Church as Political
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
4:18 AM
Virtues, onf  Pacificism (Quaker, Mennonite, Amish), Education, Equality, Compassion, Respect for life, Unity.  
The church can examine the political climate and seek to lift up certain virtues that it sees lacking in the political arena.  For example, the impulse to reconcile.  Today, our political sphere is severely crippled by professionals who make their living instigating, exaggerating and perpetuating political conflict.  It has stiffled statesmanship, collaboration and compromise as every initiative is viewed through a win or lose lens.  The church can retrieve and highlight the virtue of reconciliation, practice it on a simple, personal, and congregational level and slowly reverse these deterious effects.
Hospitality, Congregations are places where people congregate.  They get out and get to know each other.  As such, local congregations are locales of social capital.  Social capital has been shown to have tremendous influence over peoples well being.  
Activism.  There are times when the congregation cannot in good conscience remain silent about particular wrongs being perpetuated by the government or allowed by a society.  Slavery, legalized oppression, genocide are social evils and the church cannot be silent in the face of them.  The challenge becomes knowing when the threshold has been reached.  1.  We must speak from integrity (we must practice what we preach), 2.  We must speak from intelligence. 3.  We must speak with compassion.  
First, the Church should nurture personal virtues that may be (a) missing within the political sphere and/or (b) that enable democracy to function in a more godly way.
Historical examples
Amish Grace 
tells the story of how the Amish community in Pennsylvania responded to a gun man who entered a school house and killed five girls and himself, injured five.  October 2, 2006, Charles Carl Roberts, Nickel Mines, PA.  
Provides evidence of the power of restorative justice over against the retributive justice that now compels us.
The Creation of Sunday School
English Anglican evangelical Robert Raikes (1725-1811)
Sunday Schools started out as literal schools of education for working class families who could not afford education for their children.  
Confronted the practice of child labor
It led to the adoption of public school system.
Contemporary Appeal
My example last week of a church committed to ardently committed to practicing the virtue of reconciliation was not incidental.
I believe that the most dangerous quality present in our political sphere today is not extremism at either end of the spectrum but a wide-spread and deeply rooted addiction to conflict.
It is largely mindless.  
We have developed certain triggers “liberal,” “extreme,” that shortcut examination of what people actually advocate.
It works in sound-bites rather than in discourse and dialogue.  
It is fueled by commercial interests
Geraldo Rivera estimated net worth of $10 million dollars
Bill Maher has an estimated net worth of $23 million dollars
Bill O’Reilly $50 million dollars
Rush Limbaugh $300 million dollars
It’s destructive
It prevents statesmanship and compromise.
It prevents collaboration for fear of “giving the other side the victory.”
It fuels a 24/7 365 election cycle
It discourages many otherwise good people from entering politics.
As I will argue in a minute, we cannot hope to change this quality politically unless we practice another virtue personally.   
The Church should be a place that cultivates social capital
Social capital represents the degree to which people who live near each other and function as a social entity (neighborhood, city, state and nation) know each other and interact with each other in personal settings. 
Social capital is measured in a lot of different ways
Bowling Leagues
Civic organizations (Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions)
PTA Membership and attendance
Average Commute Times
Church Attendance.
Local congregations provide contexts for people to interact with other people who live nearby.
Social capital has been shown to influence the development and sustainability of economies and political structures in ways similar to fiscal capital.
“Information flows (e.g. learning about jobs, learning about candidates running for office, exchanging ideas at college, etc.) depend on social capital.
“Norms of reciprocity (mutual aid) rely on social networks. Bonding networks that connect folks who are similar sustain particularized (in-group) reciprocity. Bridging networks that connect individuals who are diverse sustain generalized reciprocity.
“Collective action depends upon social networks (e.g., the role that the black church played in the Civil Rights movement), although collective action also can foster new networks.
“Broader identities and solidarity are encouraged by social networks that help translate an "I" mentality into a "we" mentality.”
From, Harvard Kennedy School, “About Social Capital.” [link]
Recognizing the important role of social capital within the political sphere, the Church can influence social capital by practicing hospitality.
The Church should on occasion seek to advocate for particular outcomes within the political sphere.
Historical Examples
Christian abolitionists 
Confessing Church resistance to Nazi Germany.
Civil Rights movement
Bert Cartwright escorting children into schools during integration of school (Little Rock?)
National Council of Churches participated in voter registration campaigns through the South.
Criteria for determining the church’s responsibility and capacity to advocate.
For the sake of the vulnerable not the tastes of the powerful.
From integrity—We cannot advocate for greater reverence in civil life if we neglect prayer and reverence in our personal lives.  
From information/intelligence and understanding of the issue. 
From <[link]> 
Resources for the Political Implications of Church
H. Richard Niebuhr. Christ and Culture. Harper Collins, 1951.
Diana Butler Bass.  A People’s History of Christianity: The Other Side of the Story. HarperOne, 2009.  
Virtue
Brian McLaren.  Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road?  Jericho Books, 2012.  
Lee C. Camp. Mere Discipleship:  Radical Christianity in a Rebellious World. Brazos Press, 2009.
Donald Kraybill, Steven Nolt, David L. Weaver-Zercher. Amish Grace:  How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy. John Wiley and Sons, 2007. 
Hospitality
Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert, When Helping Hurts:  How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor . . . and Yourself. Moody Publishers, 2009.
Diana Butler Bass.  Christianity for the Rest of Us:  How the Neighborhood Church is Transforming Faith.  HarperOne, 2006. 
George C. Hunter. The Celtic Way of Evangelism. Abingdon, 2000.
Robert Bellah. Habits of the Heart:  Individualism and Commitment in American Life. University of California, 1985.
Robert Putnam. Bowling Alone. 2000.
Activism
Charles Colson. The Body:  Being Light in Darkness. Word, 1992.
Martin Luther Kingd, Jr. Why We Can’t Wait.  Signet, 1963.  And Strength to Love. Fortress, 1963.  