theFormed.life

READ the written blog on our website:
https://theformed.life/2024/08/learn-about-sacrifice-02/

READ the written blog on our website:
https://theformed.life/2024/08/learn-about-sacrifice-01/

Join us for part two of our three-part series on politics and government! In our previous episode, we explored key biblical principles for thinking Christianly about these topics, laying the foundation for today's discussion. Today, we examine the different postures Christians have taken to connect biblical principles with our modern political context, highlighting four primary approaches from James Davidson Hunter's influential book, To Change the World. Don't miss this insightful conversation!

Quotes

"If God's called you, go out there and be present in governmental or public political callings."

— Tom Nelson 

 "The primary role is to shepherd the congregation God's entrusted them to. It's a shepherding teaching role, number 1. But there's also a prophetic aspect to being a pastor. It's not maybe the same as the old testament prophet, thus saith the Lord, but it is truth telling truth to power, telling truth to culture, telling being a truth teller to our congregation, and all 3 of those are different."

— Tom Nelson 

"Wrap around your heart Micah 6:8. Because that is true in the workplace, at home, the school, your business, if you're in the wonderful calling in government or political activism in some way, to do justice, right? To but to love kindness and to walk humbly with God."

— Tom Nelson

3 Main Takeaways

1. Active Engagement and Faithful Presence in Public Life: Encouraging Christians to be actively present in governmental or public political callings rather than hiding away. This active engagement is not only about institutional roles but also about equipping individuals within the church to engage in their everyday "Monday worlds" with a focus on justice, kindness, and humility. 

2. Institutional and Individual Dynamics: The conversation explores deep into the roles of both institutional churches and individual believers in public engagement. While Christ Community, adopts a nonpartisan stance and provides guidance through biblical principles, it also focuses on empowering its members to speak into their spheres of influence on issues like sanctity of life, racial justice, and Christian sexual ethic. The role of pastors in providing a moral, prophetic voice in broader culture, characterized by discernment, prayer, and consultative leadership, is highlighted.

3. Approaches to Cultural Engagement: Different approaches to engaging culture are examined, including accommodating, separation, and incarnational approaches. The podcast particularly emphasizes the "faithful presence" model, which integrates biblical faithfulness and cultural competency. While this model aims to be deeply rooted in faith while effectively engaging with culture, potential pitfalls, such as the risk of being too patient in responding to injustices or fostering self-righteousness, are also discussed. The ultimate goal is to balance influence and purity while being a tangible, incarnational presence like Jesus in diverse cultural contexts.

Resources

Books & Articles

- Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God's Work - Timothy Keller

- The Common Rule: Habits of Purpose for an Age of Distraction - Justin Whitmel Earley

- To Change the World - James Davison Hunter

- Resident Aliens: Life in the Christian Colony - Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon

- The Political Disciple: A Theology of Public Life - Vincent E. Bacote

Podcasts

- Cultural Engagement: A Crash Course in Contemporary Issues - The Gospel Coalition Podcast Series

- Faithful Presence and Public Witness - Timothy Keller Podcast

Films

- Amazing Grace (2006) - Film detailing the life of William Wilberforce and his efforts to end the British transatlantic slave trade.

Timestamps:

00:00 Duality of citizenship, diversity of followers, exile.

04:31 Ancient governmental structures, biblical principles, and cultural adaptation.

07:18 Navigating cultural context as faithful Jesus followers.

13:11 Seeing threads of faithful presence through Scripture.

15:32 Jesus embodies humility, gentleness, and non-anxious presence.

18:32 Love and concern motivate seeking justice and accommodation.

22:12 Potential weaknesses of purity and distance approach.

24:30 Faithful Presence addresses culture, lacks prophetic edge.

28:22 Consider pitfalls and haste in faithful presence.

32:41 Institution promotes civic engagement while avoiding partisanship.

35:34 Pastors teach truth and guide congregation's obedience.

38:36 Empower individuals to engage in difficult conversations.

41:24 Encourage doing justice with kindness and humility.

Hashtags:

#FaithfulPresence #PublicEngagement #ChristianResponsibility #BiblicalPrinciples #CulturalContext #PropheticVoice #NonpartisanFaith #ChristCommunity #DualCitizenship #JesusModel

Keywords:

Christianity, public engagement, biblical principles, dual citizenship, Jesus's followers, faithful presence, cultural contextualization, diversity in Christianity, political involvement, Tom Nelson, social issues, governmental callings, church responsibility, congregation leaders, sanctity of life, racial justice, Christian sexual ethic, spheres of influence, spiritual habits, cultural moment, nonpartisan stance, moral issues, prophetic voice, community setting, humility, gentleness, accommodating posture, separation model, incarnational presence, cultural navigation

READ the written blog on our website:
https://theformed.life/2024/08/gratitude-for-gods-creation-11/

READ the written blog on our website:
https://theformed.life/2024/07/gratitude-for-gods-creation-10/

This episode kicks off a three-part series on "God & Government" with hosts Paul Brandes and Bill Gorman, joined by our Lead Senior Pastor, Tom Nelson. In this episode, we begin the conversation on how to live out our faith in the political world by unpacking key biblical principles. We'll explore Jesus' teachings, the story of Daniel, and what it means to balance our dual citizenship in God's kingdom with our citizenship here on earth. Plus, we'll talk about loving our neighbors and having respectful conversations, especially in today's polarized climate.

