Christian Leaders Gone Astray

friends, the title of this post, says it all,"christian leaders gone astray." what is happening to the current christian leadership?? in turn, what does this mean to to the christian community at large?

as i continue to learn more about politics, and specifically, christians in politics, i find myself becoming increasingly disillusioned and discouraged. i stand by and watch christian leaders, doing things and making decisions, that seem uncharacteristic and inconsistent with the bible.

but how can that be?? they are christians. they read the same Bible we read. they go to church and worship on sunday. as bible believing christians, how can a christian possibly reconcile being pro-choice and same sex marriage? if they are leaders, we are assuming they are called into that position of leadership. they have a responsibility to represent the christian community with integrity, right?

friends, i wish i knew the answers to those questions. moreover, i wish i could give a resounding "yes!" to the integrity question amongst leadership. however, unfortunately, i cannot. on the contrary, up to now, i find myself continually aghast and appalled as i watch christian leadership in action. it just doesn't seem consistent with the christianity i know.

yet, upon further thought, i realize it is, indeed, a different christianity. it is POLITICAL CHRISTIANITY. (yes, i hear all the, "aaahs.." and see the nodding of heads....) this is a different bird, entirely.

apart from dr. dobson's recent ope-ed article, it appears the current high profile christian leadership has gone awry. leaders like gary bauer, tony perkins, and richard land are seriously compromising principles and values for what they perceive to be, the win. they are asking the christian community to have 'an open mind', and invoking 'christian charity' on issues that are clearly contrary to the christian fatih and beliefs. they are compromising, and are asking the christian community do the same. I, FOR ONE, WILL NOT!!

although, as christians, ideally we look to leadership for guidance and leadership. we must also realize we have a personal responsibility to exercise wisdom and prudence, in whom we follow and why. we must carefully scrutinize the credibility of the leaders as well as the viability of their arguments and recommendations.

this past week, in an article for "the hill" both gary bauer of american values and tony perkins, of family research council spoke to "reporters at a breakfast sponsored by The Christian Science Monitor in advance of next week’s Values Voter Summit."

christians.....RED FLAG!!!! RED FLAG!!!!

gary bauer and tony perkins are speaking at a breakfast sponsored by the christian science monitor?!! this is the same group founded by mary baker eddy, the church of christ, scientist. friends, the church of christ, scientist and mary baker eddy are NOT representative of evangelical judeo christianity. why are two high profile evangelical christian leaders speaking at a breakfast sponsored by a christian cult? what is wrong with this picture?? for more information re: "the church of christ: christian or cult?" see here.

this is troubling, friends...very troubling.

this past week, both gary bauer and tony perkins have been encouraging and unofficially endorsing canidates like mitt romney and fred thompson. it also appears they are actively trying to dissuade christians from considering support of govenor huckabee. in the article, they ask for an 'open mind' to canidate thompson, and proceed to try and punch holes in govenor huckabee's policies and viability.

friends, there is something amiss.


also, this past week a well known christian public relations executive, sent out a 5 page letter. (published in the new york times) to 150 conservative christian leaders, asking for support of mitt romney, despite his mormon faith. stating, "it's not if you would vote for a mormon, but would you vote for this mormon." unfortunately, the rest of the letter does not get much better.










christians.....




what are these christian leaders thinking??!!










yesterday, i heard an insightful teaching by a well known bible teacher. the study was on psalm 118. specifically, he cited verses 8-9.









"it is better to trust in the Lord, than to put confidence in man. it is better to trust in the Lord. than to put confidence in princes." psalm 118:8-9












the teacher proceeded to discuss that this principle was important to remember, specifically, when voting. he said we needed to vote our 'conscience and principles' and trust God for the rest.













he then cited 2 chronicles 7:14
"if my people who are called by My name, will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and heal their land."

he then explained, that in context, this refers to "US". it refers to christians, the child of God. if WE will humble ourselves, pray, seek His face and turn from our wicked ways...THEN God will heal our land.

christian, the responsibility lies squarely on OUR shoulders. WE must exercise our will and choose GOD. simply because current christian leadership is compromising....does not mean we must follow.

christians, we must pray. we must humble ourselves before the Lord, seek God's face, and turn from our wicked ways. quite simply, it is going back to the basics. it starts with each one of us.

God has always given us the freedom of choice. now, christians...we must exercise it.


God bless you,



"our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." matthew 6:10

christians for mike huckabee

Gary Bauer Part 2 : My Response...

below is my response to gary bauer's september 28, 2007 email.

sadly, i believe mr. bauer's opinions, may very well reflect that of many christian leaders in washington. similarly, perhaps, this letter should be addressed to those leaders, as well.

Dear Mr. Bauer,

Thank you for your response. I appreciate you taking the time to discuss the issues.

However, I was a bit concerned about your following comments:

"I believe any of the candidates, except Giuliani, would be preferable to Hillary Clinton."
Isn't the fact that Mitt Romney is a mormon, which is considered a cult, fly in the face of what Christianity stands for? Supporting or endorsing a mormon presidential canidate doesn't seem to align with a Christian's values and beliefs.

All things being equal in terms of capacity and competence, wouldn't it be better to have a president that has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and shares the values and beliefs of the Christian that is voting for him?

"I also think, after hours of private conversations, that all the candidates have flaws, but I will not discuss them publicly."
Yes, everyone has flaws. "There is none righteous, no not one." But in our lack of perfection, in our sinful state, it only reinforces how we NEED GOD in a greater way. For those that do not have or know God personally, how will they reconcile and work out the flaws that are inherently in them? And how will that reflect in the way they live and govern our nation?

"I also think we should all pray a lot before we suggest that any candidate is the candidate Jesus wants. When our Savior returns, there won’t be any elections because he is the King of Kings!"
Amen. When Jesus returns HE WILL BE KING.

Yet, in the meantime, I feel we need to be good stewards of what God has given us. We must exercise wisdom, and make prudent, integritous decisions regarding our choices in authority and government.

Of course, no one can definitively say, "this is the canidate Jesus wants". However, based on what we 'see' and 'know' regarding the canidates. We need only look at what they believe, what they value, what they've done in their lives and careers. We can then make an assessment of who best represents the values of Jesus.

In this case, the dial points directly to Govenor Huckabee. There is no way to take all the top tier canidates, weigh them on the scale of the Christian voter, and NOT choose Govenor Huckabee. He is the only true conservative consistent Christian canidate.

Mr. Bauer, I realize you may think Christian voters to be naive in their approach to politics and this election. We assume that voting in our integrity, for the canidate that best embodies and represents our values and beliefs, to be the natural and right thing to do.

On the other hand, many politicians and Washington insiders, may think otherwise. It may appear too simplistic. But if all Christian leaders encouraged Christians to vote their conscience, to vote for the canidate who best represented and embodied their beliefs. We would have a president that truly represents the Christian vote and it would be unified and powerful.

To play the Washington political game, in hopes of winning on a few issues here and there, seems to be diluting and compromising the main message and mission. Yes, there is a political game going on. But do we, as Christians, with God on our side...have to play along??

Thank you, Mr. Bauer.
Sincerely,


i sent this out on friday, september 28, 2007. will keep you updated regarding his response.

onward, christians...onward.....


"humble yourseles in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up." james 4:10