On Politics, Faith and Who's Right

Just as we've celebrated our nation's birthday again (can you believe in a mere 10 years we'll be 250 years old -- that'll be a great party!), I soberly remember that we are almost exactly four months from perhaps the most contentious election in U.S. history.  This Friday will be the four month marker to November 8th.  The glow of the fireworks and our unity in red, white and blue will soon fade to mud-slinging and name-calling.  I wish it weren't true.  But it is.

Pastors hold an interesting place in the political spectrum of America.  I lead a congregation and seek to reach a community that is surely comprised of Democrats, Republicans and everything in between.  My goal in ministry is never to sway votes because earthly elections seem so small in the face of my eternal calling.  I'm trying to sway people to Jesus, not Trump or Clinton or whatever local leader that's up for election.  That doesn't mean I don't have opinions.  I just kind of pride myself in the idea that you'd have to have a crowbar to get them out of me.  My political opinions are my opinions, and they're not much helpful to my cause as a minister of the Gospel of Jesus.  Moreover, I'm increasingly convinced that I am grossly ill-informed and uneducated as to the depths of most political issues.  I am inclined to not have strong opinions about things in which I know my knowledge is limited.

I am greatly concerned about the next four months, though, as it relates to the Body of Christ.  I am troubled at how we might portray ourselves in these next four months.  Church, can we please be the Church, at it's best, this election season?  Can we live Proverbs 13:3,

"Those who guard their lips preserve their lives, but those who speak rashly will come to ruin."

If you are not a Christian, that's still some pretty good advice.  If you're a Christian, it's in the book.  We're supposed to do it.

A key concept for me to recall is that most of the political issues that any of us get all hot and bothered about are very complex.  I recently starting reading John F. Kennedy's Profiles in Courage.  In the foreword, his brother, Robert, says that any democracy exists "in the struggle for solutions which are very rarely easy to find."  John Kennedy later writes, "There are few if any issues where all the truth and all the right and all the angels are on one side."

It's why speaking rashly comes to ruin.  When we sit an think things through, we can at least see other angles to the story.  Our 'side' in a political debate almost never has all the right on its side.  We'd do well to recognize and admit that.  We can understand that it's very complex. And we understand a bigger picture.  For the Christian, the bigger picture is eternity.

Church, convincing someone to vote for your candidate will not secure their eternity.  Convincing someone to follow your Christ will save their soul.  But you and I won't do it with words.  I'm not saying it's not an important election.  I'm just saying there's something far more important at stake on which to focus our energies, so let's guard our lips.

*John F. Kennedy. Profiles in Courage.  New York:  Harper Collins, 2003.

Mark Richt & the Conundrum of the Christian Bulldog Fan

145-51.  That's Mark Richt's wins and losses, and I was there for all 51 of those losses.  In the stadium, making the death march to the truck afterward.  From the inexplicable red zone misses against South Carolina in '01 to the walk down Duval St. in Jacksonville this past Halloween night.  And the last one felt different.  I've missed 9 games that Mark Richt coached my beloved Bulldogs, but I was there for every loss (maybe it's my fault -- we always won when I missed!).  What a ride it was these last 15 years.  The Hobnail Boot in '01 and the run to an SEC title that followed a year later, finally clinching the division with the miracle on the Plains.  Finally defeating Florida in '04 and DJ's title in '05.  The miracle finish in the arm of a young Stafford in '06 and the Celebration in '07 in Jacksonville that lit the team on fire for the rest of the season.  Running this state in '09 and winning 10 striaght in '11.  The magical season in '12 including winning the toughest game I've ever seen us win at the Cocktail Party vs. the #2 Gators.  The '13 victory over LSU with Sanford as electric as I've ever seen it and the emergence of this kid from Cedartown in '14.

I saw brutal losses, too.  I don't care to mention them.  I'm trying to forget!  I always believed, though, that we'd be alright.  I gotta admit -- Halloween felt different.

