{"id":596,"date":"2012-05-15T09:00:30","date_gmt":"2012-05-15T13:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/godonomics\/?p=596"},"modified":"2012-05-15T08:57:25","modified_gmt":"2012-05-15T12:57:25","slug":"i-had-breakfast-with-mike-huckabee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/godonomics\/2012\/05\/i-had-breakfast-with-mike-huckabee.html","title":{"rendered":"Breakfast With Mike Huckabee"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I&#8217;ve pastored churches that had &#8220;red-state&#8221; leanings as well as &#8220;blue-state&#8221; leanings. \u00a0I&#8217;ve had the opportunity to meet folks like Mike Huckabee and Jimmy Carter. \u00a0 \u00a0I had breakfast with Mike Huckabee this year after the two of us were both speaking at a pastor&#8217;s conference. \u00a0 I was speaking on Godonomics:\u00a0 God&#8217;s teaching regarding economic principles. I was sharing a clear message directly out of Proverbs 31 which outlines the Biblical support for an &#8220;others-focused&#8221; free market capitalism. \u00a0The talk I gave was similar to this link.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/godonomics\/2011\/11\/why-is-unemployment-still-high.html\" target=\"_blank\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Godonomics: What Would God Say to Adam Smith?\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/BNFzpHn_bOo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Over breakfast. Mike and I talked about the high responsibility and joy of of pastoring. He told me of his days pastoring and his heart for people. He mentioned his days in the church. \u00a0He was one of the few pastors who made himself constantly available to the local funeral homes. \u00a0He told me that he enjoyed the chance to offer comfort to families and share the hope of Jesus Christ. \u00a0As we chatted over breakfast, I was struck by his pastoral qualities. He hugged the doorman, the waitress, and several folks trolling in the hotel lobby. \u00a0 As we talked, it was clear to me that he was not running for President. \u00a0His schedule for the next 18 months was packed full of stuff that didn&#8217;t allow for the chaos of a national tour.<\/p>\n<p>As a Christian, he was committed to praying about the opportunity. \u00a0It was obvious he had not completely ruled it out. \u00a0 \u00a0HOWEVER&#8230;. \u00a0If I were a betting man (and I have beaten my kids many a time in &#8220;cookie&#8221; poker), I would have given Huckabee&#8217;s chances of running at less than 5%. \u00a0 \u00a0It was obvious he was enjoying life as well as his new job.<\/p>\n<p>The Bible&#8217;s teaching about Christians being involved in politics is very clear. \u00a0We are citizens of this world as well as citizens in Heaven. We are compelled and commanded to share His kingdom on earth in all arenas. \u00a0Before you get too nervous, let me remind you that freedom and liberty of expression is one of the core teachings of the Bible: &#8220;Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.&#8221; Our Liberty Bell has a verse\u00a0inscribed\u00a0on it to this affect: &#8220;Proclaim\u00a0Liberty\u00a0to All the Inhabitants of the Land.&#8221; \u00a0 That&#8217;s not to say that God is a Republican or Democrat. \u00a0The Bible gives principles that speak to politics while\u00a0transcending\u00a0any particular political party. \u00a0His word challenges both red and blue. \u00a0I was once asked in an interview if God is a Democrat or Republican, here is what I said:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"[bcvideo vid=&quot;808036670001&quot; pid=&quot;96582452001&quot; height=&quot;410&quot; width=&quot;480&quot;]\" target=\"_blank\">[bcvideo vid=&#8221;808036670001&#8243; pid=&#8221;96582452001&#8243; height=&#8221;410&#8243; width=&#8221;480&#8243;]<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Several years ago, I spent the afternoon with Jimmy Carter, but\u00a0 I didn&#8217;t get to have a face to face unfortunately. \u00a0Jimmy Carter had partnered with Habitat for Humanity when I pastored in Lagrange GA. \u00a0I saw Biblical capitalism, Godonomics, at work right before my eyes. Millard Fuller, a strong Christian and founder of Habitat, had come to town with Jimmy Carter to build homes for the poor and\u00a0needy. \u00a0Two of those homes were being built for families in our church. \u00a0 \u00a0 I watched as companies who had produced and\u00a0profited\u00a0were now investing and giving their resources to give a &#8220;hand up&#8221; to families I knew well. \u00a0Two single moms were out there in tears watching the generosity of companies offering supplies to build them a home. \u00a0Millard gave one of the most compelling messages I&#8217;ve ever heard about the linking of business, capitalism, and radical generosity. \u00a0I watched the business model at work. Each family must help build their own home -instilling the incentive and hard work Biblical ethic into the project. \u00a0 Communities and churches sent volunteers to help come along side and build the homes.<\/p>\n<p>Jesus said, &#8220;Whatever you&#8217;ve done unto the least of these, you&#8217;ve done unto me.&#8221; \u00a0 \u00a0 The Bible gives clear instructions to weave into a nation&#8217;s economic and political system. He tells us to reward hard work and punish laziness: &#8220;If you do not work, you do not eat.&#8221; \u00a0 The Bible teaches us that property rights, incentive, and freedom (three lynch pins of free market capitalism) are fundamental to any economy model. \u00a0Despite the clear overlap of Biblical wisdom and politics,\u00a0\u00a0C.S. Lewis reminds us that.<\/p>\n<p><em>Christianity has not, and does not profess to have, a detailed political program for applying &#8216;Do as you would be done by&#8217; to a particular society at a particular moment. It could not have. It is meant for all men at all times and the particular program which suited one place or time would not suit another. And, anyhow, that is not how Christianity works.