Power and Wisdom Contests in the Public Square--The Gift of Orientation in an Era of Pluralism

This project will develop and test the thesis that a single pastor can act as a Christian advisor to secular and civil leaders in the current pluralistic environment in the modern city and university. Such a pastor can do this, not by acting as a humanist in conflict with his or her own deepest conviction, but precisely by acting as a Christian.
This project proceeds with the assumption that not only does the pastor not have to deny his or Christian convictions to act in such a way, but it is these convictions and this faith that put him or her in a unique position as a counselor, able to say and advise in ways that no humanistic / pluralist counselor can.
The Achilles heel of the modern (and post modern) world, is the repression of the reality of the Kingdom of God, and the fact that Jesus Christ has now ascended to the right hand of the Father. This repression is the source of a split and schizophrenic view of the world in which certain values are regarded as self evident, but the source and justification of these values cannot be acknowledged in a humanistic / pluralistic era since the source is Christianity itself. Only a Christian advisor can understand and deal with this repression.
Power and wisdom contests are very central to this project. The Christian advisor is able to function in ways that no humanist is able to because he or she is able to call upon the power and wisdom of God to both capture the attention of the leader, and to give direction that no one else is able to give. His or her calling is ultimately to draw the leader to God’s wisdom that can bring renewal. Illustration of particular wisdom will be given.
This project will give historical, biblical, theological, and philosophical support to this thesis, and will then move to a number of case histories involving my actual work with civic, university, and church leaders from my own city.