Church and State Divide – Almost!
We are in a different context, but we will need to work out our own answers in Malaysian Society as a minority on what does it mean for us in the specifics on "partnering with the government"! Quoting Jim Wallis below:
“The church… has the obligation to closely examine the moral orientation of the state, how its policies and actions contribute to the public good, not religious belief; and measure them against the church’s conception of the public good that underlies its public witness. This provides the framework to determine the appropriate response.
“We should reject allegedly utopian or perfect societies, which are impossible creations for sinful people in a fallen world. We should rather seek concrete reforms of the social situations and circumstance in which the church finds itself… And, as the report correctly points out, for Christians [this means] that we seek the ‘common good’ of the societies in which we live.
“A commitment to the kingdom mandates that we seek the ‘common good’ of the societies in which we live. Catholic social teaching is rich with the idea of the common good, as are Protestant traditions with their idea of the “public good”. Black church history is filled with a faith that cared for the whole community when nobody else did. Evangelical revivals led to social reforms and transformed both American and British society.”
Christian Dialogue with the Secular – Cardinal Cormac and the Professor
This paragraph is worth some time …
Frequently, when lecturing about Islam, people will respond by saying something like, "We have an amazing amount in common, it seems to me that the real enemy is secular atheism". I have to reply, "no". The fact that we have so much in common in terms of the oneness of God and a recognition of many shared prophets (as we do with Judaism) demands that we ought to be better about the conversations, but we have our fundamental points of departure. Secularism, too, though teaches us truths consonant with the gospel. There are threats within the agenda of secularists seeking to remove God-talk from the public square….There are also threats within the agenda of a robust political Islam that totalises the non-Muslim. But there is much of God’s grace within the freedoms and liberties of secularism or in the corporate responsibility to God within political Islam. We are not dealing with either/ors here, enemies or partners.
Self-care … that’s right! there is a difference between martyrdom and suicide. A lot of us are tempted towards suicidal ministry praxis! Kyrie Eleison!
Taking a day off is extremely important. Play, relaxation and just being human are a part of what it means to be a healthy, whole person. Such self-care is not a luxury but is a God honoring investment in long-term ministry.
David’s musing’s here hit home. Need to work out my own rhythm.
We always need some level headed discernment on "revivals". Cool heads without losing the needed warm hearts! Delicate balance.