As many Townhall readers may remember, a few months ago there was a lively discussion about what the role of the Christian church is in our political structure. At the time I wrote that I believed that the church really had no role in politics, but rather it is to be about the business of saving souls. I also wrote that I am of the firm belief that it is a fools errand for the church to spend so much time and effort trying to redeem the culture, and that the church was in danger of becoming too entangled in the world to actually do the work of the Father. For that I was accused of trying to shut Christians out of the public square, trying to keep Christians from exercising their voting rights, etc., etc. Of course, I was not saying anything like that but emotions began to run high and what I was trying to get across was lost in the shouting.

Well, yesterday I saw something at AOL news that brought that situation up for me again, and I felt compelled to share it, and my thoughts about it with you. A news story in the New York Times by Laurie Goodstein (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/30/us/30pastor.html?) told the story of Pastor Gregory Boyd of the Woodland Hills Church in Maplewood, Minnesota. It seems that Pastor Boyd caused such a stir with his sermons that 1000 members of his 5000 strong congregation were compelled to leave the church. And get this, the problem they had with Pastor Boyd was not theological, nor doctrinal. All who were members at the church agreed that Pastor Boyd preached his sermons and ran the church according to biblical principles. So what was the reason that one-fifth of the congregation felt the need to leave this Bible centered, theologically and doctrinally sound church? Pastor Boyd did not want to engage in partisan politics! That's it! He did not want his pulpit to be used as a megaphone for the Republican party, so 1000 "Christians" left his church because they had put politics before God!

Pastor Boyd's 'controversial' remarks included, "When the church wins the culture wars, it inevitably loses. When it conquers the world, it becomes the world. When you put your trust in the sword, you lose the cross", and "America is not the light of the world and the hope of the world. The light and the hope of the world is Jesus Christ." Now tell me, are these words something to leave your church over, are they controversial, or are they perfectly in keeping with the Bible?

This is exactly the type of thing I was warning about when we had our last debates about this issue, specifically the entanglement of the Body of Christ too deeply in politics. The 1000 members of this church that walked out because of a pastor's decision not to cheerlead for the GOP is what I was trying to speak about. When the church gets too deeply involved in politics, the politics take control of the church; political action becomes more important than praying, campaigning takes precedence over conversions. The church is supposed to be sharing the Gospel of Christ, not using the pulpit to spread political doctrines. It seems to me that too many Christians have thrown aside their duty to hold up Christ to the world to involve themselves in political fundraising, campaigning and the like. I said it before, and I'll say it again...the church is to be about winning souls for Christ, not winning the election for Bush!
Too many Christians seem to be bowing not before God, but making partisan politics a god for themselves. That can only bring the church to ruin and disrepute. What I mean by that is, when a church becomes linked to a political party or movement, the entire Church is then seen in that light. People will no longer see the church as the Body of Christ, but will see it as a political organization; when that happens the church cannot carry out the function it was given in the Bible to preach the Word to a dying world, because people will view the Church with suspicion and wonder if it is sincere in what it is doing. That is the danger that the Church faces today as it continues to allow itself to get drawn deeper and deeper into the workings of this world. How can Christ come back to a church that is free of spot or wrinkle, if the church is constantly getting itself willingly soiled with the dirt of this world's political intrigues?

Like I said once before, I have nothing personal against politics. It interests me, I like to discuss politics, and follow politics as much as anyone which is why I am a member at Townhall, and it's why I do my little blog here. But, I make sure that politics takes its proper place in my life, that I maintain the right priorities with God first, family second, and everything else falling in there somewhere. But I fear that too many individual Christians, and too many church congregations and pastors have let things get out of balance. There seems to be a lot of lip service paid to Christ on Sunday, but Monday through Saturday is devoted to pushing the GOP agenda, not God's agenda. The Church as a whole, and believers individually, must recognize where we are going wrong, get our priorities in order, and get about the service of the King of Kings because that is what we have been called to do. By all means, continue to vote, make yourself heard when something wrong is being forced on us, become active politically if that is what you must do; just don't let that become your god instead of Christ. We all have a place in the system, just make sure to guard against letting that system overtake everything else in your life. We believers are the ecclesia, the called out ones, make sure that you stay that way and let the Light of the Son always shine through you, for that is the purpose that God has called us out for!

