How Christians Should Vote | Don’t Panic: Week 2

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Politics, it's all over our news feeds.

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My name's Lena Schuler and I'm the Crossroads Anywhere Community P

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astor. We're glad to have you joining us from anywhere you are right now.

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And we're in a new series this week called Don't Panic, Take Heart 2020.

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We actually believe that there's a promise

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that we can take heart in the midst of this election year,

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regardless of where we are in the political spectrum.

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And so we're going to be taking communion

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a little bit later in our service.

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And if you believe in the promises of Jesus

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and what He says about taking heart, who He is,

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then get something to eat or drink so that you can take communion

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a little bit later.

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But before we get into that, we actually went onto the street

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to hear where people are and what they think

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in the midst of this divisive election year.

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Let's check it out.

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TOME: Excuse me, sir. How are you?

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- I'm doing wonderful.

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- Do you mind talking politics?

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- Where are you? On the right or are you on the left?

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- I think I'm at somewhere in the middle.

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- I feel like the right is very extreme

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and the left is very extreme and I'm more towards the middle.

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- Kind of a left-ish, but right now,

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it's just it's too polarized on both sides.

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- There's never a good choice for me.

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I don't really fit in anywhere.

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So election year comes around, I'm like, ugh.

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- Yeah, they're both very extreme and I'm not an extreme person.

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- This is wild, it's wild.

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TOME: It is wild.

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- I mean it's going on a turn for I think the worst.

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TOME: How doesn't make you feel?

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- Confused and angry.

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They all just have their own ideas of what they want to do

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and they aren't really listening to me.

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It's like that song clowns to the left of me, jokers on the right?

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- I'm so afraid to tell what I'm really feeling to my friends

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because sometimes they're so like radically attached

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to their viewpoint I don't like to share.

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- We don't want to talk issues.

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We just want to root for our team.

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- You know, like out in social media,

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like Facebook and stuff, it's just instant shut down.

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- I frankly try not to think about it very much

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because it's quite depressing.

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TOME: What's depressing about it for you?

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- Just all the hatred and anger.

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TOME: Do you feel I'm angry with you right now?

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Because I'm very angry right now.

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Are you feeling that?

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- A little bit, yeah.

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- I think Republicans and Democrats need to hear

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that just because you're Republican

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or I'm a Democrat doesn't mean that we don't have a lot in common.

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- Our elected officials, I just --

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I don't have a whole lot of faith in them right now.

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- It's very frustrating.

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- I really don't feel like anybody represents me

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because everybody has pushed

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way to one end of the spectrum or the other.

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- I don't feel like either party truly represents

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all the policies or all the issues that I would fall on.

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- It's a tough one. It's tough one.

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I mean, there's a lot that I disagree with.

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It's a lot that I will agree with.

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But I'm all for change and going for something

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that's going to benefit everyone of the majority.

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So, yeah.

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- Hey, my name's Robbie.

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Great to have you here, as we're were in this election series

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called Don't Panic or Don't Panic 2020 Take Heart.

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We're going to -- We're gonna start our time together

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right now by singing songs that have been sung for a few centuries.

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And nothing helps us say something so succinctly as a song.

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And there's a song that I grew up singing.

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I called it the money song, but it's actually called The Doxology.

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So it's real simple.

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It goes like this:

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Why don't you guys stand up?

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Praise for the soul and all the.

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God, we come to you right now with our eyes fixed on You

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for our hope, not anything we see on the landscape,

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but we lift our eyes to You.

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We lift our eyes to heaven to say we want to hope in You.

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So we're here because we want to encounter You.

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We want to encounter Your truth, Your character, Your presence.

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Would You would meet us here?

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Would You see our steps into this place as

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silent prayers of hope?

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It's in that precious name, Jesus, that we pray.

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Amen.

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- I love worshipping with you week in and week out online

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because it sets my week up really well to experience God.

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One of the other things that I do that sets my week up,

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my month up, my year up really well to experience God

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is I get together with friends regularly in the midst of a group.

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And as much as this has been good for me,

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I hear stories time and time again of how it's been good for you

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and other people who are part of our church.

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I was meeting with Patti and Brian,

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who are some of our group leaders in Michigan

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just a couple of weeks ago.

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And they were telling me a story about

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how when they were meeting with their group,

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Brian actually passed out and it was in the midst of passing out

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and then going to the hospital from that group

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that a medical issue was caught in his heart.

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And this group of people that they were regularly meeting with

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rallied around them and cared for them

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in the midst of this unexpected, difficult time

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where they had a medical emergency.

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And they were just telling me how great it was to have friends

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who cared so deeply for them and were there for them

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in the midst of this difficult time.

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And I want that for you.

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I want you to have great friends who are with you

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in the midst of unexpected, difficult times,

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the way that Patti and Brian have experienced

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and the way that I've experienced.

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And so if you want that, you can head to Crossroads.net/groups

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and see if there's a group meeting near you, maybe in a home

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or a coffee shop or online week in and week out

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so that you have friends who are going after God with you

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and who can be there for you in the highs and the lows of life.

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One of the other things that set me up really well

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for the rest of my life was not just meeting in a group regularly,

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but years and years ago, I actually experienced camp

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as a middle schooler.

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I experienced camp where I made great friends

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who I laughed with and played games with

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and who eventually stood by me on my wedding day a few years ago.

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And it set up my relationship with Jesus for years and years to come.

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And we have camps available for you if you're in middle school

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or high school or you've got a student in your home or close to you.

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We have summer camps happening for your students

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to experience life change through Jesus

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and through genuine friendships

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and just some good old fun in the midst of the summer.

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And you know, I was sitting around a table

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with all of our community pastors a few weeks ago

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across all of our Crossroads sites.

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And the question was asked, how many of us experienced Jesus

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and maybe received him for the first time

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in the midst of a summer camp in middle school or high school.

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And over half of that room raised our hands.

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And so it might just be camp that sets your student

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on a totally different trajectory for the rest of their life

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and really solidifies a relationship with Jesus for them.

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And I want that for your middle school or high school student.

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I want that for you if you're in middle school or high school.

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You can head to Crossroads.net/summercamp

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to find out more

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and sign up for a camp this summer,

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regardless of where you live in the country.

