November 4
By Steve Gregg on behalf of Creekside Elders
If you have been keeping up with Creekside’s weekly email, you will have seen that it recently included a three-part article from pastor Mike. The article touched on the question of how Christians and the church are to impact culture. We hope that you found it helpful. If you haven’t read it, we encourage you to do so here. We want to draw your attention to it because it lays out an overview of how we as Creekside elders are seeking to be faithful to Scripture in living out the Gospel in Gainesville. While there are a number of strategies that Christians can take in relating to their neighbors, we think it’s important for those of you in the church to know clearly what we believe Scripture calls us to in this issue.
Every election cycle brings with it a season of increased passions and opinions in our country. The 2020 election year has been especially tense and emotionally charged. Given the tone and tenor of our times, we felt it was important to state clearly what we are called to as a church. The last sentence of the articles were clear:
“How should Christians influence culture? By picking up the basin and the towel, being salt and light to our neighbors right here in front of us. By letting our light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16).”
So we would ask you all to think about what you will do next Wednesday, the day after the election. There are some that say the election will be so close we won’t know for weeks, while others, in both camps, are predicting a landslide for their candidate. Either way, next week there will be brothers and sisters in this church that we love who will be despondent and others who will be elated. How will we respond to these “blood bought" siblings? How will we deal with loss in a gracious way? How might we handle a political victory humbly? How has this election season and the angst it has brought challenged us about where we as Christians have placed our hope? And regardless of where we stand, how do we keep our primary focus on the central truth of our lives that we are all part of one Body, One Spirit, One Christ?
As under-shepherds who will have to answer one day for how we led the church in this time, we do not take these questions lightly. We trust that this season, as hard as it has been at times, will produce even more fruit in the future. May part of that fruit be a sweet spirit of love and unity here at Creekside.
If you have been keeping up with Creekside’s weekly email, you will have seen that it recently included a three-part article from pastor Mike. The article touched on the question of how Christians and the church are to impact culture. We hope that you found it helpful. If you haven’t read it, we encourage you to do so here. We want to draw your attention to it because it lays out an overview of how we as Creekside elders are seeking to be faithful to Scripture in living out the Gospel in Gainesville. While there are a number of strategies that Christians can take in relating to their neighbors, we think it’s important for those of you in the church to know clearly what we believe Scripture calls us to in this issue.
Every election cycle brings with it a season of increased passions and opinions in our country. The 2020 election year has been especially tense and emotionally charged. Given the tone and tenor of our times, we felt it was important to state clearly what we are called to as a church. The last sentence of the articles were clear:
“How should Christians influence culture? By picking up the basin and the towel, being salt and light to our neighbors right here in front of us. By letting our light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16).”
So we would ask you all to think about what you will do next Wednesday, the day after the election. There are some that say the election will be so close we won’t know for weeks, while others, in both camps, are predicting a landslide for their candidate. Either way, next week there will be brothers and sisters in this church that we love who will be despondent and others who will be elated. How will we respond to these “blood bought" siblings? How will we deal with loss in a gracious way? How might we handle a political victory humbly? How has this election season and the angst it has brought challenged us about where we as Christians have placed our hope? And regardless of where we stand, how do we keep our primary focus on the central truth of our lives that we are all part of one Body, One Spirit, One Christ?
As under-shepherds who will have to answer one day for how we led the church in this time, we do not take these questions lightly. We trust that this season, as hard as it has been at times, will produce even more fruit in the future. May part of that fruit be a sweet spirit of love and unity here at Creekside.
Tagged with politics