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How Should Christians Engage With Politics? A Christian Response to Division and Power
Politics can easily shape us more than Jesus does. In a divided world filled with outrage, fear and tribalism, 1 Peter offers a different vision. Followers of Jesus are called to engage politically with truth, humility, justice, mercy and compassion — without placing their hope in power or political tribes.
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The Glory of God is missing in your Christianity.
Understanding The Glory of God will revolutionize your understanding of your faith and also points a way forward for your family and our politics.
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Do you have a dream like Martin Luther King Jr.?
Martin Luther King Jr. shared a dream that changed the world. Like never before we need leaders who can do likewise. This is how you do it.
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Thank God for heroes like Rod Hoople who remind us all what the point of life really is.
There is no question that women have not been seen or valued by the church in the way that Jesus saw or valued them. #ThingsOnlyChristianWomenHear
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It is important not to sentimentalise the baby born in Bethlehem, but to recognise him for who he is: the instigator of a revolution of love.
The front yard is blanketed in snow and there is extreme cold weather warning for this part of the world for the next 24 hours. Christmas must be coming. As we come to the end of a year in which politics and power seemed to dominate every news bulletin, we find ourselves again being reminded of a little baby born in Bethlehem who gained more followers than any politician in history, yet never grasped for power. That wasn’t how the Messiah was supposed to act. Lots of Jews had been waiting expectantly for a baby to be born, but not this baby, not this way. They expected a baby who would…
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The Great Commandment is only possible if we allow ourselves to see.
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It’s tiring if you play a role to maintain a good image. One day your true character will be discovered.
The major capital city newspaper, writing about the upcoming election, wrote “hate speech has gotten out of control.” While they could have been speaking about some of the more extreme things we have seen coming out of the most bizarre U.S. election any of us have ever seen, they weren’t. They were talking about the upcoming Gubernatorial election in Jakarta where the first ever Christian to hold the office is facing massive and violent opposition from hardline Islamists. I met Governor Basuki back in 2006, and the meeting was inspirational. I imagine it would have been similar to meeting a young William Wilberforce who had a sense of call to politics, not…
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If we lived in a perfect world, politics wouldn’t be necessary, but we don’t, and it is…..
I’ve been fascinated by the drama of the U.S. Presidential Election as it unfolded over the past few months. Many commentators are this week indicating their expectation that the gridlock in Washington is about to get worse, with a few moderate politicians being replaced by hardliners on both sides of the aisle. Part of the problem is that both sides are living in a bubble that reinforces their worldview, as now both the Right Wing, and the Left have their own media services, churches and champions, who like a shout in an echo chamber, keep reinforcing their entrenched positions.
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Faith means embracing the uncomfortable place of uncertainty.
Over the past couple of days I have been sharing some of the lessons I have been learning from this moment in my life. The importance of the story people tell about you, and the fact that following Christ involves taking up a cross, have been two dawning understandings for me. Another lesson I have been learning is what faith actually means. I have known intellectually what faith is about for many years, but I am discovering in a new way that faith requires a deep trust that doesn’t make intellectual sense. Martin Luther King Jr. said: Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole…
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Faith and Courage
Hanging on I’ve been doing more thinking about the wrestle with faith, and more and more I am seeing a link between faith and courage. The world tells you what normal is, and basically it is doing whatever you can to be in a position of independence, where you can be master of your own destiny. Jesus tells me to let go of the ambition of independence and to trust. Martin Luther King, Jr. said: Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase. That means going against all the messages I hear on the television, in the newspaper, from school, from friends, from almost…
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Step seven, eight and nine: Finding a real solution
Playing to win Conflict doesn’t naturally resolve itself. Mary Parker Follet said: “There are three ways of dealing with difference: domination, compromise, and integration. By domination only one side gets what it wants; by compromise neither side gets what it wants; by integration we find a way by which both sides may get what they wish.” So.. that is the job.. to find a path to integration that brings a resolution to conflict.
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Step six: Allow them to be them
Can you let them be different? Once you have worked our what matters for you and what your feelings are, and done your best to work out what matters for them and what their feelings are, the next step is for that to be ok! One of the great journeys of my married life was the dawning realisation that Leeanne was different to me. If you are experiencing conflict it is because the other person/party sees the world differently to you. Is that ok?
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Step One: What’s really going on?
What is this fight actually about? The Devil’s main weapon against us are lies that cause division. As I said yesterday, conflict isn’t a bad thing, in fact the absence of conflict can sometimes be like a cancer. Napoleon Bonaparte said: “The people to fear are not those who disagree with you, but those who disagree with you and are too cowardly to let you know.” Proverbs 27:17 says: As iron sharpens iron,so one man sharpens another. I love this picture because the only way for iron to sharpen iron is for friction to wear away the part that is blunt. Conflict helps sharpen me. But it is important to step back…
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A different kind of freedom
What would Jesus really do? A number of years ago a trend was for Christians to have the letters WWJD? emblazoned on jewellery, pencil cases and bumper stickers.. It’s a good question. Turns out what he would do is come and be a model of a completely different value system than our world values. Turns out that he is asking us to also model that same value system. And know what? Turns out he doesn’t think it will help us be very popular!!
