Written by: gfesadmin on March 18, 2013

Many of today’s gadgets come with some type of an in-built reset option to help them refocus or recalibrate their original purpose and thus to work as designed. When internal or external damage occurs, the gadgets may need to be replaced, and the process of becoming familiar with a new piece of equipment and all of its features begins anew. Thankfully, not everything requires that depth of replacement.

It seems we are at a moment in American church culture where we are in need of a reset. We’re not at the place, per se, where we need to throw out the church all together and replace it with something else, but the church’s strategies and influence on social and political culture must be reevaluated. If only it were easy!  

As part of this recalibrating, we as Christians should return to the fundamental practice of servanthood, leading the way in service to the world. Wherever we find ourselves, we should keep our purpose of doing good at the forefront and not allow our own personal biases and political agendas to hinder that progress. This calls for a motivation check.  

James Hunter, in his book To Change the World, writes to Christians who have become skilled at verbally showcasing biblical principles and values by way of political theologies but not practicing them in their treatment of one another and of their communities at large. For example, Hunter points out that fiscal responsibility is part of the Republican agenda that some Christians support. However, why is this not displayed by way of them taking care of the poor, the widows, and the orphans? Where is the action to back up the theory? This isn’t about just attacking Republicans. The point is that Christian churches are losing impact as a result of beating the air with their empty words.

Though Christians claim some degree of allegiance to biblical values, they seem to be all over map on sin and social issues in America. Evangelicals and Fundamentalists are highly focused on moral issues and calling sin sin. Other Christians leave room for gray areas on topics Scripture addresses. Still others are neutral on these matters all together and don’t have an opinion either way, assuming that people will do what they want to do anyway. Some suddenly steer away from Scripture when a moral issue hits too close to home. In deciding where we personally stand, Hunter challenges all Christians to make an informed decision based on the truth of God’s Word and the realities of cultural challenges. He rejects the notion of Christians on the left or the right blindly draping their principles over cultural issues without actually being familiar with the issues at hand, as well as misrepresenting biblical narratives for personal and political issues.

At the end of the day, Hunter would suggest that we follow through on making decisions reflective of our biblical values rather than being guided by our own personal agendas.

With such a challenge, how do we reset our intention to be involved in political issues of our day while still seeking to be true to biblical values? How do we establish a better presence of Christian values that will benefit both the political and the social structures of our day?

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