I am tired. But it's a good tired. The kind of tired where you lay on your hotel room couch pull-out bed, with those bars running underneath your chest, gut, and legs, and you still smile, droopy eyes and all.
Day one at PDYM was a glorious return to the conferences of yore. :) Smaller crowd, "youth group" feel of programming, incredibly passionate worship, and the personal touch that Saddleback is absolutely the best at--all reasons why attending this conference is THE way to use your limited training budget dollars in the future.
Our group had a special moment when our very own Sue-Ellen MacInnes won the award for the most "seasoned" youth worker in the whole conference! She actually grabbed the microphone that was in Katie Edwards' hand (see my facebook for the pic) and I was just a little worried she was going to take the program over! ;) Love you, SEM!
In the morning, I have the distinct, if nerve-wracking, privilege of sharing a little bit at the morning main session about my journey in implementing PDYM throughout my years in youth ministry. Thanks to all of you team members of our various ministries through the years who blessed me with a little feedback over the weekend about your recollections of our ministry development together.
So it's back to my Word document for the morning session for a while and then a little shut-eye before we dive into the "meat" of the conference tomorrow.
One last thing--shout outs to my new friend Jeffrey from Post Road Christian Church in Indianapolis, IN. Welcome to PDYM, buddy!
Good night, and I'll catch a lot of you in the morning!
SOLI DEO GLORIA
-Ben
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
PDYM Day 1, Coming Up!
I am SO excited about today! I haven't missed a PDYM Conference since 2002 and every one has been amazing! I am actually in youth ministry today because of Doug Fields' leadership and the encouragement of the PDYM Community. Every Conference has been a thoroughly refreshing time of learning, relaxing, and team-building, and this year promises to continue that great tradition.
If you are new to the PDYM Conference (or just need frequent reminders, like me), I have a few pieces of advice for you:
1. Do NOT get caught up in the grandeur of The Refinery. Yes, it is an amazingly sweet youth facility that none of us will ever have anything close to--which makes it a great place for a conference! But the heart of PDYM always has been, and will continue to be, about God's people fulfilling God's purposes, regardless of size, space, and setting. Truth be told, I kinda miss the days of meeting together in room 404 in the creaky old portables on the Saddleback campus. I'm sure the youth of the congregation REALLY appreciate their new digs, but for the rest of us it does run the risk of clouding the message of the conference. Worship, Fellowship, Discipleship, Ministry, and Evangelism, and developing a church culture that encourages leadership in those areas, can be and is being done by people around the world in every kind of setting imaginable, with every level of resources (including nothing). I know it will be hard, but look beyond the amazing architecture, environmentally-friendly construction, and ultra-cool building materials, and hear the heart of the Saddleback/PDYM team: it's all about the people of God relying on the power of God to help them fulfill the purposes of God in their time and place in history.
2. Don't think that you have to do everything that you hear taught at the conference this week as soon as you get back home to your church. IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN! Building a healthy, balanced, biblical purpose-driven youth ministry takes TIME. Especially if you are new to the PDYM family, go ahead and tell yourself that it's going to take at least five years to begin to see the kind of healthy youth ministry that you hear about this week becoming fully formed at your church. Take in all the teaching, enjoy the fun elements of the week, soak up the beautiful sunshine, spend a few extra moments alone with God every day, and begin to patiently plan to implement God's purposes in your ministry in an intentional and determined way for as long as God has you serving where you are at. We usually over-estimate what we can accomplish in the short-term and under-estimate what we can accomplish in the long-term. Take one day/one step at a time, keep the goal in mind, and enjoy the journey!
3. Don't plan to do this alone--the conference or your ministry! Find some people this week who you can buddy around with to process all that you're learning, ask questions of, and just encourage. And take that value home to your church. Get a LOT more people involved in the lives of your students, even if you think there's really no "need" for more adult involvement, yet. As you begin to see a healthy youth ministry taking shape where you're at, God will begin to send you more students. Plan now to be ready for them--to be able to offer them the kind of personal care, attention, and mentoring that every one of them needs.