Maybe I see this differently because I'm an old dawg.  I saw Herschel play his last game in Athens in '82, and I remember hearing that Coach Dooley had retired.  I was glued to the TV watching him coach us for the final time in the Gator Bowl.  I remember hearing on ESPN that Goff had been fired in '95 (even though I worked for the team then).  I remember learning that Donnan was out in 2000.  I remember the feeling walking out of Everbank Field in Jacksonville and thinking that this felt different than the previous 50 losses.  I thought I might have just witnessed the end.  I was born into Red and Black and I'll be buried in it.  And it won't much matter who the coach is -- I'll be cheering for him to win.

I want to say something to the Bulldog Nation:  take a deep breath.  I love Mark Richt.  If you don't love who he is and what he's done, well, you don't know much about people, life or football.  We won way more in the last 15 years than we lost, and way more than we had won in the previous 15.  But, Georgia Football is bigger than Mark Richt.  It's been around since 1892, and I've got pictures of Trippi and Sinkwich in my basement from the 1940s.  It'll be around after he's gone.

Mark Richt presents the Christian Bulldog fan with a conundrum.  He's a man of deep faith who truly lives it, which makes him all the more rootable.  We believe him when he says he loves a kid.  He shows it.  Any Christ Follower that is a Dawg fan wants to see him win.  Even opposing fans have to admit he's a great guy.  They even want to see him succeed when he's not playing their team.  He's molding young men, graduating players, running a clean program and impacting players even beyond graduation.  He has integrity and class.  It's about than football for him.  And it makes the Christian UGA fan proud because OUR program is about more than football.  No one wants to see a guy like that get fired.  I wanted to see him get one more year with a stellar recruiting class and a healthy Nick Chubb.  I thought he could win big next year.  But others thought otherwise, and a change was made.

I've seen comments today that of being "ashamed of my alma mater" or "we thought it was about more than football" and "looks like winning is all that matters."  Of course it's about more than football, but IT IS about football, mostly, right?  I mean, listen, I adore Mark Richt, but let's don't pretend he's the only coach impacting lives and molding young men.  Dabo Swinney is doing it.  Mark Dantonio is doing it.  David Shaw is doing it.  And they're winning big while doing it.  And there are plenty of other guys out there who can do it.  Listen, I don't think UGA will be hiring Bobby Petrino anytime soon.  That's not the Georgia Way.  I don't think this is about winning at all cost, but it is about winning more.  I'm all for winning more.  Now, that's a tall task, and we might just win less....but maybe not.  It's a gamble, a risk.  That's sports.

But you don't have to pick a side here.  Love Mark Richt.  Appreciate him, thank him.  He has loved UGA, and we have loved him.  Then love the next guy and cheer like crazy for him.  You're not changing the Athletic Department's mind because you're mad or disagree.  And you're not really making any friends by taking pleasure in the dismissal of such a fine man.  But I can tell you this:  I hope we go 15-0 next year. I hope we become the first team to have a coach win the national championship in his first year.  And if you bleed Red and Black, don't you hope the same?  Nick Chubb will be out there along with Terry Godwin, Dominick Sanders, Isaiah McKenzie and Sony Michel.  Lorenzo Carter and Trenton Thompson will be out there along with Jeb Blazevich. I think I'll cheer for them, no matter who their coach is -- because they chose to attend the school that I did, and I love them for it.

And when we shock the world, I hope Richt gets a little credit for helping build it.  Should he coach somewhere else, I'll be cheering hard for him because he's a great man who did so much while in Athens.  But there won't be a question who I'm pulling for if he ever plays us.  UGA made me a Mark Richt fan, not the other way around.

And can I close to say something?  We don't know what the next guy will do until we see him do it or not do it, so can we give him a chance to do it?  Kirby Smart might be the next Will Muschamp, but he might be the next Bob Stoops, who was also a DC who got his first head coaching job at Oklahoma.  Tom Herman might be the next Urban Meyer, but he might be the next Tommy Bowden.  We just don't know.  He might even be the next Mark Richt, and you could be called a lot worse.  None of us are happy about this.  A fine man lost his job.  Can we be sad and hopeful at the same time?  Yes.  You don't have to pick sides, Christian Dawg fans.  You can love Jesus, love Mark Richt, love UGA and cheer your guts out for the next guy, too.

