How to Take our Country Back

I originally posted this on Facebook as a note November 26, 2009. I was kind of fed up with all the election stuff. With Dave Ramsey leading The Great Recovery, it reminded me to post it here as well. Hopefully the church out of debt will be a church that serves.
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I've heard a lot of people say we need to vote them all home. That's true, but will that really change anything? What about the lobbyists, the Washington machine, the attitude? Republicans, Democrats, what's the difference these days?

There's a better idea. Let's put them out of business.

Here's how: the church needs to get back to being the church. True religion is about caring for orphans and widows. Conservatives across the nation are yelling about how the liberals are destroying our country with their socialist agenda, but what if the liberals are just trying to do a job we've been ignoring? Churches used to build orphanages, hospitals and universities. They used to take care of those in our society that couldn't take care of themselves. When did that become the government's business?

I think we can do better.

If each and every believing American will step up to the plate and be the children of God we're called to be, we can change this nation. If there are people in our neighborhoods turning to the government for health care, why don't we help them? If there are people in our city turning to food stamps and welfare, why don't we help them? The help we can give, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, will truly change lives, not just cover the symptoms. We can start businesses, create jobs, provide healing and education. We can make a difference.

The next time you get angry about where this country is going, the next time you yell at the nightly news or your radio, think about what you can do to take back these jobs from the government. According to Barna and Viola (authors of Pagan Christianity) 50 to 85% of the $50 to $60 billion in annual giving goes to church overhead. Talk to your friends and your pastor and change that statistic. If your church isn't doing the job of the church, go find one that is or start a new one with a couple friends in your home. If that's too challenging, think of it this way: if Jesus were to come back today, would He hang out at your church? If the answer is no, why are you there?

Be the church. Take the jobs we're responsible for back from the government. If we do this and vote for leaders who will actually live up to the oath they take to protect our Constitution, we can take this country back. It won't be easy and we probably won't see the full results in our lifetime, but what other options do we have?