WASHINGTON – Don’t look to a political leader to deliver needed change in America, but look at yourself as part of the Church to transform society, said an evangelical pastor Saturday at the Values Voter Summit.
Bishop Harry Jackson, senior pastor of the 3,000-member Hope Christian Church in the Washington, D.C area and founder and chairman of the High Impact Leadership Coalition, told the crowd of social conservative voters that he believes America is at a very important moment in its history with both major presidential candidates vowing change if elected.
While he said he was “glad” and “happy” that Sarah Palin was selected as the Republican vice presidential candidate, Jackson warned that values voters should not allow what happened in the past eight years with President George W. Bush in the White House to repeat itself with the new administration.
“I don’t think Bush meant to deceive us,” Jackson said. “He was a Christian."
“But what happened was that you and I thought that all we had to do was to get somebody into White House and everything would be O.K,” he noted.
However, there was not much positive change even with the pro-Christian social conservative Bush in the White House, Jackson lamented.
“[M]ay I say this,” the registered-Democrat but social conservative leader offered. “If God gives you grace to have someone with pro-your values in the White House for four more years will you and I do more with it than we did over the last eight?"
In response to his question, he contends that the Church in America has always been called upon to be the change agent.
During the First Great Awakening, for instance, preachers spoke against slavery, and the idea that revival and social involvement go hand-in-hand was advocated, he said.
Yet since then, the Church has failed to “lean wholly on the Lord” and instead has “played the political game with politics” and not with prayers, Jackson criticized.
“But it is about time for you and I to understand it is going to be our spiritual life that is going to make a difference not some messiah,” he said, noting his comment applies to both political parties.
“No messiah allowed,” he emphasized. “A movement must happen from the grassroots to change America.”
Christians therefore should be prepared to pray with intensity like Prophet Elijah prayed for rain.
“So I don’t want any backsliding if we don’t get the outcome we wanted in this election,” he said. “We are going to be some folks praying all the way through it. If we get a godly group of folks in the White House we might have to pray even harder…”
Jackson spoke on the second day of the three-day Values Voter Summit that ended on Sunday.
Values voters from across the nation gathered for the annual summit that featured the nation’s top experts in the fields of politics, media, entertainment, and Christian ministry.
Event organizer Family Research Council said it sought to educate, energize, and equip American voters to participate in the political process to change the nation’s policies on controversial “values” issues such the sanctity of life and marriage, immigration reform, religious freedom, and judicial activism.
The Summit took place less than two months before the November presidential election.
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Did Obama support the murder of Christians in Kenya? Aparently he raised $1 million dollars to his uncle who did.
Captainxcosmos is really off track. Obama gave extremely little to charity, and what tiny bit he did, went to the Irreverant Wright & his former church. Obama is below the giving mark for the others in his wealth bracket. The below videos really spell out how much we CANNOT afford Obama/Biden- exposes how we really got into this mess, and Sewn. McCain's part in the solution that was shot down, etc. One of TheMouthPeace's YouTube profile videos also gets into Obama's 'heart for charity'. Gov. Palin gets a good video, too! Christians should be careful on how involved they get, and so on, but to vote for Obama would be a tragic thing on a number of levels.
Covering Your Fannie, Who Really Caused Our Economic Crisis?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiEWCnpNnBQ
Burning Down The House: What Caused Our Economic Crisis? V2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5tZc8oH--o&eurl=http://tammybruce.com/2008/09/why_the_market_is.php
See: TheMouthPeace profile page videos on YouTube, including the above:
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheMouthPeace
and:
http://midpointpolitics.blogspot.com/
Finally someone talking sense.
There is ample case to be made that the "mythology" surrounding Palin is largely made up, that McCain is cynically using evangelicals for votes, and that abortion has never been one of his priorities. Either way, slavish devotion to one party definitely corrupts the Church a lot more than it tarnishes an already fallen world. Let's follow Christ, not McCain or Obama. And I don't think either is an "offense to God." I can't believe the judgment some people here throw down on others for not letting the Republicans shepherd them instead of Christ.
I do not see anyone placing restrictions on the Christian religion. When it comes to your private life, worship who you want; this affects you and your family. When it comes to government and social issues, keep your religion to yourself. Only a person who has been poor and struggling can understand what it is like to be poor and struggling; Obama is the closest thing we have ever had to this. Republicans are just like the Klan; they hide behind religion to manipulate you, but they care nothing about Christian beliefs; they only care about making the rich richer. They are like the money changers who charged too much for the sacrificial animals.
dp "Jesus is the only hope for any of us...."
in your religion.......
"artm "the church is the only hope for this Nation."
Dont think so.... "
Jesus is the only hope for any of us....
Yes, this is a timely reminder.
I find myself making this mistake, although I know better. Christians must not see politicking as a means to spread the Gospel, nor as a means to spiritual success.
In a sense, this is the mistake of the Hebrews when they cried out to God for a king, and it is the mistake of the first Christians when they welcomed Constantine as a Christian king.
The temptation to use the power of arms in order to establish religious fate, and as a consequence to shore up faith will in the end force the well known caveat given by Jesus to Peter in Matthew 26:52...
Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back into its place, for all those who take the sword will die by the sword.
Politics is a temporal sword that we must, at all cost, avoid using to spread the Gospel.
It is truth through the church change comes. But God wants a godly man to keep his people in order. Men do make mistakes. But God is able to see His people thru. We know this because Christ is.
artm "the church is the only hope for this Nation."
Dont think so....
The pastor is a thousand percent wrong. The Kingdom of God is within you. You won't find Christ in a church, but you will find him inside of you if you look in earnest.
Your fellow Christians are your family and the rest of mankind your extended family. Christ said " who is my mother? who is my brother? Look there in the crowd, there is my mother and brother. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my mother, brother and sister in one." Luke 8:19
Yeah, change depends on the Church. And one of the ways the Church changes things is by voting. But I agree with the admonition against political messiahs. Seems a lot of people need to hear that truth this cycle.
the church is the only hope for this Nation. Right now much, if not most of what calls itself Church is backslidden, It's away from God.
Many of the Pastors and Preachers are declaring a social gospel, Instead of a Christ centered Gospel. The Pulpit needs to get right with God.