3 Key Takeaways

• Dual Citizenship: Christians are called to navigate their dual citizenship, being part of both earthly nations and the kingdom of God, guided by biblical principles that highlight love for God and neighbors.
• Respectful Engagement: The episode emphasizes the need for respectful, open discourse within a polarized political climate. Christians should set a standard for engaging in conversations respectfully and with understanding, maintaining a "faithful presence" even in difficult environments.
• Church's Presence: The church's role is to be a faithful presence in our engagement and public discourse without falling into partisanship. Reflecting on biblical figures like Daniel and Esther, Christians are encouraged to serve faithfully in all spheres, including government, and promote respectful dialogue within the community.

Biography

Tom Nelson is the Lead Senior Pastor of Christ Community Church, which he founded over 30 years ago. He also serves as president of Made to Flourish, a network that seeks to empower pastors to lead churches that produce human flourishing for the common good.

Tom is the author of Work Matters: Connecting Sunday Worship to Monday Work, Economics of Neighborly Love: Investing in Your Community’s Compassion and Capacity, and The Flourishing Pastor: Recovering the Lost Art of Shepherd Leadership.

Tom speaks regularly on faith, work, and economics around the country, and he has served on the board of regents of Trinity International University and is also a council member of The Gospel Coalition. Tom graduated with a master’s of theology from Dallas Theological Seminary and received his doctorate of ministry from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Tom and his wife, Liz, have two grown children and live in Leawood, Kansas.

Quotes

"...that's where we have confidence in those biblical texts, those biblical principles that need application, need community, need conversation, need wisdom, [and] contextual prayer to know how to apply prayer."

— Tom Nelson

"We should set the standard for being able to have conversations around politics and around partisanship without being threatened, but to learn from one another and respect each other and actually probably gain something in that wisdom."

— Tom Nelson

"But ultimately, where our hope lies, it's not in the goodness and greatness of a nation as wonderful as that might be, and those who sacrifice for it, as we should cherish and appreciate. But our ultimate focus is eternity and the kingdom of God. And there's great hope and encouragement in that."

— Tom Nelson

Keywords

biblical principles, pastoral ministry, political engagement, dual citizenship, loving one's neighbor, kingdom of God, respectful discourse, prayerful approach, wisdom of God, governmental authority, ultimate allegiance, great commandment, public engagement, cultural context, faithful presence, polarized culture, work-based witness, Christian community, diverse political leanings, government and public square, non-partisan church, citizenship of heaven, influence for Jesus Christ, discipleship, election year, corrupt governments, biblical figures, workplace virtue, ordinary life, strangers and aliens

Hashtags

#DualCitizenship #FaithfulPresence #LovingYourNeighbor #BiblicalPrinciples #RespectfulDialogue #KingdomAllegiance #ChristianEngagement #PoliticalWisdom #PublicWitness #theFormedLifePodcast

Timestamps

00:00 Embracing discipleship in every aspect of life.

04:39 Biblical principles, postures, and practical practices discussed.

08:39 Experts with training but humble about knowledge.

11:02 Prepare for interviews by leading with prayer.

14:28 History shows suffering and the importance of God's kingdom.

18:40 Jesus invites diverse followers from different backgrounds.

21:54 Diversity of thought in Christian communities praised.

25:48 Christians should model respectful political conversations.

27:35 Faithful presence in politically fraught engagement discussed.

30:28 Matching story of hardship with God's promise.

35:27 Finding purpose in unexpected vocation through faith.

39:30 Love nation, but ultimate allegiance to heaven.

40:31 Ultimate hope in Jesus and his kingdom.

46:01 Balancing citizenship in two kingdoms, political diversity.

47:34 Next two conversations on Christian postures and practices.

READ the written blog on our website:
https://theformed.life/2024/07/gratitude-for-gods-creation-09/

READ the written blog on our website:
https://theformed.life/2024/07/gratitude-for-gods-creation-08/

READ the written blog on our website:
https://theformed.life/2024/07/gratitude-for-gods-creation-07/

READ the written blog on our website:
https://theformed.life/2024/07/gratitude-for-gods-creation-06/