Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
So here we are. Let me give the disclaimer once more. If you aren't experiencing these issues in your church or don't see it in your community, then I'm very happy for you. I have a feeling you would have stopped reading before part 3 if that were the case, but if not I hope you'll keep reading for information or just to know what is going on in a large number of congregations.
So what can conservative Christians do? I can only tell you what I have done and how it worked. I had a chance to meet with a group of other men in my church on a regular basis. Our group leader or someone else would pick a topic for the week, maybe with a handout or bible verses to discuss, etc. We had a lot of great discussions and I grew to appreciate the fellowship we enjoyed from week to week. I decided I would try to spur some discussion related to the role of the church so I asked the following: "Does The Church have a role in preserving American freedom?. I knew it might make some uncomfortable since anything that can be perceived as "political" has become taboo in just about every situation. Given that, I didn't pose the question until everyone was ready to leave at the end of the group but I did ask for them to give it some thought and reply to me in any way in which they were comfortable - e-mail, text, phone call, any method was fine. I received no responses. Zero. Nothing. Needless to say, I was hoping for a different response.
The central issue with most of us is the simple truth that at our core, conservatives are not activists. If we were, it wouldn't have taken the election of a left wing, statist ideologue like Barack Obama to inpsire the Tea Party movement. Conservatives want to live our lives, raise our families, take care of our friends and relatives while many also serve in our communities and around the world to carry out the mission of the Church. But when it comes to our government, we really don't like to demonstrate, protest, etc. We would like to elect representatives who understand the limits of the federal government as proscribed in The Constitution, then let them govern on our behalf while protecting our individual liberty. Unfortunately, there are many we do elect who either don't understand statesmanship or are simply so drunk with power, they ignore the solemn responsibility with which they have been entrusted.
So what do we do? I, like many others, feel completely marginalized - to borrow a popular word used by the leftists - in my own church. Conservatives who value the founding of this country have to find a way to have the difficult conversations with those in their social circles, workplaces and especially churches. Just be prepared for what may happen. Friends and co-workers may see you differently and act differently around you. I'd like to tell you having the facts, history and common sense on your side would make the difference - that you will convince people to change their minds on the spot. I'd be lying if I told you that was the case. Confronted with the facts, liberals and leftists usually get emotional. After all, when you don't have the facts, history or common sense on your side, what do you have left other than raw emotion? It's almost like your relying on "hope" and "change" isn't it? We have to force the hand of all these people, even friends, because the conversation itself is worth having! It's worth having because there is a chance you may be the one that makes someone think twice before pulling the lever for a committed statist like Barack Hussein Obama a second time. It's worth having because if we can change the minds of a few, one vote at a time, it could turn the tide. It's worth having because we have remained silent for too long, allowing ourselves to be bullied by political correctness. It's worth having because we must be articulate when defending our founding principles. It's worth having because our kids must not be a part of the first generation in the history of our republic to have a lower standard of living than the generation before. It's worth it because our kids will never hear our founding principles articulated, much less defended, at school.
Talk to your kids, your friends, your co-workers. Be assertive, but respectful even when they are not. Be optimistic and hopeful, even when they are pessimistic and defeatist. Be adamant about the inherent greatness of America and the miracle of our founding, even when they will say our founders got it wrong and we need "fundamental transformation". Explain how conservatives want everyone to have the opportunity to enjoy the bounty of this country while the statists will divide us and pit us against one another for the growth and enrichment of the state (rich vs. poor, black vs. white, latino vs. black, gay vs. straight and on and on). Let them know that we are for legal immigration that demands assimilation rather than isolation. Be forceful in your defense of individual freedom with church members even when they have been taught that is not what Jesus would want. Be confident when stating the facts about who really pays most of the taxes in this country and that taxation by a secular bureaucracy does not equal charity. Be certain in your stance that a country without defended borders is not one that can survive. Be unshakable as you fight the cliches of the left with reason and intellect.
Let the liberals spout nonsense like "I'm going to vote for someone that looks the most like Jesus" while you treat others as Jesus has instructed. Let the liberals respond with emotion while you remain steadfast and reasonable. Let the liberals explain how statism has worked in any setting in the history of the planet while you proclaim the absolute virtue and righteousness of individual freedom. Let the liberals rationalize how our defense spending must be cut while you demonstrate how United States remaining the lone superpower in the world makes the world a safer, better place. Let the liberals demand we give more and more to the state to help the poor around the world while you demonstrate that real Christian charity is a personal matter. Let the liberals quote "I am my brothers keeper", while you politely remind them the President's own brother lives in a slum in Kenya.
Look at the popular vote margins in presidential elections these days and you will see how few votes it would actually take to swing an election. The time is now for us all to act. We can do this one changed vote at a time. Even if we can only give them pause and make them think, if only temporarily, about their intellectually vacant positions, it is what we must do. If we do not, and this brand of statism is allowed to take hold in the next four years, we may not be able to fight back. We will wake up on the morning of November 7th in a far different country. Some changes will be immediate while others will slowly creep into our daily lives until our voices are no longer enough to affect change and save the greatest, freest society in the history of humanity.
As Samuel Adams once said:
So here we are. Let me give the disclaimer once more. If you aren't experiencing these issues in your church or don't see it in your community, then I'm very happy for you. I have a feeling you would have stopped reading before part 3 if that were the case, but if not I hope you'll keep reading for information or just to know what is going on in a large number of congregations.