I am SO excited to be here this week with my team from my church. I hope you'll take some of these thoughts to heart, that you'll have an amazing week, as well, and that the Kingdom will be advanced by those of us who gather together this week!
SOLI DEO GLORIA
-Ben McClary
PDYM State Mentor: Utah
If you are new to the PDYM Conference (or just need frequent reminders, like me), I have a few pieces of advice for you:
1. Do NOT get caught up in the grandeur of The Refinery. Yes, it is an amazingly sweet youth facility that none of us will ever have anything close to--which makes it a great place for a conference! But the heart of PDYM always has been, and will continue to be, about God's people fulfilling God's purposes, regardless of size, space, and setting. Truth be told, I kinda miss the days of meeting together in room 404 in the creaky old portables on the Saddleback campus. I'm sure the youth of the congregation REALLY appreciate their new digs, but for the rest of us it does run the risk of clouding the message of the conference. Worship, Fellowship, Discipleship, Ministry, and Evangelism, and developing a church culture that encourages leadership in those areas, can be and is being done by people around the world in every kind of setting imaginable, with every level of resources (including nothing). I know it will be hard, but look beyond the amazing architecture, environmentally-friendly construction, and ultra-cool building materials, and hear the heart of the Saddleback/PDYM team: it's all about the people of God relying on the power of God to help them fulfill the purposes of God in their time and place in history.
2. Don't think that you have to do everything that you hear taught at the conference this week as soon as you get back home to your church. IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN! Building a healthy, balanced, biblical purpose-driven youth ministry takes TIME. Especially if you are new to the PDYM family, go ahead and tell yourself that it's going to take at least five years to begin to see the kind of healthy youth ministry that you hear about this week becoming fully formed at your church. Take in all the teaching, enjoy the fun elements of the week, soak up the beautiful sunshine, spend a few extra moments alone with God every day, and begin to patiently plan to implement God's purposes in your ministry in an intentional and determined way for as long as God has you serving where you are at. We usually over-estimate what we can accomplish in the short-term and under-estimate what we can accomplish in the long-term. Take one day/one step at a time, keep the goal in mind, and enjoy the journey!
3. Don't plan to do this alone--the conference or your ministry! Find some people this week who you can buddy around with to process all that you're learning, ask questions of, and just encourage. And take that value home to your church. Get a LOT more people involved in the lives of your students, even if you think there's really no "need" for more adult involvement, yet. As you begin to see a healthy youth ministry taking shape where you're at, God will begin to send you more students. Plan now to be ready for them--to be able to offer them the kind of personal care, attention, and mentoring that every one of them needs.
I am SO excited to be here this week with my team from my church. I hope you'll take some of these thoughts to heart, that you'll have an amazing week, as well, and that the Kingdom will be advanced by those of us who gather together this week!
SOLI DEO GLORIA
-Ben McClary
PDYM State Mentor: Utah
Monday, November 3, 2008
A prayer for God's People to share this Election Eve
Our Father, Your Name is above every other name. There is no god like You.
May Your Kingdom come and Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. This little corner of the earth, the U.S., has been trusted with much, but we live among a people with unclean hearts and minds, and serious injustices.
Please help Your Church to grow in righteousness. Help us to be disciples and to make disciples through loving sacrifice.
Whoever is elected the next President, I pray that You would give him wisdom and grace. I also pray that Your people, trusting in You, would speak the truth to those in power...with words and actions. I pray that we would regain the prophetic strength that is rightly ours in Christ, through obedience and the Word.
We pray also for the many victims of 'choice'. We live in a culture that idolizes our own rights, freedoms, choices, which has led to poverty, injustice, and the deaths of many - especially the unborn 'least of these'.
Please help us to remember our allegiance to Your Kingdom, and to help us to serve the U.S. in a way that is befitting aliens and strangers. Help us to minister meaningfully, to speak boldly, to act mercifully and to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. May our living sacrifices and good deeds cause others in this nation to glorify You and to follow Your Son.
