YOUR FIVE DUTIES AS A CHRISTIAN CITIZEN!

Weekly Opinion Editorial

ADVICE FROM AN

OKLAHOMA FARMBOY!

by Steve Fair

Bill Bright was born on a farm outside Coweta, Oklahoma and graduated from Northeastern University in Tahlequah.  After college, Bright moved to California and started a candy company but soon was converted to Christ and started working with college students.  He ultimately founded Campus Crusade, now known as Cru.  The organization now has over 25,000 missionaries in over 200 countries.  The impact of Bill Bright, who died in 2003, for the cause of the gospel will not be known this side of heaven. 

In 1976, Bill Bright wrote a little tract entitled, “Your five duties as a Christian Citizen.”  “Citizenship in a free country is a blessing from God.  Our great system of self-government assures every Christian a voice in the affairs of the nation.  God wants us to do His will in government, just as in the church and in the home,” Bright wrote in the introduction.  This little pamphlet is still applicable today.  Here are the five tenets of Bright’s admonition:

First, Christians should pray for their government and its leaders.  “Pray that God will send a great spiritual awakening to America,” Bright wrote.  I’m afraid many Christians pray for only the leaders they support or agree with, but scripture is clear- God sets up kings and brings them down.  He is in control and the best venue for lobbying is on our knees before a sovereign Creator.

Second, Christians should register to vote.  It is amazing how many professing believers are not registered to vote.  According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 218 million people are eligible to register to vote in America, but only 67 %( 146 million) bother to register.  Bright says, “Register as a qualified voter in order to practice your citizenship with accountability to God.”  He says registering to vote is a matter of stewardship. 

Third, Christians should become informed in their government.  “Organize and lead or participate in a study group to inform yourself and others concerning the structure of government, current problems and issues, and how to serve God effective in the arena of politics at your own level of influence, “Bright writes.   It is sad when most Americans are so disengaged from their own government.  They don’t understand the structure or the issues.  In a recent Pew Research poll, 41% could not name the Vice President of the U.S.  Ignorance is not bliss.  Just because you don’t know something doesn’t mean it isn’t real.  Every American Christian should be educating themselves and taking equity in their government. 

Fourth, Christians should help elect godly people.  “Help select and elect men and women of God to public office at the local, state and national levels, and support them faithfully throughout their term of office,” Bright wrote.  Bright says believers should be those who recruit candidates, not the local Chamber of Commerce, a political consultant or even a political Party.  Individual believers across America should be seeking out fellow citizens who are (1) qualified,(2) honest,(3) fear God and (4)hate covetousness(Exodus 18:21).  Once a person has been recruiting to run, Christians should work to help get them elected.  That means supporting them financially, physically and spiritually.  

Fifth, Christians should vote.  “Vote consistently in every election, after informing yourself concerning the various candidates and issues and evaluating them on the basis of the Word of God,” Bright says.   About 25% of registered voters vote 100% of the time.  Another 25% vote 75% of the time and the remainder are infrequent voters.  Billions of dollars are spent by campaigns and political parties on get out to vote efforts.  One of the largest groups of infrequent voters in America is faithful evangelical Christians!  Church people!  They will complain about the moral decline in our country, but fail to be involved in the process to change it.  I have personally known fellow believers who talk politics constantly, but fail to cast a ballot.   They are as sounding brass and tinkling cymbal! 

In 2016, an important national election will be held.  Lots of media attention is already trained on it, but between now and then, there will be municipal and school board elections.  Do you know who your local elected leaders are?  How interested are you in what happens in local elections?  Local elected officials have more impact on your daily life than the POTUS and Congress.  Remember, lasting change begins from the bottom up.  Isn’t it time you got engaged in your government?

Special thanks to William R. (Bill) Crocker, former Texas GOP National Committeeman for mailing me a copy of Your Five Duties as a Christian Citizen. The little tract is widely available on the internet and is still very applicable for today.  

  

PLANNED PARENTHOOD NEEDS TO LOSE TAX EXEMPT STATUS!

Weekly Opinion Editorial

DEFUND & INVESTIGATE!

by Steve Fair

     Human life begins at conception.  Even some pro-choice advocates agree with that.  Jodi Jacobson of Reproductive Health Reality Check says she believes life begins at conception but that a fertilized egg is not a person.  “The development of a potential human life requires conception as a first step. But that is not the same as either pregnancy or personhood,” Jacobson says.  

     Peter Singer, professor of Bioethics at Princeton, says, “The fallacy in the anti-abortion argument lies in the shift from the scientifically accurate claim that the foetus is a living individual of the species Homo sapiens to the ethical claim that the foetus therefore has the same right to life as any other human being. Membership of the species Homo sapiens is not enough to confer a right to life.” To the liberal the issue is not whether life exists in the womb, but whether that life is worthy of the right to live outside the womb?

