Two years ago, the United States entered into a new season marked by hostility, vitriol, and division fueled by political antagonisms. Countless churches across this country have experienced inner tensions, social media blow-ups, active and passive-aggressiveness which has regularly called into question the depth of the gospel in our lives and communities. As a pastor, I’m regularly grieved by the lack of differentiation modeled in our churches. I’m deeply saddened by the xenophobia and scapegoating that fills our national discourse (if you can call it discourse at all).
Here we are, two years later, anticipating the midterm elections. I don’t ever recall hearing so much about midterms. In my time as a pastor, I have never led a time of prayer for the midterms. Yet, this year, something is noticeably different. To that end, I created a prayer for my congregation and for the church around the country. In prayer, we are called to fundamentally name realities for the sake of shalom. We name the reality of God’s life among us, name our broken sin-stained lives, and name the cry to join God in the project of gospel renewal.
We can’t afford to pray ambiguous prayers. We need prayers that help us to shape a new social imagination marked by love, truth, forgiveness, and justice.
Hopefully these words offer a way forward. We can’t afford to pray ambiguous prayers. We need prayers that help us to shape a new social imagination marked by love, truth, forgiveness, and justice. Click To Tweet
A Prayer for Midterm Elections
In preparation for the midterm elections, Lord, we pray for our country.
Our country is hurting. Families are torn apart. Friends have turned into enemies.
Lord, may we see how morally inconsistent we are, how self-righteous we can be, how fear has deeply poisoned our hearts, how the lust for power has blinded us to the gospel.
Lord, deliver us from evil.
May we all repent first, before waiting for others to repent.
Lord, before we can pray for unity, we must personally do the hard work of unmasking our own duplicity.
Forgive us when we demonize another.
Forgive us when we speak truth without love.
Forgive us when our moral outrage is simply a facade covering our need to be right.
Forgive us when we reduce love to simply being nice while we ignore injustice.
Forgive us when we sin against another.
And may we learn to forgive when we are sinned against.
Lord, may the church be a prophetic and priestly voice. May we speak truth to power while offering healing to the oppressed and the oppressor.
Teach us to be salt and light. May our speech be always filled with grace, seasoned with salt.
Teach us to put our hope in you, and to properly discern our civic responsibilities, having our lived marked by a non-anxious presence.
Lord, before we speak, may our lives be marked by silence. But guard us from silence when you call us to speak.
Lord, you are always at work, making all things new. Make us new people with new hearts who can join you in this project of restoration.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Lord, before we speak, may our lives be marked by silence. But guard us from silence when you call us to speak. Click To Tweet
Missio Alliance Comment Policy
The Missio Alliance Writing Collectives exist as a ministry of writing to resource theological practitioners for mission. From our Leading Voices to our regular Writing Team and those invited to publish with us as Community Voices, we are creating a space for thoughtful engagement of critical issues and questions facing the North American Church in God’s mission. This sort of thoughtful engagement is something that we seek to engender not only in our publishing, but in conversations that unfold as a result in the comment section of our articles.
Unfortunately, because of the relational distance introduced by online communication, “thoughtful engagement” and “comment sections” seldom go hand in hand. At the same time, censorship of comments by those who disagree with points made by authors, whose anger or limited perspective taints their words, or who simply feel the need to express their own opinion on a topic without any meaningful engagement with the article or comment in question can mask an important window into the true state of Christian discourse. As such, Missio Alliance sets forth the following suggestions for those who wish to engage in conversation around our writing:
1. Seek to understand the author’s intent.
If you disagree with something the an author said, consider framing your response as, “I hear you as saying _________. Am I understanding you correctly? If so, here’s why I disagree. _____________.
2. Seek to make your own voice heard.
We deeply desire and value the voice and perspective of our readers. However you may react to an article we publish or a fellow commenter, we encourage you to set forth that reaction is the most constructive way possible. Use your voice and perspective to move conversation forward rather than shut it down.
3. Share your story.
One of our favorite tenants is that “an enemy is someone whose story we haven’t heard.” Very often disagreements and rants are the result of people talking past rather than to one another. Everyone’s perspective is intimately bound up with their own stories – their contexts and experiences. We encourage you to couch your comments in whatever aspect of your own story might help others understand where you are coming from.
In view of those suggestions for shaping conversation on our site and in an effort to curate a hospitable space of open conversation, Missio Alliance may delete comments and/or ban users who show no regard for constructive engagement, especially those whose comments are easily construed as trolling, threatening, or abusive.