As a pastor, I find it incredibly difficult to address political issues without hurting my ministry. Politics are so divisive these days that a political difference, misunderstanding, or disagreement can too easily become convoluted into something that undermines my pastoral priorities. On the other hand, one of those pastoral priorities is to help people become such committed and transformed followers of Jesus that it impacts every aspect of their lives, politics included.I will not allow myself to be overtly political because doing so would subvert my calling. I would much prefer to pursue my calling to help people become spiritually mature. And in doing so, I believe that the gospel and spirit of Jesus will inevitably subvert the political views and actions of those who follow him.
2012 is going to be a very political year. We should expect the cheap shots, distorted spins, hyperbolic rhetoric, propaganda, and fear-mongering to be as polarizing and uncivil as ever.
Just after the last presidential election, Mark DeMoss of the DemossNews.com launched an initiative he called "The Civility Project." His goal was to have a bipartisan movement toward civility. He asked 585 political leaders (535 congressional leaders, 50 governors) to sign the following pledge:
“I will be civil in my public discourse and behavior. I will be respectful of others whether or not I agree with them. I will stand against incivility when I see it.”Two years and $30,000 later, after getting only THREE politicians to sign his pledge, he scrapped the whole endeavor. Why on earth would such a pledge be so difficult for politicians to sign? On the other hand, I wonder how many pastors (or Christians) would be willing to sign that pledge.
For the record, let me say that I am ready to sign on today. In fact, I will make that pledge right here and now.
I hereby promise to be civil in my public discourse and behavior. I will treat others with respect, whether or not I agree with them. When I hear or see incivility, I will take a stand against it and do what I can to promote patience, understanding, and cooperation.Having said that, let me stress that this is not a pledge to be apolitical. It is not a pledge to have no political views. It is not a pledge to leave politics alone. How could I be committed to having God's will be done and his Kingdom come if at the same time I ignored politics? You can count on me to be civil, but you can also count on me to provoke your thinking about political issues, values, and people. I hope you will join me, both in the pledge to be civil and in the pledge to be engaged.
So let's get this party started.
Let's think about truth telling.
It's one thing for a politician to change his/her views on any given policy or issue. In fact, an honest and thoughtful person will find that the complexity of navigating and understanding our world and our lives will at times necessitate a change of heart and mind. The problem is not when politicians change their views, but rather when they change their stories to pretend that they have not changed their views.
Yesterday, Slate Magazine published a story about Mitt Romney and his political handling of the abortion issue. Below is a video featured in that story. Try not to get distracted by the fact that the story is in Slate, and try not to get distracted by the important topic of abortion. Instead, try to focus on Romney's own accounts of his changing actions and views. What do you make of his stories? Is this a problem of opinion or a problem of integrity?
I'm not looking for a lot of talk on this; I'm just trying to provoke your thinking. If you do make a comment, please be thoughtful and civil. Those are the only kind of comments I will allow to be published.
It's tough when I get confused halfway through watching, 'wait, what did he say/do?' This is norm for me when trying to follow politics though!
ReplyDeleteI wanted to comment because I appreciate your commitment to pastoring people and letting God do the convicting and heart changing. Thanks for posting!
I'll make that pledge.
ReplyDeleteYou could start a Facebook page with details and suggest that people like it to accept. It would take 5 minutes to put up.
Put it up. I'll like it.
ReplyDeleteI will totally take the pledge as well. Regarding the Slate piece on Romney, I tend to feel the same way as commenter Eric. Expert politicians have mastered the art of message delivery, in that they fine tune each and every message to the audience they are addressing. Unfortunately, by the very nature of this behavior, integrity becomes jeopardized. When divisive, polarizing issues (which there are no lack of – in any political season) are proffered for debate topics, a candidate’s team of advisors quickly tunes up the planned responses in an effort to garner votes. Sometimes that means “riding the fence,” instead of “toeing the line.” It reminds me of the enigmatic lyrics to Duran Duran’s “The Reflex,” which include the lines: “You've gone too far this time/But I'm dancing on the Valentine/I tell you somebody's fooling around/With my chances on the danger line.”
ReplyDeleteI think Jesus would have us looking for integrity amongst our leadership. Notwithstanding the politics of the divisive issues ahead, I think trust is paramount to the decisions we make at the ballot box.
Dave,
ReplyDeleteI love the pledge, in fact I followed the results of the first pledge.
The dilemma I face as someone who is committed to participating in the political discourse and process is finding a candidate who:
1. Has the same social justice outlook I do.
2. Has real/observable integrity.
It is so difficult to intellectually slice through the "spin" and examine the actual record that speaks to what any candidate truly stands for.
Civil disagreement does not necessarily mean weak disagreement.
ReplyDeleteI'm down with this, and will pledge and repost.