The Statist Left is co-opting the church, part 1.

Part 1  |  Part 2  |  Part 3
Something has changed.  Our churches, once devoted to educating seekers in the truth of Jesus Christ, are slowly being transformed into incubators of big government statists.  In many ways this has been a slow and deliberate process.  Just in the past decade or so many churches, including the one of which I am a member, designed for "seekers" became very popular.  And although we were already Christians, my wife and I found a place in this, our new church home.  However, this is not specifically about me or my church but rather of the Church as the body of Christ.

This seeker-friendly movement was, in most ways, an amazing development.  Churches that would meet people on their level just as Christ did, not expecting any special knowledge of rituals, proper dress or any prerequisite knowledge of the Bible.  Just show up and take in the experience.  This would hopefully lead to a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ and more involvement in carrying out Christ's mission throughout the community.  Feeding the hungry, taking care of the poor, spreading the word of the Grace of God (not a comprehensive list, but you get the idea).  All things Christ commanded his people to do.  And to a large degree, they do have that effect.  People who were never involved at any level in a church before are now doing the heavy lifting in ministry's in our local communities and around the world.  This is a huge success in my humble opinion.

Something began to change in the early 2000's.  Thinking back on it now, I can see how it is not a big leap to make the connection between the church's mission and the progressive agenda of the statist left and why churches designed for seekers, would be more susceptible to it than other more traditional forms of worship.  You can see how a more liberal person would be drawn to such a church.  After all, you get to worship on Sunday morning with what is usually a good band, hear a very professional speaker give a message and are provided with many opportunities for community service type projects both locally and around the world in some cases.  All these things make a liberal feel very good.  So in a way, it's just an extension of what they believe the government should do for everyone - that is function as the all-caring nanny of all citizens.  Whether you agree with me or not on the assessment of the liberal attitude, stay with me, this is not the focus here.

My first experience with this was at a function for a particular ministry that provided food to the hungry.  The event was at a friends house and was very casual with lots of food and conversation.  The two people in our church that were in charge of the food pantry showed up to the event wearing "Kerry/Edwards" ball caps.    Beyond the obvious question I've always had of how in the world Christians can support liberals for political office (a question for a different article), I wondered what they were actually thinking.  After all if your goal is to collect as much as possible for the ministry you represent and get new volunteers involved, why would you want to alienate people with a political message?  This is the heart of the issue.  The simple truth I've come to understand is liberals are liberals first and everything else a distant second.  Even if it means violating tenets of their faith to support so-called "pro-choice" candidates, alienating potential participants in their ministry or supporting the government takeover of the intended role of the Church on Earth.  This is not arguable.  History is my guide here.  We have seen it over and over again.

Since that incident there have been many more instances where messages delivered from the pulpit have, either through flawed analogies our outright false premises, attacked the very foundations of the great American experiment.  In a particularly frustrating sermon, near the beginning of the operation to liberate Iraq, our lead pastor actually quoted the Taliban.  That's right, the Taliban.  He referenced a video in which some murderous pieces of human debris were lecturing the viewer on why America caused all the problems in the world - which is the favorite topic of every islamo-fascist video along with Ron Paul supporters evidently.  Behind the cowards speaking in the video was a banner stating "Think America, why does the world hate you.".  After the initial shock wore off, I almost walked out of the service but decided to grit my teeth an make it through to the end.  I've spent a lot of time over the years thinking about that seminal moment.  Mainly because the pastor whose sermons I had to come to look forward to because they were more like a really good professor's lecture series had become more of a political indoctrination and I was saddened by this to no end.  When my family began attending this church, I didn't necessarily agree with every point he made, but I always left having been challenged both intellectually and spiritually.  With one single phrase, he had managed to destroy all that and insure I would never hear his messages in the same light again.  Even if it had been an off-the-cuff remark made emotionally I wouldn't understand it.  Considering this was a rehearsed sermon from notes, makes it so much worse.  That someone could prepare a message, rehearse it and still be able to deliver that line with passion and sincerity is beyond the pale and shows a dangerous lack of understanding of America's place in the world.  I simply cannot get past that statement.

While this is the most blatant example I can provide, I've noticed since then attacks keep coming and not just from this particular pastor.  Usually, they are more subtle.  Negative references to ideals like "rugged individualism" or "the pursuit of happiness" are commonplace.  Again, either due to a lack of knowledge or understanding of those principles or a willingness to use them to make false analogies.  It doesn't matter to me which although I would hope it's not a purposeful attempt to sway people using factually incorrect data or prey on peoples emotions to elicit a visceral response.

You may have seen this in your church.  If not, I am very happy for you.  If you have, you're probably wonder why this is happening.  How can otherwise Godly men and women be so flagrantly misrepresenting some of the core principles of the greatest nation in human history which our founders belived was divinely inspired and ordained? I'll delve more deeply into that in Part 2 - How Did This Happen?