who would come, from the line of David. These promises of the Messiah being a savior-king go all the way back to Genesis 49, in the promise to Judah, that “the scepter would not depart from Judah until Shiloh comes.”
David then received a promise that this promised savior-king would come through his family line, and establish a kingdom which would have no end (2 Samuel 7).
Isaiah later made the promise that this son promised to David would actually be God himself, come to Earth to establish this eternal kingdom:
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
Isaiah 9:6-7
This is why the Gospels of Matthew and Luke begin with a genealogy, which shoes that Jesus is the rightful heir of King David. It’s the reason why the Magi came to pay homage to the new King of the Jews (Matthew 2), and why Herod the Great tried to kill Jesus as a baby.
However, Jesus made it clear in his Kingdom Parables (Matthew 13), for example, that His Kingdom was fundamentally different than a mere earthly kingdom – something he stated explicitly in John 18:36.
And yet, we are told that Jesus currently reigns from Heaven, where he is seated at the right hand of the Father.
What is the Kingdom of God?
A kingdom is a realm in which a king has authority and dominion. Thus, the Kingdom of God is the realm in which God is recognized and submitted to as king.
In this sense, Jesus rules and reigns from Heaven as King now, and he also reigns as King over the lives and areas here on Earth of those who recognize him as king and submit to him (see: Luke 17:20-21) – and the day is coming, when the Kingdom of God will come to Earth, and every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:11)
One day, the City of God will descend upon the City of Man – and the Heavenly City will come to Earth (see Revelation 21).
Jesus describes the “upside-down” values and culture of his kingdom in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7).
Thus, the gospel is political – in that it is concerned with the affairs of a King, a City (the new Jerusalem) and the Kingdom (the Kingdom of God).
The Political Language of the Gospel
Interestingly, when Jesus told Pontius Pilate that His Kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36), the word he used for “kingdom” is the same word that was used in the Greek language to speak about the “Roman Empire.” In other words, Jesus was contrasting his kingdom with the kingdom of Rome.
Further, early Christians and the biblical writers – who were inspired by the Holy Spirit – used the same political vocabulary to describe their “politics” as Rome did.
For example, as Christians, we tend to think that the words gospel, Lord, Savior, and Son of God are “Christianese” buzzwords that are foreign to the popular culture. But in the first century, these terms were not unique to Christianity; they were also used by Rome to refer to its own king and kingdom.
Two common titles used for the Roman emperor were lord (kurios) and savior (soter). And since the emperors were viewed as divine, they were also called “son of god” or in some cases just plain “god.” These divine lords were believed to have brought unprecedented peace to the world, which they referred to in Latin as the Pax Romana, or “peace of Rome.” Rome was known for securing such peace and justice through warfare. And whenever Roman leaders returned home from another military victory, heralds were sent throughout the empire to announce the “gospel”—the good news—that Rome had been victorious.
All these terms were commonly used to praise the Caesars of Rome. Christians stole these titles and applied them to their Jewish Messiah, who was also killed by Rome because of the claims that he was king. Remember, this was the question that was asked of Jesus during his trial before his crucifixion: whether he was a king.
When the early Christians hailed Jesus as Lord and Savior, you need to hear a faint first-century echo: Caesar is not.
This is why, in Acts 17, when Paul proclaimed the gospel of Jesus in Thessalonica, the message created an uproar in the city – not because the people were offended at the thought of a new religion, but because they understood that the Christians were proclaiming a king other than Caesar!
“These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also…and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.”
Acts 17:6-7
If Paul was merely preaching about a privatized religious experience, the authorities wouldn’t bat an eye. But Paul announces that Jesus is Lord and Savior. And this means that Caesar is not.
Imagine that in a town like Philippi, where the Roman flag waves high and stories of military victories are swapped in the streets, there was a small group of people who believe that a crucified Jew, rather than Nero, is the true Lord, Savior, and bringer of good news, justice, and peace. [1]
What This Means for Christians Today
As Christians, we still confess that Jesus is Lord and Savior – not any political leader or party today. Our primary citizenship is in Heaven, from which we await our Savior (Philippians 3:20).
And yet, like the people of God in exile in Babylon, we are called to engage in, bless. and pray for the place that we live in now (Jeremiah 29:4-7), that we may live godly and peaceable lives, and we are to pray for the salvation of the leaders and others around us (1 Timothy 2:1-4).
We are called to be salt and light, showing the world around us God’s love and truth through our actions and words (Matthew 5:13-16).
Our ultimate hope, therefore, is a political hope – but not in the sense of the politics of this world. Our hope is the cosmic politics of King Jesus, as we await the fullness of the coming of his Kingdom and its city: the New Jerusalem.
To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
Doctors tell us that children in the womb are able to recognize their mother’s voice and differentiate it from the voices of others. Even though they’ve never seen their mother, they know and respond to her voice.
