So what's to be different in church?

I have sat through thousands of sermons, but I have never heard anything that remotely smacks of ’a new economics, a new politics, a new understanding of power...a new citizenship’. 

I hear the very opposite - an economics that encourages us to give 10% to the church, 10% to our savings accounts and doing what we can to live on the remaining 80%.  Can’t say that I dispute the practicality of such economics but it is nowhere close to the economics where:

‘The bread you possess belongs to the hungry. The clothes that you store in boxes belong to the naked. The shoes rotting by you, belong to the barefoot. The money that you hide belongs to anyone in need.’ (St. Basil)  

Common sense has us trading the economics of Jesus for what any good financial planner would tell us. I can understand when I hear it from a financial planner, but it totally offends me when I hear it from the pulpit!

Politics? Ask any good preacher and that’s the one subject that’s taboo from the pulpit. ‘Remember the Moral Majority?’ they lament, like ‘remember the Alamo?’ Don’t they understand that ‘Jesus is Lord’ is a political confession even more than a religious one? 

Instead we bless the troops as though to bless the troops means they’ll be even better with God’s help at killing our enemies. We pray for our politicians so we continue to enjoy the freedoms and privileges we have at the expense of people who have neither.

Power? From my experience of who the church leadership are - they are the same folks holding leadership positions in their ‘secular’ occupations. Who would ever think to include in church leadership anyone from the handicapped section of the church? Ten with money have a greater say in the direction a church takes than a 100 hard pressed to put $10 in the offering plate!

A new citizenship? You mean something other than pledging allegiance to the flag? That would be blasphemy in most churches!

As to why we don’t hear from pulpits about the economics or politics of Jesus, I can only guess. It’s just too radical. It’s the fear of the church shrinking to only those desperate enough to try it, a number too small to pay the mortgage and staff salaries.

But again as one who has sat through literally thousands of sermons, 99% of which are aimed at those who don’t believe (a curious phenomena in churches where at least 95% do believe) I am desperate to try living out the economics and politics of Jesus. Even if it costs me everything I have. 

I’d quit the church if I weren’t so convinced of my complete and utter inability to do the politics and economics of Jesus all by myself. Any other desperados out there?