We can imagine it. And You can do way more than we ask or imagine.
Hear our prayer.
Amen.
May Your Kingdom come and Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. This little corner of the earth, the U.S., has been trusted with much, but we live among a people with unclean hearts and minds, and serious injustices.
Please help Your Church to grow in righteousness. Help us to be disciples and to make disciples through loving sacrifice.
Whoever is elected the next President, I pray that You would give him wisdom and grace. I also pray that Your people, trusting in You, would speak the truth to those in power...with words and actions. I pray that we would regain the prophetic strength that is rightly ours in Christ, through obedience and the Word.
We pray also for the many victims of 'choice'. We live in a culture that idolizes our own rights, freedoms, choices, which has led to poverty, injustice, and the deaths of many - especially the unborn 'least of these'.
Please help us to remember our allegiance to Your Kingdom, and to help us to serve the U.S. in a way that is befitting aliens and strangers. Help us to minister meaningfully, to speak boldly, to act mercifully and to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. May our living sacrifices and good deeds cause others in this nation to glorify You and to follow Your Son.
We can imagine it. And You can do way more than we ask or imagine.
Hear our prayer.
Amen.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
A Wasted Vote
A Wasted Vote
by Chuck Baldwin
October 10, 2008
When asked why they will not vote for a third party candidate, many people will respond by saying something like, "He cannot win." Or, "I don't want to waste my vote." It is true: America has not elected a third party candidate since 1860. Does that automatically mean, however, that every vote cast for one of the two major party candidates is not a wasted vote? I don't think so.
In the first place, a wasted vote is a vote for someone you know does not represent your own beliefs and principles. A wasted vote is a vote for someone you know will not lead the country in the way it should go. A wasted vote is a vote for the "lesser of two evils." Or, in the case of John McCain and Barack Obama, what we have is a choice between the "evil of two lessers."
Albert Einstein is credited with saying that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result. For years now, Republicans and Democrats have been leading the country in the same basic direction: toward bigger and bigger government; more and more socialism, globalism, corporatism, and foreign interventionism; and the dismantling of constitutional liberties. Yet, voters continue to think that they are voting for "change" when they vote for a Republican or Democrat. This is truly insane!
Take a look at the recent $700 billion Wall Street bailout: both John McCain and Barack Obama endorsed and lobbied for it. Both McCain and Obama will continue to bail out these international banksters on the backs of the American taxpayers. Both McCain and Obama support giving illegal aliens amnesty and a path to citizenship. In the debate this past Tuesday night, both McCain and Obama expressed support for sending U.S. forces around the world for "peacekeeping" purposes. They also expressed support for sending combat forces against foreign countries even if those countries do not pose a threat to the United States. Neither Obama nor McCain will do anything to stem the tide of a burgeoning police state or a mushrooming New World Order. Both Obama and McCain support NAFTA and similar "free trade" deals. Neither candidate will do anything to rid America of the Federal Reserve, or work to eliminate the personal income tax, or disband the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Both Obama and McCain support the United Nations. So, pray tell, how is a vote for either McCain or Obama not a wasted vote?
But, back to the "he cannot win" argument: to vote for John McCain is to vote for a man who cannot win. Yes, I am saying it here and now: John McCain cannot win this election. The handwriting is on the wall. The Fat Lady is singing. It is all over. Finished. John McCain cannot win.
With only three weeks before the election, Barack Obama is pulling away. McCain has already pulled his campaign out of Michigan. In other key battleground states, McCain is slipping fast. He was ahead in Missouri; now it is a toss-up or leaning to Obama. A couple of weeks ago, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida were all leaning towards McCain, or at least toss-up states. Now, they are all leaning to Obama. Even the longtime GOP bellwether state of Indiana is moving toward Obama. In addition, new voter registrations are at an all-time high, and few of them are registering as Republicans. In fact, the Republican Party now claims only around 25% of the electorate, and Independents are increasingly leaning toward Obama.
