Petering Out

I'm a lot like the apostle Peter. Not in any of the good ways, mind you. Not the "You Are the Christ" Peter. Not the "Drop Everything and Follow Jesus" Peter. Not the "Upon This Rock I Will Build My Church" Peter. No, I'm like the Peter who was so excited about seeing the transfiguration that he himself morphed into Bob the Builder and began making plans to erect mountainside time shares. I'm the Peter who wanted to show Jesus how much faith he had but wound up all wet. And I'm the "Ear Piercing" Peter of Gethsemane, who was too busy wielding to notice Jesus yielding.



In other words, I'm more like a fireworks display than an electrical current. Lots of flash; not much staying power. So when I got a taste of the bipartisan fellowship among the Christian congressional leaders in Washington, D.C. last week...



Let's let that last sentence breathe for a moment...



Okay, so when I saw that camaraderie last week among people who otherwise should be mortal enemies, my first reaction was to announce my candidacy for the first public office I could get my hands on. And after broadcasting golf and raising money for non-profits, what other experience could I possibly need?!



(The idea of me in Washington, by the way, is a concept that should NOT be allowed to breathe, even for a moment. "My fellow Americans, so as not to become a Washington insider, I vow to avoid all sessions of Congress and instead initiate an exhaustive field study on ballpark concessions.")



Thankfully, C-SPAN's cameras were nowhere near to record my political epiphany. Because the more you witnessed what was happening with these public officials, the more it became apparent they weren't as interested in you coming to Washington (though they certainly wouldn't argue with another disciple of Christ in Congress) as they were you taking this spirit of uniting under Jesus outside the Beltway, to your work, church, circle of friends, et al.



Their is pretty simple and based largely on Matthew 18:19: begin gathering in groups of two or three, welcome the promised presence of Christ, and challenge each other to imitate Him in every area of your lives.



Can you believe it? The elected challenging the electorate to holy living? That makes about as much sense as Jesus building his church upon the one guy who said he'd never leave then left at the first opportunity. A guy like Peter. I hope I'm less and more like him every day.