Global Warming & The Church
The other day while exploring the blogdom, I came across an article that was questioning the goal of an Indianapolis area United Methodist church.
The goal of this particular church for 2007 is to do their part in helping reduce the effects of global warming. The church has a plan for each member to reduce their use of natural resources and products that are known to have a negative effect on global warming. For example, the senior pastor traded in his gas-guzzling, heavy-polluting SUV for a more environmentally friendly hybrid sedan.
The blog I read was blasting this church (and the denomination for giving them praise) because their priorities are wrong. The writer of the blog was saying that the churches goal should always be to win people to Christ. He went on to say that issues like global warming are political issues that should really stay out of the church. I agree and disagree with the writer.
First, every church should have goal of bringing people to Christ. I agree with the writer that this should definitely be the primary goal for every congregation. But, I disagree with him when he claims that the church shouldn’t make fighting global warming an issue. Is it a political issue? Yes. Is it a moral issue? Yes. Is it a faith issue? Yes.
God told man to care for His creation. When the church gets so caught up in winning people to Christ that they forget their responsibilities for caring for creation, I believe we are failing to carry out God’s work for the church. Yes, we should be all about evangelism. But, we should also be all about caring for the earth, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, giving shelter to the homeless, and so on. I believe Jesus had something to say about what we do unto the least of these. But, we only like to focus on the teachings of Jesus that support our views.
I believe the church has a responsibility to set an example of living out the life that God desires. By caring for all of God’s creation in meaningful and responsible ways that help bring about positive change, people outside the church might change their negative views of the church.
Now, the author of the article is on the staff of a large, seeker church. They are tremendously successful when it comes to numbers and finances. Wouldn’t it be amazing if this growing church decided that in addition to bringing people into a relationship with Christ that doing something about the environment was important too? Imagine the impact this could have on the way people in their community live out their faith. We should care for the earth and live environmentally responsible lives because this life, this creation is God’s gift to us. It’s a crazy idea, I know…but, shouldn’t the church be on the frontlines when it comes to caring for all of Gods creation?
I know I have a lot of work to do in this area on personal and ministry levels. I believe the article has inspired me to take more action and a firm stance on issues concerning the environment. With the rapid rates that our earth is deteriorating because of pollution, urban sprawl, and the like, we have a responsibility to find creative ways to reduce the negative effects our material lifestyles are having on the world around us.
Most churches ignore the issue and simply teach that responsible living is centered on church attendance, tithing, and living good moral lives. What if we started teaching that the way we treat the earth is an issue of faith? Could Christians and the Church become the leaders of bettering our environment? I believe if we take seriously Gods call for His people to care for His creation, we will start taking steps toward living environmentally responsible lives.