The White House

Five years ago this week, I spoke at the White House Christian Fellowship. It is the flagship Bible study of the White House, one of seven they had back then, one of 25 within the administration. I spoke about Acts 15 - the study was titled "The Good Fight." The end of the hour featured White House staffers asking me a lot of questions about my work at Dover Air Force Base and about the war. They asked me outright if I thought the troops were behind the war. Shannon and I were given a little tour of parts of the administration that most folks don't get to see. 

One thing is for sure: no one back then could have predicted the state of the world and the nation today. The war continues. We are still in Iraq! The presidential election campaign is what no one ever thought it would or could be. Barak Who? The world economy is melting like the witch at the end of The Wizard of Oz. Wow, it's something to look back at yesterday's future and compare it to the reality of today. 

I wonder how many Bible studies there are now, or will be next year at this time? 

Politics and Wilberforce, a bit of a rant

Think Wilberforce. This is what I have to remind myself of. 

Politics are dirty. The candidates I see are patchworks of media. I don't know them. I must pray for every single one. The Christian way of influence is to love all, especially via prayer. I pray for each one. 

Politics are confusing. Who knows who will stand. If the "wrong one" gets into office, who knows he or she is really the "wrong one." People change. God says so. Prayer is the key. God is in charge. 

Politics are pointless. What good is my vote? Well, the problem with our nation and our world is not a problem of politics, but a problem of heart. Generally speaking, abortion, among other leading social problems, is a problem because people - incredibly selfish, animalistic people - want sex when they want it and on their own terms. It's not that people want the right to abort. They want the right to ... well, you know. And by people, I mean every last single one of us. Go through the catalog of ALL our other social problems and you will find that they are ALL rooted in personal sin as the Bible defines it. People want what they want. They have since Genesis 3. God help people. 

Slavery existed because it could. There's less of it now, certainly around these parts. This must mean one last thing: politics are spiritual! Ultimately, God is the issue. We can't call a nation or a world who doesn't believe in Him to honor Him. Our first task as Christians is to offer faith, as instruments in God's hands, to a world dying to hear ... literally. William Wilberforce said, "when we think of eternity, and of the consequences of all human conduct, what is there in this life that should make any man contradict the dictates of his conscience, the principle of justice, the laws of religion, and of God?"

A New President

Whether you know it or not, whether you accept it or not, a new president will bring change to your personal life. The questions surrounding this are questions of degree only. Leadership creates environments. History has us at a strange juncture due to the downturn of not just the world economy, but human culture itself. This means that the environment created by a new president and all those who fall in under him will be that much more immediate. A few of the things I think you will notice changes in:

1) What is on your televisions and computers. Everything media, from situation-comedies to blogs will be different. In the case of this election, what amounts to drama will shift from stories about individuals to stories about groups and communities at a higher rate than we're already experiencing. There will be less about conflicts between people and more about conflicts between people and climate, poverty, disease, and the like. In other words, the human story itself will change in narrative content from Cain vs. Abel stories to Noah vs. the flood stories.

2) What you find on the shelves of your stores. The buying habits of America flow from the leadership habits in Washington. If this recession is teaching us anything, it is that government and business are really one and the same. It doesn't matter anymore if one philosophically objects to this. Conservatism is dead at the hands of those elected as conservatives. Every purchase is a vote and every vote has a price tag and is for a product. The green movement will show up in our homes and on our tables like never before. People will forego items that promise luxury for items that promise survival and - the new big word - sustainability.

3) What is preached from all pulpits of all monotheistic religions. The messages of faith will turn from self-actualization to community authenticity. Christians, I think, will especially notice the trend away from personal development spirituality toward community involvement spirituality. In fact, I wonder if some of our giant personal development ministries will have to close or retool. I think difficult times will do two things to "name-it-and-claim-it" preaching and theology: 1) make it more offensive to more people and 2) make it more audacious for those who stick with it. I've seen both first hand in Africa.

I'm not sure how good or bad such changes are. Many of them may be better in hindsight a century from now than they are to live through in the next years. I'm not certain about how my thoughts here will match up with the actual future, but I am certain that change - so promised in this election cycle - is, in fact, exactly what we're going to get with a new president. 

The Great Depression?

Many have been comparing our world's present financial troubles with the "Great Depression" of the 30's. It's interesting how we're always trying to define our present with the past. I, for one, think the comparison is a stretch. It's like comparing America's military experience of the war in Iraq with Vietnam. In Iraq, we're in between 4,000 and 5,000 of our military dead in a war that is now past 5 years old. We lost 10 times this many in Vietnam, maybe more. The comparison between them is thin. The other major 20th Century wars count their dead in the millions. The other day I read that Greenwich, CT, the home of many Wall Street types who may now be trying to wear disguises if they go out in public, is referring to the present financial turmoil as their 9/11, their Katrina, their Tsunami. Wow. Talk about a stretch. As I look over the landscape of our present woes, I sense something different than tragedy. I sense the truth. The truth is coming out. Financial lies are being exposed. They say it's all about confidence. Much of what people are losing confidence in is ... fraud. Maybe this is a good thing to lose confidence in. In John 8, Jesus says that the truth will set us free. I wonder if freedom will be an unexpected fruit of the declining stock market. I wonder how many people may actually live better lives, now that the money game they were investing themselves in has run out of gas. I wonder how many children will have parents again. I wonder how many neighbors will start caring for each other again. I wonder how many people will start living for what matters. I wonder how full the churches will get, if things get really bad. I wonder how many people will - upon losing what they see as everything - find faith in Christ. I wonder. What some say will be another Great Depression maybe actually be a great revival. We'll see.