Politics and Holiness

Below is an updated edition of a post I wrote two years ago around this time:

Over the past several months the U.S. has been focused on significant elections. With the country facing economic and international challenges these elections are raising passionate engagement by a large number of our citizenry, including Christians.

I'm wary entering into the political fray on this blog. Nevertheless, as I reflect on the discourse and debates of the past several months I am very concerned how we as followers of Christ are responding to political realities around us. And, going a step further, I am more and more convinced that as holiness people we in the Church of God have not adequately applied our theology to our civic involvements; and instead have often been fixated on individual holiness, often to the point of being petty. Without surprise, then, it is amazing to see how passionate many Church of God folk are about the political issues in our country. Often, it seems, many are more convinced that the solutions to our national woes are in political change than in the Good News of Jesus. Of course, we would all affirm the latter as being preeminent, but our practice often defies our stated beliefs.

The implications of a sound holiness doctrine should be profound, not only on our personal lives but on our social involvement as well. Unfortunately, however, we have understood this to mean that we should align with a particular political party (whatever it might be) and its policies in order to bring about God's intentions. Sadly, when politicians and their organizations fail us (as they inevitably do) our hopes are dashed, as is our witness in the world.

I certainly vote and have my own strong convictions about what needs to happen in our national, state, and local political arenas. I clearly recognize that as a citizen I must be engaged and involved in the issues around me. But, I have no illusions as to where my allegiance really is: citizenship in the Kingdom of God.

If we truly adhere to holiness then we must come to terms with what it means to be separate from the ways of the world, and at the same time allow the Holy Spirit to empower us for mission within the world. I pray that we can enter into this discussion and practice within the Church of God.

Three Visions

Since my last post not long after the North American Convention I’ve had some time to reflect on where we are as a movement. This is a time of reflection for many of us especially as we face big questions concerning our future, most notably the selection of a new General Director.

As I’ve mentioned before we are a very diverse movement. Sadly, however, we have been unable to fully accept and work with this diversity. The result is an increasing trend toward polarizations and divisions. The more l look at this the more I see us in North America separating into three groupings.

1. Heritagers. There has always been among us a strong contingent of those who understand their Church of God identity through our history. This remains true even over 130 years since our beginning. Certainly, our heritage has shaped us and is worth remembering and celebrating. The danger, however, is that this can lead to looking backwards and focusing on what God has done versus where he is leading us. Sadly I see some who seem to more concerned about preservation than seeing their part in God’s mission today and tomorrow.

2. Networkers. In recent years we have seen the emergence of a growing network of individuals who recognize the primacy of our missional calling as a church. The focus of this group is not on our heritage or institutional concerns; instead on mobilizing the church for the future and connect outside of our formal structures. This can be frustrating for those who want more conformity to our identity. Typically this group recognizes our history and distinctives but is not fixated on past expressions of our heritage. Their goal is to forge a new identity relevant for our time but still consistent with our theology.

3. Evangelicals. In my assessment this grouping probably describes the majority of people in our churches, and possibly our pastors as well. As our distinctiveness has diminished over the decades more and more of our congregations have found themselves assimilating into the larger American Evangelical culture, even though there are significant differences between us and them. Much to the chagrin of the Heritage group in particular the Evangelicals are least inclined to stay connected and honor our distinctives. They enjoy the autonomy that our loose polity provides and see the value of our national and regional organizations primarily in terms of what benefits they can receive.

Our future is dependent on how we work despite these three broad divisions. It will also be critical for our new General Director to understand this and cast a new vision that will bring us closer together and not further apart.

How do you see this working itself out among us?

NAC Reflections

Over the past week I’ve had the opportunity to spend some time on vacation, and during that time to reflect on the North American Convention.

Certainly there are many positives to report about our annual gathering. This continues to be the primary event for leaders within our movement to connect within a context of worship and fellowship. And most of it is very good! Wednesday night's celebration service, for example, seemed to be very we'll received and a rousing conclusion.

Nevertheless, there were some clouds hanging over this year's NAC that seemed to at the forefront of many conversations. Most notable is the significant drop in attendance. Evening services were far from full, especially concerning since an alternative venue was not provided at Park Place this year. Obviously, the NAC is losing its importance across a growing percentage of our constituency, and I am highly skeptical that the proposal adopted by the General Assembly will do anything to remedy this. In fact, it could actually kill it. Next year's Global Conference should see a one year spike in attendance, enough to keep everyone from confronting reality.

 Among the many conversations I had and heard the topic of our future was raised again and again. The decline in attendance contributed to this as did concern over the choosing of our new General Director over the next year. Everyone seems to acknowledge that this will be pivotal for us going forward, and there is much speculation as to who might be on the short list while recognizing that the search committee has an extremely difficult task and requires our prayer support.