    The more fundamental issue in the abortion debate is ownership: who actually owns the unborn life in the womb?  Pro-choicers believe it is the woman carrying the child.  After all, it’s her body- she has a right to do with her body what she wants.  If she wants to terminate an unwanted pregnancy, it’s her choice.  Pro-lifers believe that only God, as the Creator, is the giver of life.  Through creation, He owns His creatures and can therefore do with His creation and creatures as He sees fit.  The abortion debate has been spawned from Darwinism.  If God didn’t create, then He doesn’t have any right to ownership.  Now to the Planned Parenthood controversy.

     Planned Parenthood (PP) was started in the early twentieth century by Margaret Sanger to educate families on birth control.  Since 1970, Planned Parenthood has received federal funding to provide contraception and family planning information to Americans.  Through the years, the mission of the organization has changed.   Planned Parenthood is the largest provider of abortions in the U.S.   About one third of PP’s funding comes from a combination of federal, state and local tax dollars.  By law, the federal monies given to PP are not supposed to be used to provide abortions.  PP has 85 offices with 27,000 staff and volunteers across the U.S., including five offices/clinics in Oklahoma.   Recently PP has come under fire when a secretly recorded video was released showing a Dr. Deborah Nucatola, PP’s Senior Director of Medical Services, talking with actors posing as medical researcher about selling aborted fetus parts.

     After the video was released, elected officials scrambled to lead the charge to defund Planned Parenthood.  U.S. Senator James Lankford, (R-OK), said in an emotional speech on the Senate floor:  “I would tell you that child has value. And that every single adult that can hear me right now was once 20 weeks old in the womb and we can look at each other and understand the difference between that child in the womb and any of us now is time. That's a human being we're talking about.”  Senator Lankford led the charge to defund Planned Parenthood in the Senate.  The measure failed to get the necessary 3/5 (60 votes) in the Senate, falling short 53-46.  Both Senators Lankford and Inhofe voted yea.  Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell (R- KY) and Mark Kirk, (R-IL) voted with 44 Democrats to kill the bill.   Senator Inhofe says defunding isn’t enough- PP needs to be investigated. 

     One issue that has been overlooked in the PP controversy is the fact PP is a non-profit organization.  They enjoy tax exempt status as a 501-C-3.  While they get tax dollars, they don’t pay taxes.  Two years ago during testimony before the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, a pro-life group from Iowa testified they were told by the IRS they would be required to sign a letter promising to not protest at PP facilities in order to get a 501-C-3 status.  No such restrictions are placed on PP.  They operate with impunity, no matter which political party is in power.  They promote their liberal agenda and their activism is celebrated.  If a church takes a political position, they run the risk of jeopardizing their non-profit status.

     Inhofe is right- PP should be investigated.  It is very likely they are selling fetal tissue without consent.  Their liberal agenda should be exposed for what it is and their tax exempt status revoked.  Americans should be outraged their tax dollars are going to an organization intent on killing our next generation and selling their body parts.

 

BIBLE OUTLINES QUALIFICATIONS FOR LEADERS!

Weekly Opinion Editorial

QUALIFICATIONS 

OF A LEADER!

by Steve Fair

     Bill Crocker is the former Republican National Committeeman from Texas.  He served on the RNC for eight years (2 terms) and was General Counsel for the committee for the final year of his tenure.  Crocker is a Baylor graduate and a dedicated Christian as well as an able theologian.  At last week’s RNC meeting he told me the Bible clearly outlined the qualifications for leaders.  “Exodus 18:21 gives us clear qualifications for those who are in leadership,” Crocker said.  “Read it and see if you agree,” he challenged.   Exodus 18:21 says, “ Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:”  After looking at the passage and studying it within the context, I agree with Crocker.  In this passage, Moses is being advised by his father-in-law, Jethro, on what attributes the leaders in the nation of Israel should possess before being appointed to a position of supervision.  The passage lists four qualifications for leaders in secular society. 

     First, secular leaders should be ‘able’ men.  That means a candidate for office must be capable and qualified for the position.  They should not be a novice or amateur in life or in politics.  John Gill says this qualification means they are be ‘men of strong and robust constitutions who have strength of heart, are not afraid to do justice and boldness to deliver the oppressed from the hands of the oppressor.’  All too often, those who win elections are trained on the job by special interest groups.  They often have no clue what the job involves and it shouldn’t surprise us when they disappoint.

     Second, leaders must ‘fear God.’  John McArthur says those who fear God have a reverential respect and awe of God.  He says understanding the attributes of God is critical to learning to ‘fear God.’  McArthur says teaching that God has the right to punish, chasten and judge His creatures will produce a ‘healthy sense of apprehension’ in a person’s life.   Alexander McLaren says, “The fear of God underlies the noblest lives. “  We live in a society where the fear of God is ignored and ridiculed by our leaders and citizens alike. Solomon said the fear of God was the beginning of wisdom.     

