{"id":31160,"date":"2022-09-10T15:19:17","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:19:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/7-strategies-to-keep-politics-from-ruining-your-small-group\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T15:19:17","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:19:17","slug":"7-strategies-to-keep-politics-from-ruining-your-small-group","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/7-strategies-to-keep-politics-from-ruining-your-small-group\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Strategies to Keep Politics From Ruining Your Small Group"},"content":{"rendered":"
Crypto Crow photo – Pexels <\/p>\n

By Ken Braddy<\/em><\/p>\n

It has been said that the only two things in life that are guaranteed are death and taxes.<\/p>\n

In my experience, there\u2019s a third: It\u2019s guaranteed you\u2019ll blow up your Bible study group if political conversations aren\u2019t managed well.<\/p>\n

Perhaps you\u2019ve been in a group when politics came to the forefront of the discussion. People literally have felt more passion about political topics, candidates, and policies than they have about evangelism, financial giving, or serving!<\/p>\n

It\u2019s crazy. But it\u2019s also reality. And in the political season we now find ourselves, you can bet that there will be conversations in your Bible study group that have the potential to be a powder keg.<\/p>\n

How can you lead and teach your group, guide them well, and manage the political conversations you know are going to come up between now and the presidential election? Here are some ways you can do that and lead your group well.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

1. Set ground rules. <\/strong><\/h3>\n

It\u2019s not too late to lay down some ground rules in your group as the presidential election nears. Tell your group how you\u2019re going to lead them when the conversation turns political.<\/p>\n

Above all, remind the group that you\u2019ll follow biblical mandates such as pursuing peace (I Peter 3:8), relating to one another with humility (I Peter 5:5), and showing patience towards one another (Ephesians 4:2).<\/p>\n

2. Agree that both major political parties are represented in your group. <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Anything said to malign one political party is going to offend a percentage of your group members in most cases because both political parties likely have supporters in your group.<\/p>\n

That being said, your group members need to keep in mind that if they speak against one political party, they risk offending their brothers and sisters in Christ who are of a different political persuasion.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s possible to speak up strongly for your party and lose friendships in the process. This is already happening in some groups. It doesn\u2019t have to be this way.<\/p>\n

3. Acknowledge there are no perfect candidates. <\/strong><\/h3>\n

There is only one perfect ruler, and His name is Jesus. While we\u2019re thankful for the leaders He allows to rule us, our ultimate allegiance is to Jesus. Every candidate is going to have \u201cwarts and blemishes.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you believe your candidate doesn\u2019t, be ready for a rude awakening when people in the group point out his or her shortcomings.<\/p>\n

4. Pursue the biblical mandate of unity. <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Unity doesn\u2019t mean uniformity, but it does<\/em> mean I place my thoughts and actions aside for the greater goal of maintaining unity in my group and in my church.<\/p>\n

You wouldn\u2019t want discord in the Bible study group to spill over into the church and cause the church to develop a reputation for being a divided congregation. That wouldn\u2019t be a good witness to the community.<\/p>\n

5. Agree to disagree. <\/strong><\/h3>\n

As much as you try, you\u2019ll never completely agree as a group about a political candidate, a policy, or issues surrounding a political party. Disagreement is going to be a part of life, and a part of group life in the church.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
See also  The Power of the Ordinary Moments<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Generations of people\u2019s families have voted a certain way in some cases, and no amount of reasoning or Bible thumping is going to change their minds and cause them to vote against their family\u2019s traditions.<\/p>\n

6. Agree that a political conversation is only allowed if it directly relates to the Bible study at hand. <\/strong><\/h3>\n

This one simple rule will greatly reduce the impromptu speeches that can take place when a passionate member of your group waxes eloquently about politics.<\/p>\n

Call a foul and ask the group member to not introduce political comments into the Bible study. Remind them that it is acceptable only if it relates to the study at hand.<\/p>\n

7. Remind your group to follow biblical guidelines related to local, state, and national leaders<\/strong>.<\/h3>\n

First-century believers found themselves in some dire straits with regard to the political leaders of their day. Having Nero as the emperor wasn\u2019t exactly a cakewalk.<\/p>\n

The New Testament encourages us to submit to and pray for leaders.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God\u201d (Romans 13:1).<\/p>\n

The Apostle Paul also wrote these words:<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good, and it pleases God our Savior \u2026\u201d (I Timothy 2:2).<\/p>\n

Christians should consider the positions of candidates and parties, but discussions about politics can be a powder keg waiting to explode.<\/p>\n

Do your best to approach political conversations with great humility and a dependence upon God to know how to guide your group\u2019s conversations.<\/p>\n

Above all, remind people that the earthly leaders we have are temporary leaders we\u2019re placed under while on earth.<\/p>\n

We have a heavenly King who is our ultimate authority\u2014the One who is right, just, and will one day return to establish His kingdom where righteousness will reign.<\/p>\n

Until then, we pray for our leaders as Scripture commands us to do, and we eagerly await Jesus\u2019 return.<\/p>\n

KEN BRADDY (@kenbraddy)<\/strong> is Lifeway\u2019s Director of Sunday School and is a 30-year veteran of church education ministry. He is a blogger, author, and practitioner \u2013 serving a church in the Nashville area as its director of Sunday School and discipleship ministries. Ken also manages Lifeway\u2019s adult ongoing Bible study series. This article originally appeared on kenbraddy.com. <\/em><\/p>\n

\n
Dig Deeper at Lifeway.com<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n

Breathing Life into Sunday School: 12 Essentials to Revive Your Most Important Ministry<\/h2>\n

Ken Braddy<\/p>\n

FIND OUT MORE <\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Related posts:<\/h3>\n
What Do Pastors Believe About the End Times? What Do Pastors Believe About the Book of Revelation? 3 Ways to Reach Non-Religious People in Your Community <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Crypto Crow photo – Pexels By Ken Braddy It has been said that the only two things in life that are guaranteed are death and taxes. In my experience, there\u2019s a third: It\u2019s guaranteed you\u2019ll blow up your Bible study group if political conversations aren\u2019t managed well. Perhaps you\u2019ve been in a group when politics came to … Continue reading “7 Strategies to Keep Politics From Ruining Your Small Group”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31160"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31160\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}