Edenic Sound is Moving: Can You Hear It?

This article originally appeared at Intercessors for America.

A Christian friend dismissively sputtered of the upcoming election, “Regardless of who wins, we’ll survive just fine.” On the one hand, I do think we will survive.  But on the other, is the meager aim of survival an acceptable position for believers to take, particularly those who desire to be preserving salt, piercing light, and the aroma of Christ in a darkening world?

This week, I heard a pastor preach a sermon in which she said, “If Jesus were here today, He would be an abortion clinic escort, distracting women from the hatred of the protestors.”  She went on to reimagine Jesus’ Beatitudes by adding, “Blessed are those who end pregnancies, for they will be known for their loving kindness.”

It reminds me of the uncountable church leaders who chided us, “If Jesus were here today, He would take the vaccine.” Or, “If Jesus were here today, He would march with the university students.” Of course, these are the same preposterous prophets who conveniently forget that Jesus was born a Jew.

This leads me to this time-proven axiom: Whenever you hear a progressive introduce a statement with, “If Jesus were here today, He would . . .”, assume crash positions and brace for impact.

This is why I never subscribed to the rubber-banded bracelet brigades of “What Would Jesus Do?” The biblical, spiritual, and eternal reality is this:  Jesus is here now.  He is Emmanuel with us and the promised Spirit within us.  There is no need to pose as His press secretary, particularly like the ones with mics who have clearly had no recent audience with The King.  

Those who seldom bend the knee purport, “What would Jesus do?” The better question is, “What is Jesus doing?”  And best yet, “What is Jesus saying?”

So in these moments when I catch Christians making careless claims on Christ’s behalf, I’ve trained myself to pause, set my affections upward, and listen. I listen to hear if heaven concurs with an echo or resounds with a rebuke. Do I hear, “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit . . .” (Acts 15:28) or, “The Spirit of Jesus would not allow . . .” (Act 16:7). 

When watching a roundtable discussion, a debate, or a conference, dare to gaze beyond the screens and the podiums and imagine what is transpiring off-camera in the unseen realms. Is the great cloud of witnesses cheering, or is a dirty mob of demons jeering?  Have angels gathered to behold man touching glory, or have Hell’s guard assembled to witness a thing far more gory?  Is the Kingdom of Light beaming upon onlookers, or is the Kingdom of Darkness casting shadows on lurkers?

There is nothing nuanced when comparing light with dark, good with evil, or truth with deception.  But because we are embattled by an enemy who poses as anything other than his nature, The Lord has given us the gift and ability to “distinguish between spirits” (I Cor 12:10).  We have never needed this gift more than we do today.

The After Party

I was recently asked to write a review of Megan Basham’s new book, Shepherds for Sale.  In it, Megan masterfully exposes how leftist interests and dark money have flooded into the Evangelical Church, causing pastors to exchange long-held biblical positions for in-vogue cultural causes.  The result in these churches?  Sacred transcendence is rare, flesh-driven energy is plentiful, and congregants are left confused and ill-equipped to discern the times we are living in.

With a monumentally consequential election just weeks away, I am gobsmacked at how many preachers avoid the topic entirely. One obvious explanation might be the fear of losing congregants. But as I read the Gospels, it seems that when the crowds following Jesus reach a zenith, he almost purposely says or does something to slough off a large contingent.  

Another apparent reason is that senior leadership teams often can not reach unity on core issues and, therefore, lack a unified message to deliver to the congregation. So, their private division manifests as public silence. As my beloved pastor of many years ago would say, “If church leadership is divided, it means only one of two things. Either some have not heard from the Lord, or none have heard from the Lord.”

Basham pulls the curtain back on a nationally distributed Bible study curriculum designed to shape how believers think about political identity. Named The After Party, this project was founded by a partnership of Trinity Forum, NY Times Religious Opinion Columnist David French, Duke Divinity Professor Curtis Chang, and Christianity Today Editor-in-Chief Russel Moore.