Coffee, Cake & Coversation

We're excited to be launching a 4-week Wednesday night series called "Coffee, Cake & Conversation" at Harmony Grove Church of the Way.  We'll be discussing some of the hottest topics in our culture.  I'll be joined by other pastors and community leaders to talk about the following issues:

Sept. 9 - RACE
Sept. 16 - HOMOSEXUALITY
Sept. 23 - POLITICS
Sept. 30 - DATING

There are a few ways you can be involved:

1.  Join us for refreshments at 6 p.m. and dialogue at 6:30 p.m.  Childcare available up through 5th grade.

2.  Send in a question!  You can do that in a variety of ways:

• Leave it in the comments here.
• tweet us @churchoftheway
• post it to facebook at www.facebook.com/churchoftheway
• email to info@churchoftheway.net
• Leave a card in one of the boxes at one of our campuses

First Try

This past weekend we had a first around the McInnis house -- my 11 year-old son helped cut the grass.  Well, sort of.  He did the weed-eating.  It certainly saved me some time.  It was not the prettiest weed-eating job you'll ever see.  The aesthetics left a little to be desired.  It was a little choppy and a little scalped in various places.  But it was his.  He was proud.  It was a landmark moment that Dad believed in him.

But it was also a landmark moment because he came out while I was working in the yard and said he wanted to help.  He wanted to do the work his father was doing, and because of that, I wanted to give him more responsibility.  I wanted to give him more freedom.  I believed in him more because he was about my work.

Does God have to poke and prod you to be about his work, or do you go outside and ask if you can do what your Heavenly Father is doing?  When we ask to be a part of what God is doing, our Father is happy to give us more responsibility and freedom.  He begins to believe in us even more.

We spend a great deal of time talking and thinking about our belief in God, but one our biggest hurdles in life is coming to the understanding that God believes in us.  He trusts us with earth.  He trusts us with our lives.  He believes in us, especially when we demonstrate that we get it.  When we ask to be a part of what He is doing instead of staying inside and doing our own thing, God believes in us even more.  I'll bet God looks at our work and it's a little choppy.  I'll bet he'd describe it as not the prettiest job in the world.  But he's proud.  And (get this), He's able to concentrate on doing the things that only He can do.  Riding the big lawn mower is too big a job for my son right now.  Only I can do that, but he can handle the trimmer.  There are things that only God can do in our world.  But, the bigger question is what are we NOT doing simply because we won't join in God's work.  He believes in you.  He trusts you.  He wants you to be involved in what He is doing.  Go ask him how you can help.  It's okay if it's not the prettiest result in the world.  Your Father will be proud.

Sports, Art & Kids

A couple of weeks ago, our church hosted our 2nd Annual KidsGames, a free sports and arts camp for the community.  It was an awesome week, and was reminded at the power of sports and arts in the lives of children.  The cool thing about KidsGames is there are kids out there with no background mixed with kids with a lot experience.  The kids with no experience in organized sports got coaching they'd never gotten, and they were delighted by it.  The kids with a lot of experience were happy to be playing without the pressure to perform or their dad breathing down their necks.  It's fun again.

Art teaches the kids to use their creativity, to be the unique creation that only they can be.  Moreover, they build relationships in art that they never would have in sports.  They find that it's okay to like music and baseball, to like drawing and basketball, to like dancing and softball.  None of us are ONE thing.  We do a disservice to our children when we make them into one thing and nothing else.  Sports and the arts are also incredibly important ways to build relationships with children.  Nothing provides opportunities to mentor quite like sports and art.

Education is extremely important.  We need to educate our kids the very best we can because there truly is power in knowledge, but kids need the influence of sports and arts in their lives.  They need to learn competition.  There is something important about winning and losing.  Life includes winning and losing.  Kids need to experience expressing themselves in art.  God made them unique in His image.  In a world of conformity that says we have to know specific answers on specific tests, art teaches kids that there is an answer within them that has never been given.  Let us not teach the next generation that they are a test score.  Let us help them create things that we never would have dreamed of, and let us teach them to compete, to give it their all.  They'll need those skills in life.  They'll need them MORE in life.  I haven't taken a test in a long time, but life calls me to create and compete daily.