How are babies able to differentiate their mother’s voice from other voices they hear? Because their mother’s voice is the voice they hear and listen to most often.
What voices are you listening to the most?
Right now, more than ever before, there are a lot of voices out there vying for your attention. It used to be that everybody had an opinion, but now everyone has a platform.
Mobile devices are designed not primarily for creating content, but consuming it.
If you don’t think that you are being shaped by the content you consume, think again. So choose wisely!
You can spend your time listening to the voices of political pundits, reading all kinds of articles, you can spend your time listening to the voices of everyone on social media…
The content you consume not only conveys information, it has a teleology, in other words: it aims to lead you somewhere. To use a biblical term: they seek to make you disciples of their beliefs and attitudes.
Just like a baby in its mother’s womb: whose voice do you want to be most familiar with? Whose voice do you want filling your ears and shaping your thoughts the most?
Many people today are being discipled more by social media, politicians, and influencers than by Moses, Isaiah, Paul, and Jesus.
May I encourage you instead to spend more time listening to the voice of God than to all those other voices?
As you immerse yourself in the Word of God, it tunes your heart to God’s voice and it familiarizes you with his voice. As you read and study the Bible, you get to know God’s voice and God’s heart, and you become familiar with the kinds of things God says.
Jesus described himself as the Good Shepherd, and he said that his sheep know his voice and will not follow the voice of another. (John 10:4-5)
When it comes to hearing God’s voice: the most reliable, most certain way to hear God’s voice is to immerse yourself in the words of Scripture.
Let me encourage you to make His voice the voice you listen to the most. He alone has the words of eternal life, and everything that pertains to life and godliness.
Here is a recent message I taught at White Fields Church on the topic of hearing God’s voice:
My friend Nate Morris is the pastor of a great church: Mountain Life Calvary Chapel, which has campuses in Edwards and Carbondale, Colorado, serving the communities of the Vail Valley and the Roaring Fork Valley.
Recently Nate started a podcast: the New Day Podcast, which aims, in his words, “to talk about the topics which you shouldn’t talk about around the dinner table,” such as religion, race, politics, and so on.
In the episode, we talk about how my decade as a missionary in Hungary has affected my views on politics, as well as my concerns and hopes for the church in our current political and social situation.
Check it out the episode and leave a comment on this post with your thoughts and reactions, and make sure to subscribe to the New Day Podcast with Pastor Nate Morris!
The COVID-19 crisis has been a major disruption worldwide, affecting the lives of nearly every person on the planet. Movement has been restricted, jobs have been furloughed or ended, businesses have suffered, not to mention the emotional stress it has put on the population. Almost universally, church gatherings have been limited in an effort to slow the spread of the virus and protect the vulnerable.
As the crisis has continued and stay-at-home orders have been extended, the situation has become increasingly divisive, and since the responses in different areas are determined by local authorities, it has also become political.
The discourse has also shifted from simply questioning the actions of authorities, business owners, and other civilians, to questioning their motives and accusing them of everything from indifference to malice.
Christians have not been exempt from this. Differing views on the motives of everyone from government authorities to church leaders have led some Christians to view each other with suspicion or even contempt. In a highly politicized and media-heavy world it is very easy for Christians to get caught up in social and political divisions to the point where their views on these issues become their primary source of identity, and they begin to view those with whom they disagree with enmity.
The Apostle Paul’s words to the Ephesians are particularly important for Christians to hear and take to heart in these times:
Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Ephesians 4:1-3 NASB
Paul later warns the Ephesians not to “give the devil any opportunity” (Ephesians 4:27 NASB). As David Guzik explains,
The devil’s work is to accuse and divide the family of God, and to sow discord among them. When we harbor anger in our heart, we do the devil’s work for him.
As Christians our identity is found not in our opinions about politics or current events, but in Christ who gave his life for us to make us new people individually and “the people of God” collectively. A powerful example of this can be seen in the example of the people Jesus called to become his closest disciples.
Disciples from Opposite Ends of the Political Spectrum
In Matthew 10:1-4 we have a list of the 12 disciples. Two names in the list are particularly interesting: Matthew the tax collector and Simon the Zealot.
Tax collectors were Jewish people who worked with and for the occupying Roman government to collect taxes from their fellow countrymen, which not only took money away from individuals, but was used to support the Roman occupation and its military. For this reason, tax collectors were seen as sell-outs and traitors by more nationalistically minded Jews, who despised them.
The Zealots were a political action group of far-right nationalists who were willing to use violence in resistance to the Roman occupying forces. Zealots reportedly carried hooked knives under their cloaks with which they would seek to wound or assassinate Roman officials and their collaborators as they walked in public places.
Political divisions are nothing new; they existed in Jesus’ time as well. Simon the Zealot was someone who would have killed someone like Matthew the tax collector because of their differing political and social views.
