Stewarding the Challenges and Possibilities of this Post Election Moment
Stewarding the Challenges and Possibilities of this Post Election Moment
Just prior to the election last week I wrote two blogs. The fact that you are reading this one means that Donald Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States. Whether you voted for him or not, his election calls us as the body of Christ to steward the opportunities and speak into the challenges his administration will bring.
As stewards of the life God has gifted to us, we seek His vision for the future regardless of who is leading. We are also called to be wise, to understand the times we are in, and to discern the Spirit’s leading for the way forward. I suggest we have been given a moment in time to live out our steward calling as the body of Christ by responding in seven ways.
- Respond with Abundant Generosity. It is time for the body of Christ to open the storehouses in an unprecedented move of generosity to fund God’s work at a level never before realized in our country. Christian ministries have been given a reprieve from preparing for battles that are now less impending. This is our time to stand with them with finances, volunteer time, and prayer. We have a window of opportunity to help build the capacity, expertise, breadth, and financial foundations of Christian non-profits. This window can close quickly. This is our moment to seize this chance to resource ministries to flourish for the proclamation of the gospel and the advancement of the kingdom of God. Will you respond with radical generosity?
- Respond by Re-Engaging. For too long followers of Jesus have taken a “keep your head down” approach to voicing their views in the public arena. We have been timid, seeking to avoid the repercussions of speaking a consistent, faithful biblical witness in the present progressive ideological milieu. This cannot be an option for a follower of Jesus. If we are to steward this moment as image bearers of Christ, we must re-engage in public discourse and increase our presence and voice in the public square. The pressure for conformity to a progressive agenda may be eased, but we must be ready to embrace this moment with courage and humility. The voice of the body of Christ must also sound out loud when policies and practices of this administration conflict with a Biblical worldview. Will you respond by letting your voice be heard?
- Respond by Clarifying our Theological Convictions. It is time for every follower of Jesus to deepen their Biblical understanding and strengthen the convictions of their faith. We must recommit ourselves to trust the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth and be ready to stand on it. In this moment, we must put behind us every vestige of accommodation, conformity, and compromise when it comes to the tenets of our faith and the veracity of the biblical witness. Now is the time for God’s people to dig deep wells and lay strong foundations. Will you respond by letting the Holy Spirit guide you into deeper truth?
- Respond by Repenting. Regardless of your political views, we see a culture in moral collapse. A void has been created by the absence of the voice of the church in our national dialogue. The enemy has stepped into that void to spread an ideology of narcissism and identity confusion, while the church has remained silent or blithely conformed its message so as not to offend. The church on all sides has failed our country. A large swath of the church has so compromised its message that it lost its relevance. The salt is tasteless, and the light has all but gone out. Other parts have isolated themselves in a vain attempt to remain pure from the world and in doing so have left our culture untouched with the gospel. We have been given a window to turn back, to repent, to go a new direction while the path is still in sight. It’s a moment to take to heart the promise in 2 Chronicles 7:14, “if my people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” Will you respond through personal and communal repentance?
- Respond by Proclaiming. If this administration proves to be more faith-friendly than what we have recently experienced, we have an opportunity to share our faith more boldly with less threat of recrimination. Prayerfully, judges may not be predisposed to champion an anti-faith agenda and government agencies may not be weaponized against people of faith. If that proves true, we must step up and move courageously into this moment. This could be an unprecedented season of evangelism. Will you respond with a renewed passion for the Great Commission?
- Respond with Compassionate Service. The cultural implications of the past decade have created significant pain, disillusionment, fear, and hopelessness. There continues to economic, emotional, and spiritual collateral damage. This provides an opportunity for the body of Christ to respond with the love and good news of Jesus Christ. We must step into this opportunity with hearts of compassionate service. Will you respond by loving and caring for your neighbor in greater and more selfless ways?
- Respond with Peace. We are a country experiencing a crisis of anxiety. The divisiveness represented by this election will only serve to exacerbate that crisis to a level we may not have seen in our lifetime. This will be an opportunity for the body of Christ to be, as author Mark Sayers put it, a “non-anxious presence” in the midst of an anxious world. We must be ready to speak the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ to our fellow citizens who may be in a position to hear it as never before. To do so, we must be people of peace and people at peace. Is the peace of Christ ‘ruling’ in your heart (Colossians 3:15)? Are you a peacemaker to all around you?
Under the new administration there will undoubtedly be continuing trials and challenges for people of faith. We will continue to be impacted by our culture’s embrace of godlessness. Still, we have been granted a moment for the church to be the church. Let us respond, each of us in our own place, with renewed commitment and Spirit-empowered resolve.
