What the election results mean for Stage 4 Faith/ Jeff Heidkamp (Minneapolis, MN)
That was fast! We have our first guest columnist of the week, and thank you so much for those who've also already submitted. (To the rest of you, let's get moving!) As Jeff's post is time-dated, I thought I'd get us to it. And, as always, I'd love to know your comments about what Jeff has to say.
It doesn't take a person of faith to recognize that on one hand, Americans put way too much stock into presidential politics. Yet, it feels impossible to deny that the election of 2008 seemed to really mean something in terms of faith, culture, and society, not just in the US, but in the world. I know wonderful people, both people of faith and people outside faith, who are either dismayed or elated by the election outcome. Now that the 2008 presidential election is done, what does it mean for people of faith on either side?
First, we should not underestimate the power of hope. Cynics cannot defeat it, pessimists cannot disprove it, and experience cannot quash it. Could it be that politics, probably unwittingly, tapped into the deeper reality that people of faith hold onto- the idea that the future, not the past, is ultimately determinative,? That to proclaim "The Kingdom of God is at hand" is to proclaim that hope defeats fear? Even for those utterly opposed to Obama's politics may have felt this- consider Friedman's take in the New York Times.
It was white conservatives telling the guys in the men's grill at the country club that they were voting for John McCain, but then quietly going into the booth and voting for Obama, even though they knew it would mean higher taxes. Why? Some did it because they sensed how inspired and hopeful their kids were about an Obama presidency, and they not only didn't want to dash those hopes, they secretly wanted to share them.
Second, ethnic diversity is a positive good. Diversity is not neutral, it is good. In response to my remark that I found Obama inspirational, a wise friend asked me, "Would you find Obama so inspirational if he were not black?" I had to answer, quite simply, "no." I don't mean I wouldn't have found him inspiring if he were white. But his ethnicity is an undeniable part of his story, just as it is an undeniable part of the human story. It has been part of the history of the church from its earliest days until now that the most effective followers of Jesus are very often those who are learning to embrace racial diversity and racial justice (Cornelius, Paul, St. Patrick, Wilberforce, King, not to mention emerging Pentecostalism in developing nations).
Third, people long for someone to say that crisis is not always disaster. If faith is not the opposite of doubt, but rather the opposite of fear, perhaps it would also be fair to say that it is the opposite of despair. In our church community, one of the requirements for membership is to choose to avoid cynicism and embrace God's big dreams for our city. I heard echoes of this in Obama's acceptance speech last night:
The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America – I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you – we as a people will get there.
All this to say, regardless of your political preferences, I think the election bodes well for faith in 21st century North America. Some of what Obama tapped into with the limited resources of political campaigning are the same things the church wants to tap into with the unlimited resources of the kingdom of Jesus. I have no doubt there is much the Obama administration will do that some people of faith will find distasteful or repulsive. But the broad strokes of his campaign show that people in North America are not entirely closed off to the message of the Kingdom.
