Many conservative political activists approach politics like 1st-century barbarians. This presentation explores principles that will help you avoid pitfalls that hamper and often derail many movements and campaigns.
Hunted for their food, lived in primative huts The tribes often fought each other under their respective chiefs They hated outside influence. Wanted to live and die, hunt and fight in peace (relatively speaking)
Romans decided they wanted to rule Britain Emperor Claudius sent General Vespasian over to conquer The British tribes fought but there was no coordination & very little communication so the Romans conquered them piecemeal
King died, willed part of his property to Romans (bad idea) Romans came & took everything Enslaved the King’s relatives Raped his daughters When she complained, they whipped his widow, the Queen
to take all that sitting down She immediately sent messengers through the whole tribe to assemble When they all gathered together, she gave them this speech:
how different freedom is from slavery, how much better is poverty with no master, than wealth with slavery. Let us, I say, do our duty while we still remember what freedom is, that we may leave to our children not only its appellation, but also its reality.
boldly to good fortune. Those over whom I rule are Britons, men who are thoroughly versed in the art of war and whose wives and children possess the same valor as the men.
no longer over me or over you men; let her sing and lord it over Romans, for they surely deserve to be the slaves of such a woman after having submitted to her so long. Let us show them that they are hares and foxes trying to rule over dogs and wolves.”
against the Romans The main Roman force was away at the time So the Britons conquered and destroyed a couple of cities and wiped out one Legion As soon as the General, Suetonius, heard what was going on, he headed back to Britain with all his troops
this battle. The Romans are tired of Britain. They are tired of the troublesome, turbulent people and the expense and hassle of keeping control over the island. If they lose this battle, they will leave Britain. If they win, they will be encouraged in over 100 years of tyranny. Now, when the Romans are in the field, they look something like....
couple of volleys of javalins Then advanced in order against the barbarian mob Step by step they drove them back, then began to charge Roman cavalry swept down and charged the British flanks Having no order or discipline themselves, the Britons couldn’t withstand the charge and turned to run
men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness “Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness...” Exodus 18:21a Saturday, August 3, 13 This would be great, but how often does either of the candidates meet these qualifications?
HARD decision to make The lack of good AND viable candidates has created a tension between two Biblical principles Our duty to vote righteously, and the duty of good stewardship Difficult to balance those
at winning.’ Vote Biblically and leave the results with God! Right is on our side. Just throw strategy to the wind and rush at the enemy! Leeeeroy Jenkins!!!” The war-cry of the political barbarian is...
in the cultivating, • “voting conscience” at election time is like a farmer who shows up... • there’s nothing in the field to harvest • So what does he do? He just goes through the motions... • Does he have anything to show for his effort? No. But that’s God’s fault, because He’s responsible for the results. • Futile? Yes. Heroic? No.
this happen with the pro-life bill the TX legislature just passed Huge victory, but took years and years of small victories Small pieces of pro-life legislation and getting pro-life leaders elected one by one Years and years of sowing, which finally yielded a huge harvest.
• God calls us to be soldiers. He calls us to be champions • leaders in strategy, for the purpose of actually advancing His kingdom • To be a champion, you actually have to win. • One more thing to consider
in vain. Psalm 127:1 Saturday, August 3, 13 Having a strategy doesn’t guarantee success But God has put in principles by which the world works He works within those principles
will be times you need to follow. This is hard for us, because most of us in this room are called to be leaders. Lining up under someone else’s strategy requires great humility. But to have an effective army, there can be only one plan. An excellent example of what I’m talking about is this fellow right here
pro-lifers would share why they are pro-life Now, when they discussed it on the call, Thomas didn’t think it was the most effective approach And when everyone else did, he could have done what we call in SC...
he get behind it, he put all of his effort into making it a success He organized & MC’ed it.... And God blessed it Successful beyond anyone’s expectations
was scheduled to end, then they all came back and did it again the next day Awesome media attention for the pro-life side Everyone who was at that rally can testify to the fact That its success was largely due to Thomas.
to different roles. Sometimes you need to lead. Other times you will need to follow. And sometimes you will need to work with other leaders. To do this effectively, you need humility.
of this is that there are many different aspects of the culture war God often calls different ones of us to different areas Some are called to focus on
to focus on. And focus on that area. We conservatives tend to meddle a lot. Because we are passionate, there’s a tendency to try to get involved in everything Not only does this dilute our own effectiveness, it hinders others
you to do. Saturday, August 3, 13 God gives wisdom and guidance for you to know how to execute your role. If you disagree with what someone in another area is doing, remember: God hasn’t given you wisdom to know the best way to handle it.
are here to be somebody, then effort is sufficient. You can spin your tires all day long and truthfully tell your grandchildren that you were not idle when their freedoms were lost. But if you are here to get something done, effort is not enough.
the Britons and the Romans is that we don’t have to have bigger numbers to win. They won every war (not every battle) for the first 800 years of their empire because they worked at their strategy and they kept sending out new armies till they eventually won.
country. He won it by making the other [rascal] die for his country. Gen. George S. Patton Saturday, August 3, 13 God calls us to be champions. Not just to fight, but to win!
defeated the Britons Their descendants stood on another battlefield • This time, they were fighting the French...in France • Now if you’re wondering why they were fighting, it was because they were English and because the French are...French. When you’re a medieval English soldier, fighting the French is what you do.
the ones outnumbered (English had 8,500, French had 50,000) • they are hungry • they are very tired • they are sick • and if they lose the battle, most of them will die.
front • Then they drove long pointed stakes into the ground in front the archers • The English start the battle with a volley of arrows • Then the French knights charge, but couldn’t get through the stakes. • The English keep firing. Do you know what happens when an arrow hits a horse? • Cavalry retreats
• The English keep firing. The French who don’t die finally get to the English, and now the English archers are shooting at point-blank range. • Archers --> hatchets & swords --> French flanks • The French are bogged down in the mud with their armor, they are riddled with English arrows, attacked on three sides while their own troops behind them are still trying to advance.
August 3, 13 The difference between a soldier and a barbarian isn’t sincerity, bravery, patriotism. They both have those qualities. It’s the willingness to help develop a strategy, and more importantly, the ability to follow someone else’s strategy for the sake of getting something done. Remember:
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