Religion and the GOP GAGOV Candidates

Ray McBerry seems to want to make the intensely personal issue of religion a campaign ploy, so let’s humor him for a moment, shall we?

Ray mentioned his religion three separate times in Tuesday night’s debate. I honestly don’t recall any of the other candidates mentioning theirs a single time – which is what prompted this post. You see, Ray seems to think that by constantly telling you he is a Christian, you will think that none of the other candidates are, and if that is one of the major things you vote for a person based on that he will get your vote. What Ray leaves out is that from what I can tell, he is a member of an ultra-conservative fringe sect, the likes of which make even the stereotypical “Independent Baptist” church look hedonistic. Indeed, he sent this guy to speak for him at the Plains Tea Party. (In Ray’s defense, he and that guy have since had a falling out a couple of months ago. There have also been reports of him being at various PeachPundit gatherings in bars, yet simply not drinking himself, and I have been told he does not have a problem with Sunday Sales.)

I can tell you from personal experience that one of the things Austin Scott said he liked best about the South Ga leg of his Walk of Georgia was that he was close enough to home to go to his own church on Sundays, and several times he reported being invited to attend churches near his route while he was walking in other parts of the State.

I can also tell you from personal experience that Jeff Chapman prays over his meals, even in public restaurants when meeting someone for the first time.

And while I wanted to mention those two, they are not the real subject of this post. No, for this post I want to look at someone who is so dedicated to his religion that he will travel literally halfway around the world to further its message, yet is comfortable enough with his own religion that he does not feel the need to mention it at every appearance on the campaign trail.

That man is Eric Johnson.

You see, back in October, Johnson took 10 days away from campaigning to go on a missions trip to India. While there with a team from his church, he wrote several of the journal entries for the team, which can be found here. But other than an initial email to his list saying that he would be out of the country and a bit about why he would be out of the country, I’ve rarely heard him mention this trip.

I found the site I linked to in the last paragraph about a month after Johnson got back to the US, and I was highly impressed. Here is a man so dedicated to his religion that he will travel half way around the world to minister in whatever small way he can. Here is a man whose son is a preacher, and who clearly beamed with pride when his son was the Pastor of the Day in the Georgia Senate one day in the 2009 session. Yet here is a man comfortable enough with his religion that he doesn’t feel the need to constantly refer people to it while campaigning for Governor.

There is a difference between your religion influencing your decisions yet basing them on actual logic and using your religion as the SOLE basis of your decisions. The first is called being a man. The second is called being a fanatic.

I have no doubt that Eric Johnson’s Christianity is as much a part of his daily life as breathing, and will be so no matter what happens come July or November. I can say the same about Austin Scott and Jeff Chapman. I can also tell you that I have no doubt that each of these three men will listen to rational arguments on the facts of the issue at hand and base their decisions on them. Indeed, each of these three men, in my opinion, base their decisions on the facts first and their religion second.

In the end, that is about the best you can hope for, since every single decision any human ever makes is based to some extent on “worldview”, aka religion.

I leave you with Eric Johnson’s reflections on his India trip:

October 20
Mission trips will often affect the missionaries more than those you on serve. This is why God sent Jesus as a servant and not as a king (see Hebrews). I will have to spend some time reflecting on this trip, but my initial thoughts are these:

God is at work around the world. We come to places like India where Christians are persecuted and the “middle class” lives in what would be considered slums in America and the poor are starving and we think we can bless them somehow. Nope. It’s the other way around. God doesn’t need us. He just allows us to participate in His plan.

Our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world show extreme bravery and incredible servanthood at the same time. Our hosts are prime examples. There is nothing they won’t do for you. They never showed impatience or exhaustion. They were joyful and willing and gracious. Even the poorest would share what little food they had. They were Christ-like in their hospitality. Even with physical threats on their guests and the death of a student, they kept their pressures away from us and only showed absolute joy at the opportunity to care for us in every manner their resources allowed. I saw a little of heaven in that attitude.

The gospel seems so much simpler here. It’s the same saving grace we preach in America. But, maybe there is less “noise” to compete with it. The willingness to listen to it is fresher. The prayer requests require a simple trust in Jesus. When an old woman came up and simply pointed to her belly, you just prayed for healing and knew God knew what her problem was and how to deal with it. She would get no doctor’s care and was asking me to intervene with her Creator. When a teenager said in broken english that he wanted Jesus in his life, you couldn’t sit down and read scripture or counsel him – you just asked God to welcome a new child into his kingdom and trust the Holy Spirit to do the rest.

This needs more thought, but I felt closer to God on this trip. Maybe it was being around these “heroes of faith”. Maybe it was spending so much time with a team of God-honoring people. Maybe it was witnessing uncomplicated and innocent faith. Maybe it was worshiping in a language that you couldn’t understand but knew God relished it.

I don’t know about you, but I feel inadequate in serving an almighty God. But the truth is, that when you witness life change, see miracles, and watch Him work, your faith increases and the inadequacies don’t matter. He’s in charge. I’m not. That’s a relief.

I also will return with a healthier appreciation of blessings and what really matters in life. He gives me the essentials. We want so much that we don’t need.

The testimonies from people you meet here are nothing short of inspirational. Several were shared in previous blogs. The courage and determination of these pastors who face family exile, beatings, and a life of poverty remind me of the early church. Eternity is their home and they want only to worship God and sign up as many tongues in their choir as possible.

As I fly home, these are my prayers: Am I doing enough to honor God? Can I worship with more abandon? Can I feel a renewed sense of urgency? What can I do to grow my faith?

I return to my campaign for Governor tomorrow. I am physically exhausted, but mentally refreshed. I return dedicated to my effort to lead Georgia in a God-honoring way. I will never forget the blessings that our state enjoys – or where they came from.

For those who followed this mission and those who prayed for its success, I am eternally grateful. It was another blessing in my life.
Next week, Kathryn leaves for Ghana in Africa. She will also cherish your prayers. Until then, I can’t wait to wrap her in my arms and not let her go!
Praise the Lord!