For those not familiar with the work product of these individuals, a first glance might instill hope for a biblically balanced treatment of political viewpoints.  However, this is far from the case. These three pundit’s public aim is to dissuade believers from voting for Donald Trump.

From the course’s promotional materials;

“As nationally trusted evangelical voices, local leaders do not have to take all the fire by themselves.  They only need to sponsor this curriculum into their small group communities and let us make the case.”

Precisely which case do they make, and why, with such self-adulation and aggrandizement, are they overruling the local leaders who know their congregations best?

Chang equates abortion with redemption, Moore has been pushing progressive ideology since the Obama administration, and David French believes to save conservatism, we must vote for Harris.

Basham describes, with great detail, that the funding for The After Party came from far-left benefactors like Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Hewlett Foundation, and The One America Movement, all devoted donors to anti-Christian initiatives like Planned Parenthood, gender mutilation for children, and Black Lives Matter Inc.

What Do You Really Hear?

As I watched the launch event for this curriculum, I heard many words, philosophies, and opinions, yet there was very little language of the Kingdom. When three “nationally trusted evangelicals” gather, scripture promises that Jesus is present with them. Yet, as these three winsome amigos ruminated over their pseudo-intellectual musings, little acknowledgment was made nor deference given to the Honored Guest.

Tragically, few pastors have delved into the origin story of these pre-packaged propaganda classes, and as a result, churches across the country have adopted this material. I’ve experienced this sloppy style of de-cipleship first-hand but was able to instantly detect the stranger’s voice and not the voice of The Shepherd.  But when pastors send their untrained flock into this type of setting, it’s akin to tossing sheep into Class 5.0 rapids with a binky and water wings.  

I still contend that these congregants are without excuse.  We will not be judged before the great white throne for what our leaders did or did not do.  The Righteous Judge gave us the Holy Spirit so that we can distinguish, decipher, and discern good from evil, light from dark, and error from truth.  

It is baffling why so many believers insist that Christians should not be political. It’s as silly as saying Christians shouldn’t be athletic.  I mean, scripture is silent on whether Jesus ever played Little League, so we should let unbelievers dominate baseball, right?  

Next time you hear the case made that Christians should not be political, pause and listen closely to who is cheering in agreement. Particularly today, when so many cultural movements have cult-like adherence.  

Abortion has become a sacrament to the left, anti-racism has become a religious ordination, LGBTQ has become religious devotion, vaccines have become an unholy eucharist, and climate care has become religious abstinence.

Maybe religious people will stop being political when political people stop being religious.

Were There Three or Five in Eden?

One of my most beloved passages of scripture is found in Genesis, Chapter 3:

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of The Lord God moving in the garden at the breezy time of the day.

Verse 8

I have spent years meditating on this scene's depth, intimacy, and invitation.  The Hebrew word used here for sound is qol, which can also mean voice.  We have always taught our two sons that the most essential thing in life is to know the sound of God’s voice in the garden of your soul.  Once you have that, you have everything.

The name used here, The Lord God, is Yahweh Elohim. In the original language, Elohim is plural yet has a singular meaning.  It’s my favorite name for God because we have three Persons in this singular Being: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And this is all happening in the Spirit time of the day, as the word used for breezy is Ruah, which is used in the Old Testament for the Spirit of God.

It’s from within this trinitarian unity that a sound is being made.  A voice.  Perhaps a conversation?  Whatever form this sound took, Adam and Eve could hear it, and it was moving.  

The Lord is always speaking, He is constantly moving, and He has unimaginably invited us into this sacred dance of love: Father, Son, Spirit.  And while we live in the finite confines of this fear-obsessed world, may we act as those who bring the eternal world to this one.  

May the posture of our heart in worship be:  Sing less and listen more. May the posture of our spirit in prayer be:  Speak less and listen more.  May the posture of our mind when watching the news be:  Set our gaze beyond to see who is cheering.

And as we maneuver our way through the political and cultural minefields of these darkening days, may we take pause and listen: Can we hear the sound moving through the garden . . .