Author: Robert
PT is Back & Thanks!
In October 2008 I started telling some friends about this website and what I wanted to accomplish. Considering that this site is not officially launched yet as I am still testing which features need to be added, the few months of its existence has been really good and I want to thank each every one of you who have visited and commented. I took a break during that last two weeks of December to rest and get ready for new features coming to this site very soon. I am looking forward to a great 2009 and the official launch of this site in February/March.
Here are a couple of things I am looking forward to this year:
- The release of 53X online and in PDF (and hopefully and iPhone/iPod Touch version too!!)
- Facebook integration. You will be able to log into this site using your Facebook account and post from pt to your facebook profile.
- Upcoming article series on LOVE to be released in February.
- Adding some really cool new authors!
Again, thanks for your continued support and feedback about how this site can be improved.
- Robert
Don’t Waste Your Sex
Joshua Harris whose first book was the very controversial I Kissed Dating Goodbye has done a short video interview about the importance of understanding how our sexuality is connected to God. The video is posted over at YouTube by Desiring God.
Church Tech Camp
For all you tech types who visit, you know that this site also discusses technology and faith (more to come soon!). That’s why I wanted to pass along to you an opportunity to attend a free "unconference" called #ChurchTechCamp. In their words, "it is a place where we all are the expert, everyone has something to share, and we all have valuable experiences we can learn from." Sounds like a lot of fun and something that I will be looking to get off work for since I work close by. It will be help at my old church, Irving Bible (man I miss that place!!) on January 8. You can find out more info at the facebook group.
Obama: Will You Pray For Me?
Apparently there is a little controversy over Rick Warren accepting Obama’s invitation to pray at the inauguration. The reason is simple, policy differences. Albert Mohler who is the president of Southern Seminary wrote an article stating that he would not accept the invitation because he does not agree with Obama on abortion and stem cell research. I understand that this is one of those issues where genuine, intelligent, and deep thinking Christian-types will disagree. And I also think that we need to be gracious to one another on this. However, I cannot help but think that we will never be able to bridge the divide between conservative Christians and liberal Christians if we separate ourselves from people who do not agree with us. I do not agree with Al Mohler on this (as well as other issues such as singles and marriage). But the man has his convictions and who can fault him for standing by them.
Even though I did not vote for the man, if Obama asked me to deliver the prayer at his inauguration I would do it in a heartbeat. Call me crazy. But if you were asked to deliver the prayer at the inauguration of a president with whom you disagree on some very serious issues, what would you do?
Right Battle, Wrong Battlefield (Abortion)
I was doing some reading last night on one of the blogs I frequent and came across a comment by the former worship pastor (Russ Ware) at my previous church that struck me. You can read his comment here. It was this comment that I found enlightening:
My point is that the life issue is the right battle, but the presidential election is the wrong battlefield.
He agrees that the life issue should be a major battle but he does not feel that politics or elections are the right place or the only place to fight it out. I have mentioned previously that this whole abortion issue seems to have been fought primarily at the political level. In my opinion, conservatives need to do a lot more than voice their concerns at the voting booth. We need a more expansive approach and I suggested that we possibly start funding projects that build more crisis pregnancy centers to offset the large number of abortion clinics in minority communities.
I have been feeling for some time that those who feel the abortion issue is the most important issue need to do something different. To change the law regarding abortion will take more than casting a vote. Abortion is the right battle but in my opinion, the election should not be the only battlefield.
Do you think we should do more to fight abortion or just focus on electing politicians who will overturn roe v. wade?
Obama Will Be The Next President: Now What?
When I went to the voting booth, I didn’t even flinch when it came down to who I was going to vote for. Being a black man, I felt no sense of temptation to cast my vote for Obama and I think I have explained why. I feel very strongly about my convictions which I think are based on my understanding of the Bible and how I feel it is best to vote. I did not and still do not feel Obama is the best candidate. But the bottom line is, he will be the next president of the United States. So what are Christians do next? I have some ideas.
1: Realize that Obama has been placed in his position by God
According to Romans 13:1 every authority is placed in their position by God.
“Romans 13:1 Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God."
We have to understand and accept the fact that regardless of whether or not our candidate(s) won, we have to respect the authority that God has in place. I know that some of you may wonder, “Well, what about evil people like Hitler?” Hitler was just as much under the authority of God as Caesar. Please do not take that as me calling Obama Hitler or comparing Caesar and Hitler. The point is that these are men who have been placed in their position by God, and therefore, they need to be respected accordingly. So we need to be careful what we say about them. It is okay to question their policies, but we need to exercise caution when questioning their character. We do not have to like them, but we do need to respect them.
