Local author examines role of evangelism in politics
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By BOB REEVES / Lincoln Journal Star
Much of the criticism of the religious right comes from the left — from liberal Christians or non-Christians who chide conservative Christians for trying to impose their religion on others.
Local author Tim Price takes on the Christian Right from a different perspective. Price is a conservative Christian who uses biblical arguments to challenge much of what happens in the name of religion in today’s political scene.
His book “The Diluted Church,” released in July, questions the motivation behind much of the political action of Christian leaders, especially their involvement in party politics and efforts to change society through legislation.
When televangelist Pat Robertson recently called for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, his position was so extreme that it drew negative reactions from people all across the religious spectrum. His position seemed such a clear violation of the biblical command against murder that no one could support him.
But when Christian leaders rally behind the president’s foreign policy or selection of a Supreme Court nominee, they often are praised for their patriotism and support of America.
In fact, Price says, Christians should place their faith in God rather than in government, party or nation. “Either people are going to be flag-waving Americans ready to do whatever the White House or Washington says, or they’re going to be followers of Christ,” he said in an interview.
In the book, Price argues that many Christians have allowed patriotism and Americanism to overshadow their faith in God.
“God is not an American, and He has no eternal interest in this country,” he writes. “He is interested in each person and his or her soul’s condition. God is not cheering when America beats the Chinese on trade deficits, or who broke the sound-barrier first.”
Price turns to the example of Jesus, who never told his followers to change society through political action, but commanded them to share the good news of his kingdom with all people.
The “kingdom” Jesus preached wasn’t an earthly political system but a kingdom “not of this world,” Price says. Rather than pinning their hopes on a man-made political system, he argues, Christians are called to bring people into the kingdom of God by winning their hearts.
“If you deal with people’s hearts, their hearts will deal with their actions,” Price writes. “The Lord works from the inside out.”
Price is not a minister or religious leader, but is a lay Christian who attended a Bible college and now is involved in a small church that meets in members’ homes. He works as a purchasing agent for a company based in Lincoln, but has a future goal of being a missionary.
He has written materials for use in church classes and several years ago wrote a pamphlet entitled “Activism or Evangelism: Which will really stop abortion?”
In “The Diluted Church,” he argues that many American churches, even those identified as evangelical, are failing in their evangelistic mission. Eighty percent of the world’s Christian financial resources are in the hands of American Christians, yet Americans spend more on chewing gum than they do on missions in other countries, where 94 percent of the world’s population lives. According to one survey, he says, “Only 53 percent of ‘born again’ Christians feel a sense of personal responsibility to evangelize non-believers.”
Spreading the Gospel “doesn’t have to be someone in the street with a cross thumping someone with a Scofield Bible,” Price said. Rather, Christians can spread the Gospel by “making a natural connection with others and sharing — not so much a belief system, but a way of life.”
He doesn’t say that Christians shouldn’t run for political office or work for legal changes, such as the statewide effort by churches last year opposing expansion of legalized gambling. But they should remember that as Christians they are called to be “ambassadors” for God’s kingdom rather than “lobbyists” for changes in the world’s kingdom, he said.
As ambassadors, they shouldn’t try to force their beliefs on others, but should demonstrate through their own lives how God wants people to live, he says.
“Jesus did not say go into the entire world and take dominion in every area of life and subject everyone to God’s moral principles so that the world’s cultures will be reformed and you will be more comfortable while living there,” he writes.
Instead, he describes a process of changing the world through evangelism. “The church is God’s kingdom on earth to do the work of gathering souls and teaching new believers how they should be conforming their lives to Christ once they are brought into the Kingdom,” he writes. “As increasing numbers of true disciples come into the Kingdom, the world will change.”
Some local pastors who have read Price’s book agree with his basic premise.
“His message is that our identity is to be Christians first, who happen to live in America,” said Jim Wiebelhaus, pastor of Harvest Community Church, a conservative church that has a ministry to international students. “Tim doesn’t say it’s wrong to be involved in politics, but it’s wrong to use politics as a way of Christianizing America.”
Christians should share their values and beliefs with others in a loving, caring way, but “they shouldn’t try to push them down someone else’s throat,” Wiebelhaus said. Christians have a right to oppose abortion, gambling or anything else they believe is wrong, but need to recognize that “we aren’t going to win America to Christ through legislation,” he said.
Gil Kisling, pastor of Abundant Life Family Church, said Price wants Christians to ask themselves whether their political actions are directed by God or by their own personal agenda.
“I know many Christians who spend more time, money and energy pursuing political change than they do their own Christian faith,” Kisling said. “They give the impression that it is almost a more worthy goal to pursue than witnessing about Jesus and getting people born again.”
Brent Matz, director of development and communication for Family First, a Lincoln-based organization affiliated with Focus on the Family, had not read Price’s book but said he doesn’t see a conflict between political involvement and evangelism.
“There has to be a balance,” he said. “I grew up in a time when there was very little political activity amongst Christians. People said, ‘That’s politics and I don’t want to be part of it.’ Since the 1980s there’s been more emphasis on getting involved in the culture. That’s a good thing because we’ve allowed a lot of things to enter into our culture that we’re not comfortable with and now we’re trying to fight back.”
Family First worked for passage of Nebraska’s amendment outlawing gay marriage and has lobbied against fetal stem cell research, gambling and other moral issues.
Dan Crawford, senior lecturer in philosophy and religion at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, also had not read Price’s book but had a long-range perspective based on his own research into the life of his father, Percy B. Crawford, who was a radio and television evangelist in the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s.
“At that time, fundamentalist Christians were apolitical,” Crawford said. “They rejected the idea of social progress, which they equated with evolution. They felt society was getting worse as we were moving toward the End Times and the Second Coming, and they felt the only hope for mankind was through personal salvation.”
Crawford added, “Why the religious right today wants to change the society around them is an interesting question. In the old times, fundamentalists separated themselves from society. Now it seems that fundamentalists and evangelicals want to re-make society on their own terms.”
Price said his argument is not for or against Christians being in politics. Christians can “live in the world and still be separate from it” by their way of living and their attitude, he says. “Many Christians want to be lobbyists for their own purposes, but I want to emphasize Christ’s example and the weight of Scripture, which advocates ambassadorship.”
The challenge, he says, is to “allow God to direct how we live and respond to the world around us” rather than following the ways of the world. “My hope is … that we will seek God’s heart on what we should do in our lives today.”
Price said he is is available for small group discussions, to speak in churches or even for public debates. For more information check his Web site, www.kingdomcitizenship.org. “The Diluted Church” was published by Ekklesia Press and lists for $16.95. It’s available at Lee Booksellers, Nebraska Bookstore and Mojava Cafe, at Price’s Web site or at Amazon.com or Barnes&Noble.com.
Reach Bob Reeves at 473-7212 or at breeves@journalstar.com.
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