Lunch With Rev. Pat Mahoney

On Tuesday, July 22, I had lunch with Rev. Pat Mahoney, executive director of the Christian Defense Coalition. He is a long time friend and ministry partner with Rev. Schenck. I wanted to get his council concerning my calling.

Because Rev. Mahoney has been involved extensively in both the ministry and politics, he has a unique perspective on the importance of both. He wanted to frame my thinking with 1 Corinthians 12:14-21:

For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”

I had begun to think that politics was actually a lower or less important calling than that of preaching the Gospel of Christ and loving people. Because I perceived it to be less effective, I had become disenchanted with it. But Rev Mahoney wanted me to understand that God calls different parts of the body of Christ to different vocations. And just because I felt a drawn toward ministry did not make politics any less valuable.

Yet, not only was I questioning the effectiveness of politics, but I was questioning whether or not current Christian involvement in politics was a good thing. For example, is our fight against homosexual marriage alienating homosexuals from the gospel? Rev. Mahoney’s answer to had two components: a gospel component and a moral component. Yes, we are supposed to love homosexuals into the kingdom of God, he said. But, we cannot condone their behavior by doing nothing in the public square. God has called us to be salt to a decaying world.

Consider the following verses as support to Rev. Mahoney’s position:

Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? (Matthew 5:11-13).

When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, he dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth (David’s last words - 2 Samuel 23:3, 4).

The prophets were those who tried to persuade and convince the people of Israel to follow God. They were God’s voice and witness to the people. This is similar to the work of a pastor. David, however, was different. He was a king over the people. His actions as king directly influenced the prosperity of the people. When he sinned the nation suffered. When he was righteous, the nation prospered. Consider 2 Samuel 24:11-13. When David ordered a census in all of Israel, God responded this way:

The word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying, “Go and say to David, ‘Thus says the Lord, Three things I offer you. Choose one of them, that I may do it to you.’” So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, “Shall three years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ pestilence in your land? Now consider, and decide what answer I shall return to him who sent me.”

We see here that there is a lot of pressure put on the leaders of a nation. God used the same principle with Solomon, David’s son. 1 Kings 6:11-13 says:

Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon, “Concerning this house that you are building, if you will walk in my statutes and obey my rules and keep all my commandments and walk in them, then I will establish my word with you, which I spoke to David your father. And I will dwell among the children of Israel and will not forsake my people Israel.”

The fate of the nation of Israel was placed squarely on the shoulders of Solomon, as it was with David! Leaders are important! However, we also see the importance of prophets in 2 Samuel 24:11-13. Gad was the one who brought the word of God to David. He was the one who placed David back on God’s path!

Remember when David sinned with Bathsheba and indirectly murdered her husband, Uriah? Who was the one who brought David to his senses? The prophet Nathan!

And the LORD sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, "There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him." Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, "As the LORD lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity."

Nathan said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. Why have you despised the word of the LORD, to do what is evil in his sight?

These are convincing passages of scripture to show the importance of both political leaders and religious leaders. Therefore, my doubt about the effectiveness and importance of politics is somewhat quelled. However, I think it is still fair to evaluate how Christians are acting in the political arena. Are our tactics effective?

Rev. Mahoney said that we have been effective in the fight against abortion. [1]Abortions are lower than they have ever been! But, there are still [2]3,700 abortions a day in the United States. What are we doing wrong? What is the church doing wrong? As I mentioned above, in regard to homosexual marriage, Rev. Mahoney said that it is necessary to fight for good public policy. But, California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and New York have either legalized homosexual marriage, recognized homosexual couples, or provided civil union status. What are we doing wrong? What is the church doing wrong? I think these are fair questions.

Rev. Mahoney helped me discover that I have a draw to the ministry. He asked me to think about how I could impact culture in each of the vocations – political and pastoral. Here are my current thoughts: if I were a pastor I could focus heavily on the issues that are destroying our culture. To mitigate abortion, I could start adoption and single mothers ministries. To lessen the influence of homosexuality my church could have ministries specifically geared to reach them. To diminish divorce my church could have marriage counselors, etc. In other words, I would do everything in my power to get the church back in line with God – from the grass roots level! If we are going to change the world, it’s going to take hard work. We must give our lives in service!

The church is the problem with society! Why do close to [3]80% of all abortions in the US come from women who identify themselves as protestant, catholic, or born/again evangelicals? Why are divorce rates “[4]identical among born again Christians and those who are not born again?” [5]Why is the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) debating whether or not homosexuals should be ministers? WHY? The culture is crumbling because the church is crumbling! I guess that is why I feel drawn to the church. Jesus is the only one who can change the world. And if the people that claim his name are not living lives transformed, how will the world be saved?

[1] http://www.guttmacher.org/presentations/trends.html
[2] http://www.abortionno.org/Resources/fastfacts.html
[3] ibid
[4] http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=170
[5] http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080628/pcusa-assembly-approves-deleting-gay-clergy-ban.htm