Noah

So I went to see Noah.  I felt like as a spiritual leader I needed to see what everyone was talking about.  Also, as a Christian, I felt like I ought to see it.  The story of Noah is near and dear to my heart.  I worked at a Summer Youth Ministry called Noah's Ark for four summers in college.  My son's nurseries were decorated in Noah's Ark themed gear, and I have a huge picture of the animals piling into the ark in my office.

For the first 3/4 of the movie, I was enthralled.  The imagery and effects were amazing.  The story was different, but I didn't mind the poetic license.  It was kind of like watching a movie with Biblical themes rather than a Biblical movie.  I didn't mind that.  I like movies.

The last 30 minutes got weird, so be prepared for that to happen when you watch it.  Noah and the story take a very divergent route from the Biblical narrative.  Noah's heart is not the heart of Noah in the Bible.  God's heart, at least interpreted by Noah, is nowhere near the heart of the God in the Noah story in Genesis.  I've read several reviews by theologians and seminary professors with different theories.  I believe the director's picked and chose from a lot of religious thought, and not all of it was from the Old Testament.

But, and this is the point that's so crucial for Christians, isn't it good that the world is talking about the Bible?  Isn't a conversation open to God's true heart?  The movie is well made.  It's got some Biblical themes.  It takes one of our stories and adds it's own spin.  It's an open door to say, "You know, that was really interesting, but I think X or Y really represents how a lot of the world misunderstands or misinterprets who God really claims to be in the Bible."  When we Christians immediately poo-poo a movie like Noah, we lose credibility in the marketplace.  We need to be able to engage the world, have open conversation, hear questions, live with doubts, and listen to fears.  We need to be able to be transparent about what we don't know and clear about the things that we absolutely know.  But we've got to be able to talk.  And we can't talk, we can't have a conversation if we don't know what the world is thinking.  And we don't need to be afraid.  Darren Aronofsky didn't change the Bible.  He made a movie.  And he dipped into our story to make one.  How can we use it to listen to what the world is saying?

The people I know who don't go to church or aren't really down with God want to be heard.  They want to be able to ask their questions.  Noah is like the world asking a question.  Let's use it.  Let's know what the Bible actually says.  Let's listen to God.  Let's listen to others.  And let's show the world in word and deed who God really is.  What his heart is really like.  And what he really did for us...and does in us...and through us.  But let's not put our hands over our ears and not listen.

What I wish would have happened with Phil-GQ-A&E-gate

(Sigh).  Do we have to keep doing this?  Do we have to keep hurting each other?  There is a divide in our country.  Well, there is more than one.  But, more than ever (probably because of social media), the divide between Christian and non-Christian seems like it's a mile wide.  And we've forgotten how to react and respond.  We've forgotten how to be kind.  We've forgotten decent respect for others.  And those of us that call ourselves Christians seemed to have forgotten how to read the Bible.  Homosexuality seems to be one of the big issues in the middle of that divide.  I'm not here to go into that.  I wrote a lengthy blog about it during the Chick-fil-a ordeal that you can read here.  It's a very complex issue.  I'm an evangelical Christ Follower and believe homosexuality is a sin, but I also know that Christians have handled the issue so poorly that we've judged others, when that's not our place.  We are to offer life.  With that in mind, here's what I wish would have happened through each stage of the mess.  This is what I wish was true of our country and our Church.

