Christians: It's time to take back the faith

When did it come to the point that being a Christian meant only caring about two issues ­­ abortion and homosexuality?

Ask the non-religious what being a Christian today means, and based on what they see and read, it's a good bet they will say that followers of Jesus Christ are pre-occupied with those two points.

Poverty? Whatever. Homelessness? An afterthought. A widening gap between the haves and have-nots? Immaterial. Divorce? The rate of Christians mirrors the national average, so that's no big deal.

The point is that being a Christian should be more about abortion and homosexuality, and it's high time that those not considered a part of the religious right expose the hypocrisy of our brothers and sisters in Christianity and take back the faith. And those on the left who believe they have a "get-out-of-sin free" card must not be allowed to justify their actions.

Many people believe we are engaged in a holy war. And we are. But it's not with Muslims. The real war ­­ the silent war ­­ is being engaged with among Christians, and that's what we must be set our sights on.

As we celebrate Holy Week, our focus is on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But aren't we to also re-commit ourselves to live more like Jesus? Did Jesus spend his time focusing on all that he didn't like, or did Jesus raise the consciousness of the people to understand love, compassion and teach them about following the will of God?

This is exactly what we tried to achieve with the show I hosted on CNN, "What Would Jesus Really Do?" It wasn't to keep spinning the same stuff. It was asking pillars of the faith ­- Rev. Jerry Falwell, Bishop T.D. Jakes, Pastor Paula White, Rick Warren and several others -­ what the Christian agenda should be about today.

As a layman studying to receive a master's in Christian communications and the husband of an ordained minister, it's troubling to listen to "Christian radio" and hear the kind of hate spewing out of the mouths of my brothers and sisters in the faith.

In fact, I've grown tired of people who pimp God. That's right, we have a litany of individuals today who are holy, holy, holy, sing Hallelujah, talk about how they love the Lord, but when it's time to walk the walk, somehow the spirit evaporates.

A couple of years ago, I took exception to an e-mail blast from the Concerned Women for America.

They were angry that Democrats were blocking certain judges put up for the federal bench by President Bush. They called on Americans to fight Democrats who wanted to keep Christians off the bench.

So I called and sent an e-mail asking, "So, where were you when President Clinton appointed Christian judges to the bench? Were they truly behind Christian judges, or Republican Christian judges?

Surprise, surprise. They never responded.

An African-American pastor I know in the Midwest was asked by a group of mostly white clergy to march with them in a pro-life rally. He was fine with that, but then he asked them if they will work with him to fight crack houses in predominantly black neighborhoods.

"That's really your problem," he was told.

They saw abortion as a moral imperative, but not a community ravaged by crack.

If abortion and gay marriage are a part of the Christian agenda, I have no issue with that. Those are moral issues that should be of importance to people of the faith, but the agenda should be much, much broader.

I'm looking for the day when Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Joyce Meyer, James Dobson, Tony Perkins, Dr. James Kennedy, Rod Parsley, President Bush's "Patriot Pastors," and Rick Warren will sit at the same table as Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Cynthia Hale, Eddie L. Long, James Meek, Fred Price, Emmanuel Cleaver, and Floyd Flake to establish a call to arms on racism, AIDS, police brutality, a national health care policy and our sorry education system.

If they all say they love and worship one God, one Jesus, let's see them rally their members behind one agenda.

I stand here today not as a Republican or a liberal. And don't bother calling me a Democrat or a conservative. I am a man ­- an African-American man -­ who has professed that Jesus Christ is Lord, and that's who I bow down to.

If you concur, it's time to stop allowing a chosen few to speak for the masses. Quit letting them define the agenda.

So put on the full armor of God because we have work to do.

Roland S. Martin is a CNN contributor and a talk-show host for WVON-AM in Chicago. Please visit his Web site at www.rolandsmartin.com. To find out more about Roland Martin and read his past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2007 CREATORS SYNDICATE