     Third, leaders must ‘hate covetousness.’  Covetousness is defined as being inordinately or wrongly desirous of wealth or possessions; greedy especially the wealth or possessions of another.  The Bible widely condemns covetousness as a root sin.  Covetousness is at the heart of selfishness.  John Piper defines covetousness as desiring something so much that you lose your contentment in God. Those who want something for nothing are covetous.  We live in a very covetous society.  Good leaders understand government shouldn’t do anything that expands or embraces covetousness, no matter how much their constituency may clamor.

     Fourth, leaders must be truthful.  Matthew Poole says this means not only hating lies, but slanders as well.   John Gill says real leaders should take pain to get at the truth of a cause and discourage the most insignificant falsehood.  What is often called ‘political spin’ is simply lying to make a candidate or elected official look more favorable.  Honesty is not the best policy to the average politico.  Americans have become accepting of lying as standard operating procedure in politics. 

     It is clear many of our current elected officials in America are not qualified and truthful.  They don’t hate covetousness or fear God.  They often campaign one way and vote the other.  They are willing to lie, cheat and steal to win an election and to stay in office.  Until American Christians vet candidates more thoroughly and apply the standards God outlines in this passage, we can expect our leaders will remain ineffective and disappointing.

 

SERVANT LEADERSHIP??? RIGHT!!!

Weekly Opinion Editorial

QUIT TALKING ABOUT

SERVANT LEADERSHIP!

by Steve Fair

     A public servant is defined as a person who holds a government position by election or appointment.  A servant is defined as someone who does the bidding for those they are in service of.  Virtually every elected official says they are public servants, but they certainly don’t behave that way.  What does it really mean to have servant leadership?  The term ‘servant leadership’ was coined in the late 1970s by AT&T executive Robert Greenleaf.  Greenleaf said, “The servant-leader is servant first.  It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve.  Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. “  

      Using Greenleaf’s principles Larry Spears identified ten characteristics of a servant leader: (1) Listening, (2) Empathy, (3) Healing, (4) Awareness, (5) Persuasion, (6) Conceptualization, (7) Foresight, (8) Stewardship, (9) Commitment to building people, (10) Building Community.  Skip Pritchard, a motivational speaker, winnowed the list down to nine, Dan Rockwell, another paid exhorter, gets it to seven. The point is that much is written about servant leadership, but it is not a new concept.  Jesus Christ said in Mark 10 that He didn’t come to be served, but to serve and to lay His life down as a ransom for many.  That was true servant-leadership.

     Four thoughts on servant-leadership and public service:

     First, there is a lot of talk about servant-leadership in politics, but not much walk.  Many elected officials quickly forget after they are elected that they represent all their constituents- even those that didn’t vote for them.  They pander to their base, issue press releases spinning every event to their advantage interspersed with talk about their servant-leadership.  That is not leadership on any level.  That garbage is easily detected by most citizens and that contributes to giving politics a bad rap.

     Second, listening is the critical trait in servant-leadership.  The average elected official- even the good ones- doesn’t listen to anyone- unless they are writing their campaign a check.  They should just post a ‘schedule of fees’ on their office door so contributors would know exactly what it is going to cost them to do business.  Listening to people who disagree with you is part of an elected official’s job.  They may not like hearing a differing opinion, but fact is they are not infallible.  The arrogance of elected officials is through the roof because most simply don’t listen.

     Third, true servant-leaders do their time and then go back to the private sector.  The most effective public servants are those who are not career politicians or political groupies.  They serve in their office honorably, recognize they are not indispensable, move on and let someone else serve.  Others who don’t stay in office just can’t seem to break completely away from politics and government.  They become lobbyists, staffers, consultants, bureaucrats, or college presidents because their ‘institutional knowledge’ is so essential and critical to the operation of Oklahoma government.  They believe their leaving politics would disrupt the space-time continuum.   Politics and all that involves is a huge industry that pays good money, so it is understandable that some would stay in the industry, but as the late Brenda Reneau, former Oklahoma Labor Commissioner, used to say, “Government produces nothing- it consumes- the private sector produces.”    Real servant-leaders can make a living doing something outside politics.   

     Fourth, selfish public servants should drop the servant-leadership mantra. If an elected officials plans to go right back into the political arena in some capacity after office, then quit saying you are a servant-leader.  You are simply a political hack.  Admit it, embrace it and move on.  The people are sick of hearing you talk about servant-leadership, so remove it from your vocabulary.       

     John Maxwell says, “True leadership must be for the benefit of the followers, not to enrich the leader.”   That is exactly the opposite objective of most contemporary elected officials.  They want to be served, not serve.  They want to advance their political career and move up the ladder.  So long as we continue to elect politicos who are interested in politics as a career, we can expect to get poor leadership, not servant leadership.