However, Jesus called both these men, from opposite ends of the political spectrum, to follow him and become his disciples. He gave their lives a new direction and a new purpose. In Jesus, they received a new identity and a new community.
Apart from Jesus these men would have been enemies, but because of Jesus they became brothers, and they set aside their differences for a higher calling and a greater allegiance: not Rome, not Israel, but the Kingdom of God.
As Christians today in this politically divided climate, may we be those who are “diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace,” “showing tolerance for one another in love,” as we have been called together in one body and given a new identity and purpose in Christ.
In a recent post, I reviewed Christian Smith’s book, The Bible Made Impossible, in which he takes aim at “biblicism,” which he claims is particularly prevalent amongst evangelical Christians.
This brings up an important question: What exactly is an “evangelical”?
Popular Usage
Recently a friend from church approached me before service one Sunday morning. He pointed out an article in the New York Times about evangelicalism in America, and asked what exactly an evangelical is, and whether our church was evangelical.
Another friend recently posted online about two Christian leaders who had written a book about their support for a particular political issue, and my friend’s comment was that the divide between evangelicals and Jesus is widening all the time.
Obviously my friend is speaking of evangelicals as if they are a single, united group of people, who for the most part do not only hold certain religious beliefs, but also certain political and social positions.
Again, it begs the question: what exactly is an “evangelical”?
Origin of the Term
The word “evangelical” means “of the gospel” or “about the gospel.” It comes from the Greek word evangelion, which means a proclamation of good news.
The gospel, which is the proclamation of Jesus Christ and what He has done in order to save us, redeem us, and reconcile us to God, is the core message of Christianity. Thus, an “evangelical Christian” simply means: a Christian who is about the gospel, or a gospel Christian.
Co-Opting of the Term
Since the gospel is the core message of Christianity, one would assume that all Christians would be people who are about the gospel! Unfortunately, some political groups have attempted to co-opt the term evangelical to give the impression that theologically conservative Christians all agree with particular political, social, and economic positions and support certain political parties.
This has led some Christians to feel that they should abandon the term evangelical, as they feel it is no longer helpful in identifying them because the term may be associated in some people’s minds with certain political positions, thus creating an unnecessary barrier for some in approaching Christianity.
So what is an evangelical?
Defining Evangelicalism
Theologian and historian Mark Noll says: “the groups and individuals making up the postwar evangelical movement unite on little except profession of a high view of scripture and the need for divine assistance in salvation.” [1]
Another definition states that evangelicalism is “a transdenominational movement that has sought to transcend its differences in order to work together toward certain common activities and goals, particularly evangelism, world missions, and ministries of mercy and justice.” [2]
Nathan Hatch explains that evangelicals cannot be spoken of as if they are one united group of people who all share the same core beliefs, nor is there one leader who represents or speaks on behalf of evangelicals as a whole. He states, “In truth, there is no such thing as one evangelicalism. [It is made up of] extremely diverse coalitions dominated by scores of self-appointed and independent-minded religious leaders.” [3]
Thus, for my friend to say that “evangelicals are moving farther away from Jesus every day” is to suppose that certain leaders speak on behalf of a movement which is united in both their theological and political views, which is absolutely not true. Nevertheless, many people obviously hold this opinion, partly because of “self-appointed” leaders who act as if they do speak on behalf of evangelicals as a whole, which is the reason why many Christians are considering whether it would be best to distance themselves from this descriptor.
Not an American Movement
One of the problems with associating the term evangelical with Christians who hold certain political positions is that it fails to recognize that evangelicalism is a worldwide movement, not an American one, and evangelicals around the world hold a wide variety of positions on social and economic issues. Even in the United States, evangelicals are not united in their political views or affiliations.
Should We Embrace It or Avoid It?
Words are only helpful until they are not. Furthermore, the helpfulness of words depends on context, because in different contexts, the same words can be associated with different things. If a word carries a lot of baggage in a particular context, it might be better to find a different word.
For example, in Hungary, where I pastored for several years, the word evangéliumi (literally: of the gospel) was a helpful and positive term which gave people a sense of who we were and what we were about. In England, where I have done my theological education, the term evangelical does not carry heavy political connotations, and is therefore helpful in describing a certain kind of Christian who is active in their faith, takes the Bible seriously, and is engaged socially. John Stott, an Anglican, is remembered in England as the face of the Evangelical Alliance, a group of churches that works together beyond denominational lines to further the gospel.
In the United States some Christians, including myself, have opted for using alternative monikers, such as “Gospel-Centered,” which retains the idea of being focused on the gospel, while not using a term which has come to be associated with many things other than the gospel in American society. As I often say: as a Christian, the only controversy I want to be known for is the controversy of the gospel.
Theology for the People 