Kingdom Citizens In Carnal Politics
Notes
Transcript
Help us expand our vision for what it means to navigate political and civic engagement as Kingdom Citizens and Black Church Leaders?
Help us expand our vision for what it means to navigate political and civic engagement as Kingdom Citizens and Black Church Leaders?
So, I want to talk tactically today. I want to put on my Public Affairs Consultant hat and talk to us about how our civic and political engagement should look if we want to be effective.
So, I want to talk tactically today. I want to put on my Public Affairs Consultant hat and talk to us about how our civic and political engagement should look if we want to be effective.
Christians are not policy people.
Christians are not policy people.
Who we are is not best expressed in a policy..
Good policy ideas do not make change (IT DOES NOT HELP IN POLITICS TO BE RIGHT)
Power makes political change
Money
Manpower
Message (not the same as policy)
The church
Has money
Has people
Good at messaging
Black church leaders in the Assembly of God are special institutions
Draw on the rich theological and political traditions of the historical Black Church
We have intimate fellowship with leading White Evangelical leaders
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Fannie Lou Hamer belong to us.
And Mike Pompeo will show up to our General Counsel
My Father in the Faith - Bishop Peecher - is a former Black Panther
And the most recent Republican Candidate for Governor in my state of Illinois was a member of an AG church.
Christians are called to be VISION people
Christians are called to be VISION people
● Proverbs 29:8 - ”Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint,
but blessed is he who keeps the law.“
● We believe in the inherent value of human life. This is based on our theology of man (that all human life is created in the image of God).
We must lead with that vision: we’re trying to create a world where all human life is treated as precious.
● If we lead with POLICY, We accept a “policy-centric” framing:
○ either you support all abortion bans or you are pro-choice.
either you want to defund the police or you are a fascist
○ We lose that debate 100% of the time.
● If we use vision to frame the conversation, the questions are different:
“Do you really think that abortion is a net good for society?
Don’t you think a little child should be able to play outside without fear of being struck by a stray bullet?
Christians are PEOPLE people
Christians are PEOPLE people
● Proverbs 11:30
Proverbs 11:30 (ESV)
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever wins souls is wise.
(ACCORDING TO A 2023 Gallup Survey) Americans are open to restricting abortion…
(ACCORDING TO A 2023 Gallup Survey) Americans are open to restricting abortion…
Majorities oppose abortion being legal in the second (55%) and third (70%) trimesters.
54% of Americans embrace the idea that “human life begins at conception, so an embryo is a person with rights”
55% of African Americans want the same or more police presence in their community.
People are not opposed to protecting unborn children or creating safe neighborhoods, so why are they running away from the pro-life movement and electing anti-police mayors?
People are not opposed to protecting unborn children or creating safe neighborhoods, so why are they running away from the pro-life movement and electing anti-police mayors?
They think we are trying to hurt a woman they know (that is our problem)
They don’t want to throw their grandchildren away in the prison system or be harrassed personally by police (Forty-five percent of Black Americans told Gallup that they had not been treated with courtesy or respect by the police within the past 12 months)
Our policy program must be dripping with love and compassion. (Not just our personal practice)
COMPASSION MUST BE OUR CORE, NOT A CAVEAT.
Christians are called to be FRUIT people
Christians are called to be FRUIT people
● Matthew 21:28-31
“What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you.
We have to ask the question: are we about reducing actual instances of abortion to zero or are just about making abortion illegal? Are we about creating safe neighborhoods or “supporting the police?”
IT IS NOT AN EITHER OR PROPOSITION: IT IS BOTH AND
Overturning Roe had two consequences that we have to deal with:
Increased the total number of abortions happening in America
Expanded the pro-abortion movement
What are the Policies that produce the desired outcomes:
○ Reduce the number of abortions
○ Expand the Pro-Life Movement
We Should Have 3 Tests for our Civic & Political Engagement
We Should Have 3 Tests for our Civic & Political Engagement
DOES THIS SERVE OUR VISION?
DOES THIS DEMONSTRATE OUR COMPASSION?
DOES THIS PRODUCE OUR DESIRED OUTCOMES?