There is no winner from this impeachment process. Society if further polarized. Congress is encumbered by selfish motives. The Church is tainted by its failure to be transcendent. The Presidency loses even more credibility. America’s voice of leadership is diminished on the world stage.
And here are some of my own personal opinions and observations from the impeachment. First, The House should have never proceeded with a partisan impeachment. Democrats have complained incessantly about Republicans in the Senate violating historical protocols and precedents when they themselves failed to hold a vote in the House before moving forward with the impeachment. Regardless of how incensed Democrats were in regards to their accusations against the President, purely partisan impeachments will never be effectual. They should have censured the President. That move would have drawn bi-partisan support.
Secondly, Republicans in the Senate should be ashamed of themselves. And if you think they voted against calling John Bolton as a witness because they believed his testimony would not affect the outcome, you are either naive, in denial, or dishonest. They did not want John Bolton to testify because they did not want his statements, which would have directly contradicted President Trump’s claims, to be under oath. As long as his statements are not under oath, they have political cover. They will be able to say, even when the book releases, “It’s one person’s words against another’s person’s words.” Several Republicans Senators directly contradicted the President’s legal team and President Trump when they stated his call was not perfect, and in fact some of them stated they felt his actions were troubling. I think it is clear that the majority of Republican Senators believe President Trump is guilty of everything of which the House Democrats are accusing him. However, they do not feel his actions rise to the level of impeachment. These facts differ greatly from how our President and his supporters are depicting the outcome. Senate Republicans must find the courage to hold this President accountable for any behavior they deem as being unbecoming of the office of The Presidency.
The Church is failing once again to be transcendent. If someone wants to take a side, I have no complaint with people having a political alignment. However, that alignment should not be at the expense of the importance of also taking a stand for Christian virtue. When the President in his post acquittal speech uses vulgarity and profanity, why aren’t Christians calling for his apology? When the President mocks Mitt Romney for citing his faith and conscience for a decision, why aren’t Christians calling for his apology? When the President continues to call people degrading names and ridicule people for their personal appearance, why aren't Christians calling for his apology? I too align with most of President Trump’s policies and his political and social agenda. But supporting his agenda does not mean I have to ignore his behavior. Christianity, according to Jesus the last time I checked, has always ultimately been about virtue….being reconciled to God through Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit being born into God’s family and begin the journey of becoming like Christ in virtue. The fruit of the Holy Spirt is virtue. Spiritual maturity is defined by virtue. The character of Christ is based on virtue. This is part of what it means for the church to be transcendent. Be involved politically, yes. But don’t stop advocating and holding people accountable for their responsibility to be Christlike if they claim to be a Christ follower.
Homogeneity is at work in The Church and Christians suffer under its spell. You can learn about this term from in part one. One of the consequences of homogeneity is that we tend to overlook the faults of people who we deem to be on our side. Why? Because the goal of homogeneity is to build a tribe. The goal of homogeneity is to protect the feeling of being comfortable by being around others who are similar. But true Biblical unity necessitates diversity. And when our goal is unity, we are not afraid of holding one another accountable when people in our group are guilty of actions and attitudes that violate virtue because comfort is not our prize. Righteousness is our prize! When Jesus commanded us in Matthew 6:33 to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness…He wasn’t just talking about priorities. He was teaching us about motivation. When God’s Kingdom and His righteousness are more important to me than most everything else in life, I’m not afraid to speak the truth in love, even when that truth accuses our President of forsaking virtue.
People need to find a sense of permission to support whichever candidate aligns with their own personal beliefs about political and social agendas. But at the same time, we are responsible to acknowledge when those candidates violate virtue and if necessary, call for an apology. God doesn’t stop loving me because I sin. But He does expect me to acknowledge my sin through confession and to work to effect change in my life through repentance.
I am politically conservative. I support politically conservative candidates. I have dear friends who are not politically conservative and who do not support politically conservative candidates. Loving Jesus, His righteousness, and His Kingdom does not presuppose support of a particular political party. Anyone who tells you it does, is a carrier of something far worse then any biological virus. They are infecting The Church with homogeneity. And as a pastor and teacher, I intend to boldly, in love, continue working to root out this terrible spiritual disease from The Church.
Pastor Fred