In a couple of previous blogs I noted that politics seems alive and well in the church today (Politics in the Church– Sept. 27, 2009) and that it was the norm in the church of New Testament times as well (Politics in the New Testament– May 14, 2010). Now that a rewarding European vacation is over, I thought I’d complete the short series of blogs on Politics in the Church. If politics is the norm rather than the exception in the church, how can we manage politics in a way that does not undermine the gospel?

Before I do that, let me briefly note my delight in being able to attend the famous Oberammergau Passion Play in the Alpine region of Germany. Beset by the plague in 1633, the villagers pledged to God that if He spared their lives they would marshal the resources of the entire village every ten years to produce a play on the cross of Jesus Christ. Not one person in the village died of plague after that (some suggest a third of all Europeans died) and they have kept their pledge until this day. For pictures, video and history go to the official English-language website: http://www.oberammergau-passion.com/ . The play was deeply theological, connecting the scenes of Jesus’ passion with the stories of the Old Testament. A once in a lifetime experience.

Coming back to politics in the church, I’d like to note the difference between a problem and a situation. A problem is something that can be solved, a situation, on the other hand, cannot be solved, it is part of reality and needs to be managed. We often think of politics in the church as a problem to be solved, but if it is as ongoing as the New Testament indicates, it is more of a situation that needs to be managed. While individuals may at times “turn the other cheek” or “adopt the self-sacrificing spirit of Jesus,” groups of people with a common ethnic or theological interest rarely do. Politics (the balancing of competing interests) is not the ideal, but it is the way things are, even in the church. So how can leaders of the faith manage the politics that comes with competing interests in the church? I would like to offer four principles that have helped me manage politics through the years. I don’t claim to do these well, but to the degree I have been able to implement them, it has enhanced spiritual outcomes in faith communities.

1) The leader must practice humility and self-distrust. Paul discusses such an approach in a powerful passage, 2 Tim 2:24-26 (my translation): “The servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome, but rather gentle toward everyone; teachable, bearing slander without resentment, in humility instructing those who ‘oppose themselves,’ in the hope that God might give them repentance leading to knowledge of truth, and that they might escape the trap of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.” “Difficult people” in the church cannot free themselves from Satan’s trap. Nor can we free them or ourselves. Only a miracle of God will do. It is not by coercion or shame-talk that politics can be managed, but by exhibiting in our own behavior as leaders the self-sacrificing spirit of Jesus. No group will deny itself unless led by self-denying leaders. When we shame people, they raise walls of defense. When we practice humility, gentleness, teachability and meekness, the way is opened for God to transform the hearts of others. Self-denial is not natural, it is a miracle whenever it occurs. The best counter to politics in the church is not to demand our fair share of whatever, but to be willing to yield our rights for the sake of the whole.

2) The leader must learn and exhibit empathy. Genuine empathy is also a miraculous event whenever it occurs. By nature selfish human beings are primarily concerned with their own interests and welfare. But an immersion in the grace and mercy of God can open our eyes to the suffering of others. A negative example of this is the parable of the unforgiving servant (Matt 18:21-35). Not appreciating the mercy of the king, the unforgiving servant did not see what the onlookers saw, that his fellow servant was in the same position toward him that he had been toward the king. Seeing that fellow servant through the eyes of the king would have given him new glasses with which to see and understand the heart of another. We develop empathy when we experience the empathy of God. We learn compassion from the compassion that was first shown to us. We love because God first loved us. We forgive because we have been forgiven. Empathy enables us to see and care about the interests of others and thereby to find a way to balance those interests in a way that unites people rather than divides them.

3) The leader must have a passion for fairness (justice). Some people have more of a passion for fairness than others by nature. But I believe we can all learn to be more fair in the way we look at issues. In a way fairness is not possible until we have discovered both humility and empathy. A learning spirit, combined with empathy, will produce a passion for justice. When we have determined the facts of a situation, as far as that is possible, and when we care deeply about all of those we serve, we will be able to move people toward the fairest possible outcome. When the people know that the leader intends to be fair, they are more willing to trust the process, believing that unfairness, should it occur, can and will be corrected. New Testament words like “righteous,” “righteousness,” “justification,” and “judgment” all are grounded in the concept of fairness.

4) Distinguishing the clear and the unclear. This is particularly relevant when theological discussions become political. While the Bible is the rule of faith and practice, not everything in the Bible is equally clear. Understanding the difference between what is clear and what is unclear in the Bible helps us to avoid arguments over ideas that are not clearly established in the text. One side of a discussion may see one side of truth clearly, but not see the other. Truth is often a tension between poles rather than an either/or directive. When people see that the Bible often clearly teaches things that strike us as opposites, we come to realize that many of our political conflicts arise from competing groups seeing the side of truth that appeals to their personalities and then trying to eliminate from the group those whose personalities incline them to see the other side. A commitment to Scripture over our opinion about Scripture, a willingness to subject all that we believe to the text, is one of the best ways to manage theological politics in the church. I have written at length about issues of interpretation in the book The Deep Things of God (available as part of the book CD in the shopping portion of this website).

It would be nice if all politics could be eliminated from the church. On the other hand, that might cause us all to become theologically lazy. It is often in the heat of conflict that people open their Bibles with a fresh willingness to learn and grow. It is often in the heat of conflict that we are forced to engage the other and discover that they are partly right. The One who sets up “kings” and puts them down is well able to manage the mess that human politics can create, even in the church. I have found that confidence in God and His ultimate outcomes gives me the patience to deal with politics in the church, and even begin the process of dealing with the self-interest in my own heart.