Dallas is a little too far north to see the debate fireworks in Houston. But politics were certainly on my mind as I spoke at the annual conference of the Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches of North America this morning. This year's event didn't need much more context than the contest down the road to put the church's role in the culture in perspective. As Chuck Colson used to say, "Politics is downstream from the culture." He's right. And the culture is downstream from the church. America's biggest problems aren't political -- they're spiritual. And until we do something about them, the crisis in our country is only beginning.
As I told the PCCNA, a prominent political figure and friend asked me a few years ago, why do pastors and Christian leaders expect me to talk about issues on TV and in the political arena that they won't preach about in their pulpits and churches? In my opinion, it's because we're afraid. Afraid to offend. Afraid to hurt our ministries. Afraid to hurt our standing in the community. Imagine what could happen if we adopted the mission statement of John the Baptist: "He must increase but I must decrease." With such fierce attacks on our faith in the public square, we have a tendency to look back with a bit of nostalgia at political leaders who prayed and appealed to God. But these leaders weren't speaking in a vacuum. Abraham Lincoln is one who is often mentioned when we talk about faith in the oval office -- but consider who filled the pulpits of that day. Men like Charles Finney, who once said:
'Brethren, our preaching will bear its legitimate fruits. If immorality prevails in the land, the fault is ours in a great degree. If there is a decay of conscience, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the public press lacks moral discrimination, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the church is degenerate and worldly, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the world loses its interest in religion, the pulpit is responsible for it. If Satan rules in our halls of legislation, the pulpit is responsible for it. If our politics become so corrupt that the very foundations of our government are ready to fall away, the pulpit is responsible for it. Let us not ignore this fact, my dear brethren; but let us lay it to heart, and be thoroughly awake to our responsibility in respect to the morals of this nation.'
