Rick Perry -- "called" to be president?

Recently a number of readers of the Los Angeles Times wrote in with their choice to be president -- Rick Perry, current governor of Texas and an overt evangelical who has called for statewide prayer. At least two people have convinced themselves that he can beat Obama next year, and some believe that Perry is "called" of God.

I can understand their preference, but "called of God?" That's theologically dubious at best, for two reasons.

Let's consider their context of "calling": This nation is under the spell of evil liberals and liberalism, so we need to find a champion who will defeat [choose the target of your choice] and restore our nation to greatness -- you know, "the way it used to be."

We've seen that one before -- Palestine in the first century. Recall that the Jewish people of that day were living under the rule of Rome, which they resented deeply and wanted overthrown and understood well the prophecy of a Messiah, who they believed would be the person who would kick the Romans out.

But in their desire for political freedom they missed what Jesus, who of course was the Messiah, came to do -- change the entire calculus in showing the world Who God really was. They ended up rejecting Him because He turned out not to be the political leader they wanted.

Two, "calling" in this context is connected to service and sacrifice, not as a will to power. It's perfectly appropriate to "call" a pastor or other spiritual leader to a place of authority; however, in such cases he or she has been specifically raised up to give of him/herself, not simply to be "in charge" and push people around. (See John Eldredge's description of the "King" in the book "Fathered by God.")

Those Christians who want Perry to be president have missed that point. You see, they have always sought someone who will fight the battle against what they consider demonic forces (read: Those who disagree with them politically) so that they can go about their lives and not have to engage in spiritual warfare themselves -- something that God will never allow. To wit, they want the "blessings" of God but not really to know Him personally and permit Him to change who they are, making Him in their image in the process.

They have also forgotten that God Himself raises up and takes down leaders for His purposes; I'm convinced that Barack Obama and, before him, Bill Clinton became president at least in part to demonstrate to politically conservative Christians that He is, and they are not, running the show. Sadly, some still don't understand that concept -- just before the general election of 2008 I received an emergency e-mail asking folks to pray that, by some miracle, Obama would be defeated. (I responded by saying that it was inappropriate.)

This is why "anointing" a presidential candidate -- keep in mind that the term "Messiah" means "anointed one" -- is flatly dangerous. And if Perry does decide to run, he needs to understand that he would lead all the people of this great country, not simply those who agree with his politics. Sadly, I don't think he does based on his speeches and record, which is why the "calling" is bogus.

The imminent revival -- part 4

Now that I've proclaimed in previous entries that revival is coming soon (and in some places has already started), the question comes up: How will we recognize it?

In good Jewish fashion, let me ask another question: What's the focus?

If it's on personal peace and happiness, cultural issues, church growth or putting on a show, walk away from that. If it's on desiring Christ's kingdom, freedom from sin, a craving to know truth and an emphasis on service to the world and in His church, you're getting warm. Let's keep in mind that God made us to glorify Himself and no other.

That said, here are some things to consider:

1) Folks 30 and younger will drive this revival. The reason is simple: Right now, the generation directly behind mine doesn't really have its own "move of God"; it's either submerged in parents' faith or running away from it. Therefore, it needs to reach its own generation in the way He dictates, and it needs to hear that. A couple of years ago at dinner I had the honor of telling a then-29-year-old man, "You're the next wave." The temptation for us in the "baby boom" generation, more culture-bound than we realize, will be to discount the ways in which God is moving in that generation; however, if it doesn't contradict the Scriptures we, like Gamaliel, should wait and see if this has staying power.

2) It will be interracial and multi-cultural. The generation behind mine was reared with "diversity" and this is used to it; as a result, it doesn't have the racial hang-ups that previous generations did. It will be the first generation to live Martin Luther King Jr.'s words about being "judged [not] by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." As a result, the faith will be taken places we've been afraid to go.

3) Abortion will be addressed and dealt with but only as part of a consistenly "pro-life" ethic. The biggest mistake that the anti-abortion movement made was to link itself to the modern conservative movement, which was interested only in defeating the other side for its own sake. Since that movement is, despite all the noise it makes, on its last legs, its eventual collapse will free us who oppose legal abortion to expand our reach to issues of poverty, the environment and other issues of social justice. In addition, the image of Margaret Sanger, the late founder of what is now Planned Parenthood, will undergo a makeover in large part because folks are now learning that, contrary to popular opinion, she was actually staunchly anti-abortion. (And that may actually help to split PP!)

4) The "evangelical left" will play a surprisingly large role. One thing God has always done is reach out to the marginalized and make them into His trophies of grace, and the evangelical left certainly has been marginalized by much of the rest of the church for not being "politically correct." However, it has always been close to the heart of God because of its love for people and its desire to change systems that hold people in bondage. Dr. King will be recognized as a true prophet of God, as will such luminaries as Ron Sider, Jim Wallis and Tony Campolo.

