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The other day NPR had a story about the famous radio personality, Delilah. She is known for her nightly syndicated radio show where she talks about love and romance, using popular soft-rock songs to illustrate the stories of her callers.

The segment briefly talks about her commitment to Christ.

She’s a devout Christian, though the show isn’t- necessarily. It’s non-denominationally inspirational.

This description would place her in the Christ and Culture in Paradox perspective.

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Today a group of pastors challenged the government by supporting a candidate for President. These pastors agreed to this act of defiance despite their differences in theology, politics, and even their candidate of choice.

Even though I preached this morning, I did not offer such a defiance. It’s not because I don’t have an opinion or because I agree with or am afraid of the US government but because I would rather focus on the Gospel than politics.

However, I am challenging the IRS and the Federal Government, but in a different way. I have repeatedly stated my support for John McCain in this blog. I happen to be a pastor. My challenge to the powers that be is whether or not this is illegal. What is the difference between stating my opinion from “the pulpit” and in this blog- either way I am someone supporting a candidate despite the tax-exempt status of my church. Am I not allowed to practice free speech because of my vocation?

Even if I wasn’t protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution- both in its declaration of free speech and the free exercise of religion- I would openly state my support for a presidential candidate. This is because my commitment is to Christ and to proclaim his message and apply it to the world we live in today. I would gladly join my brothers in the past who have stood against their government and stood for the Gospel- even standing with people who might come to different conclusions than I am. Like the saints of past, I will live with the consequences of these actions no matter what penalties come my way.

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A couple weeks ago there was a powerful story in Newsweek where a woman described some conflict in her family and the difficulty of apologizing. This reminds me of how much I need to constantly remind myself of my justification by faith in Christ so I can also find the strength to apologize.

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Last week John McCain was on The View. Whoppie Goldberg asked a great question of McCain about how he views the separation of church and state.

This is an example of the Christ and Culture in Paradox view. With the rise of the Religious Right in the last few years, many non-Christians (or even non-Evangelical-Christians) start to feel uncomfortable when candidates start discussing their faith. This is because politicians have been using Christ to promote their agenda (Christ of Culture).

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This last weekend my wife and I went on a brief vacation to Myrtle Beach. We spent the day on the ocean and the evening dancing with the droves of people there for SOS. SOS stands for “Society of Stranders” and it is a regular migration of people looking to relive their younger days of Shag-dancing and partying to the wee hours of the night.

After a long night of dancing ourselves were were fast asleep on Sunday morning when a friend called. He wanted us to go to the Gospel Hour with him. This was an event where the people were Shagging to religious music. Feeling guilty for not going to church that morning- and wanting something to blog about- we made our way there.

When we arrived at the bar we saw pretty much what one would expect at SOS- a bunch of people dancing and drinking. The only difference between this hour on Sunday morning and Saturday evening was the choice of music- nothing I would categorize as Gospel so much as songs with general religious references. It was a clear example of Christ of Culture for its mixing of SOS culture and Christianity. I wonder if this got started for the same guilt that drove us there that morning- not only regretting church but making up for the “sins” of the previous evening?

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