Tony Campolo on Liberal Evangelicals

The current issue of Christian Ethics Today contains an interesting article by Tony Campolo entitled, "Being an Oxymoron: A Liberal Evangelical." The title caught my eye and I found his explanation of his position very thought-provoking,

The word liberal has become a political label of ill-repute among many Evangelicals. But if by social liberal, you mean someone who believes America should guarantee medical coverage for all of its citizens; fund the public schools in poor urban and rural communities at the same level as those in rich suburban neighborhoods; be committed to progressive environmental policies; give more than four-tenths of one percent of its federal budget to help the poor of other countries; and give up its militaristic adventurism—then I embrace the label with enthusiasm.

Referencing the impact Charles Finney had on such issues as abolitionism and a woman's right to vote, he pens,

Back in those days, Evangelicals pulled their churches out of mainline denominations not because the denominations were too socially liberal on the race issue, but because they were not liberal enough.

Regarding abortion, Campolo (who clearly states his pro-life persuasion) says,

... many of the Religious Right Christians who share my pro-life sentiments tend to oppose enacting legislation that would enable poor women to give birth and keep their children. No wonder one of our critics says, “Evangelicals are people who believe that life begins at conception and ends at birth.” Too often it seems like we care about protecting the unborn, but we’re not willing to provide for the born.

Toward the end of his article, Campolo writes,

The Bible speaks more about justice that it does about anything else—except for love. But in the end, justice is nothing more than love turned into social policies.

My point here is not to take position on Campolo's particular views regarding social policy, although I think the quote he gives followed by his own thoughts, "'...Evangelicals are people who believe that life begins at conception and ends at birth.' Too often it seems like we care about protecting the unborn, but we're not willing to provide for the born..." should give all of us who hold a pro-life position serious pause, and merits honest reflection.

I simply want to underscore the greater sense of unease I have felt as American evangelicals have whole-heartedly endorsed one particular political party because we are so passionate about some particular planks in its platform, even when that same party strays far from our religious convictions in other areas. Might not it be better for evangelical spiritual leaders to take public stands along the lines of what Scripture says on every social and moral and economic issue, calling both parties to task when whey stray from the Judeo-Christian philosophical base upon which this nation was built, rather than align ourselves too closely with a party whose power brokers simply want to use us to elect their candidates, without necessarily sharing or promoting our convictions?

James Dobson's comments earlier this week on Larry King Live regarding one particular Republican politician seem to make the same point, saying that the man in question

...is an economic conservative. He is not a social conservative. He doesn't like to talk about marriage and about the unborn child, the sanctity of life and things like that. He wants to talk about smaller government. We believe in smaller government too, and we're economic conservatives too, but we're also social conservatives and he's not.

Years ago, I heard Teresa's mother make the statement, "Prosperity has silenced far more prophets than persecution." Could it be that the measure of acceptance by establishment, Republican power-brokers inside the Beltway in Washington that certain, high-profile evangelical leaders have experienced has tended more to silence the prophetic voice of the evangelical movement in America rather than further our values?

In the end, maybe it just comes down to each individual knowing the role God has called them to play. I have no question in my mind that for some public servants, politics is truly a vocation, but there does seem to be an inherent tension between a system of which it is commonly said, "Politics is the art of compromise," and the prophetic role of the church of Jesus Christ in the world.

Contemplating that reality gives even greater meaning to the admonition of the Apostle Paul, as rendered in Eugene Peterson's paraphrase, The Message,

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. This is the way our Savior God wants us to live. (1 Timothy 2:1)

Jack Hayford on Why Billy Graham Has Kept His Credibility and Integrity

Ministry Today magazine has an excellent article in its archives entitled, "It's Not About 'Office' - It's About Character," by Jack Hayford explaining why he believes Billy Graham has managed to maintain his integrity and his credibility for so many years. Hayford develops Graham's approach to the following key areas:

• Money
• Sexual Morality
• Sensationalism
• Hyperemotionalism
• Avoiding Digressions
• Commitment to the Whole Church

Building Moral Fences

In the wake of the recent high-profile revelation of moral failure by a key evangelical leader, many articles about the temptations leaders face have appeared in various publications and on the internet. In Leadership Journal, James MacDonald spelled out "Five Moral Fences" he has built in his own life in order to help guard against moral sin, and then urges the reader to make such parameters public in their own sphere of ministry:

1. I will not, under any circumstances, ride alone in a car with a female other than my wife or an immediate family member.
2. I do not counsel a woman in a closed room or more than once.
3. I do not stay alone in a hotel overnight.
4. I speak often and publicly of my affection for my wife, when she's present and when she's not.
5. Compliment the character or the conduct, not the coiffure or the clothing.

