Longings and desires

Have you ever felt like a misfit? As I boy I was ignored because of my small size and immaturity. In High School I was attracted to a classmate but was told she was only interested in upperclassmen. I attended a regional high school where I was considered an outsider because I lived in a small town. I assumed that as I entered the ministry everything would change, and they did for a season. Then my politics changed!

As long as I believed in the party line I was accepted; I was like the rest. Peer pressure wasn't really pressure because I had already conformed to it. Spiritual writers are right when they say the devil doesn't have to tempt his children; they already sin willfully. He only tempts those who are seeking to break Satan's power. Then temptation is the strongest. When I moved to Worcester and began to experience the pressures of inner city living and the inadequacy of my political views to experience relief, I began to look at a more "politically liberal" perspective on life. I also began to study the Bible to understand what the role of government was as well as the role of the church in public life. What I experienced was a transformation of thought and an alienation from my evangelical colleagues.

As a Christian God has always had me involved in prayer ministry. I am convinced that all divine work emanates from prayer. Personal spirituality is foundational to my understanding of living for Jesus. We are told to pray the Lord's Prayer, which is Jesus' vision for his church; we are told to pray for government because it holds our peace in its hand. If you want to accomplish something for God it must come from prayer. My evangelical colleagues understand that to a certain degree (I think they spend too much time tweaking programs to make them work and too little time trusting God).

As a Christian Citizen I realize that God works in our civic lives through government. Government is God's shepherd for its citizens. As we have seen in the health care debate, politics is a very dirty business. However, politics is the way government is accomplished and my civic life is managed. There is no need for less government because then we citizens will do what is right in our own eyes. We need government to discipline our own corruption.

What is needed is a Christian citizen who will be a prayer warrior and an activist; someone who has authority with God through prayer and authority with government through political action. I yearn to be part of a clergy prayer group that is also politically active. So far I have been frustrated.

A leader within the Southern Baptist Convention identified my problem: Wally, you have the theology of a Southern Baptist and the political views of the Cooperative Baptists. Perhaps what I wish is that Southern Baptists would be examine the authoritative Scriptures to discover that they teach us how to live as well as what to believe.

I'm writing this on the cusp of a new year. Next week I will be attending a conference with fellow clergy and Henry Blackaby; perhaps, I will discover a kindred spirit. Will you pray that you will discover prayer partners to help you be active in life, and pray for me that I may find that prayer group that believes in activism.

Monday made Tuesday possible

It's been some time since my last blog; let's blame it on the weather!

This past Monday we celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. day. That day was special because it made the inauguration of an African-American President possible. I, as many of you, lived through the 60s. We remember the lynchings of Negroes; we remember the fire hoses and police dogs resisting the marchers; we remember the smear campaign against King. After the cycle of assassinations in 1968 we remember the cities that were nearly burned to the ground. In the early 70s we remember the opposition to forced busing in Boston and the hatred that spilled from the mouths of ordinary Americans. While we couldn't use the "n" word, we sure thought it in referring to them. We remember how we justified our opposition to the civil rights movement. The marchers were all wrong in their approach; civil rights will come another way (although we never knew what that other way was). We proudly said you cannot legislate morality. From a Christian perspective we just said that if enough people were converted then everyone would have their civil rights. How naive was that when the Bible Belt was the battleground for civil rights?

It was the marches; it was the efforts of President Johnson; it was the efforts of the civil-rights legislation of the 60s that changed the way American functioned. Negroes began to achieve their previously denied rights; they began to move up in the economic ladder; their began to wield their political power. Today, millions of white people voted for President Obama because race did not matter. Morality was legislated. People's attitudes did change. Government did its job and America won - we demonstrated to the world that America is the land of opportunity, the land of freedom, the land where change happens peacefully, the land where different peoples can live together in harmony.

President Obama will have to prove himself to all America to warrant a second term. This blog is not a support letter for him; it is a support letter for America. We live in a great country. We Christians should recognize that we too can impact our world; we can fight for our freedoms; we can demand equality; but it will come at a cost. The African-American community paid the price with their lives as well as their fortunes (sounds like the sacrifice our Founding Fathers made); are we willing to pay the same price?