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And I want you to know that if you're a giver at Crossroads,

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part of your money is fueling life change in kids and students.

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So if you want to give for the first time today,

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you want to become a giver and you want to see Jesus

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break into the lives of high schoolers and middle schoolers around you.

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You could do that by heading to Crossroads.net/gi

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ve and becoming a giver for the first time today.

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But we're in this series called Don't Panic, Take Heart 2020,

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and today we get to hear from Chuck Mingo.

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- If you are experiencing a bit of heartburn

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after consuming heavy dose

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of polarizing political posts on social media

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with a side of inflammatory national news for breakfast,

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and you can feel your blood pressure rising

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and your anxiety skyrocketing, you are not alone.

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The good news is that you don't have to panic in 2020.

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This is not the first time in human history

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we faced a fractured and about to boil over political storm.

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About 2000 years ago, things were looking pretty bleak

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for people who follow Jesus.

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You could say they had just lived through

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the most important election of their lives, and lost.

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OK, so there were no elections back then, only hostile takeovers.

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And Jesus wasn't running for President.

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He was unjustly crucified.

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But you get the idea, these people were freaked out.

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The guy they thought was going to literally

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overthrow the Romans and the religious Jews

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and run the country was dead.

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Taxes were high. There was no health care.

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No one could agree about who should be in power.

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Sound familiar?

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Followers of Jesus were so scared

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they hid and huddled together.

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Not knowing what else to do,

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the women in their group went to the tomb.

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And you know what happened next.

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He had risen, just as He said.

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In Luke 24 it says two angels had to remind them

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of what Jesus had said to them just a few days before.

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They said, and I quote:

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remember how He told you this would happen?

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It goes on to say: Then they remembered His words.

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If the people closest to Jesus were so freaked out

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by the political tension they were in

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that they panicked and forgot what He said.

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Then it begs the question, did H

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e say anything to us that would be helpful

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to remember during this election?

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Turns out, yes.

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Yes, He did.

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This is the message that He gave to H

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is followers about to venture out

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into a fractured political culture:

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Anyone who loves their father or mother,

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insert political party, more than me is not worthy of me.

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And anyone who loves their son or daughter,

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insert their beliefs about climate change or immigration,

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more than me is not worthy of me.

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Whoever does not take up their cross,

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insert forgive their Facebook and Twitter foes,

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and follow me is not worthy of me.

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Whoever finds their life,

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insert puts their faith in winning the election, will lose it.

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And whoever loses their life,

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insert puts their faith in the kingdom of God,

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for my sake will find it.

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Jesus also said:

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So no matter who you are, your party affiliation,

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or growing fear over the outcome of the election,

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you can win no matter who gets elected.

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Because this is the promise of Don't Panic 2020 Take Heart.

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- Man who wants that? Who wants to take heart like that

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and feel that kind of hope, that kind of peace?

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That's what we're talking about in this series,

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Election 2020, Don't panic, take heart.

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And if this is your first week in this series, you might be asking,

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why is Crossroads doing this series again?

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I know that's a question that came up a lot this week

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And I thought Brian did a great job of framing it.

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And I want to go right back to the words of Jesus

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that you heard in that video and saw in that video.

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We believe that by addressing this, by talking about this

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as a community, more of us can actually experience

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the words that Jesus promised in John 16:33, He said:

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And we want to be in a place where we can engage

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in the political process in a healthy way,

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but also take heart no matter who wins in November.

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Because right now the odds of your candidate winning

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are about 50/50 unless you live in Rabbit Hash, Kentucky,

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not too far from here where Brynn is still mayor

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and everything is well in the world.

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So I don't know if you know this or not,

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but Rabbit Hash, Kentucky for years has elected a dog

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to be their mayor. It's really small town.

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And so you can imagine there's not much

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political tension in Rabbit Hash, Kentucky.

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which makes that like Mars compared to

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everywhere else in our country right now.

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You know, in some ways what an election does

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is it just concentrates our hopes, our aspirations,

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what we believe, our fears, our anxieties,

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and it concentrates all those things onto one date on the calendar.

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And it reminds me of what I used to do when I was younger,

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when I would have a magnifying glass

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and it was a hot summer day.

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And I would take that magnifying glass and try to burn ants.

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Am I the only person who tried to do that with real live things?

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Yeah, paper too, paper too.

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But it was always cool if you could try to catch an ant.

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I never set an ant on fire, but that's what an election does,

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is it kind of concentrates us to this point

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and it gets us all fired up.

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It burns us in that way.

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And I want to say something very clearly.

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There's real tension stepping into this,

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stepping into this conversation.

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What is our duty or what is our choice

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as an American citizen who votes

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and what is our duty or our response as people

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who are either already in the kingdom of God

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or who are interested in learning more about

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what does it look like to respond to this

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as a person who's in a kingdom of God?

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And I also recognize there are issues of consequence

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in this election, and I'm not minimizing that at all.

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But every week in this series, we're coming against a myth,

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a myth that may be true based on how the media

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or pundits are talking about this election.

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Last week's myth was that this is

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the most important election of your life.

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That this is the most important election of your life.

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And Brian talked about that last week.

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And what we've realized is

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this is an election of consequence for sure.

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And yet you can engage, you can step into this

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and you can have peace regardless of who

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the President is on November 4th, 2020.

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And so this week we're leaning into another myth

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and we're going to dive into that.

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But here's what I want you to know.

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Today what I want to do is prepare you for

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what you do when you walk into that ballot booth.

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So what you do before, during, and after the ballot booth,

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that's where we're going today.

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Let me pray as we jump in.

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God, I ask that you would speak.

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That You would speak a word that resonates with all of us deeply.

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I believe that You can

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and I believe that's exactly what You want to do.

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That only happens when I get out of the way

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and you, quite frankly, get more in the way.

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And so we just give this time to You, in Jesus' name.

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Amen.

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All right. Let's take a look at the myths that we're busting today.

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We've got our myth lever over here.

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Here's the myth we're going after.

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Oh, Chipotle is healthy.

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Of course, Chipotle is healthy.

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There's vegetables in there, beans.

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Yes, Chipotle is healthy.

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But that's actually not the myth for today.

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Here's another myth we want to come after today.

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You shouldn't pee in the pool.

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How many people think it's OK to pee in the pool?