Regarding rule number three, he writes,

I did my doctoral thesis on increasing the incidents of self-disclosure of sin among men. I have heard more confessions of addiction to various forms of sexual sin than any one pastor should have to hear, and it has changed me. It has left me deeply persuaded that "there but for the grace of God (and some moral fences), go I." I know myself too well.

Lengthy, unaccountable hours with manifold temptations available is a recipe for failure. Romans 13:14 instructs us to "make no provision for the flesh." Do I sound weak? I am! And when I forget that weakness, I cease to know God's strength (1 Cor. 12:10).

When I travel, I travel with someone. When that is impossible, I stay with a friend. When that is impossible I do not go. Period. Early in my ministry, that meant there were things I missed out on. Recently our elders have agreed to help fund a travel partner for me. If an outside ministry opportunity is deemed worthwhile, and the ministry cannot afford a second airfare, our church pays for me to take another pastor or elder, or best of all, my wife!

I think his advice is very, very good. At Hillcrest Church, for example, our Elders have made it possible for me to follow a similar policy regarding solo travel, authorizing me to take another individual along with me at church expense whenever I feel the circumstances warrant it, though they do not require me to do so 100% of the time. If I wanted to borrow someone's lake house for a personal prayer retreat, for example, and Teresa could not go with me because of family obligations, I would not have to take someone else along, but I would normally take a travel partner with me when going on an extended missions trip. Earlier this year, for instance, when I ministered in the Middle East, about the only time I was alone was on the Tel Aviv - Dallas direct flight connection through Atlanta.

I wonder, though, how men in the marketplace could implement such a policy. Most corporate environments necessitate at least occasional travel, at times or to places inconvenient or even annoying to their spouses. I am well aware that many such men do, in fact, fall prey to moral sin, but I would have to stop short of saying that no Christian male should ever pursue a business career on these grounds alone. One thing is sure, though, all men, whether spiritual leaders or marketplace ministers, including me, need to avail themselves of God's grace in order to remain morally pure. A very important key to that process is developing healthy "boundaries" around our hearts and minds and schedules that we will not violate under any circumstances.

What guidelines have you come up with in your life? I encourage you to share them with other readers via the "comments" function of the this webpage.

Gordon MacDonald "Out of Ur"

While thinking about certain recent events that have figured prominently in the media over the last several days, I came across Gordon MacDonald's reflections in one of the blogs I sometimes read called, Out of Ur. His musings are seasoned with evident grace and compassion for our brother in leadership whose sins have been so widely disseminated, along with his wife, their children, and their church family. He also explores several much larger issues that each of us as leaders need to come to terms with. Here are a couple of thought-provoking excerpts:

It seems to me that when people become leaders of outsized organizations and movements, when they become famous and their opinions are constantly sought by the media, we ought to begin to become cautious. The very drive that propels some leaders toward extraordinary levels of achievement is a drive that often keeps expanding even after reasonable goals and objectives have been achieved. Like a river that breaks its levy, that drive often strays into areas of excitement and risk that can be dangerous and destructive. Sometimes the drive appears to be unstoppable. This seems to have been the experience of the Older Testament David and his wandering eyes, Uzziah in his boredom, and Solomon with his insatiable hunger for wealth, wives and horses. They seem to have been questing—addictively?—for more thrills or trying to meet deeper personal needs, and the normal ways that satisfy most people became inadequate for them.

No amount of accountability seems to be adequate to contain a person living with such inner conflict. Neither can it contain a person who needs continuous adrenalin highs to trump the highs of yesterday. Maybe this is one of the geniuses of Jesus: he knew when to stop, how to refuse the cocktail of privilege, fame and applause that distorts one’s ability to think wisely and to master self.