• I wish that GQ reporter had just said, "No."  If you haven't read the article, you need to if you're going to discuss the issue.  I wish the reporter had decided that he just wasn't going to do it the way he did it.  "Sure, I'll go spend a day with Phil and interview him, but no, I'm not going patronize him, I'm not going to bait him into controversial issues, and I'm not going to make a mockery of Southern culture.  No sir, I won't do it."  There was an obvious snide-ness to the interview that was unnecessary.  I'm a proud Southerner.  We've got our demons from the past, namely in the treatment of minorities.  We've come a long way.  I wish a reporter from a national magazine didn't feel the need to cartoon a good man.
• I wish Phil had said, "You know, I've got some ideas about homosexuality, but I'm most interested in introducing people to Jesus."  You see, telling people they're wrong has never worked.  That's never been our role.  In 1 Corinthians 5:12-13, The Apostle Paul wrote, "What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?  God will judge those outside."  All those letters that Paul wrote were to Christians.  They were written to churches.  They were for, essentially, discipleship.  In Acts, when Paul went on his missionary journeys, he was preaching one thing:  Grace.  Christ crucified for us, risen to give victory over sin and death.  Paul's letters were to help those that had received that grace figure out how to live in tune with God's heart.  When we start with "how to live," we get it wrong and the world tunes us out.  Me telling a homosexual that I think they're sinning isn't going to convict their heart.  Jesus is in the conviction business.  Christians need to offer people Jesus and TRUST JESUS to change people and convict people.  My life was not in line with God's teaching when I came to Christ, but I have learned over the years as I've gotten closer to Jesus that He wants what's best for me.  So I've learned to trust him and change.  You don't have to be straight to come to Jesus.  You don't have to be sober to come to Jesus.  You don't have to be holy, non-cussing, church-going, or generous to come to Jesus.  You just have to come.  Listen, I'm not saying we have to hide what we believe about issues.  We need to be honest, yet we need to preach truth in love.  I don't think homosexuality is the best God has planned for anyone.  I don't think it's in His plan.  But I'm not going to convince anyone of that.  I want to invite people into a relationship with Jesus and invite them to study the Bible.  God does the changing.  And, Phil's a smart guy.  I wish he'd known that you can't say things like bestiality, anus and vagina and expect that it's not going to cause a stir.  I don't think that's the route Jesus would have taken in the conversation.
• I wish Phil wouldn't have said what he said about African-Americans.  I'll bet he was telling the truth, but that doesn't make it generally true for all.  That last thing we White Southerners need to do is trivialize the experience of African-Americans in the segregated South.  It was ugly.  Our ancestors were wrong.  We repented, and we've found a better way.  Just because one prostitute doesn't think it's that bad doesn't make prostitution okay.  Phil could have said, "You know, the African-Americans I knew were happy people that I counted as friends, but I know that what was happening wasn't right, and the experience of most was horrific."  
• I wish Phil would have apologized.  "You know, I got out there on my four-wheeler and started talking and things kind of came out crude.  I have strong Biblical beliefs, but they didn't come out the right way.  I apologize for the crude language as I know it hurt some people's feelings.  That's not really how I want to represent myself, my family and my faith.  I just want to sell duck calls, be a good husband and introduce people to the Jesus that changed my life."  
• I wish people understood Free Speech better.  Phil's freedom of speech was not violated.  Freedom of Speech means you don't get arrested (which happens in other countries).  Any of us can say whatever we want, but if we work for someone that writes us a check, they have to right to say, "Well, if you want to have that opinion, we're not sure that you're the kind of person that should work here."  My guess is that if Phil had been a little less crude and a little more gentle, even if he'd have espoused the same values, that he'd have been fine.  It's not like A & E didn't know what the Robertson family thinks about homosexuality.  It's how he said it, and I'm not convinced that his statement about African-Americans wasn't the bigger deal to the network.  If you work for someone, you're accountable for how you behave and speak.  If you're a public figure (and I'm one, so I take this very seriously), the ante is upped.  If you own your own company or you're a politician, you can say what you want, but the customer and the voter have the final say.  If you say something stupid, that doesn't mean there aren't consequences. It just means you don't go to jail for it.
• I wish we had a better way to talk about homosexuality.  I'm not sure what the answer is.  It's a deeply painful subject.  The Church has long deemed drunkenness, extramarital affairs, pre-marital sex, greed, lust, selfishness and a host of other things as sin.  But this one subject gets so emotional.  People on one side feel like it is an issue that is ripping at the fabric of society while others feel like their entire being is being de-valued.  We need to find a better way, and I'm not sure the answer.  I do know that we need to be known for what we're for rather than what we're against.  The Church is FOR people.  I think that's a starting point.  All people are made in God's image.  Let's be people that show them a mirror and let God recreate them into what they can be.
• I wish people had responded unpredictably.  Instead of one side saying, "See there, I told you all those Christians are crazy" I wish people had said, "You know, the Christians I know who are opposed to homosexuality don't talk about it like that."  Instead of posting scriptures about how Phil was right because homosexuality is an abomination, I wish my brothers and sisters in Christ would said, "We love a lot of people that we don't agree with, and that's the main point I would want anyone to know.  Oh, and come to church with me on Sunday...because we love you."
• I wish Christians would begin to see homosexuality as one part of a list of issues related to sexual immorality that includes lust, pre-marital sex, pornography and adultery.  This is why we need to point people to Jesus.  There's lots of folks in our churches messed up.  Most of us have messed up.  We need to get people to the cross and let Him sort out the mess and bring healing in the brokenness.  It's not saying it's okay.  It's making sure we get them to Jesus first.  If we are going to reach a broken world, that's the only way. 