Ladies and gentlemen, Barack Obama is headed for an electoral landslide victory over John McCain. John McCain can no more beat Barack Obama than Bob Dole could beat Bill Clinton.
I ask, therefore, Are not conservatives and Christians who vote for John McCain guilty of the same thing that they accuse people who vote for third party candidates of doing? Are they not voting for someone who cannot win? Indeed, they are. In fact, conservatives and Christians who vote for John McCain are not only voting for a man who cannot win, they are voting for a man who does not share their own beliefs and principles. If this is not insanity, nothing is!
So, why not (for once in your life, perhaps) cast a vote purely for principle! Vote for someone who is truly pro-life. Someone who would quickly secure our nation's borders, and end the invasion of our country by illegal aliens. Someone who would, on his first day in office, release Border Patrol agents Ramos and Compean and fire U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton. Someone who would immediately, upon assuming office, begin leading the charge to dismantle the Federal Reserve, overturn the 16th Amendment, expunge the IRS, and return America to sound money principles. Someone who would get the US out of the UN. Someone who would stop spending billions and trillions of dollars for foreign aid. Someone who would prosecute the Wall Street bankers who defrauded the American people out of billions of dollars. Someone who would work to repeal NAFTA, CAFTA, GATT, the WTO, and stop the NAFTA superhighway. Someone who would say a resounding "No" to the New World Order. Someone who would stop using our brave men and women in uniform as global cops for the United Nations. Someone who would stop America's global adventurism and interventionism. Someone who would steadfastly support and defend the right of the people to keep and bear arms.
"Who is this person?" you ask. Go here to find out:
www.baldwin08.com
As John Quincy Adams said, "Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost."
by Chuck Baldwin
October 10, 2008
When asked why they will not vote for a third party candidate, many people will respond by saying something like, "He cannot win." Or, "I don't want to waste my vote." It is true: America has not elected a third party candidate since 1860. Does that automatically mean, however, that every vote cast for one of the two major party candidates is not a wasted vote? I don't think so.
In the first place, a wasted vote is a vote for someone you know does not represent your own beliefs and principles. A wasted vote is a vote for someone you know will not lead the country in the way it should go. A wasted vote is a vote for the "lesser of two evils." Or, in the case of John McCain and Barack Obama, what we have is a choice between the "evil of two lessers."
Albert Einstein is credited with saying that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result. For years now, Republicans and Democrats have been leading the country in the same basic direction: toward bigger and bigger government; more and more socialism, globalism, corporatism, and foreign interventionism; and the dismantling of constitutional liberties. Yet, voters continue to think that they are voting for "change" when they vote for a Republican or Democrat. This is truly insane!
Take a look at the recent $700 billion Wall Street bailout: both John McCain and Barack Obama endorsed and lobbied for it. Both McCain and Obama will continue to bail out these international banksters on the backs of the American taxpayers. Both McCain and Obama support giving illegal aliens amnesty and a path to citizenship. In the debate this past Tuesday night, both McCain and Obama expressed support for sending U.S. forces around the world for "peacekeeping" purposes. They also expressed support for sending combat forces against foreign countries even if those countries do not pose a threat to the United States. Neither Obama nor McCain will do anything to stem the tide of a burgeoning police state or a mushrooming New World Order. Both Obama and McCain support NAFTA and similar "free trade" deals. Neither candidate will do anything to rid America of the Federal Reserve, or work to eliminate the personal income tax, or disband the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Both Obama and McCain support the United Nations. So, pray tell, how is a vote for either McCain or Obama not a wasted vote?
But, back to the "he cannot win" argument: to vote for John McCain is to vote for a man who cannot win. Yes, I am saying it here and now: John McCain cannot win this election. The handwriting is on the wall. The Fat Lady is singing. It is all over. Finished. John McCain cannot win.