5) The church will get back to the Scriptures' true teaching on homosexuality. That is to say, it will be recognized as an outward sign of inward rebellion against almighty God -- no more, no less. Those "conservative" churches who teach and preach homophobia and the liberal ones who affirm homosexual behavior as a legitimate lifestyle will both become irrelevant.

6) Folks will reconcile with each other. As they comb through their lives and recognize the wreckage that their sin has caused they will seek to make amends on both a personal and institutional level. Doing so will strengthen the church because it will break long-standing barriers that have kept them apart.

7) Persecution will come -- from, believe it or not, "conservatives." Keep in mind that the movement at its heart always was secular and extremely combative and doesn't take kindly to disagreement. Not only that, they operate from a default attitude of fear, the exact opposite of faith.

If there are more, I will list them here.

David Duke -- he's ba-ack! (well, maybe ... )

You may soom be able to drive another nail into the coffin of the GOP's attempt to wrest the presidency from Barack Obama.

Recently, the Daily Beast reported that David Duke, the notorious white nationalist and former Ku Klux Klansman from Louisiana, is considering throwing his hat into the ring. What's worse from that perspective, Obama's election in 2008 has spurred considerable "white-rights" activity," and not just from Duke. If he does, that can only hurt the Republican Party.

Indeed, the GOP has had a race problem since its "Southern Strategy" first took hold in 1966 but especially since Ronald Reagan kicked off his ultimately successful 1980s presidential campaign in Neshoba County, Miss., where three civil-rights workers were murdered 16 years earlier. During his stump speech, Reagan told the people who supported him that he supported "states rights" -- in that context, a code word for racism because the primary legal argument against the civil-rights movement was its tramping on state sovereignty. That eventually led to an unwelcome endorsement from a Klan leader in Georgia who said, "The Republican platform could have been written by a Klansman."

And this wouldn't be Duke's first stab at elected office, either. He ran for president as a Democrat in 1988 -- making little headway -- but again four years later, as a Republican, which caused considerable consternation in the party, the Florida GOP trying to get him off the ballot. In 1990 he won a special election for the state legislature (but proved ineffective). In 1991 he ran for governor and, while he received less than 40 percent of the overall vote in the state-mandated runoff, he crowed afterward that he got 55 percent of the white vote. (In fairness, he was running against Edwin Edwards, who was the epitome of "laissez les bon temps rouler" and who got most of the black vote.)

While modern conservatism isn't inherently racist, all of your "racial realists" -- their preferred term -- are conservative in every possible way and today vote Republican. And according to the Daily Beast article, Duke has quite a following, with his YouTube videos going "viral." That's especially the case since Obama became president.

The tea-party movement in particular has a reputation for racist behavior that its leadership has categorically denied. But according to Stormfront founder and radio host Don Black, it shouldn't because, frankly, there are indeed racists who participate.

"Many of our people are involved in the tea party," Black explained to the Daily Beast. "But much of [its] leadership is skittish when it comes to talking about racial realities. The tea party is a healthy movement, but too many are conditioned to run like scared rabbits when called racists."

You see the difficulty. On the one hand, you have a party that's trying to build a coalition to regain the highest office in the land and arguably the most powerful political post in the world. On the other hand, you have forces of intolerance, a form of "religion" if you will, that won't accept anything less than capitulation. The GOP simply can't and won't have it both ways, so get ready for a major split.

The imminent revival -- part 3: The end of the culture war

Over the past couple of decades, I've rooted for the Republican Party -- to lose elections. It's not simply that I disagree with its platform, though I certainly do.

But there's a bigger issue involved: I believe that the less power the GOP has nationwide, the more likely spiritual revival will break out.

Before you dismiss me as a member of the loony left, hear me out. It's always been my contention that a focus on political matters -- specifically, conservative ideology -- has actually cost us in the long run.

The first thing you need to know is that the political right began as an entirely secular movement in the 1950s. Christians got involved only in the late 1970s, when former Nixon/Goldwater fund-raiser Richard Viguerie, whose spiritual leanings I'm not aware of, encouraged the late Jerry Falwell to found Moral Majority to add to the former's then-growing direct-mail empire. And that's how a pro-business ideology which has nothing to do with the Good News of Jesus Christ has wormed its way into "Christian" politics -- essentially, we sold out to the prevailing culture.

However, that alliance is crumbling, with "religious right" organizations becoming irrelevant -- notice that few people talk about abortion these days, and we've lost the war against "gay marriage" -- but secular conservatives becoming seemingly stronger by the day. Indeed, right now we couldn't witness to the non-religious right if we wanted to because our goals are almost exactly the same.

Thank God that He's doing something different. I look for a new movement that seeks reconciliation rather than division. I look for people more interested in ministry than demonization of "targets." And, above all, I look for reconcilers -- prayer warriors seeking Christ and His Kingdom and not satisfied with the trappings of modern "evangelical Christianity." So God has to take us out of all that -- and there will become a time when our so-called friends expose themselves as our enemies.