May God bring us all closer to Jesus this Christmas season.

What Churches and Christians Can Learn from WestJet

By now, I'm sure you've seen the WestJet Christmas Miracle video.  If not, take a moment to see a pretty special scene.  We'll be waiting afterward with some tissues for you:

It's awesome moment, isn't it?  It's beautiful, generous, and kind.  And people wonder if there is such a thing as beautiful, generous and kind anymore.  It's also genius marketing.  The power of that marketing is this.  When the time comes for you to fly, especially if it's into, out of, or around Canada...I'll bet you check on WestJet's flights.  And that's all they can hope for.  If it fits your price or schedule, you might pick them.  But what their generosity and hard work have done is put in our minds that WestJet is worth checking out.  They have given WestJet a good name in the cyber-world by this extreme act of Christmas cheer.  And there's a lesson in there for Christians and churches.

• We need to be generous to outsiders.  Churches often want to make money for their mission trip to a foreign country by the yearly BBQ in which they expect the community to buy it for $6/plate.  This sends the perception that the church exists to bleed the community of already strapped resources so they can fund ministries which their people are interested in.  Same thing with a car wash or yard sale.  What if we had a BBQ and gave it away and fed the community?  What message does that send?  This kind of mindset will cost money.  It's expensive to be generous to outsiders.  I happen to think people's souls are worth it.
• We need to give Jesus and the Church a good name.  Too often we are guilty of actions that give Jesus and His Church a BAD name because of scandals and sin.  More often, though, we are obsessed with results.  We want an outreach event to immediately produce increased attendance.  That can't be the goal because it's short-sighted and uncontrollable.  But, we can guarantee that we give God a good name, and we can do that on a consistent basis through our ministry in, with and to the community.  If we do that long enough, we give our local church a good name.
• We need to embrace the power of recommending.  How many people will recommend WestJet to a friend now?  What about the people that were on that flight?  We need to understand that we can't get people to turn to God and come to church.  What we can do is be in the business of recommending that this church might be the kind of church that they might be interested in.  We CAN help people say to themselves, "You know, if I ever DID go to church, I think I'd go to that one."  And, the vision is even bigger than our local context.  Our goal is to help people turn to Jesus so that people say, "If I ever did need help, I think I'd turn to the God of those people who always do so much in our community."
• We need to not be fair.  What if WestJet had spent the same amount of money and discounted ever ticket for holiday travelers by $5?  That would have been more fair.  Would you have watched that video and pretended you weren't crying at work?  Radical hospitality and outreach are key to giving God a good name and raising awareness of God's goodness.  Jesus didn't heal everyone.  He healed some, and word spread that God was on the move.
• We need to tell stories of hope.  What if this had not been videoed?  We've got to find ways to share stories of the good things the Church is doing in the community.  If people don't see and hear the stories, we missed the opportunity for it to impact them.  And do you think these people will ever forget what happened to them?  What will be their story?  They'll tell this story forever.  When we reach out in radical generosity, we create stories that people will tell for generations.
• We need a plan.  This flight.  These people.  This is what we're doing.  That was WestJet.  Whether it is one person we're going to invest our lives in personally or one community that we're going to love on as a church.  We need a plan to express kindness and love.  For WestJet, that took one flight, but it was laser-focused.  For us, that plan might take years.  We can be an example of God's love to a few, over and over again.  That's not manipulative, it's smart.  Jesus said to be smart (as wise as serpents).  It's just saying, "This is my spot where I want to make sure that we're doing it right."  That means we need strategies.  WesJet had a plan

Let's be churches that radically love our community.  Let's be people that ooze generosity and hope.  After all this is too important.  We're not selling airline tickets.  We're giving away Life.