So what can conservative Christians do? I can only tell you what I have done and how it worked. I had a chance to meet with a group of other men in my church on a regular basis. Our group leader or someone else would pick a topic for the week, maybe with a handout or bible verses to discuss, etc. We had a lot of great discussions and I grew to appreciate the fellowship we enjoyed from week to week. I decided I would try to spur some discussion related to the role of the church so I asked the following: "Does The Church have a role in preserving American freedom?. I knew it might make some uncomfortable since anything that can be perceived as "political" has become taboo in just about every situation. Given that, I didn't pose the question until everyone was ready to leave at the end of the group but I did ask for them to give it some thought and reply to me in any way in which they were comfortable - e-mail, text, phone call, any method was fine. I received no responses. Zero. Nothing. Needless to say, I was hoping for a different response.
The central issue with most of us is the simple truth that at our core, conservatives are not activists. If we were, it wouldn't have taken the election of a left wing, statist ideologue like Barack Obama to inpsire the Tea Party movement. Conservatives want to live our lives, raise our families, take care of our friends and relatives while many also serve in our communities and around the world to carry out the mission of the Church. But when it comes to our government, we really don't like to demonstrate, protest, etc. We would like to elect representatives who understand the limits of the federal government as proscribed in The Constitution, then let them govern on our behalf while protecting our individual liberty. Unfortunately, there are many we do elect who either don't understand statesmanship or are simply so drunk with power, they ignore the solemn responsibility with which they have been entrusted.
So what do we do? I, like many others, feel completely marginalized - to borrow a popular word used by the leftists - in my own church. Conservatives who value the founding of this country have to find a way to have the difficult conversations with those in their social circles, workplaces and especially churches. Just be prepared for what may happen. Friends and co-workers may see you differently and act differently around you. I'd like to tell you having the facts, history and common sense on your side would make the difference - that you will convince people to change their minds on the spot. I'd be lying if I told you that was the case. Confronted with the facts, liberals and leftists usually get emotional. After all, when you don't have the facts, history or common sense on your side, what do you have left other than raw emotion? It's almost like your relying on "hope" and "change" isn't it? We have to force the hand of all these people, even friends, because the conversation itself is worth having! It's worth having because there is a chance you may be the one that makes someone think twice before pulling the lever for a committed statist like Barack Hussein Obama a second time. It's worth having because if we can change the minds of a few, one vote at a time, it could turn the tide. It's worth having because we have remained silent for too long, allowing ourselves to be bullied by political correctness. It's worth having because we must be articulate when defending our founding principles. It's worth having because our kids must not be a part of the first generation in the history of our republic to have a lower standard of living than the generation before. It's worth it because our kids will never hear our founding principles articulated, much less defended, at school.
Talk to your kids, your friends, your co-workers. Be assertive, but respectful even when they are not. Be optimistic and hopeful, even when they are pessimistic and defeatist. Be adamant about the inherent greatness of America and the miracle of our founding, even when they will say our founders got it wrong and we need "fundamental transformation". Explain how conservatives want everyone to have the opportunity to enjoy the bounty of this country while the statists will divide us and pit us against one another for the growth and enrichment of the state (rich vs. poor, black vs. white, latino vs. black, gay vs. straight and on and on). Let them know that we are for legal immigration that demands assimilation rather than isolation. Be forceful in your defense of individual freedom with church members even when they have been taught that is not what Jesus would want. Be confident when stating the facts about who really pays most of the taxes in this country and that taxation by a secular bureaucracy does not equal charity. Be certain in your stance that a country without defended borders is not one that can survive. Be unshakable as you fight the cliches of the left with reason and intellect.
Let the liberals spout nonsense like "I'm going to vote for someone that looks the most like Jesus" while you treat others as Jesus has instructed. Let the liberals respond with emotion while you remain steadfast and reasonable. Let the liberals explain how statism has worked in any setting in the history of the planet while you proclaim the absolute virtue and righteousness of individual freedom. Let the liberals rationalize how our defense spending must be cut while you demonstrate how United States remaining the lone superpower in the world makes the world a safer, better place. Let the liberals demand we give more and more to the state to help the poor around the world while you demonstrate that real Christian charity is a personal matter. Let the liberals quote "I am my brothers keeper", while you politely remind them the President's own brother lives in a slum in Kenya.
Look at the popular vote margins in presidential elections these days and you will see how few votes it would actually take to swing an election. The time is now for us all to act. We can do this one changed vote at a time. Even if we can only give them pause and make them think, if only temporarily, about their intellectually vacant positions, it is what we must do. If we do not, and this brand of statism is allowed to take hold in the next four years, we may not be able to fight back. We will wake up on the morning of November 7th in a far different country. Some changes will be immediate while others will slowly creep into our daily lives until our voices are no longer enough to affect change and save the greatest, freest society in the history of humanity.
As Samuel Adams once said:
"No people will tamely surrender their Liberties, nor can any be easily subdued, when knowledge is diffused and Virtue is preserved. On the Contrary, when People are universally ignorant, and debauched in their Manners, they will sink under their own weight without the Aid of foreign Invaders."We are the ones who must "diffuse" this knowledge. The government run schools will not. Sadly, many of our churches will not. Our constitutionally protected media will not. We must, and we must do it now. In the days leading up to this election, be prayerful and decisive. Each of us must take upon our shoulders in a personal way, the mantle of freedom with which we have been blessed.
