House Church Talk - a lesson from the election

[David Anderson]

    Hi all,

Obviously, it is beyond the scope of our list to analyze things political 
on a regular basis. I would like, however, to relate something from the 
elections to our life beyond traditional churches. With your permission, 
of course...

All truth has a certain connectedness, by the way. ALL things are of, 
through, and to God. Thus, there is really no separation of the 
sacred/secular.

I keep noticing that institutions such as religious denominations, their 
colleges, and even political parties, over time, drift away from their 
founding principles. Why is this?

Be that as it may, I suspect that the Democrats just lost ground because 
they have come to stand for "tolerance" more than much else. Imo. As a 
result, many formerly complacent Christians came out to vote them out. 
(Now, I know that I am painting in LARGE strokes and that there are fine 
Democrats in their party and in the church. One size doesn't fit all. 
There are plenty of Republicans, too, who seem to be dispossessed of 
common sense. The US Senate contains a number of such specimens.)

But I do believe that many voters viewed the cultural war in America - 
not the War on Terrorism - as a threat to their welfare and as motivation 
to vote.

Certainly, when it comes to the church, we observe that the older 
denominations are losing millions of members because of "tolerance." With 
these things in mind, don't feel that a house church has got to 
accommodate everything and everybody. Certain things were meant to be 
intolerable among the saints. It is a lie to believe that by accepting 
everything, people will like you - they may eventually hate you.

    David Anderson