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Don't raise your hands, please.

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I don't even want to know.

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I don't even want to know.

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No, no, no. That's clear.

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You shouldn't be in the pool.

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So two very clear: Chipotle is healthy.

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You shouldn't pee in the pool.

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Here's the myth we're actually going after today.

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All Christians vote this way.

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That one is actually not as simple as it seems.

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And if you're in here and you're part of the 61%

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of people that by some polls would say are the frustrated majority,

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you're asking the question, though, "OK, but how do I decide?"

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Today I'm gonna give you that answer.

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I'm going to give you that answer today.

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And as I do that, let's just remember, I'm the Pastor you like.

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Can we just be OK with that?

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I'm the Pastor you like.

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I'm your friend.

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I'm Chuck and I'm the pastor you like.

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So we're going to dig into that.

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We're going to go straight at it.

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And I think it'd be helpful for you to understand my political story.

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So I think about myself growing up in my home.

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I would say my parents were one lever Democrats.

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That's what they were.

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And what I mean by that is this.

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I don't know what the voting booth looked like where you grew up.

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Where I grew up in Philadelphia.

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you would go into a booth.

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You'd pull one lever.

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That lever would close the curtain behind you.

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And then you had a bunch of different individual choices.

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But you also had two other choices:

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You could pull one lever

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and all the Republican ticket would be voted for

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or you could pull one lever and all the Democrats would be voted for.

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Of course, I remember as a kid, my mom and dad

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would work the polls regularly.

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And I remember walking in and it was a two lever experience,

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one lever to close the curtain.

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And there was another lever to vote

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the whole Democratic line down the down the edge.

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That's what I grew up with.

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And so that's how I grew up.

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But this changed for me as I got more politically aware.

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Does anybody remember something called Channel One?

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Channel One. You were in school.

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For me, it was in high school.

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And it was like closed circuit TV.

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And they would give you all kinds of information.

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And I remember when it was George Bush running against Bill Clinton

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for whatever reason that just sparked in my mind,

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because they were showing that on Channel One.

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I remember saying to myself, like, "I can't vote in this election,

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but the next election I'll be voting."

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And it just increased my awareness.

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And I was kind of just like, hey,

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this is something I need to pay attention to.

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Fast forward, I would say that as I began to vote,

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the way that I would define myself even today

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is that I'm an independent voter with conservative leanings.

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That's been true for me when I was in college.

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That's been true for me even beyond college.

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Obviously, that's kind of where I stood

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in terms of the whole political landscape.

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And then 2008 happened.

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And I will tell you that as an African-American man,

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the opportunity to vote for our first black President

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was a moment of history for me.

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Surprise, surprise. I voted for Obama in 2008.

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And you're probably not surprised by that.

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But for me, that was a historic vote

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for a couple reasons that I remember.

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I remember when he was elected and all the results were in

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and he was in Chicago at that park

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and he was walking onto the stage with his family.

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I did two things in that moment.

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I called my then 80 plus year old dad

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who grew up in Jim Crow St.

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with separate water fountains,

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not being able to be treated as a human being.

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He never thought he would see a black President in his lifetime.

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And I called him and I just wanted to hear

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what he was thinking that night.

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And the next thing I did is I wrote a letter

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to my then few month old son about

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what just happened in our country that day.

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So that was 2008, but fast forward to 2012.

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And I will tell you, 2012 for me was not a clear cut decision.

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It was not. It was not a no brainer

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that I was going to vote for Obama a second time,

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because for me, I knew as I was walking into 2012,

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my decision had to be based on more than just my racial identity,

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it had to be based on more than just my quote unquote, politics.

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Here was the question that I leaned into aggressively in 2012,

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and I'm challenging all of you to lean into in 2020.

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And it's this: am I willing to put my faith filter

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ahead of my political filter?

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Or put it this way, how do I put my faith filter

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ahead of my political filter?

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And I will tell you this is hard.

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In fact, it's so hard

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that I think most of us think we've already done it.

00:27:33

We think we've already done the work on this.

00:27:35

But I want you to see today that it is not that simple,

00:27:38

that if you are using a biblical filter

00:27:41

for the way that you show up at the polls,

00:27:43

it is not as simple as we make it out to be.

00:27:46

This tension exists if we step back from the soundbites,

00:27:50

if we step back from the talking points and we look at scripture.

00:27:53

I could give a bunch of different examples of this,

00:27:56

but I'm just gonna pick three.

00:27:57

I've got an image here and I want what you just walk with me through this.

00:28:00

Three things that I know you're hearing about,

00:28:02

three things you probably have an opinion on:

00:28:04

immigration,

00:28:05

charity or you could call that how we take care of the poor,

00:28:08

and the environment.

00:28:09

These are things that are hot button debates, hot button discussions.

00:28:13

And can I just tell you, if you think the Bible

00:28:16

is overtly clear on one side of this or another,

00:28:19

I don't think you're reading the Bible that I'm reading.

00:28:22

I don't think it's that simple because the Bible says this about immigrants.

00:28:26

There's clear scripture that says we're to protect

00:28:28

and welcome the foreigner and the scripture teaches

00:28:31

that we're to obey the laws of the land.

00:28:32

Those are both in the Bible.

00:28:34

So I just don't think it's as easy as we make it out to be.

00:28:38

Here's on charity. Charity.

00:28:39

The scriptures clearly teach we're obligated to give generously to the poor.

00:28:43

And yet in 2 Thessalonians it says: if you don't work, you don't eat.

00:28:48

Those are on the same Bible I'm reading.

00:28:50

Here's another one on the environment.

00:28:52

Yes, humans are called a steward the earth.

00:28:54

We see that in places like Genesis,

00:28:55

but also the scriptures teach that humans are above all other creation.

00:28:59

That doesn't mean that we're to abuse nature.

00:29:01

But there's a difference between me and other creative beings

00:29:04

and you and other creative beings being created creatures on the earth.

00:29:08

And all I'm saying is this: if you're not feeling the tension on this,

00:29:12

then I want to ask you to read the Bible again.

00:29:15

If you're not feeling the tension on this,

00:29:17

I don't think that you're hearing and feeling it.

00:29:20

The question though is what do we do with this tension?

00:29:22

We're still on a two party system.

