Four weeks in, I'd like to report that things are going fairly well and I am getting settled in. As you know, both faith and politics play critical roles in my life. I believe one affects the other, although I try to claim that faith ways more heavily in the balance, I know there are times this isn't true. I also believe the church has to be relevant and must address the critical issues of the day. When the Shirley Sheppard saga was unfolding, I thought it was a wonderful example of how people can grow and can change their minds. Thus, I paired it with the lectionary scriptures from Genesis and Luke that I believe imply that God's mind can be changed also.
The sermon was received fairly well, but I did have one person comment that I need to be careful about mixing politics with the pulpit. Now, I do intend to be very conscious of this. I do think we need to address issues like poverty and immigration from the pulpit, but we have to care not to be overtly partisan. (In some ways, I know that is almost impossible. How can you advocate for immigration reform without being partisan when one party appears to clearly object to any kind of comprehensive reform?!?)
That being said, I don't intend to shy away from contemporary issues. But, I do hope to be self-aware. If you have a few minutes, I hope you might read my sermon from Sunday to see if you felt it was as even handed as I thought it was. I welcome your comments and critiques!
Cross posted on Open for Ministry.
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Thanks Jared, for asking the ever-pertinent question. I find it sad, but not surprising, when people think politics have no place in the pulpit. Politics is simply about public life, about the quality of our environment, from our schools to our oceans. As I hear the stories of our tradition, from the ancient prophets to the voice of Jesus, public life is very much a concern of the preacher!
As Ghandi said, "Those who think religion has nothing to do with politics do not know what religion is."
I hope you'll keep this question alive in your new post as preacher, and I hope you'll join your peers for one of the 2011 Beatitudes Society Prophetic Preaching Workshops! This is exactly the question we consider.