Christians and the Environment

I was VERY pleased to see that 86 leaders from throughout Evangelical Christianity have stepped up to the plate to influence governmental change with regard to greenhouse gas emissions and their effect on our planet. Rick Warren, author of the best-selling book, The Purpose Driven Life, and Presidents of dozens of Evangelical Colleges are among the Leaders of the "Evangelical Call to Action."

They've signed a petition, are meeting with Congressional leaders and plan a TV campaign to bring the issue to front-of-mind among Evangelicals who have been slow to analyze the overwhelming scientific evidence on the subject. Finally, some LEADERSHIP on this issue from those of us who see the Planet as a precious gift from our Creator who gave us a command to care for it. See my thoughts here.

The television spot links images of drought, starvation and Hurricane Katrina to global warming. In it, the Rev. Joel Hunter, pastor of a megachurch in Longwood, Fla., says: "As Christians, our faith in Jesus Christ compels us to love our neighbors and to be stewards of God's creation. The good news is that with God's help, we can stop global warming, for our kids, our world and for the Lord."

The mainstream press has been so astonished by this strong voice from the deafening silence that there are multiple articles covering the issue. Here are a few:

New York Times
NPR
Newsweek

Not every high-profile Christian leader is on board with the idea, however. Some folks continue to be followers, waiting for Christian opinion to be swayed first, then run ahead of the crowd and declare themselves leaders. A sad state of affairs in my humble opinion.

Richard Land, along with Chuck Colson and James Dobson, wrote a letter opposing the Evangelical Call to Action because, he says, there is not consensus about climate change among evangelicals.

Lead or get out of the way.

What could be a more practical way to obey Jesus' "great commandments" of love for God and love for our neighbor than to lovingly care for God's gift and protect our neighbors and their children from premature death? As I've heard quoted several times in the last week, "people don't care how much you know about God, until they know how much you care about them."

It is SO refreshing to see Christians declare strongly something they are FOR, rather than fixating continuously on all that they are against.