Faith and Politics

This month I'll be giving a talk at a couple of our fellowships called "The Way of Jesus in an Election Year." I've never really spoken much about politics in a ministry setting, but given how much the election is on students' minds these days, it seems important to address.

My main hesitancy in combining politics and ministry has always been a distaste for ministers telling the congregations who to vote for, and using people's choices as a measuring stick for one's faithfulness as a follower of Christ. So I'm going to do my best to not tip my hand during my talk as to who I will vote for.

Instead, I'll be calling people to relate to one another in a Christ-like manner, even if they disagree on political issues. Senator John Danforth writes in Faith and Politics, "If Christianity is supposed to be a ministry of reconciliation and has become, instead, a divisive force in American political life, something is terribly wrong, and we should correct it."

I enjoy the fact that our InterVarsity chapters are comprised of both conservative and liberal students, drawn together by a common pursuit of Jesus. I pray that their diversity proves to be not divisive, but rather an arena for grace and reconciliation, qualities which would be a real breath of fresh air in our society during an election year (and any other time!)

-Paul

Satisfaction

This morning I was doing a monthly report of our ministry that is designed to help us take tome out to reflect on the past month and think and pray about the coming month and what we want to accomplish. One of the questions really helped me notice how much I've been enjoying ministry so far this year and I thought I'd post it here:

What has been your great joy or satisfaction in ministry this month? What has given you a sense of accomplishment?
Absolutely working at Mass College of Pharmacy!!! This is a special group of students. They are so missional and they have faith that God is going to do something big on campus. Working with them has increased my faith for God’s power to work on campus and increased my prayer for ministry and reliance on Jesus for wisdom, direction, and ideas. It’s hard to even explain how amazing it is to work there and with this group of leaders and how satisfying it is. I think part of it is that it is totally new for me to work with a group like this – commuters, incredibly diverse, science-oriented, etc – that I HAVE to rely on God in leading that I never have had to before and so I’ve really experienced him leading through me.

- Liz