00:29:23

Right?

00:29:25

So how do we deal with this tension?

00:29:27

Well, for years, churches have made it real simple

00:29:29

for people to deal with this tension because

00:29:31

churches have published a voter's guide.

00:29:33

And the voters guide was very clear to tell you

00:29:36

here's who you vote for and here's what you vote for issues wise.

00:29:38

And it was super, super clear.

00:29:40

And I think some of you have been desperate for Crossroads

00:29:43

to give you that for a long, long time.

00:29:45

And I'm going to give it to you right now.

00:29:48

I'm going to give it to you right now.

00:29:49

I'm going to give you the official voter's guide right now.

00:29:52

In fact, you might want to take your phone out.

00:29:54

You might want to have this with you

00:29:55

when you stand in the ballot box on November the 3rd.

00:29:58

I want you to be very clear, very unequivocally know,

00:30:02

here's how Crossroads wants you to vote.

00:30:04

Your voter's guide for 2020 is this: I want you to VOTE &.

00:30:10

I want you to VOTE &.

00:30:12

Some of you feel like you've been clickbaitedt, you haven't.

00:30:16

Some of you think this is a cop out, and it isn't.

00:30:19

And I'm going to show you why.

00:30:20

We're going to look at a scripture today that I think illustrates this.

00:30:24

And let me just be clear on what I mean when I say VOTE &.

00:30:26

I mean this.

00:30:27

I mean, on November 3rd, you should vote your biblically informed conscience

00:30:32

AND if you think your responsibility starts and ends at the ballot box,

00:30:38

you are sadly mistaken if you're a follower of Jesus.

00:30:40

That's what I mean by VOTE &.

00:30:42

There's a story where Jesus really walks us right into this example.

00:30:51

It comes from the book of Matthew 22.

00:30:52

Let's read it. It says:

00:31:46

What's happening in this story is too extreme factions

00:31:51

who would never come together on anything

00:31:53

come together to try to trap Jesus.

00:31:55

The Pharisees and the Herodians.

00:31:58

The Pharisees were absolutely people who were like,

00:32:00

"Look, we should not be aligned to this evil empire of Rome."

00:32:05

And yet you had the Herodians who were supporting Herod

00:32:07

and saying, "Hey, well, you know what?

00:32:09

These two factions would never have gotten together on anything.

00:32:12

They're trying to trap Jesus.

00:32:14

They come up with a really interesting dilemma.

00:32:17

"A simple question, Jesus.

00:32:19

Should we pay taxes to Caesar or not?"

00:32:22

Now, if Jesus simply says, "Of course, you should pay taxes to Caesar.

00:32:27

This is Caesar's coin and Caesar has the coin of the realm,

00:32:30

he's in authority. Yes, she should pay taxes to Caesar."

00:32:32

If he only says that, they would have said,

00:32:35

"See, he's a collaborator with the evil Roman Empire.

00:32:38

There is no way he could be the Messiah."

00:32:40

And they would have discredited his ministry.

00:32:43

On the other side, if he says, "No.

00:32:46

Above and beyond,

00:32:47

whatever Caesar tells you to do.

00:32:48

There is a greater God."

00:32:49

If he only said that, they would've said, "This guy's an insurrectionist.

00:32:52

He doesn't support Caesar's authority.

00:32:54

He should die."

00:32:56

And in either case, they would have discredited and honestly killed him.

00:32:59

They would have destroyed his ministry.

00:33:01

So they're trying to catch Jesus in a trap.

00:33:03

But Jesus is always the smartest man in the room.

00:33:07

And so what does he do? He says, "Give me the coin.

00:33:10

Give me this coin that you use to pay the tax."

00:33:13

And a denarius on one side would have had the image of Caesar.

00:33:16

And Jesus, I believe.

00:33:18

and all scholars believe,

00:33:19

was holding up that side of the coin when he said,

00:33:21

"Whose inscription is this?

00:33:22

Caesar's? Yes, of course.

00:33:24

Pay to Caesar what is Caesar's?"

00:33:26

But there's two sides to the coin.

00:33:29

And on the other side of the coin would have been an image

00:33:31

of a Roman god or a Roman goddess.

00:33:33

Obviously in Jesus's perspective, a false god or a false goddess.

00:33:37

And so he turned the coin over and said, "And give to God what is God's."

00:33:41

What was Jesus saying?

00:33:42

Jesus was saying, absolutely, in this world

00:33:45

there are political governing authorities and they are to be respected.

00:33:50

And at the same time, God is a greater authority.

00:33:54

And so if you're going to look at this, honestly, you VOTE &.

00:33:59

Because, yes, we give to Caesar what is Caesar's,

00:34:01

but we give to God what is God's.

00:34:03

That's why I subscribe to the radical middle.

00:34:07

You've heard Brian talk about that.

00:34:08

And some of you are like, what's the radical middle?

00:34:09

It feels like a copout.

00:34:10

And I'm telling you, it's not.

00:34:12

It's way easier to pick a tribe.

00:34:15

You got people on your tribe.

00:34:16

You've got people who support your opinion on your tribe.

00:34:19

There's whole economic engines supporting the tribes.

00:34:22

It's way easier to pick an extreme.

00:34:24

It's a lot harder to sit in the radical middle

00:34:27

and help understand what Jesus means when he says

00:34:30

give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's.

00:34:32

I'll just tell you, I live in the radical middle.

00:34:34

I've lived in the radical middle before we named it the radical middle.

00:34:38

Interesting, I came across a quote from an African-American activists

00:34:42

and musical artist, Christian music artist Sho Baraka, and he says this:

00:35:02

And I'll just tell you, man, he's starting to get it how I feel.

00:35:07

Because I'm just -- this is just Chuck.

00:35:08

This is just me talking.

00:35:10

As a black man, I am disturbed by the over and implied racism

00:35:16

that I hear in Republican Party politics.

00:35:19

Because here's the thing, oftentimes, I'm the only black man in the room.

00:35:23

And my my Republican brothers and sisters,

00:35:25

who are Christians I'm talking about,

00:35:27

they can forget that I'm in the room.

00:35:28

And I have heard things and had things said to me that deeply disturbed me.

00:35:34

And I am also deeply disturbed by the undermining of scripture

00:35:38

that I hear from Democrats who are also Christians.

