I ran across an excellent quotation on the What is Church? website:
"Jesus…envisaged that, scattered around Palestine, there would be small groups of people loyal to himself, who would get together to encourage one another, and would act as members of a family, sharing some sort of common life and, in particular, exercising mutual forgiveness. It was because this way of life was what it was, while reflecting the theology it did, that Jesus' whole movement was thoroughly, and dangerously, 'political'. And…the main characteristic of the cells that Jesus called into being was of course loyalty to Jesus himself." —N.T. Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God
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there is no law saying churches can’t be political today; all they have to do is pay taxes on the money they bring in and they can do whatever they want.
It sorta makes me sad that virtually no churches choose to take advantage of this freedom; just for a few extra bucks.
From your comment, I should probably assume you’re writing from an American perspective. I would say it depends on where God’s people live as to the cost of being political. It may be a “few extra bucks” in the states: it may be life in prison or even death in China or Afghanistan.
Wright’s comment about the early church being “political” may be more of a reference to their allegiance to Jesus Christ rather than to the emperor of Rome. I don’t know the context, but I posted the quote because of the emphasis on small groups, encouragement, a sense of family, sharing a common life, and mutual forgiveness. Exactly what the church needs today, IMHO.