Missional Politics: Those people REALLY need Jesus

October 30, 2008,  over 35,000 people lined up to see and hear presidential candidate Barack Obama on campus of the University of Missouri. :

Lines formed early in the day for the nighttime rally, and security crews began ushering people through gates and metal detectors a little after 7 p.m. By the time Obama began speaking the crowd had nearly filled the area, and the security had relaxed. Hundreds of late-comers simply walked onto the quad and found a spot. (Columbia Missourian, 10/31/08)

By the time the gates were opened at 7:00, the waiting line had snaked back and forth through the campus streets and down the sidewalks bordering College Avenue, one of the main city streets.

The Mizzou Christian Campus House sits on College Avenue, and just before 7:00 I was standing on the front lawn with some students who were residents of the CCH houses.

After several minutes of silent watching, I pointed out there was a large captive audience standing in the queue just across the street.

One of the guys with me was part of the CCH worship team. He said, "If we had known, we could have set up and played worship music for them."

"Or," I said, "we could have organized students to take lemonade to the people and used the opportunity to begin discussions with a captive audience about Jesus."

"That would be great," one of the guys responded. "Those people really need it." There was some head nodding in response to that.

"Why do you say that?" I asked. "Why do you assume a crowd of people waiting to see a Democratic candidate are is some way really in need of hearing about Jesus, more than any other crowd?"

They looked at me, a little puzzled.

"If that were a crowd of Republicans," I asked, "would you assume they don't need to hear about Jesus?"

"Well," the young man responded, nervously, "odds are... you know..."

"No, I don't know," I said. "I think it's kind of presumptuous to assume anyone who might support Barack Obama - or is even just curious about Barack Obama - must not be a Christian. I'm certainly curious. I just don't see the point in standing in line in order be in a crowd of thousands hearing him say the same things he says in every speech."

"I also think," I added, "that any such assumption would put us in danger of putting our politics ahead of our mission. If we were to do that, then we would be the ones who really need to learn more about Jesus."

Little did I know that those students were simply expressing a sentiment that would become distressingly dominant among many Christians.

Looking back on the experience, I'm led to conclude that we, the church, are the ones who need to be taught over and over again about Jesus and the mission He gave us.