Civic Infusion

At lunch today, I enjoyed a great conversation with Joe F. regarding the civic and environmental responsibilities we have as followers of Christ, and he referred me to Evangelicals for Social Action. I am very impressed by the careful, deliberate and effective message they share. One excerpt reads:

As Christians we confess our primary allegiance is to Christ, his kingdom, and Christ's worldwide body of believers, not to any nation. God has blessed America with bounty and with strength, but unless these blessings are used for the good of all , they will turn to our destruction. As Christian citizens of the United States, we must keep our eyes open to the potentially self destructive tendencies of our society and our government. We must also balance our natural affection for our country for a love of people of all nations and an active desire to see them prosper. We invite Christians outside the United States to aid us in broadening our perspectives on American life and action.

In another blog post on social action, a few people responded that they would like to see BVBC begin some programs to help with job training and placement. While I am not necessarily opposed to the idea, I would propose that instead of attempting to bring these services in-house and expecting the community to come to us for their needs, we infuse existing religious and civic institutions that are already in place and have experience in these areas. There is an opportunity for us to "engage with the world with gracious discernment" and to be salt and light by coming alongside like-minded people in our community and aid in their cause, influencing not only those we serve but those with whom we partner. I think it also brings responsibility back to as as individuals to involve ourselves now rather than to wait for the leadership of the church to draw on its own limited resources to create a new platform for service. I could be overstating things, but I think sometimes churches can take a sort of feudal approach with their resources instead of partnering with and sharing their resources with other groups for a more optimal impact. There are gains to be made by certain economies of scale and diversity of experience and perspective.

Along these lines, I am excited that BVBC will be partnering again with other churches in the state (the program of course was initiated by the Catholic diocese) with a "Rose and a Prayer" to overcome the legislature that will be re-presented in the Delaware Legislature to allow and fund embryonic stem cell research. I confess that while I supported the measure last time I failed to actually sign up. I will not repeat that mistake again. I am also excited that we have another Habitat for Humanity day on the calendar for March 31st.

"And they'll know we are Christians by our love."