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Christians can disagree on politics, but must take seriously the commands that challenge their preconceived ideas. \u00a0 The Bible gives clear warnings about a large government (1 Samuel 8 &#8220;Show them the behavior of a king) and teaches us that centralized power of any government (red or blue) will maximize the sinful tendencies of mankind. \u00a0 \u00a0The very idea of checks and balances is rooted in a Biblical worldview -warning a nation not to give any single <strong>sinful <\/strong>person too much power.<\/p>\n<p>Jimmy Carter got famous in the 1970&#8217;s admitting he was a Christian, but still lusted after women. He was critiqued for it. \u00a0 There is A LOT that Jimmy and I disagree on, but we came together to help the poor and the needy 9 years ago. \u00a0We saw the powerful engine of capitalism fixing the problem of poverty. We saw Christian leaders inspire companies to revitalize the nation -one neighborhood at a time.<\/p>\n<p>Mike Huckabee may or may not be talked into still running for President. \u00a0 His announcement may be final, or part of a strategy to be &#8220;drafted&#8221; into running . \u00a0 I don&#8217;t know. \u00a0I do know that we need more Christians shaking off the apathy and stepping into the arena of politics to practice His Kingdom &#8220;on earth as it is in Heaven.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>For more information, check out <a href=\"http:\/\/www.godonomics.com\" target=\"_blank\">www.godonomics.com<\/a>. \u00a0 If you like this post, click like, or click the RSS feed to sign up for future articles. \u00a0For more information on the DVD series or APP for your ipad or phone, click the information on the right.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/201\/2011\/04\/huckabee1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-119\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/201\/2011\/04\/huckabee1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"526\" height=\"229\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em><br \/>\n<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I&#8217;ve pastored churches that had &#8220;red-state&#8221; leanings as well as &#8220;blue-state&#8221; leanings. \u00a0I&#8217;ve had the opportunity to meet folks like Mike Huckabee and Jimmy Carter. \u00a0 \u00a0I had breakfast with Mike Huckabee this year after the two of us were both speaking at a pastor&#8217;s conference. \u00a0 I was speaking on Godonomics:\u00a0 God&#8217;s teaching regarding&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":353,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65,68,58,86],"tags":[136,139,140,137,135,138,134],"class_list":["post-596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-generosity","category-governmentpolitics","category-liberty","category-property-rights","tag-christians-in-politics","tag-huckabee","tag-huckabee-president","tag-is-god-a-democrat-or-republican","tag-mike-huckabee-announcement","tag-mike-huckabee-decision","tag-mike-huckabee-running-for-president"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Breakfast With Mike Huckabee - Godonomics<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Breakfast With Mike Huckabee - Godonomics\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I&#8217;ve pastored churches that had &#8220;red-state&#8221; leanings as well as &#8220;blue-state&#8221; leanings. \u00a0I&#8217;ve had the opportunity to meet folks like Mike Huckabee and Jimmy Carter. \u00a0 \u00a0I had breakfast with Mike Huckabee this year after the two of us were both speaking at a pastor&#8217;s conference. \u00a0 I was speaking on Godonomics:\u00a0 God&#8217;s teaching regarding&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/godonomics\/2012\/05\/i-had-breakfast-with-mike-huckabee.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Godonomics\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-05-15T13:00:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-05-15T12:57:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/godonomics\/files\/2011\/04\/huckabee1.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"chadhovind\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Breakfast With Mike Huckabee - Godonomics","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"nofollow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Breakfast With Mike Huckabee - Godonomics","og_description":"I&#8217;ve pastored churches that had &#8220;red-state&#8221; 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He graduated from Moody Bible College in Chicago, majoring in pastoral ministry and communication. His love for ministry and creativity can be seen in many forms: leading teams, expository teaching, acting, and video production. He has served as pastor at two high-impact churches in Georgia: Cumberland Community Church and New Community Church. Chad received an M.A. in Ministry from Moody Graduate School in 2008. He loves volleyball, movies, and hanging out with his wife Beth and their three children.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.godonomics.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/godonomics\/author\/chadhovind"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/godonomics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/godonomics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/godonomics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/godonomics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/353"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/godonomics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=596"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/godonomics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/596\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2329,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/godonomics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/596\/revisions\/2329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/godonomics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/godonomics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/godonomics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}