27 May Our Opportunity

As you may have heard…there is this little election coming up this fall…

Yeah.

It’s a big deal, and it’s a great thing—we get to live in a nation and a point in world history where we actually have a say in who gets to be our nation’s leader.

And yet, as we’ve seen, this year’s election is shaping up to be the most potentially polarizing election in our nation’s history.

How can we handle it well as a disciple-making, multiracial and multigenerational church?

Once upon a time, in his own culture, Jesus was essentially asked, “Who are you voting for, Jesus?”, and his answer was, as you might expect, stunning.

So this Sunday, we are going to look at, in particular, 3 things to avoid when it comes to this election, and 4 values to embrace, from a little story in Mark 12 (you can go ahead and read it if you’d like to get ahead). It’s going to be so freeing and encouraging and faith-building for you, I can hardly wait.

Above all, and here’s my heart for you and for us:

This election gives us the incredible opportunity to demonstrate to the city and the world around us how a multiracial and multigenerational church can love one another in the midst of something that divides the rest of the country.

Jesus said, “All people will know you are my disciples when you love one another.”

That is to say, our love for one another is actually evangelistic—it draws people to Jesus when we love one another.

I am convinced that now is the “when” Jesus was talking about. In order to love sacrificially, you have to have an opportunity to do so—and this is our moment.

If a non-Christian were to overhear your conversations, see your social media posts and were even able to peer into your heart, what would they come away thinking?

Would they come away thinking, “I know Jesus is real because of how much that person deeply loves his brothers and sisters in Christ”?

Or would they come away thinking, “I know they say they should love one another, but they really just demean and shoot at one another from behind a computer”?

It’s our choice—and our opportunity. I’m convinced we won’t miss it.

How does—and should—the Gospel of Jesus shape our political approach?

Let’s find out!

I’ll see you soon!

Morgan

P.S. In case you missed last Sunday, you missed a big announcement:

As of June 1, our Youth Pastor, Tazz Kelly, will be transitioning his role in Youth to being a Minister of Creative Arts. Tazz’ ability and heart for video and creativity and storytelling have grown over the past few years, and we are in a position to bring him on full-time in that role, to be able to tell Jesus’ story and Mosaic’s story (that means you!) in a greater way.

That has opened the door for us to bring on Wendell Williams as our new Youth Pastor. Wendell and his wife, Melissa, have two small children and have been members at Mosaic for well over a decade. They both came to Christ and to this church through our campus ministry while students at the University of Texas, and Wendell brings many years’ professional experience designing and leading programs for youth in Austin.

We are excited for both of them and their new roles, both beginning June 1. If you are involved in mYouth and Elevate, or are a parent of a student in either of these environments, the next two weeks are going to be big ones—this week we will be saying, “Thank you, Tazz!”, and next week (June 5), we will be kicking off the summer and Wendell’s first day with lots of food, tons of fun, t-shirts, and most importantly—a call to our youth to follow Jesus with everything.