With only three weeks before the election, Barack Obama is pulling away. McCain has already pulled his campaign out of Michigan. In other key battleground states, McCain is slipping fast. He was ahead in Missouri; now it is a toss-up or leaning to Obama. A couple of weeks ago, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida were all leaning towards McCain, or at least toss-up states. Now, they are all leaning to Obama. Even the longtime GOP bellwether state of Indiana is moving toward Obama. In addition, new voter registrations are at an all-time high, and few of them are registering as Republicans. In fact, the Republican Party now claims only around 25% of the electorate, and Independents are increasingly leaning toward Obama.
Ladies and gentlemen, Barack Obama is headed for an electoral landslide victory over John McCain. John McCain can no more beat Barack Obama than Bob Dole could beat Bill Clinton.
I ask, therefore, Are not conservatives and Christians who vote for John McCain guilty of the same thing that they accuse people who vote for third party candidates of doing? Are they not voting for someone who cannot win? Indeed, they are. In fact, conservatives and Christians who vote for John McCain are not only voting for a man who cannot win, they are voting for a man who does not share their own beliefs and principles. If this is not insanity, nothing is!
So, why not (for once in your life, perhaps) cast a vote purely for principle! Vote for someone who is truly pro-life. Someone who would quickly secure our nation's borders, and end the invasion of our country by illegal aliens. Someone who would, on his first day in office, release Border Patrol agents Ramos and Compean and fire U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton. Someone who would immediately, upon assuming office, begin leading the charge to dismantle the Federal Reserve, overturn the 16th Amendment, expunge the IRS, and return America to sound money principles. Someone who would get the US out of the UN. Someone who would stop spending billions and trillions of dollars for foreign aid. Someone who would prosecute the Wall Street bankers who defrauded the American people out of billions of dollars. Someone who would work to repeal NAFTA, CAFTA, GATT, the WTO, and stop the NAFTA superhighway. Someone who would say a resounding "No" to the New World Order. Someone who would stop using our brave men and women in uniform as global cops for the United Nations. Someone who would stop America's global adventurism and interventionism. Someone who would steadfastly support and defend the right of the people to keep and bear arms.
"Who is this person?" you ask. Go here to find out:
www.baldwin08.com
As John Quincy Adams said, "Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost."
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Praise the Lord
Psalm 147:1-11 (NIV)
1 Praise the LORD. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise Him!
2 The LORD builds up Jerusalem; He gathers the exiles of Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
4 He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.
5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power; His understanding has no limit.
6 The LORD sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground.
7 Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make music to our God on the harp.
8 He covers the sky with clouds; He supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills.
9 He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call.
10 His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor His delight in the legs of a man;
11 the LORD delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love.
1 Praise the LORD. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise Him!
2 The LORD builds up Jerusalem; He gathers the exiles of Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
4 He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.
5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power; His understanding has no limit.
6 The LORD sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground.
7 Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make music to our God on the harp.
8 He covers the sky with clouds; He supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills.
9 He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call.
10 His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor His delight in the legs of a man;
11 the LORD delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
We're "back" and celebrating what God has done.
Read this in my devotion time this morning and it echoes my heart. :)
Psalm 126:1-4 (CEV)
1 (A song for worship.)
It seemed like a dream
when the Lord brought us back to the city of Zion.
2 We celebrated with laughter and joyful songs.
In foreign nations it was said,
"The Lord has worked miracles for his people."
3 And so we celebrated
because the Lord had indeed worked miracles for us.
4 Our Lord, we ask you to bless our people again,
and let us be like streams in the Southern Desert.
Psalm 126:1-4 (CEV)
1 (A song for worship.)
It seemed like a dream
when the Lord brought us back to the city of Zion.
2 We celebrated with laughter and joyful songs.
In foreign nations it was said,
"The Lord has worked miracles for his people."
3 And so we celebrated
because the Lord had indeed worked miracles for us.
4 Our Lord, we ask you to bless our people again,
and let us be like streams in the Southern Desert.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Jesus for President?
As we draw closer to the presidential election this year, as happens every election season, the volume really gets cranked up in the political 'dialogue'. Coworkers, friends, and family members have yet another litmus test by which they can judge one another and quarrel endlessly. It really can be very unhealthy if one lets it!
