a king and a kingdom
"my first allegianceis not to the flag,
a country,
or a man.
my first allegiance
is not to democracy
or blood.
it's to a king and a kingdom."
-derek webb, who is giving away his most recent album for free.
It's nice to hear some songs that have quotable, relevant lyrics, but this album has so many of them that it starts to stress me out - I can't type them all in, and even if I did, it doesn't read the same as it sounds. So just go download it for yourself. I think Derek Webb would be a good person to have coffee with, if I were the type to have coffee with people over intelligent conversation.
I don't want to get into the "What would Derek Webb do" thing, but I do kinda wonder how the lyrics would go to a song about the recent events of the North Carolina Baptist State Convention. Enacting "one of the most rigid anti-gay policies among the nation's Christian churches," complete with the threat of deploying investigative teams to determine whether churches are affirming or approving of homosexuals, really seems wrong to me.
There's something about trying to stay in our comfortable little bubbles and minister only to those like us that makes me sad. Isn't there something wrong with telling local churches that they cannot choose how best to carry out the task of ministry? Local church autonomy is one of the historic Baptist principles that I find very important. Yes, it also applies to associations of Baptists, so the NC Baptists are free to make their own choices, and this decision was made by a democratic vote. But there's so much politics and so little spirituality. Others have said it more eloquently, but I'll add my voice to the refrain.
Two problems stand out: (1) the simple point of not being willing to minister to those who are different, and (2) the absurdity of pursuing this issue when so many others should take precedence. College Park Baptist disagrees with NC Baptists on the former, and First Baptist Greensboro disagrees on the latter, yet enough people didn't disagree with either that the resolution passed. And how many of those who voted for exclusion had really thought about it and discussed it? How many were like the Christian in another Derek Webb song:
"Don't teach me about
politics and government.
Just tell me who to vote for.
...
Don't teach me how
to live like a free man.
Just give me a new law.
...
Don't teach me about
moderation or liberty.
I prefer a shot of grape juice.
Don't teach me about
loving my enemies.
Don't teach me how
to listen to the Spirit.
Just give me a new law..."
Labels: church
posted by Peter @ 21:49
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