 It's good to be home and back in my ministry location. Memories and thoughts from this year's NAC will remain alive for me especially as we look ahead to the future. More on that in upcoming posts.

The future of the NAC

At the General Assembly this week delegates will be presented with the final report of the NAC Study Recommendation Committee. This is the result of several years of study and consultation.

Let me say upfront that I am highly disappointed with the report and its conclusions. This is a perfect example of what happens when you give a committee the responsibility of leading with vision. What we have with this report is a lowest common denominator compromise that ultimately reinforces status quo and the ongoing decline of the NAC.

The proposed recommendation is to maintain the NAC as it is (although with some possible minor tweaks) in Anderson, and to introduce simulcasts at satellite locations. For many reasons I believe it is unworkable and does not take into account the realities experienced by those of us at the geographic fringes.

What is needed is a fresh new vision not only for NAC but for our gatherings and inter-connectedness. Let’s be honest, NAC is dying and could die within a decade. This solution does not address any of this.

For an alternative proposal see my idea of five years ago.

Critical issues

As I mentioned in my last post, I believe that this North American Convention could be a pivotal moment in the life of our movement. Not because there is any one big decision facing us, but more because at this time in the life of the Church of God a number of key issues are converging on us.

Let me highlight a few:

1. Search for a new General Director. As you are probably aware, Ron Duncan will soon be retiring and a succession committee is in place for his replacement. There is much buzz about this across the Church, and especially here at NAC. Everyone recognizes that finding the right person is a monumental task requiring much prayer and discernment. This is complicated by the fact that there are conflicting visions of what we need in a new General Director. The discussions and feedback generated at this NAC will set the stage for the selection which will take place over the next year.

2. Challenges at Church of God Ministries. Complicating the selection for a new General Director is that Church of God Ministries itself is facing a critical time in its history. This is not really new, but the trends are looking more and more bleak as again there are varying perceptions and expectations across the continent as to the effectiveness and purpose of our central organization. This is partially evidenced by the continued financial struggles resulting from continued giving declines. The Ministries Council seems to be aware of all this, and this NAC is one of the primary occasions where this matter will be in our sights.

3. The future of the NAC. At the General Assembly the report from the NAC study committee will be presented. This will be the culmination of a broad-based consultation across the church as to the future direction of our annual gathering. What is presented, and ultimately decided, will have tremendous impact on our future connectivity and focus. Will it be status quo, or will a new vision emerge?

As with many of you, I will be watching to see how these issues unfold in the coming days.

North American Convention

It's that time of year again. I'm on my annual pilgrimage to Anderson for the major gathering of our movement on our continent. While it is an opportune time for fellowship, inspiration and teaching for me it also a time for meetings of various sorts.

As I've bemoaned on many occasions my blogging has been somewhat sparse over the past couple of years. But, being at NAC should afford many opportunities to reflect on all matters Church of God. I must take advantage of this. So, over the next few days I will take time to post on this blog whenever possible. My goal this year, however, is not to report on the NAC itself, but to comment on critical issues facing us.(For those wanting convention highlights follow my Twitter feed: @chogblog, and the general hashtag #nacchog) I am taking this approach because I believe that this NAC could be one of the most pivotal in recent history. More on this soon.

If you're here in Anderson l hope to connect with many of you in person. For the majority of you at home, I hope you are able to watch some of the streaming broadcasts online, and comment here to engage in the conversation.

Healthy Growing Churches

This week I've had the opportunity to be at the Healthy Growing Churches (HCG) gathering in Orlando, Florida, the second year for this event. This is a significant network within the Church of God, and its impact is growing.

For those of you that don't know HGC was formed a couple of years ago largely out of the collaborative effort of the Regional Pastors and Overseers from Florida, Ohio, and Indiana. They saw a need for more concerted efforts to develop strong, missional churches. Cutbacks at Church of God Ministries were reducing the services they offered for this purpose, so districts were increasingly taking on these challenges, and often more effectively. HGC was intended to network these efforts. At present the four major arms are: transformation, multiplication, network and judicatories. The multiplication arm comes as a result of taking in Church Multiplication Association, a leading church planting organization within our movement.

HGC is clear to point out that they are wanting to support the Church of God in North America, not compete with our national structures. This is a network more than anything else. And, networks are not new to the Church of God. For example, Pastors' Fellowship is a long-standing network, and HGC is one too, albeit with a different focus. This week's gathering represents this philosophy as they point out this is not a conference, but a network. Much emphasis and opportunity is given to networking clusters where participants can interact with others who have a similar ministry. Networks are the future, and especially compatible with our orientation.

Based on the evident response this week (i.e. attendance is over 100) there is much enthusiasm for HGC, and the future looks bright for this fledgling movement within our movement.