Opinion: Responding to ‘The Response’
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Bill Leonard. He considers himself, “old-timey Baptist”, which are the kind of Baptist that I usually associate with reasoned Christian faith and practice in a nation embracing pluralism. I found his opinion piece on the Associated Baptist Press refreshing. Sadly, I doubt he will be interviewed by any major news outlet about the geo-religious and political worship that happened in Houston over the weekend. Here are a couple of paragraphs and a link. It is worth a few minutes of your day.
Opinion: Responding to ‘The Response’
by Bill Leonard | Associate Baptist Press | Aug. 4, 2011The organizers’ concerns for America are unapologetically Christ-centered. Sponsors reflect a largely evangelical coalition from various churches, denominations and faith-based programs. Preparations have the feel of a revival crusade, aimed at exalting Jesus and promoting a particular Christian witness in the public square.
So why does that witness require sanction and support from the governor of Texas, who is listed as the “Initiator of The Response?” If the event’s primary purpose involves “a recognition of the power and might of Jesus to save all who call on His great name,” why depend on the prestige and politics of a governor’s office?
Since many of “The Response” sponsors want government out of multiple aspects of American life, why not start here? A religious community that benefits from one governor’s invitation today is only one election away from being on the outside tomorrow. Governmental sponsorship of one kind of prayer is a bad precedent. In the end, perhaps there really are no Christian nations, only Christian people, bound to Christ not by citizenship but by faith.