Lessons to be learned on the Campaign Trail

[OneAccord]

Lessons to be learned on the Campaign Trail

From the New York Times-

Internal battles divided McCain, Palin camps

Republican's running mate appeared to have been catalyst for infighting

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27568012

I haven’t read the entire article. (I’ll read it as I write this.) The headlines are enough to tell us what happened to the McCain/Palin ticket. And, no, this isn’t yet another political post. it’s a lesson we, as Apostolic Christians need to learn. And, it’s a lesson we seemed to be failing to grasp.

The sub headline says it best: Infighting. Infighting led to the first murder in human history. Infighting divided Israel and Judah. Infighting caused the American civil war. Infighting caused the UPC/WPF split. Infighting is why some people have left AFF. Infighting is, in fact, the worst kind of fighting. When brother turns on brother, that is the devils trophy. I‘ve said it many times, as long as the devil can keep us fighting among ourselves, his job is so much easier. Infighting stops any forward progression, just as it contributed to the defeat of the Republican Party in this years presidential elections.

Lets look at the destruction of the McCain/Palin ticket to see if there is anything we can learn.

Ahh, there it is…the very first lesson to be learned in the very first sentence: the word “imploded“. It comes from the word “implosion”. Implosion is defined as:

A violent collapse inward, as of a highly evacuated glass vessel.
Violent compression.
The inward collapse of a building that is being demolished in a controlled fashion by the weakening and breaking of structural members by explosives. -http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=implosion

If I under physics correctly (and I don’t), an implosion occurs when the external pressures on an object become much greater than the pressures within. In a world in which spiritual warfare is being waged, there is great pressure being exerted on the church. Paul calls these pressures “ principalities, against powers, …rulers of the darkness of this world…. spiritual wickedness in high [places].” Eph 6:12 Notice the word “powers”? That’s “pressure”. When are we ever going to learn that our fight is not with a brother or sister, our fight is not among ourselves , its not from within…. But our fight is from without- our fight is with “darkeness”, “the world“ “ spiritual wickedness”. Our unity is disturbed when we allow the fight to come between us. Our forward progression is halted when we take up arms against each other. The pressures among us to take a stand against the enemy is weakened, our defenses are broken when we fight among ourselves.

Heres a point well taken.. I agree with many of the Republican Party ideals. In my opinion, and in the opinions of many of us, the Republican Party is right because they stand for the right things. But, no matter how “right” we are… no matter how correct we are on the issues and on doctrine, when we fight against each other, we implode upon ourselves. And, the opposing team takes the ball.

The second sentence gives us another clue as to what happened to the political ambitions of the Republican Party. The word there is “unwittingly”. This isn’t to question the wisdom of Gov. Palin, but merely to illustrate the need for “Wisdom”. We all need it, and we all lack it in some area. Wisdom teaches us that “a house divided against itself cannot stand.” When teaches us that “United we stand, divided we fall”. Wisdom teaches us that our stand should be against “spiritual wickedness” and “the rulers of darkness OF THIS WORLD”. Wisdom teaches us that when we take a stand against each other, we have done just what God’s Word tells us not to do… we have given “…place to the devil”. Eph 4:27 Satans greatest advantage, his greatest opportunity is when we face each other in battle, rather than the forces of evil. Heres the good news: Jam 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all [men] liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. Need wisdom? Talk to God. I guarantee you’ll hear in His answer something like this: Psa 133:1 Behold, how good and how pleasant [it is] for brethren to dwell together in unity! Eph 4:3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. And, maybe if you really pray, you’ll have a vision of a solitary figure kneeling in the darkness of a lonely garden. You may see His tears, the sweat dripping like blood as He faces His destiny. Listen closely. You may even hear His Voice: And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:Jhn 17:22

To be continued.