The imminent revival -- part 2

Those of you in my hometown of Pittsburgh will be pleased to learn that I believe that this metro area will likely become a haven of true spiritual revival that could sweep the world. I base that opinion on conditions in the church in general being right.

For those of you who don't live here, the religious culture of our city is such that you can hear a true Gospel message in even many of the "mainline" churches, whether Presbyterian (the largest Protestant denomination), Methodist, Anglican, Campbellite, Lutheran or Baptist; in fact, the "charismatic" movement started on a retreat of students from Duquesne University, the largest local Catholic college.

Renewal movements in those denominations actually started or are based here -- the local Presbyterian seminary is the PCUSA's most conservative, and the local Episcopal diocese left the national church two years ago, taking with it the majority of churches, over what it considered to be intolerable liberalism. Cults don't thrive here; during my days at the University of Pittsburgh in the mid-1990s I fought one which was struggling to get a foothold on campus. (And it still hasn't done so, from what I understand.) On top of that, "funky junky" theology doesn't go over too well either; the "prosperity gospel," "hyperfaith" and the so-called Toronto blessing and the Pensacola "revival" don't have that many adherents.

That said, however, I have an idea of three places where it might start:

1) My own church. In the 12 years I've attended there it has always sought to be proactive in ministry, looking for opportunities rather than excuses, and its leadership from my vantage point has always sought to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. Thanks to its extensive ministry it has a great reputation in the city and has even entertained leadership visiting from other churches across the country interested in similarly reaching people. But it would be willing to throw that reputation away to be faithful to Christ and His Kingdom.

2) My home area of Wilkinsburg, an eastern suburb which began falling on hard times when crack cocaine hit in the late 1980s -- drive-bys were a weekly occurrence and those who could afford to move did. Things have been so bad for so long that it has nowhere to go but up -- which is hopefully when folks there turn wholeheartedly to God. Also, a large number of good churches have always been there, so ... well, watch out!

3) Butler County, north of the city. I have a contact up there whose ministry consists of meeting with pastors to unify them spiritually to do work in that area, specifically because it has such a problem with heroin use especially among the youth that it doesn't even bother to hide it anymore.

Basically, God works primarily when folks trust Him to do the work and then obey Him. We in Pittsburgh might be at that point.

The imminent revival -- part 1

A couple of years ago, the Rev. Charles Stanley, pastor of First Baptist Church in Atlanta and who teaches through his "In Touch" radio and TV broadcasts, said that he saw no signs of spiritual revival in this country.

I don't agree with him. At all.

We need to consider just what he meant by "revival" -- when the enemies of what he considered "Christendom" were put away and that we would become, once again, "one nation under God." But, with all respect due to Dr. Stanley, that's not what He means by "revival."

Rather, revival can, and likely will, break out when the church realizes that it has sold out to the world's way of thinking and operating -- "selling" the gospel, softening its demands for the sake of an audience and focusing on changing the culture so that we don't have to engage in spiritual warfare. Just the opposite -- He is prepping us for a Great Battle but not using "carnal" weapons.

As such, the spiritual revival God has planned will not be obvious to everyone at first. Small pockets of believers praying for Him to move, realizing that things would be totally hopeless otherwise. A "remnant" focused only on His Kingdom and unwilling to compromise. Pastors shut up in closets until they hear from Him. And so on, and so on ...

When it happens, however, it might very well turn the established church upside down. The "hyperfaith" and "prosperity" preachers will be exposed. The "family values" groups will go belly-up. The Christian music "industry" might very well collapse. Mega-church buildings will sit desolate. "Inclusive" churches may find themselves completely excluded for forsaking Godly counsel.

In short, get ready for some big changes, as God Himself will, to use sports terminology, separate the contenders from the pretenders.

Disappointment -- part of life

Today marks the anniversary of one of the biggest disappointments of my life, if not the biggest one. Thirty-two years ago would have been my senior prom, which I didn't attend because there was essentially no one for me to invite.

At the time, it seemed that things were conspiring against me -- for a number of reasons I wasn't terribly popular with girls either at my school or in the immediate neighborhood and in fact didn't even have any casual female friends. Further, my dad never encouraged me to learn how to drive a car, so "importing" someone wasn't an option, either. It didn't matter that my closest friends at the time didn't go either. (And while I don't want to make a one-to-one comparison, I believe that my situation then is at least indirectly connected to why I'm still single today.)

I was a new Christian at the time, however; even then I knew that I was never guaranteed an easy life and wouldn't get everything I wanted. We don't always get the job, the girl, the house in the 'burbs -- in short, following Jesus may, and almost always does, mean sacrificing something, even cherished ambitions.

I'm reminded too that others have suffered as well, though perhaps not in the same way. When a formerly close long-distance friend, whom I did date at one point, came to visit we made it a point to get dressed up for an evening out, my wearing a tux. You see, six years after I graduated from high school, her prom date stood her up.

So perhaps its a good thing that we have some pain -- so that we can understand what others experience.