Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people.” (p.190)
Edmund Burke is credited with saying, “All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”
There is no question in anyone’s mind that the church has been silent on some social issues. I will be honest right up front here: I am NOT comfortable talking about this topic for several reasons. Even as I write that I don’t want you to think I am an uncaring cad and don’t give a rip about abortion or homosexuality or human trafficking or AIDS or homelessness or other social issues. I do. Honestly. But frankly I don’t approve of some of the methods of some people/churches in getting their message across and maybe that is making me gun shy. For example, while I disagree with the homosexual lifestyle and personally believe it is against the teachings of Scripture, I distance myself from, and cringe, whenever the fanatics of Westboro Church (Fred Phelps’ radical unChristian group) show up to picket at a funeral. I about lost my cookies when I saw a video just last week of a “pastor” (notice the quotes) in Arizona who told a newsman “I hate gays” and then asked him, “Could you really respect me as a Baptist pastor if I didn’t?” (Ed. note: As a matter of fact I respect you less, and the word resent does come to mind). I want NOTHING to do with those people and really resent being lumped in with them. In my eyes they are anti-Christ people and harm the cause of Christ instead of promoting it.
So this whole social issue thing bothers me. Wait! Hang in there and don’t write me off just yet!! While I am not against helping people and reaching out to those with AIDS (what Richard Stearns calls “the greatest humanitarian crisis of all time”), I want to be careful when leading a church that a social agenda does not cannot become our priority. Our first priority is proclaiming the Good News of God’s love for all men-red, yellow, black, white, gay/lesbian, straight, homeless, (fill in the blank). The outgrowth of our commitment to Jesus Christ is a desire to make Him known to others in tangible ways. Stearns says, “A church that has lost its voice for justice is a Church that has lost its relevance (hmmm there’s that word) in the world.” (p.193) On the other hand, I also contend that a church consumed in social justice, but not preaching the Truth of Jesus, has lost sight of its real mission. I don’t want to beat a dead horse so let me just sum it up: A faith that does not live out what God has done in our lives is not a real faith at all.
Okay…now it is your turn to let me have it! 😛 Agree or disagree please feel free to speak your piece. Just be nice. Seriously, I would like to hear your thoughts.
This post is part of the weekly book discussion of Richard Stearns’ book The Hole In Our Gospel. It is hosted by my blogging friends Jason and Sarah. Please see Jason’s blog for the widget to other posts on this chapter.
King’s quote just about made me cry. So much truth in it.
That is true Michael. Thanks for coming by.
A faith that does not live out what God has done in our lives is not a real faith at all. – true.
I would agree with you regarding the stance Christ-followers should take regarding homosexuality or abortion and stuff like that. No idea who said it first (I think it was Augustine), “love the sinner, hate the sin” – Jesus loved the women who let their bodies be used for immorality but that did not stop Him from hating the immorality of what they were doing. For some reason, people always combine WHO the person is and WHAT they do… And whatever they do, that cannot change the way God originally made them – His children, His beloved, His best creation. But it is our mission to share that original God’s goal for creation with the fellow creatures – otherwise we’re useless.
Sorry for a long post…
Great thought Zee: “people always combine WHO the person is and WHAT they do.” WOW! You put it right on the money! Too bad in all the mess people can’t see God original thought-they are His children, His beloved. Well said my friend! thanks for the comment.
I’m not sure you can “hate” without judging first and I think we all know that is not our job.
It takes a great deal of effort for me to “stay nice” when I see these things Bill. And I’ll leave it at that.
If I read you right Toby (which I think I am) I wanted to jump right through the video and choke the dude (in Jesus’ name of course). 🙂 But I agree with you about the “hate” and judging. Thanks for the comment.
“All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”
That quote is one I keep coming back to and use in a seminar on passivity. The good in us must be from the Good God we serve. He alone helps us love the “unlovable”. Great thoughts bro’
Thanks Jay. That quote has stuck with me ever since I heard it.
I can only agree with what you say and the responses so far. Thats scary. There is no “hate” in the Christian vocabulary. I don’t hate the crazy Baptist preacher. I have been warned of wolves in sheeps clothing. I expect it. It is part of the story.
I can only amplify your opening quote from Dr. King. Our silence has allowed the vitriolic statements of the Falwells, the Haggards. the Swaggards,the Robertsons and the Grahams to define us. They are not me.With them I disagree.
Let them run their Jesus business.