2: Pray for him
1 Timothy 2:1-2 tells us to pray for our leaders. Praying for them is not an option. You do not just pray for the people you like. You have to pray for those you do not like as well. Praying for our leaders honors God (who put them there) as well as demonstrates sound Christian character. If you’re like me, this is a practice that you are not used to. Personally I am going to try to do this more than I have in the past. It will be difficult since this is a relatively new practice for me. I think this is one of those areas that we really need to take seriously.
Unless someone openly calls Obama a ‘nigger’, ‘coon’, ‘spook’ or some other racist word, you, I, or anyone else for that matter have no right to call someone who is simply questioning Obama’s policy or character a racist!
3: Consider a new approach to the abortion issue
I typically vote conservatively because I think killing innocent children is just plain wrong. Further, I also think that the Church should take care of the widows, and the poor. While I think those issues are important, I do not at all think they are the most important, especially abortion. One of the mistakes I believe conservative Christians made during the last three elections is they turned the Christian voice into a single-issue voice. I personally think that in addition to abortion and the sanctity of marriage, Christian conservatives should be more outspoken against poverty issues. Perhaps a different approach should be to continue fighting for abortion being made illegal as well as proactively reducing the number of abortions in the meantime. Conservative Christians churches and their pastors love to preach lengthy sermons on how abortion is evil, but where are the sermons about the church’s responsibility to take care of the poor instead of the government? How many churches are actually raising money to build crisis pregnancy centers next door to abortion clinics? Where are the ministries that actually try to befriend gay people and welcome them into the church instead of pushing them away with our angry rhetoric about how they are all going to hell?
4: Be slow to call someone a racist just because they question Obama’s policy or character
For those of you who voted for Obama, this one’s for you. As Christians we need to be careful about judging someone’s actions when it is not clear what their motives are. When Clinton was president and the whole Monica thing happened, there were a lot of Christians saying that other Christians had no right to say that what Clinton did was wrong because judging others is wrong. They typically quoted Matthew 7:1, but this is true only if that person was currently sinning as Clinton was. John MacArthur in Reckless Faith explains, “What Jesus condemned was hypocritical judgment of those who held others to a higher standard than even they themselves were willing to live by. He was certainly not suggesting that all judgment is forbidden. In fact, Jesus indicated that taking a speck out of your brother’s eye is the right thing to do—if you first get the log out of you own eye.” The only other time Christians are forbidden to judge is when it comes to a person’s motives. Why? The reason is because, “we are not able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).” The implication here is that only God can judge the heart because he is the only one who can see it (1 Samuel 16:7, Psalm 44:21, Proverbs 16:2, Romans 2:16). Therefore we are forbidden to judge the thoughts and motives of others as well as hypocritical judging.
What type of judging is allowed? We are told to judge in matters of sound doctrine (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22, 1 Corinthians 10:15). We are also told to judge one another concerning overt acts of sin (1 Corinthians 5:12-13).
What this means is this: unless someone openly calls Obama a ‘nigger’, ‘coon’, ‘spook’ or some other racist word, you, I, or anyone else for that matter have no right to call someone who is simply questioning Obama’s policy or character a racist! Some of you may not like that, but deal with it.
I have absolutely had it with people calling into radio shows telling the hosts that they are racist simply because the host has taken issue with Obama on policy issues. It’s simply not right. And I fear that this is only going to become a growing problem for my white friends who want to hold a conversation with a black Obama supporter in which they express their concerns about Obama as our president.
I was watching a Steve Harvey standup on DVD recently where he was explaining to the audience about his conversation with a guy on a flight. The guy was white. For those of you who do not know who Steve Harvey is, he is black. They talked about all sorts of things but the conversation eventually drifted over to politics and the election. The guy asked Steve who he was voting for and Steve told him he was voting for Obama. They said why? Steve said, because he’s black. I will give Steve all the credit in the world for that because there are still plenty of blacks out there who will not admit that the only reason they voted for the man was because of his skin color. Steve Harvey is the first I have heard to actually admit that. So the guy asked if there was anything other than skin color that Steve liked about him and Steve Harvey’s response was, “Is his skin color the reason you are NOT voting for him?” For this, the audience of mostly blacks applauded like crazy. I’m sorry. I think Steve’s response was uncalled for and characteristic of the type of attitude that will never allow this country to move past race.
Do not judge someone as a racist if they have not overtly made a racist comment. Just because someone questions his character or policy, does not make them racist. Following that logic, I, being a black man, would be racist against white people since I did not like some of the things Bush did while he was in office even though I voted for him.
Conclusion
Listen. The Bible says that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. To the same degree that we esteem ourselves, we need to consider others more highly. What this looks like is the following: (1) when someone questions Obama’s character, instead of assuming they are racist, how about assuming they are simply doing just that, questioning his character; (2) instead of focusing on the unborn alone, in addition to this lets put more emphasis on the poor, and providing better healthcare; and (3) instead of being overly critical of the president, spend more time praying for him and his family.
Obama is the president. Whether you like it or not, it is what it is.