00:35:43

Because sometimes I'm the only independent in the room

00:35:47

and my Democrat brothers and sisters, who are Christians,

00:35:49

can forget that I'm in the room.

00:35:51

And I hear things that deeply disturbed me.

00:35:54

And the question I have is this: I feel the tear.

00:35:57

I feel the pull.

00:35:58

Can I be a conservative black man who also is passionate about social justice?

00:36:04

Can I stand in that place?

00:36:07

Maybe you feel it this way: Can I be a woman

00:36:10

who wants to see women treated equally in the workplace

00:36:13

but also doesn't support abortion?

00:36:15

Or can I be a successful white male entrepreneur

00:36:18

who's a capitalist and believes in free markets,

00:36:20

but also cares deeply about taking care of the poor?

00:36:23

Or maybe you feel like I can be someone who's really concerned

00:36:26

about the overreach of government and cares for the planet?

00:36:30

Or maybe you're asking can I be a first generation American

00:36:33

who wants stronger borders and a clear immigration policy?

00:36:37

And friends, the answer biblically is yes.

00:36:39

Yes, we can. We can stand in this place of tension and be who we are

00:36:44

because I'm not here to try to support or maintain

00:36:47

primarily the unity of the United States of America.

00:36:50

That's great if that happens, but we must maintain the unity of the church.

00:36:54

And in the church, you should be able to stand in those different places

00:36:57

and still be brothers and sisters in Christ.

00:36:58

[applause]

00:37:02

We should be able to stand that way.

00:37:05

So vote your biblically informed conscience.

00:37:07

Hear me very clearly, recognize that it's never going to be clear

00:37:10

and it's never gonna be perfect.

00:37:12

And you can do that as long as you embrace the &.

00:37:16

So what is the &? What is the &?

00:37:19

I'll give you three practical ways to VOTE &.

00:37:22

The first is VOTE & bear one another's burdens,

00:37:28

because we are complex beings living in a complex time.

00:37:32

Galatians 6:2 says this:

00:37:43

There's a guy named Rufus Miles,

00:37:44

and he used to lead the Office of the Budget in government.

00:37:47

And he has a principle, a law that's named after him is called Miles' Law.

00:37:50

And he said this:

00:37:55

Isn't that true? Where you stand depends on where you sit.

00:37:58

What is he saying?

00:37:59

Our cultural perspectives determine --

00:38:02

our cultural context, I should say, determine our perspectives in life.

00:38:05

If you grew up middle class,

00:38:07

you have a middle class perspective on life.

00:38:08

If you grew up poor, you have a poor perspective on life.

00:38:11

If you grew up wealthy all the time, that's your perspective.

00:38:14

If you grew up African-American.

00:38:15

If you grew up Asian.

00:38:16

If you grew up Hispanic.

00:38:17

If you grew up in a family that was a one lever Democrat.

00:38:19

If you grew up in a family that was a one level Republican.

00:38:21

Regardless of how you grew up, where you stand depends on where you sit.

00:38:25

So let's not act like our political opinions were shaped in a vacuum

00:38:29

because they weren't, for any of us they weren't.

00:38:32

And we just need to understand that.

00:38:34

And we also have something working against us.

00:38:37

Actually we're going to have a guest next week

00:38:39

who's going to dig into this even more detail.

00:38:40

I think you're gonna love what he has to say,

00:38:42

even though it'll be challenging for us to go beyond what he has to say.

00:38:45

But man telling you, we all have a fundamental cognitive error

00:38:49

that gets in the way when it comes to things like this.

00:38:51

It's called the fundamental attribution error.

00:38:53

And here's a definition of it.

00:38:54

It's a cognitive bias that causes us to attribute

00:38:57

another person's behavior to their character,

00:38:59

what kind of person they are,

00:39:01

while attributing our behavior to social and environmental factors.

00:39:06

Let me give you an example.

00:39:09

Don't we all have that person who's always late for the meeting?

00:39:13

Right? Right?

00:39:14

Or the person who's always late for the family function?

00:39:16

You know who I'm talking about, right? You know what I'm talking about.

00:39:18

If you can't think of who that person is, you know what they say, right?

00:39:23

Might be you. Might be you.

00:39:25

But, hey, we all know that person.

00:39:26

And here's the thing, when they're consistently late,

00:39:29

what do you think about that person?

00:39:30

Do you think they're lazy?

00:39:31

You think they just don't respect other people's time?

00:39:33

That's exactly what you think.

00:39:36

What do you think when you're late?

00:39:39

I mean when we're late it's legitimate, right?

00:39:40

I mean, there was a conversation that couldn't end

00:39:42

and I had to finish the conversation.

00:39:44

Or the traffic today, I planned, I prepped, but it --

00:39:47

It was just there was an accident. There was something.

00:39:48

We always have an excuse, but when it's another person's issue,

00:39:51

we say it's their problem.

00:39:53

nd that's exactly the problem with our politics.

00:39:55

You know what? The Democrats are all corrupt.

00:39:58

The Republicans are all heartless.

00:40:00

Who are we fooling, all the Democrats are closet socialists.

00:40:03

We know that.

00:40:04

Who are we fooling, all Republicans are closet racists.

00:40:07

We know that.

00:40:09

And so we go back and forth in this thing

00:40:12

because we fall prey to the fundamental attribution error.

00:40:15

We all struggle.

00:40:16

And here's the thing, fundamental attribution error,

00:40:19

it drives ad sales, it makes a lot of money,

00:40:23

and it's terrible for relationships.

00:40:26

And again, remember, I'm Chuck.

00:40:28

I'm the Pastor you like.

00:40:30

Hang with me here. I'm the Pastor you like.

00:40:33

Mature, emotionally intelligent people don't fall for that

00:40:39

and you're better than that.

00:40:43

You are better than to buy into the lie

00:40:46

that your brothers and sisters who vote differently than you

00:40:49

are somehow evil or don't know Jesus.

00:40:52

You're better than that.

00:40:53

Friends, were better than that.

00:40:55

We're better than to judge a book by its cover.

00:40:58

We are better than that.

00:41:00

You are better than that.

00:41:04

So let's bear one another's burdens.