[OneAccord]

Lessons to be learned from the Campaign Trail- Part 2

Based on a story in the New York Times:

Internal battles divided McCain, Palin camps
Republican's running mate appeared to have been catalyst for infighting
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27568012

The next clue is so obvious, it can’t be overlooked. See it? “…she (Gov. Palin) failed to inform….” Communication is the key to a successful marriage. In fact, any successful endeavor is marked by a strong system of communication. Listen to what the Prophet MalachI had to say about communication: Mal 3:16 Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another….” God listens when those that fear Him speak to one another with tenderness and kindness. Don’t you just love that? After His resurrection, Jesus met two of his diciples on the road to Emmaus. He spoke to them, and afterwards they said: Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures? Luk 24:32 Did you catch it? “And they said one to another… OUR HEART” (singular). The true disciples of Jesus don’t have divided hearts, through the Holy Spirit, they have but ONE HEART! Eze 11:19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: Act 4:32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any [of them] that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. Too many times our conversations lead to “heartburn”, a symtom of stress, anxiety and anger. Speaking to one another as people who fear God shouldn’t lead to heartburn, but, rather to “hearts burning with love and zeal for the Lord”.

Those who walk with Jesus are not at cross purposes, nor do they seek their own agenda. They communicate one with another with respect and a kind spirit. They may disagree, but their disagreements don’t lead to infighting and, ultimately , self-destruction. Paul disagreed with Peter, but their disagreement didn’t lead to a Saturday night brawl. Yes, by all means, speak the truth, and do not compromise your views or principles. But do so with love, the Apostle Paul advised.

In paragraph 4 of the New York Times article we find another clue. “Difficult relationship” Lets go back in time for a minute to when you first came to the Lord. Remember? 2Cr 5:17 Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. Remember when all the old hates, the old desires, the old ways, died there at that altar of repentance? When I met Christ, having a relationship with others wasn’t difficult at all. I loved EVERYBODY! Black/ white, trinitarian,/oneness, Republican/Democrat , saint/sinner. Whats happening to me? I don’t love like that now. I find it more difficult now to have friendly relationships. I make distinctions between my brothers and sisters now. I am not as concerned about the lost as I once was. “Oh, Lord, take me back to that altar of repentance. Take me back to Calvary. Psa 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

Strangers. That’s what they were. Strangers from different regions, from different cultures. Different nations. But, they all came together as ONE. They “gladly received”. They “continued steadfastly”. They were united in “doctrine”. They ate together, and prayed together. They believed together, They stood together on common ground. They cared for one another to the extent that they shared their possessions with one another. There was joy and gladness among them? How was this possible? The last three words of Acts 2:46 is the answer: “Singleness of heart”.

Apart from God, “difficult relationships” are expected. But, not so, within the Body of Christ. For thru the Holy Spirit, we are all baptized into ONE BODY!

More to come….

[Esther]

OA what you have said is very true and something I have been saying for some time. However, since you are using Palin as your example I wanted to include this paragraph from the same article to be fair.

“Every book I’ve read about a campaign is that the one that won, it was a perfect and beautifully run campaign with geniuses running it and incredible messaging, etcetera,” Mr. McCain said then. “And always the one that lost, ‘Oh, completely screwed up, too much infighting, bad people, etcetera.’ So if I win, I believe that historians will say, ‘Way to go, he fine-tuned that campaign, and he got the right people in the right place and as the campaign grew, he gave them more responsibility.’ If I lose,” people will say, “ ‘That campaign, always in disarray.’ ”

Years ago a study was done and found 90% of all corporations that failed was due to poor communications.

[OneAccord]

Lessons to be learned from the Campaign Trail- Part 3 and FINAL

Based on a story in the New York Times:

Internal battles divided McCain, Palin camps
Republican's running mate appeared to have been catalyst for infighting
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27568012

Note to self: When typing a lengthy article, always hit the “save” button occasionally. Failure to do so may lead to the loss of about an hours worth of typing!

Another clue as to why the McCain/ Palin ticket imploded: Paragraph 5. Specifically: “it is unclear how much he [Sen. McCain] was inclined or able to stop it.” Jesus said that it is the peacemakers that are called “the children of God”. Mat 5:9 Have you ever noticed that children can be bitter enemies one minute and best friends the next minute? A lesson is to be learned from children. And, a lesson is to be learned from the political arena. Don’t ignore conflicts. Don’t allow them to foster. As the immortal Barney Fife advised time and time again: “Nip it! Nip in the bud”.

