Sadness, Politics, and Tony Compolo

It is election time again and the media is having a field day. As always, the media revel in the failures of others. So far, there have been homosexual, alcoholic pedophiles; racist remarks from senators; Playboy Party going senate candidates; a gubernatorial candidate that is accused of rape and has petitioned the courts successfully to have the security tape of the scene released in the hopes that it will revive his candidacy and prove his innocence in the media; and stem cell sufferers who believe that taking life is the way to help save their lives. It is sad - and that is what the media feasts upon. Politics has become less the expression of ideas as it is the measurement of your character by those who are filled with character flaws. The sexual predilections of Rep. Foley become fodder for a party that had Ted Kennedy as one of it's senior leaders. Hmmm. That speaks of dual standards by our vaunted two-party system. Imagine!
Now comes the latest and saddest revelations. The head of the National Association of Evangelicals, Rev. Ted Haggard, a Colorado pastor of a 14,000 member megachurch and a political figure by virtue of his positions, now admits to:
a) Buying meth from a drug dealer
b) Getting a massage from a homosexual prostitute
c) And he is accused by that prostitute of participating in and paying for homosexual sex

Sad. Horribly sad. On a new program today, noted speaker and sociologist Tony Compolo, one of the most controversial and thought provoking voices in the Christian community, spoke to how sad this all is (and I agree). He then made a critique that is becoming a matter of some debate and question in both political and religious circles. It is the wedding of Conservative Christians with the Republican party. Compolo critiqued it as a failed decision that takes the church away from ministry and into the realm of politics. Good critique, huh? Maybe. And maybe not.

I am reading one of the best books on Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is a fascinating tale of his theological development and his homiletical (preaching) development. It concentrates in the first half or more of the book with Dr. King's plagiarism in his doctoral dissertation and his "borrowing" of parts or structures of sermons and, eventually, publishing them as his own in a book called, "Strength to Love". It also discusses his disillusionment with liberalism in both theology and politics (things he embraced when he began his ministry but rejected by the end of this life). What does all this mean? It means that Compolo is partially right. Even Martin Luther King, Jr. came to realize that politics and Christianity are a little like oil and water, they don't mix and, if they do, they become flammable. The church has a right to speak out about morals and moral issues but when it embraces a political agenda and PAC philosophy, it gives up the high moral ground and becomes just another political pawn that will be used by one side or the other (or both) for their own purposes. I don't profess to know how, but the church has to stay out of politics and still influence those who make those kinds of policy decisions. When the media begins to focus their lens on the lives and quirks of even the most respected faith leaders, something dark always seems to surface. It is humbling to remember that no matter how high we soar we still cannot approach the lofty heights of heaven. And if we continue to fly higher and higher in the media world, we will come crashing down by the true word or the false accusations of others.