In fact, I have found myself tending to get way too emotionally charged over the whole process and I don't like it! It's one thing to have strong convictions and be able to state those convictions and engage with those who see things differently, but it's another thing entirely to paint everyone who doesn't see things the way you do as "the enemy".
As Christians, when we tie our hopes and dreams to temporal government or political candidates, we do a disservice to the cause of Christ. Look at how Jesus' responded to political pressure in His day:
"Jesus saw that they were ready to take Him by force and make Him their king, so He went higher into the mountains alone. That evening His disciples went down to the shore to wait for Him. But as darkness fell... Jesus still hadn't come back." -John 6:15-17 (The Living Bible)
"'Jesus said, 'My Kingdom is not of this world. If it were, My servants would fight... My Kingdom is from another place.' 'You are a king, then!' said Pilate. Jesus answered, 'You are right in saying I Am a King. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the Truth. Everyone on the side of Truth listens to Me.'" -John 18:36-37 (New International Version)
It's no surprise to anyone who knows me well that I strongly dislike the policy positions, political philosophy, and duplicitous character of Barack Hussein Obama. A myriad of critiques on all of those issues can be found all over the Web and there is no chance that I would ever vote for him. But I'm also not the biggest fan of John McCain. He was near the bottom of my list among the Republican primary field and I had basically decided not to vote for him before he added Sarah Palin to his ticket. As far as I am concerned, she is the best thing about his ticket and I believe that she would make the best President of all four of this election's major party candidates.
But my mind is not made up. How the candidates respond to the national issues that we face from now on up to election day will weigh heavily on my decision. There is still a fairly high probability that neither of the 2-party/media monopoly candidates will receive my vote. Chuck Baldwin, of the Constitution Party, has the best conservative principles of anyone in the race but, at this point, less than 1% of the voting population will ever hear anything about him before they read his name for the first time on their ballot on election day. Ron Paul did just threw his support behind Chuck, however, so that may help get him a tiny bump in the exposure game. Either way, even though I do see exercising the great privilege that we have to lend our individual voices to the selection of our national leaders, my sights are set on a far grander, larger, and eternally-lasting destiny.
Sure, I believe that Barack Obama would be the biggest presidential disaster in the history of our country. But John McCain, Chuck Baldwin, or anyone else who might end up holding great temporal power will also have failures of leadership, make mistakes in important decisions, and leave our nation with unresolved problems. Regardless of how much we like or dislike the particular parties or candidates in any election, we are, by defintion, always going to be voting for the lesser of the evils. No political party or candidate is going to change the world forever or bring about what God can and will through His Kingdom. And through the millenia, the Body of Christ has endured governments and leaders far worse than the worst we could end up with after this single election cycle. But in such highly-charged political climates as we find ourselves today, it's even more important to remember that Jesus is the King of all Kings and that every other leader, including the POTUS, pales in comparison, and that they will ALL one day bow their knee and confess that Jesus is LORD.
"Listen, God! Please, pay attention! Can you make sense of these ramblings, my groans and cries? King-God, I need your help. Every morning you'll hear me at it again. Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on Your altar and watch for fire to descend. You don't socialize with Wicked, or invite Evil over as Your houseguest. Hot-Air-Boaster collapses in front of You; You shake Your head over Mischief-Maker. God destroys Lie-Speaker; Blood-Thirsty and Truth-Bender disgust You. And here I am, your invited guest—it's incredible! I enter Your House; here I am, prostrate in Your inner sanctum, waiting for directions to get me safely through enemy lines. Every word they speak is a land mine; their lungs breathe out poison gas. Their throats are gaping graves, their tongues slick as mudslides. Pile on the guilt, God! Let their so-called wisdom wreck them. Kick them out! They've had their chance. But You'll welcome us with open arms when we run for cover to You. Let the party last all night! Stand guard over our celebration. You are famous, God, for welcoming God-seekers, for decking us out in delight." -Psalm 5 (The Message)
In fact, I have found myself tending to get way too emotionally charged over the whole process and I don't like it! It's one thing to have strong convictions and be able to state those convictions and engage with those who see things differently, but it's another thing entirely to paint everyone who doesn't see things the way you do as "the enemy".