As everyone knows, President Bush paid a call last week on the NAACP for the first time in his 5 years in office. Network newscasts covered it, columnists wrote about it, and pundits of all stripes commented on what it all meant and wondered if his appearance would help the Republican Party's outreach efforts to the Black community. I saw it and two questions immediately came to mind: Why go speak at to an organization that vilifies you both politically and personally, and why go the NAACP thinking that they can help you reach the broader Black community?

What the President and the Republican Party seem not to understand is that a great many Black folks feel that the NAACP no longer represents them. The NAACP often times seems to spend all of its energy protesting the number of Black characters in movies and on television shows, or complaining about there not being enough Blacks in corporate positions of power to suit their tastes. Maybe that is important to some people, but the 'rank and file' Black folks are more concerned with having safe neighborhoods and good schools for their children, not whether Halle Berry makes as much money as Julia Roberts! The NAACP is admired for the courageous work it did during the Civil Rights era, for the leadership it provided during its halcyon days of the 1950's and 60's, but to many that is where the connection with the NAACP ends. The reason being, from the 1970's until today the NAACP has basically functioned as the Democratic Party's "Black Auxiliary"; there has not been one part of the Democratic Party platform that the organization has not supported, nor has there been any Democratic Presidential candidates that the group has not supported. From Jimmy Carter to Michael Dukakis, from Walter Mondale to John Kerry, the NAACP has stood foursquare behind them all, with no reservations. And take a look at the people that have been leaders within the organization, and those that the organization has aligned itself with: Je$$ie Jack$on, Kwiesi Mfume, Ben Chavis, Andrew Young, and Julian Bond; partisan Democrats every one! What are the odds that an organization that is so heavily populated by partisan Democrats and is so heavily influenced by Democrat political ideology is a good place for Republicans to go to establish their outreach to the  Black community? I dare say that the odds are so long that not even a Vegas bookie would take those odds!

And even as the NAACP holds itself out as the civil rights watchdog, Black folks are noticing how its rhetoric does not quite match its actions. Where was the NAACP when J.C. Watts was being denied a place in the Congressional Black Caucus, simply because he was not a Democrat? Where were they when Lt. Governor Michael Steele was being pelted with Oreo cookies and called an Uncle Tom for having the temerity to run for the Senate as a Republican in Maryland? And why did they stand mute when Condoleeza Rice was being caricatured as a house slave for daring to accept the position of Secretary of State in the Bush administration? I'll tell you where; they were standing docilely by on the sidelines as these people were mistreated because that was the will of their Democrat Party masters!

If the GOP is really serious about trying to reach out to black voters and establish a rapport with them they are going to need to rethink their current plan. So today, free of any consulting fee, I am going to give the Republican Party a few helpful tips on ways to get a foot in the door with the Black community. Try these on for size and see what you think!       

             1. Don't waste anymore valuable time courting the support of the NAACP. They are a
            wholly owned subsidiary of the DNC, they are never going to like you, so don't waste 
             any more time sweet-talking them. Acknowledge what they have accomplished, honor 
              their place in history and move on. 

            

            

           2. Take a page from the DNC and court the ministers. Ministers have a powerful
            influence in the Black community and showing them that the Republican Party
            platform more closely jibes with what they believe in can only have positive effects,
            and may be key to gaining a foothold in the black community.

            3. Continue to align yourself with groups like the National Urban League. This group,
            and others like it, are nearly as influential as the NAACP and far less politically    
            partisan. Take your message to the more moderate groups, you may be surprised
            by the number of people that are receptive to your message.

            4. Do better grassroots outreach!! Grassroots/local level workers need to do a much
            better job of reaching out to Black voters. Too many see a Black person and just
            assume that the person is a democrat and do not even try to approach that person
            (this is from personal experience). As long as this assumption is being made the GOP
            will continue to miss out on chances to bring new voters into the fold.

            5. Accentuate your history! Let everyone know that YOU are the party of Lincoln,
            that YOU were the difference makers in passing the landmark civil rights amendment    
            during Reconstruction, that YOU were instrumental in passing the civil rights legislation
            in the 1960's. Do not sit back and let the Democrats continue to pass their shameful
            history off as yours. Do not be afraid to let everyone know that what you stood for 
            then is what you stand for now!

I realize that the Republican party has a hard row to hoe in attempting to make headway into the Black community, what with the megaphone of the media shouting out every lie and historical misrepresentation that Democrats put out there, but these ideas are worth at least trying. Like my grandfather used to tell me, "Anything worth having is worth working hard for." If the GOP truly wants to gain a foothold with Black voters it is going to take some hard work and we may as well roll up our sleeves and get after it. If we want the rewards, now is the time to start putting in the work!