I agree with you Jeff that hate is not in the Christian vocabulary except we are to hate sin. And yes, there will be wolves in sheep’s clothing. Thanks for the comment.
Bill,
I am unashamedly taking the liberty of cross-posting this blog piece over at my personal blog. You raise some relevant and pertinent issues here, and this is the kind of conversations we, as The Bride, need to be having with one another.
I will respect your words and will give you the full credit, of course. I will also be posting a response on my blog because it will take up considerable space, and I did not wish to clutter up your blog with a lengthy tirade.
Seriously, Bill, THIS is a really-real world issue we face as sons of God and I am so glad you had the courage to bring it up.
Bravo, sir.
Here’s proper link, Bill.
I hope I added to your outstanding words with relevance!
http://projectmathetes.wordpress.com/2010/12/14/an-uncaring-church-bill-cycleguys-spin-blog/
Donald: I am humbled and honored that you would consider this worthy enough to be passed on. thanks. Will check out the link also. Thanks for coming by.
Hi Bill,
I think we have to go back into the Scriptures and see the example of the Apostles and what they were doing with their ministries. What were they teaching the people. What was their purpose. What was the purpose of the believers they brought to Christ.
Then we can look at Jesus’s ministry. There were social issues in his day. Social issues around leprosy and how people with this disease were treated, etc. Israel the nation, was under oppressive Roman rule and domination. There were social issues with widows, orphans and slaves. There were poor people in Israel and in the surrounding countries.
Jesus didn’t ignore them. He taught his disciples about being just in these matters. He gave to the poor. But, his ministry was focused on his reason for being. To be the gate or the door for people to enter the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.
John 10:9 ‘I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved’
in verse 4 of chp 10 Jesus says that he is the shepherd and he goes on ahead of the sheep.
In vs 3,4,and 27 of John chp. 10 Jesus says that the sheep listen to his voice and follow him.
Redemption and Salvation for all. A new life, a new beginning, fellowship with God.
Linda: most definitely agree with that last statement. That is why I live, move and have my being (to borrow Paul’s statement from Acts). Thanks for the comment.
I am like you (there is a surprise) and I have nothing against social issues but do not ever want a social issue be lost in the truth of the Gospel but I do not ever want to not be doing good.
Love the quote “All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” – I see this being on both sides of the coin – good men not doing social things and good men not sharing the good news of Christ.
Great post Bill.
Good thoughts Jim. ‘Course they are. We think alike. LOL Good take on the quote. Thanks for the comment.
I really like what you said about living in faith, very true. What that “pastor” said is sometimes what turns nonbelievers off to even trying a church or listening to a christian friend…..they think christians are hypocrits and judgmental. I have encountered this attitude personally with family or a friend who I would like to bring to God. So I just try to live my life out as Godly as I can, hoping they will see something different & pleasing in me. (this is not always easy!) That Westboro Baptist “church” is no church & once again gives Godly, bible teaching churches a bad rap….I had a very frustrating conversation with somebody who was trying to compare the Westboro people to all churches, but I digress… Zee is right…..love the sinner, hate the sin, sometimes that is hard to do with our human hearts. Thank you God that He loves us all unconditionally, no matter what the sin. Good post & comments!
You hit the nail on the head Jan with your comments about living a life of faith. It is sad that people make judgments of other Christians because of the antics of some. And along with you I thank God for loving us unconditionally. Thanks for the great comment. 🙂
Maybe I’m a cynic, but I take what Zee said and see it a step further: People combine the who (person) and the what(action) so they can throw around false accusations of being personally attacked when you call out sin. It’s a by-product of the last few selfish generations that were taught “me first.”
By melding the action with the person, they know they can get sympathy from others just by dropping words like “bigot.” They know that most people won’t stop to see if someone REALLY is a bigot; just the use of the word is enough. That’s why “gay rights” activists say that word as much as possible. They can’t argue if someone looks at the whole issue because there’s no way to contradict the Scriptures; so it’s easier to say they’re being attacked, judged, condemned. It’s petty and it’s about the level of involvement in discourse most people want to make so they get people to side with them because they’re going after a straw man known as “bad, judgemental people.”