As Christians, when we tie our hopes and dreams to temporal government or political candidates, we do a disservice to the cause of Christ. Look at how Jesus' responded to political pressure in His day:
"Jesus saw that they were ready to take Him by force and make Him their king, so He went higher into the mountains alone. That evening His disciples went down to the shore to wait for Him. But as darkness fell... Jesus still hadn't come back." -John 6:15-17 (The Living Bible)
"'Jesus said, 'My Kingdom is not of this world. If it were, My servants would fight... My Kingdom is from another place.' 'You are a king, then!' said Pilate. Jesus answered, 'You are right in saying I Am a King. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the Truth. Everyone on the side of Truth listens to Me.'" -John 18:36-37 (New International Version)
It's no surprise to anyone who knows me well that I strongly dislike the policy positions, political philosophy, and duplicitous character of Barack Hussein Obama. A myriad of critiques on all of those issues can be found all over the Web and there is no chance that I would ever vote for him. But I'm also not the biggest fan of John McCain. He was near the bottom of my list among the Republican primary field and I had basically decided not to vote for him before he added Sarah Palin to his ticket. As far as I am concerned, she is the best thing about his ticket and I believe that she would make the best President of all four of this election's major party candidates.
But my mind is not made up. How the candidates respond to the national issues that we face from now on up to election day will weigh heavily on my decision. There is still a fairly high probability that neither of the 2-party/media monopoly candidates will receive my vote. Chuck Baldwin, of the Constitution Party, has the best conservative principles of anyone in the race but, at this point, less than 1% of the voting population will ever hear anything about him before they read his name for the first time on their ballot on election day. Ron Paul did just threw his support behind Chuck, however, so that may help get him a tiny bump in the exposure game. Either way, even though I do see exercising the great privilege that we have to lend our individual voices to the selection of our national leaders, my sights are set on a far grander, larger, and eternally-lasting destiny.
Sure, I believe that Barack Obama would be the biggest presidential disaster in the history of our country. But John McCain, Chuck Baldwin, or anyone else who might end up holding great temporal power will also have failures of leadership, make mistakes in important decisions, and leave our nation with unresolved problems. Regardless of how much we like or dislike the particular parties or candidates in any election, we are, by defintion, always going to be voting for the lesser of the evils. No political party or candidate is going to change the world forever or bring about what God can and will through His Kingdom. And through the millenia, the Body of Christ has endured governments and leaders far worse than the worst we could end up with after this single election cycle. But in such highly-charged political climates as we find ourselves today, it's even more important to remember that Jesus is the King of all Kings and that every other leader, including the POTUS, pales in comparison, and that they will ALL one day bow their knee and confess that Jesus is LORD.
"Listen, God! Please, pay attention! Can you make sense of these ramblings, my groans and cries? King-God, I need your help. Every morning you'll hear me at it again. Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on Your altar and watch for fire to descend. You don't socialize with Wicked, or invite Evil over as Your houseguest. Hot-Air-Boaster collapses in front of You; You shake Your head over Mischief-Maker. God destroys Lie-Speaker; Blood-Thirsty and Truth-Bender disgust You. And here I am, your invited guest—it's incredible! I enter Your House; here I am, prostrate in Your inner sanctum, waiting for directions to get me safely through enemy lines. Every word they speak is a land mine; their lungs breathe out poison gas. Their throats are gaping graves, their tongues slick as mudslides. Pile on the guilt, God! Let their so-called wisdom wreck them. Kick them out! They've had their chance. But You'll welcome us with open arms when we run for cover to You. Let the party last all night! Stand guard over our celebration. You are famous, God, for welcoming God-seekers, for decking us out in delight." -Psalm 5 (The Message)
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