00:41:06

If I could prescribe one thing for all of us to do

00:41:09

between now and November, it would be to listen to people

00:41:12

who experience the world differently than you do.

00:41:16

And I mean that across the entire spectrum of things.

00:41:19

I mean, haves and have nots spending time together.

00:41:23

I mean, Christians and non-Christians spending time together.

00:41:25

Young and old, married and single, new citizens and old citizens,

00:41:30

those who love the military and those who despise the military.

00:41:33

If you could sit down with people who are different from you,

00:41:36

not to fix, but to listen and understand where they're come from,

00:41:41

especially people who who believe in Jesus the same way you do.

00:41:45

Man, think about what that would feel like

00:41:47

and what that would do for our ability to VOTE & bare one another's burdens.

00:41:53

VOTE & bear one another's burdens.

00:41:55

Here's the second one: VOTE &

00:41:57

get proximate to the problems we're trying to solve.

00:42:02

Bryan Stevenson wrote a book called Just Mercy,

00:42:04

it's also an incredible movie that's out right now

00:42:06

for those of you who have seen it.

00:42:08

And he says:

00:42:13

Let me tell you one thing that Washington or Columbus

00:42:16

or City Hall gets wrong every election.

00:42:20

They make you believe that the deal ends once you vote for them.

00:42:24

But Jesus wants you to put your money where your mouth is.

00:42:27

He wants more from you than just to show up at the ballot box.

00:42:30

Think about what it says in Micah 6:8, it says:

00:42:43

There is a call for us beyond the ballot box to be about the things.

00:42:47

So hey, vote for the issues you care about, but recognize

00:42:51

that a kingdom person is called not only to vote,

00:42:54

but to engage in this broken world.

00:42:57

How does that look? How does it look?

00:42:59

Again there's a whole bunch of issues we could apply this to.

00:43:01

I'm going to give you two, I'm going to give you two just as examples.

00:43:04

One is abortion. One is abortion.

00:43:06

Let me be very clear.

00:43:07

The Bible is clear that a baby is a fetus in the womb.

00:43:10

I mean, a baby is a person in the womb.

00:43:12

That a fetus has a soul.

00:43:13

That's very clear from scripture.

00:43:15

So if you're going to vote pro-life, if that's your thing,

00:43:18

then VOTE & take care of orphans and widows.

00:43:22

Are you called to adopt?

00:43:23

Are you called the foster?

00:43:24

Are you called to support the families who adopt and foster?

00:43:27

How about this one?

00:43:28

Are you called to advocate that felons can get their rights back

00:43:32

so they can take care of their own children?

00:43:34

If you're going to care about that issue, VOTE &

00:43:37

get proximate to the problems you're trying to solve.

00:43:41

Hebrews 13:3 says:

00:43:51

If you're going to vote for social issues, you need to know

00:43:54

that the word justice shows up 450 times in the Bible,

00:43:57

so there's biblical precedent for voting that way.

00:44:00

But if you're going to vote for that on social issues,

00:44:02

VOTE & support those programs that don't just give a hand out,

00:44:07

but give a hand up, because a hand out never helped anybody alone.

00:44:12

And recognize that people need to be growing in their ability

00:44:15

to take care of their own responsibilities in their own families.

00:44:18

That's how generational poverty is ultimately broken,

00:44:21

not just dependence.

00:44:22

So if you're going to vote social issues, VOTE & be about those things,

00:44:27

get proximate to those problems.

00:44:28

Again, 2 Thessalonians 3:10:

00:44:38

Tension. We don't get to escape the tension.

00:44:41

It's hard, any decision in life that's of consequence is hard

00:44:45

and we have to hold the tension in this way.

00:44:47

VOTE &.

00:44:48

And so ask yourself, whatever the issue is for you,

00:44:51

whatever things you're passionate about, ask yourself,

00:44:54

what am I doing as a citizen as I VOTE & what's God calling me to do

00:44:59

beyond my vote to get proximate to that problem?

00:45:04

And I'll just tell you, I go I'll go back to 2012.

00:45:06

For me, as I thought about 2012 and the election,

00:45:09

what I recognized from me was the thing that I was passionate about,

00:45:14

that I believed Obama was passionate about,

00:45:16

was bringing about equality, equality.

00:45:18

That was a big deal for me.

00:45:20

And what I had to recognize though, is my vote is not the only way,

00:45:24

nor is it the main way that God has called me to engage in that issue.

00:45:28

And so it's probably no surprise that a few years after that,

00:45:31

Undivided was birthed.

00:45:33

And Undivided as this movement of people

00:45:35

who have stepped into a conversation around race,

00:45:37

not just to have a conversation, but to actually mobilize to action

00:45:41

to bring about racial justice in local communities.

00:45:44

We have had 5000 people go through Undivided just at Crossroads.

00:45:47

We've had another 14 states where people are engaging in Undivided.

00:45:50

And Undivided is poised to go beyond that this year.

00:45:53

And it isn't just that people are getting together for the conversation.

00:45:56

There has been real action taken by people coming out of Undivided

00:46:00

that is righting racial wrongs right here in our city and beyond.

00:46:05

VOTE &.

00:46:06

And I'm not saying everybody has start another program.

00:46:08

I'm not saying that you have to do that,

00:46:09

but I'm asking you, ask the Lord what is He calling you to do?

00:46:13

Because that was a call they put on my life that I had to step into.

00:46:17

And I'm so glad that I did.

00:46:18

In fact, one of the things that I would say is, while Undivided --

00:46:21

I mean, I don't think Undivided would have lived

00:46:23

if it had gotten political right off the bat.

00:46:24

I don't think that it would have lived if we said

00:46:26

here's the side of the political party that we're going to stand on.

00:46:29

I'm glad that we've been able to live in a space of a radical middle with that.

00:46:32

I think we've learned how to do that through things like Undivided.

00:46:35

But can I tell you this?

00:46:36

It didn't mean that I didn't get political, because I did.

00:46:40

I did.

00:46:41

In 2016, I got political about an issue I got proximate to.

00:46:45

And it was the power of providing quality preschool education

00:46:48

for kids in our city who didn't have access to it.

00:46:51

And the data on this is super clear.