I find that to be a very interesting observation! While growing up in a pastor's home and then travelling widely across the U.S.A. and abroad, I have often been struck by the fact that some of the most gifted spiritual leaders I have met have also been among the most driven personalities I have ever encountered. Some of them have an approach to ministry that seems to bear incredible fruit, but at a physical, emotional, relational, and organizational cost that bears no resemblance to the promise Jesus made to all who would undertake His work in His way, "My yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Anyone who comes to grip with the reality of Christ's sacrifice for each one of us understands what fuels the kind of godly passion the earliest Moravian missionaries articulated as a desire to "win a reward for the Lamb worthy his name...", and yet, we all do well to remember that the Apostle Paul declared part of the evidence of true spirituality to be genuine "joy" and "peace." I don't claim to always walk in that dual reality, but I am completely convinced it is the plan of God for all of our lives!

In an even more sobering vein, MacDonald goes on to write,

... all sin begins with lies told to oneself. The cardinal lies of a failed leader? I give and give and give in this position; I deserve special privileges—perhaps even the privilege of living above the rules. Or, I have enough charm and enough smooth words that I can talk anything (even my innocence) into reality. Or, so much of my life is lived above the line of holiness that I can be excused this one little faux pas. Or, I have done so much for these people; now it’s their time to do something for me—like forgiving me and giving a second chance.

Yesterday, I brought a message to our people from my ongoing series on the Gospel of Luke entitled, "How to Deal With the Devil in Your Desert", dealing with Christ's temptation in the wilderness. While studying the fourth chapter again, I was struck by the way Satan so clearly tried to provoke Jesus into presuming upon the mercies of God, urging Him to cast Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple and take it for granted that His Heavenly Father would keep Him from experiencing the consequences of His choice.

In the same way, the enemy tries to seduce each one of us into sinning again in some area of our lives where we have experienced God's gracious forgiveness in the past. Our adversary points to the fact that God mercifully chose to not expose our misdeed, reminding us that we did not reap its deserved consequences, then insinuates, "Go ahead and sin - God will respond the same way the next time that He did the last time!" To believe that lie is to fall prey to one of the devil's oldest strategies!

As we continue to intercede for our brother whose sin has been publically exposed, let each one of us also cry out to God, asking Him to do what the biblical author prayed in Psalms 19:13,

Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. (Psalms 19:13 KJV)

Blogging 101 for Pastors

Blogging for Pastors 101 is a great website tutorial by Cory Miller that helps pastors begin blogging. It has a simple, step-by-step process to get you up and running. It also contains some good tips on how to create a more interesting blog. If you are building a church website, I recommend you check out his Building Rockin Church Web Sites link as well.

Jack Hayford School of Pastoral Nurture

Last week, I was privileged to attend the Jack Hayford School of Pastoral Nurture at the King's Seminary in Van Nuys, California. It consists of a series of four mentoring sessions in a group not to exceed fifty pastors. Each session or consultation, as they are called, lasts five days and includes some forty hours of teaching by Pastor Hayford on some aspect of pastoral leadership.

I participated in a Consultation One last spring. It dealt with a pastor's personal life, heart for people, and personal spiritual development. Consultation Two last week focused on such subjects as a preaching, ministering the fullness of the Holy Spirit to others, conducting public worship services that include charismatic utterances, worship, and the gospel of the kingdom of God. I enjoyed the first one enormously, but this second one was even better...! In coming posts, I intend to share some of the leadership principles I learned, and the practical ways they are impacting my ministry as Senior Pastor here at Hillcrest Church.

For the moment, just let me say that I highly recommend this program to any pastor that can attend...!

One last FYI ... the seminary Dr. Hayford founded, The King's Seminary, offers fully accredited graduate level credit for these sessions if you are willing to do the extra, post-modular coursework.

Pray for the young people at New Life Church

Several months ago, Teresa and I were able to attend weekend services at New Life Church while we were in Colorado. We were deeply touched during our visit by the very large number of young people and career adults, including young families, that were flocking to the church.

Today, as events have unfolded and the news stories continue to flood all forms of media, I keep thinking about those young, tender, bright-eyed, passionate, "babes in Christ." My heart is very, very heavy today as I remember what we saw. If you read this post, would you please pause for a moment and pray for them as well? Thanks!