Christian Action Commission

Mopping Up

The battle was long and even though the crew had won, the ship deck remained littered with blood and debris.  Before normalcy could set in, someone had to take a mop of rope and yarn and clean the deck.  In the 1600s a sailor called a swab would do the “mopping up.”

For the Christian families of faith, victory was declared at the cross and empty tomb but the war goes on.  The Apostle Paul described it like this, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.  (Ephesians 6:12).  He then encourages each believer to put on the whole armor of God and to take our stand against the evil of our day.
Paul admonished Christians to be ready to be proactive.  Yet, the vast majority of believers are reactionary.  We wait until there is a crisis to respond or until the vote is cast to complain, moan and groan.  Having been a pastor for several years, I learned it was difficult to get a church to become proactive and practice preventive maintenance.

My Christian friends, we can no longer afford to sit back and react.  We must take a stand.  The attack has been relentless since the days of Adam and Eve and it has not slackened.  Therefore, our churches must step up to the plate and get involved in creating an environment that is friendly and tolerant to Christians.  Am I the only one who feels political correctness applies to all religious groups (both fanatical and terror-oriented) except Christian?  Society is tolerant of all groups but not those who hold to Christian teachings and values.

What can we do?  First and foremost, we must pray.  Once we have put on the armor of God the apostle says that we must “pray always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,” (Eph. 6:18).  E.M. Bounds said, “The prime need of the church is not men of money nor men of brains, but men of prayer.” “Prayer is a mighty instrument, not for getting man’s will done in heaven, but for getting God’s will done in earth,” stated Robert Law.  Our churches must take seriously the mandate to pray for our governing entities as fervently as we pray for the lost and the sick of our world.

Every church needs a group of concerned members who are dedicated to the task of keeping important issues and elections before the congregations.  If the phrases “late term abortions” and “embryonic stem cell research” are mentioned in your church, how many would have knowledge of their meaning?  Our people need to be educated as to what is happening around them.  Do they really understand separation of church and state?  Do they know that students and teachers in public schools have certain rights and freedoms?  The issues have to be studied and communicated to our congregations.

To study an issue is not enough.  Appropriate action must be taken.  Each church would do well to have a group of concerned citizens to provide the church with strategies, techniques and resources with which to address all levels of government and social concerns.  The steps are quite simple—pray, educate, and then act upon that which you have studied and saturated in prayer.
The Christian Action Commission is available to come to any church and meet with any group of individuals to assist in getting you started.  There are resources we can share with you that will provide insights and helps with your strategies.  Many churches are beginning to select committees for the new year, and what better time to get a group together and assign them the responsibility of keeping the members informed?  Just give us a call at 601-292-3329 if you desire more information or need to schedule an organizational meeting.

Yes, we have won the war but we can never quit mopping up.  Evil residue and debris is all around us and we need some committed Christians to become “swabs.” How about signing up?