00:46:52

This is a bipartisan understanding that

00:46:54

if you can give a kid access to quality preschool,

00:46:57

it literally changes the dynamics for them,

00:47:00

not just at third grade with reading, but in high school, graduation,

00:47:03

honestly, incarceration, all those things are connected.

00:47:06

And so I got proximate to that.

00:47:07

And as I got proximate to that, I got political.

00:47:10

I actually campaign to raise my own taxes.

00:47:16

I actually did commercials to raise my own taxes.

00:47:19

I was a spokesperson for that campaign.

00:47:22

And many of you in here knocked on doors.

00:47:24

And many of you in here voted for it,

00:47:26

because it passed by the largest margin of any

00:47:28

school levy in the history of Cincinnati.

00:47:31

Why? Because our passion overrode our politics.

00:47:34

And when we got proximate, we recognized we could VOTE & do something.

00:47:40

And I know, I got push back for that.

00:47:42

I got push back for that.

00:47:43

I understand that.

00:47:44

I also know that there are kids in our church who are in preschool

00:47:48

because of what many of us helped to bring about for them.

00:47:52

And I'm proud of that. I'm proud of that.

00:47:54

[applause]

00:47:56

VOTE & get proximate to the problems.

00:47:59

Here's the final thing:

00:48:02

VOTE & pledge allegiance to a King and a Kingdom above all.

00:48:07

Because at the end of the day, as Christians,

00:48:09

our ultimate reason for hope doesn't rest in any candidate.

00:48:13

It doesn't rest in any politic party.

00:48:15

It doesn't rest in a political system.

00:48:16

It doesn't rest in a country.

00:48:18

It rest in a King and in a Kingdom,

00:48:20

who has inaugurated hope for everyone in the world

00:48:23

through the death, burial, and resurrection of himself, Jesus Christ.

00:48:27

That's the ultimate vote.

00:48:29

That's the ultimate thing that we stand for.

00:48:31

Jesus put it this way in Matthew 6:33, he said:

00:48:40

What is it that you're freaking out about?

00:48:42

Let me tell you what, if you seek him first

00:48:46

all these things will be added unto you.

00:48:48

Let me ask a question: What would it look like

00:48:49

if Jesus was in charge of your neighborhood?

00:48:53

What would it look like if Jesus was in charge of your city?

00:48:56

What would it look like if Jesus was in charge of your country?

00:48:58

What would it look like if Jesus was in charge of the world?

00:49:01

Our Christian hope is that we are marching toward a day

00:49:04

when that's going to be true, where everything in the world

00:49:07

is going to operate the way the King desires it to operate.

00:49:10

And so we are to be people who participate now in the coming of that Kingdom.

00:49:16

There are some people who've been nominated,

00:49:19

and it's you and it's me.

00:49:20

We've been nominated to participate with Jesus

00:49:23

in the bringing about of his Kingdom.

00:49:26

There's a verse that has a phrase tied to it.

00:49:28

And I just want to explain it to you,

00:49:30

because oftentimes I think the phrase is misused.

00:49:33

In John 17:16 Jesus is praying for the church.

00:49:37

How we doing? You guys are quiet.

00:49:38

Are we good? Everybody good?

00:49:39

Let's just take a break.

00:49:42

I'll tell you one thing that was really funny about preparing for this weekend.

00:49:45

I had to be super intentional about the clothing I wore this weekend.

00:49:51

If you go to Crossroads often, you know, I have a lot of blue shirts

00:49:54

and I have a lot of red shirts.

00:49:55

Those are like my shirts.

00:49:56

Those just happen to be my shirts.

00:49:58

So I'm leaving -- I'm leaving and I'm like,

00:50:00

"I cannot wear a blue shirt or a red shirt this weekend."

00:50:03

Guys, I'm talking about a shirt.

00:50:05

I was freaking out about this.

00:50:06

I'm like, OK. So green. I green is green neutral?

00:50:08

I'm spilling water on it, but green is neutral.

00:50:11

Now, you think I'm money hungry or something?

00:50:12

I don't know what you would make from green, but anyway.

00:50:15

There was a Green Party, wasn't there?

00:50:17

That was -- see, I can't even win with green.

00:50:20

Oh, my goodness. I can't even win with green.

00:50:21

So back to what I was saying.

00:50:23

Back to the Bible.

00:50:24

Let's go back to the Bible.

00:50:25

So Jesus is praying for the church and John 17:16, he says:

00:50:32

And so there's this phrase that comes from this where we say,

00:50:35

as followers of Jesus, we are in the world but not of the world.

00:50:40

But oftentimes I think that phrase is used

00:50:43

to justify retreat from the world.

00:50:46

So let's just keep reading two verses later.

00:50:49

What is he to say about that?

00:50:50

He says:

00:50:55

So if you're a follower of Jesus, you are in the world, but not of the world,

00:50:59

but you were absolutely called to engage the world.

00:51:03

And when is the church at its best?

00:51:06

When is the church best equipped to engage a broken world?

00:51:11

It's when we're united.

00:51:13

It's when we are one.

00:51:14

It's when we are unified.

00:51:16

Jesus says in John 17:21:

00:51:31

How can we be one when we disagree on these issues?

00:51:36

How can we be one? We can be one when we choose

00:51:39

to put our faith filter above our political filter,

00:51:44

when we choose not to be divided over the person

00:51:47

who's going to sit in an Oval Office for four years

00:51:50

and instead unite under a King who's going to reign forever.

00:51:55

That's how we do this.

00:51:56

What does it look like practically?

00:51:58

Well, I can think of any number of people in my life

00:52:01

where I have different political perspectives from them.

00:52:03

And one of the things that was helpful for me with this message

00:52:05

is I ran it through all of those people.

00:52:07

I talked to people who were different from me

00:52:09

in how they think about these things, because you know what?

00:52:11

At the end of the day, we might disagree on those issues,

00:52:14

but we're one in Christ.

00:52:16

So we choose to give each other grace.

00:52:18

We choose to keep talking about the tough issues.

00:52:21

And at the end of the day,

00:52:22

we choose above all else to be together, to be one.

00:52:25

And we can all do that.

00:52:27

Let me tell you my vision is for Crossroads.

