Politics and Theology

John Yates is a pastor in Washington, D.C. and seems to encapsulate the ideal of ministering the gospel of the Kingdom of God among the kingdom of men in his article, "Meditations on Ministering Between Calvary Hill and Capitol Hill "


His place of ministry is all of our ministry, even if at a different level; we are to ambassadors for Christ (2 Cor. 5:30) in this world; we are to represent the love and Holiness of our God to our neighbors whom we live shoulder-to-shoulder with each day. We must sacrifice ourselves for their sakes.


While on vacation I read an article from the Book Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader, entitled "On Turning Muslim Stumbling Blocks into Stepping Stones." by Warren Chastain. (Ralph D. Winter, ed. and Steven C. Hawthorne, ed. 3rd edition; William Carey Library. 1999.)

Chastain describes a meeting with a young man who asked him, "Why should I spend my life reaching Muslims when they are so unresponsive?"

Nate floored me with his question. I found myself unable to give a quick answer to a problem I had mentally wrestled with for two decades! . . . Basically he was facing the issue: he had a lifetime of service for the Lord before him, but he wondered whether it was wise to sacrifice it for a people as unresponsive as the Muslims. I could easily sympathize with him-- and he didn't know half the problem! Our Stumbling Blocks Psychological block ". . . the psychological block of our own attitude. Are we willing to lay our lives on the altar? A statement by Bishop Hill captures the heart of the problem: "Look to the heathen without Christ, and you will find an altar . . . and may God help you be a sacrifice."