No Kings protest's Idolatry | Broken Down In America
Friends,
My next book has been sent for printing! When Did We See You? A Reflection on Poverty & Wealth will be available January 1 and is good for a private or congregational lenten study. It asks us to really consider what we have, and whether our stuff keeps us closer to God or further from God.
I hope you'll considering ordering a copy!
-Liz
Where do politics belong in church?
The question is not only which political discussions can we have at church, but also, where is it appropriate to have a discussion? The most visible place for politics, and where it is complained about the most, is in the sermon. But we are not a people who only gather to listen.
During worship, we have the sermon, where a leader shares their view, hopefully inspired by God. And the people listen. In different churches people respond to the sermon differently. In one I served one man every week thanked me saying "great diction pastor Liz! I could hear every word." Who knows what he thought of the content. In some churches there is little response, in others coffee hour includes lively debate. In some traditions the congregation shows support with loud responses, and lack of support with silence. Sometimes people bring up sermons with the pastor, or at board meeting. But for the most part, sermons are one way experiences. One person provides wisdom, the rest receive that wisdom.
Another great place to address political conundrums in worship is through announcements. This is where we all hear what is happening in this church. It is the ultimate expression of good news--here is what we have to offer this week. If the announcements include team meetings or protests, or studies, these communicate a great deal about what is important in this church. Churches can also make space for "minutes for mission" and "God-sightings" and "stewardship moments". These are all essentially extended announcements, making the point that we are engaged in the present day world events.
Prayer is an important place for the political issues of the day. We all know we are called to love our enemies, but is it okay to pray for our president? For our courts? Again, different churches have different cultures but I have loved serving where there were one or two people who always remembered the scattered wars, our troops, always reminded us of the latest natural disaster. We need these moments to connect our faith that God is caring for us with the reality that things are not okay. Pastoral prayers are a good place to bring up important issues, although one of my pet peeves is that they are not an opportunity to explain things. Prayers are addressed not to the congregation, but to God, and presumably God already knows what is happening.
Another place to interact with politics is during bible studies. The history of the text is important, but the reason these words are scripture is because they are intended to inform our lives today. A great benefit of political discussion in Bible study is that each person can come to their own conclusion. It is a space where many voices should be heard, and in that diversity of opinion each person finds their own faith path. If you are including politics, the burden of preparation is on the bible study leader. The plain text may point one way, while historical context and cultural understanding may totally change the interpretation. Don't read about King Solomon without remembering that God wasn't actually thrilled with the idea of monarchs. Don't read the Matthean beatitudes without noticing Luke's parallel woes.
And don't turn bible study into mini-sermons! Make sure there is space for dialogue.
Book groups are another formation experience that are well-suited to politics-connects-to-faith discussions. Read interesting books, engage in far-ranging discussions. Again, extensive preparation by the study leader will help to make your book group a safe place for people with all sorts of views to share their thoughts. Set-up ground rules so that people cannot denigrate others, and encourage responses to be curious rather than judgmental.
Book groups also may provide a way to have a discussion with people outside your congregation. Attend a book group at the library, or promote your church event to a wider circle. You probably will get better attendance if you meet outside the church building. (A friend moved bible study to Burger King when the classrooms were being remodeled and ended up tripling the size of the group as individuals hanging out for coffee slowly engaged the conversation.)
Churches also can become the home for dialogue by sponsoring community wide conversations. Some of hosted meet-the-candidates nights and others have made space to discuss what is happening in the local or national community. In our present times these need to be well-moderated. You want to create space where people disagree without attacks on one another. But if you can become a place where people expect good interaction on difficult topics you will have really learned how to share the good news.
Where are politics showing up in your congregation? Reply to this email to let me know what's happening.
The ana-baptists (of course) argue that the question of No Kings is absolutely an important part of the Christian faith.
HuDost is an Electric-Folk, Americana, World Rock ensemble touring internationally whose albums have made it on the Billboard and Folk Charts. I heard them at Wild Goose
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