00:52:30

My vision is that we would be a radically inclusive

00:52:34

and radically engaged church, a church that embraces the &,

00:52:39

a church that believes that you don't have to check

00:52:41

your political affiliations at the door, but a church that says

00:52:44

we're going to be people who elevate our unity in Jesus above partisan politics

00:52:49

and be about the business of bringing about the Kingdom of Jesus right here.

00:52:54

Right here. We're gonna VOTE & so that the world can believe

00:53:00

that He is the one that got has sent.

00:53:05

So I got two things for us to do as practical,

00:53:08

so what?

00:53:09

Now, what kinds of things.

00:53:10

And the first is I think we collectively need to repent.

00:53:16

We need to repent.

00:53:18

Repentance is a word in the Bible that means to change direction.

00:53:21

It's to recognize I've been going a way that doesn't honor God

00:53:23

or I've been going a way that actually isn't helpful for me

00:53:25

and I need to change my direction.

00:53:27

And I believe that as it relates to this 2020 election season,

00:53:31

we need to repent collectively as a community.

00:53:35

Some of us need to repent for taking our vote too seriously

00:53:41

and being so wrapped up in the partisan politics of what's going on

00:53:45

that we put more eggs in the earthly political basket

00:53:48

than we have in the Kingdom basket and we need to repent.

00:53:53

Others of us need to repent for taking our vote way too lightly.

00:53:57

And because it's contentious and because it's complex,

00:54:00

we've chosen to disengage when you need to be engaged and we need to repent.

00:54:07

And I think others of us need to just be honest and say

00:54:09

political differences have put space between you

00:54:13

and people who Jesus said well worth dying for.

00:54:17

And we need to just recognize that those things don't need to divide us

00:54:20

and that Jesus wants us to be one

00:54:21

despite the differences we have on these issues.

00:54:26

So I want to invite us to have a moment of repentance right now.

00:54:28

A prayer that if you want to do that, if you want to say

00:54:31

to God right now, "God, I want to have a different perspective.

00:54:34

I want to be in a different place, particularly as it relates

00:54:36

to You and Your kingdom and to other people around me."

00:54:39

Then I want to invite you in this moment of repentance

00:54:42

to pray this prayer with me with every eye closed.

00:54:44

Right now this is between you and the Lord.

00:54:46

This is not between you and me.

00:54:50

If you know that this is what you need,

00:54:51

then I want you to pray this prayer after me.

00:54:53

You can say, Jesus, I lay all my party affiliation,

00:54:58

all my political rights, all my social goals,

00:55:06

and worldly identities at your feet.

00:55:10

Unite my heart to fear your name

00:55:15

and submit every other allegiance to Your throne.

00:55:24

I want to play that again.

00:55:28

And in some people, I think you were hesitant to pray it,

00:55:31

out of fear because you didn't know what the words were.

00:55:38

I'm just going to invite you to pray again.

00:55:41

Jesus, I lay all my party affiliation, all my political rights,

00:55:48

all my social goals, a nd worldly identities at your feet.

00:55:57

Unite my heart to fear Your name

00:55:59

and submit every other allegiance to Your throne.

00:56:05

Amen.

00:56:12

The second thing that we're going to do is this act of unity

00:56:17

that has united followers of Jesus across all kinds of regimes,

00:56:22

whether it was an empire, a dictatorship, a democracy,

00:56:26

wherever followers of Jesus have gathered,

00:56:28

this act has united us all, it's communion.

00:56:32

This symbol of unity, this symbol of solidarity,

00:56:35

where we celebrate and solidify that we are one under the blood of Jesus Christ,

00:56:40

that the thing that unites us ultimately is

00:56:42

that God of the universe thought we were worth dying for

00:56:45

and He offered Himself to us through His broken body and His blood.

00:56:48

He brought us into a family, he's adopted us and now we are one in Christ.

00:56:53

Paul puts it this way in 1 Corinthians, 10:16-17:

00:57:16

So, friends, we're going to take communion at our sites.

00:57:18

If you're online, you're going to be able to participate with this.

00:57:21

But I just want you to think about for this year, what's your guide?

00:57:24

It's VOTE &.

00:57:26

Vote your biblically informed conscience,

00:57:28

recognize it is never going to be clear

00:57:30

and it's never going to be perfect, but VOTE & bear one another's burdens.

00:57:35

VOTE & get proximate to the problems we're trying to solve.

00:57:38

And VOTE & pledge allegiance ultimately to a King and His Kingdom.

00:57:43

Let's pray God. God, I ask that in this time, in this moment,

00:57:46

You would seal people who are engaged in this right now

00:57:50

with a solidarity and a oneness and a love that only You can provide.

00:57:55

Help us to take that out to others.

00:57:57

Help us to be salt and light and love in the world around us.

00:58:01

In Jesus' name, Amen.

00:58:03

- So if you want to take communion right now from home or wherever you are

00:58:07

as a way to remember Jesus

00:58:08

and be brought together with other believers and followers of Jesus

00:58:12

that have been doing this for thousands of years,

00:58:15

you could take communion with us right now

00:58:17

if you just have something to eat and something to drink.

00:58:20

If you don't have something to eat and drink,

00:58:22

you actually can pause this video and go grab

00:58:24

something to eat and drink and do this with us right now.

00:58:29

So when Jesus was sitting around the table with his best friends,

00:58:32

with his followers, he said to them,

00:58:34

"I want you to do this, to remember me."

00:58:37

He said this bread, in my case, this doughnut right here,

00:58:42

this represents the body of Christ that is broken for you.

00:58:47

Eat it. And remember him.

00:58:51

Then he took the wine that he had at the table.

00:58:54

I have some Crossroads coffee right here.

00:58:56

Whatever drink you have in front of you, take it.

00:59:00

And the drink that you're about to drink,

00:59:02

this is representing the blood of Jesus that shed for you.

00:59:06

Drink it and remember him.

00:59:08

You know, we get to Take Heart in 2020

00:59:11

because of what Jesus did years ago thinking about us today.

00:59:16

So I hope that you go into this week taking heart,

00:59:19

remembering what Jesus has done for you so that you have hope

00:59:22

and know that you are united with other believers of Jesus

00:59:26

all over the globe for generations and generations because of what He's done.

00:59:30

Join us next week for week three of Don't Panic, Take Heart 2020

00:59:35

where we actually are gonna get to hear from a special guest speaker.

00:59:38

We'll see you next week.

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