Conflicts arise in all facets of life, including the Christian life. Allowing them to foster and take root will, and often does, destroy friendships. Moses saw two of his Hebrew brethren in a conflict…. And he was inclined to resolve it. We don’t need to sit idly by while brethren argue and debate endlessly. Abraham and Lot saw conflict and, though it meant separating, they put an end to it. I’d rather not walk with a brother than to be in a disagreement with him.
I imagine the heart break when the Assemblies of God and those of the “New Issue” separated. Must have been heartbreaking for many of them. Brethren that had preached and prayed together previously. I’m sure tears flowed freely as brethren could no longer consider each other “brethren”. I don’t know about you, but I consider the unity I have with my family in Christ as “good” and “pleasant”. “Follow peace with all men….” is a part of a well known , and often repeated verse of Scripture, that is often overlooked and ignored. Don’t ignore conflict- be inclined to end it with all that you are able to do.

Paragraph 6 of the New York Times article: Is there anything to add? Its all there: "The tensions and their increasingly public airing provide a revealing coda to the ill-fated McCain-Palin ticket, hinting at the mounting turmoil of a campaign that was described even by many Republicans as incoherent, negative and badly run. tensions, “public airings, turmoil, incoherent, negative.”Tension, when its allowed to reach its breaking point, leads to rifts. Public airings of grips, gossips, and grumblings gives our message an incoherent sound. Our words become nothing more than “sounding brass, and tinkling cymbals”. A church divided by tension and negativity is a receding church. A dying church. A carnal church. A people who allow these traits to exist among them are the same, whether they be Christians or politicians.

Paragraph 8. Blaming. Who’s at fault when we are in a constant state of conflict among ourselves? Jam 3:16 For where envying and strife [is], there [is] confusion and every evil work. We are. By allowing envying and strife to rule the day, we open the door for confusion and “every evil work”. Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin, as leaders of their campaign, were responsible to lead the Republican Party to victory, but they failed, but not due to outside influence. Their failure was an IMPLOSION, remember? They failure came from with in. Tension, turmoil, failure to communicate, and so on.

Now, we get to the real issues. Excess. The New York Times suggests one cause of the demise of the campaign was excessive expenditures. This is a symptom of a bigger problem. Attempting to promote and project an image. We seem to be content on projecting an image of being a united people. Some churches even use some variation of the world “unite” in their name. Others say “fellowship”. Some churches call them selves “Family”. Would to God that more than just a projected image. This forum uses the word “Friends” in its name. Good word. But…. and lets be honest, is it a mere image we are trying to promote, or are we really and truly friends? Are we doing all we can to live up to the name “Apostolic Friends Forum”? Do we place emphasis on the word Apostolic by advocating that only Apostolic doctrinal issues are to be discussed and anything and anyone WE deem non-Apostolic should be forever barred from this Apostolic forum? Or, do we emphasize the word “Forum”, meaning we can say anything we want to say in our post with little or no regard to the feelings, views, and opinions of others?

Personally, I emphasize the word “Friends” because, more than anything else, that’s what we are here. I am friends with people all over the world because of this forum. They stood with me when I really need someone to stand with me. No, we aren’t all “Apostolic” as the word is defined by this forum. But that’s okay. We’re friends. We don’t post what we want when we want to disrespect one another. We don’t call each other names. Well, we shouldn’t just because we are a forum and forums are made to say what we want no matter how it hurts. We don’t do that, because we are friends. And we are United. United Pentecostal. That’s not just an image or a religious organization. . That’s who we are. And, we are the Apostolic FRIENDS Forum.

The End…. Finally.

[OneAccord]

I just spent the better part of the morning, and a full days wages, writing this. I guess there is truth to the old adage: " A wise man who wastes his time choses carefully how he wastes his time".

And I hope no one gets the impression I'm blaming anyone for the loss. That isn't the point of this. I'm simply drawing a comparison as what happens when personal conflicts, cross purposes, and lack of coummunication leads to failure.