And it’s infecting the church. I can think quickly of a dozen people I go to church with who say nothing about sinful behavior because they “don’t judge people.” It’s rendering the church truly impotent and Satan has to be laughing his head off.
re: the last paragraph… i am not sure where to place myself on the pendulum’s route, but hopefully i am at least somewhere close the middle… (at least that’s what i am trying to do, anyway)… i mean, not calling a sin what is a sin is a weakness, but then there are a lot of people who keep “putting tags” on others, calling EVERYTHING a sin it seems like (i know a guy who doesn’t let his kids read anything BUT the Bible because reading everything else is a sin… i truly have no idea what his kids do at literature classes)… there should be a middle where we’re not “bad, judgemental people” yet at the same time not “weaklings who don’t care”
See what you mean Zee. It is that whole “meet me in the middle” thing. find a happy medium. That is tough to do but it may be what we need to do. P.S. I feel sorry for that man’s children. Thanks for the comment.
I understand what you mean. Covering these topics in 300-500 words leaves a lot of room for assumptions about our motivations, feelings, etc. That’s why I stay away from some of these things too. I appreciate too how you keep the balance in that we can’t simply forget everything else and become social justice organizations. The Gospel is of supreme importance and if we are really preaching and living it, the other will be a (super)natural outflow.
Thanks Bill. I appreciate your heart and thoughts so much.
You are right jason. Space limits my comments as well as others to adequately express themselves. But we can try! 😛 Thanks for the comment and compliment.
There are so many stubling blocks to Jesus. By being nothing but love he was one. And that’s fine, because if Love causes the stumble, well – then the stumble was needed. But when we are idiots – and the world sees it – then uses it as an excuse – that’s NOT fine. I hate it when I give God a black eye. I hate it more when the “visible” people do. Reaching more people is a double edged sword. Gospel, spoken, and lived – that’s the thing. I’m with you Bill. Social caring is part of the living – but is not the Gospel all on it’s own.
I hate it when I give God a black eye. – never thought of it in quite this way, but it does make a point…
Certainly agree with you about the “black eye” Craig (and Zee). I am guilty. Thanks for the visit and comment.
I love this post. I like that you also focused on the fact that when the church gets carried away with social activities (or humanitarian socialism), then they also miss the whole point.
Jaycee: It is so good to hear from you! You definitely got the idea of the post. Thanks so much for taking the time to come by and visit.
Great post. You touched on a nerve. The word “relevant.” The “social justice” gospel is a dangerously slippery slope. It has at its core a desire to help people. Although good, it finds its demise in the perversion of the word “relevant.” What is relevant? Is it the continual striving to fit into a social group in an attempt to equalize the marginalized? Or is it rather a topic or person of extreme importance? The world would have you believe and those who promote “social justice” that the first is really the definition. This interpretation believes that Jesus attempted to fit into the social structure and reach the “marginalized” (which is supposed to mean someone who is sick or poor). Did Jesus reach those who were poor and sick? Absolutely without question. But did He have to try to be relevant or was He relevant simply by being Himself?
The real issue is that we in the body of Christ have a fundamental misunderstanding of what is relevant.
What is relevant? God. Who is relevant? Jesus. Do we need to change Him and package Him in a different way and make Him palatable to the world in an attempt to be “relevant?” No. He is the very definition of relevant. He is the most relevant someone will ever or could ever be. What does the word “relevant” mean? Look it up in the dictionary. I did. It means that if you are sick, the relevant thing isn’t getting someone medication–it is Jesus and His healing power. If someone is poor and broke,that person doesn’t need “redistributive change”–they need Jesus because He is THE Provider. If someone is depressed, lonely, sad, drugged, enslaved by sin or sex or any number of other issues caused from sin and its effects, they don’t need the world and their fabricated system of “help” and “relevance.” They need Jesus.
Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6). In Him we live, move and have our being (Acts 17:28). By His stripes we were healed(1 Peter 2:24). He became poor so that we could become rich (2 Cor. 8:9).
Either the Bible is true or it isn’t. Either Jesus is the Way or He isn’t. If He is the Way then we need to get on the stick and be about our Father’s business.
We have one mission–to proclaim His gospel and make disciples of all nations. Nowhere does that have anything to do with trying to be relevant.
We can only be relevant when we are different and stand out from the world blazing the light of the glorious gospel of Christ bright for all to see.
Eric: you sure hit the nail on the head. I do think that the church has compromised much in an effort to be “relevant.” Sometimes we have to change our methods but our message never changes. I want to get the message to as many people as possible but not compromise Jesus or my integrity while doing so. I stand with you on the truthfulness of the bible and Jesus as the only way. Thanks for the input to this discussion.