Chris Christie became the first Republican in several years to become New Jersey’s governor in the Democratic-leaning state.
From the very beginning, Dhati Lewis had a plan. He was going to be in the NFL, and that was it. Yet, when he was so close to achieving it, God gave him a different dream. Instead, he suddenly found his calling into ministry, one that inspired his mission of being God’s hands and feet in urban contexts, starting with his own neighborhood.
Guest Bio:
Dr. Dhati Lewis serves as the Vision and Multiplication Pastor of Blueprint Church as well as the founder and president of MyBLVD, an organization focused on helping disciples thrive where they live, work, and worship. Dhati is passionate about bringing contextualized resources to disciple-makers through coaching, consulting, cohort training, and church planting. He is married to his best friend, Angie, and they live in Atlanta, Georgia, with their children and church family. He is the author of Among Wolves: Disciple-Making in the City and Advocates: The Narrow Path to Racial Reconciliation.
Notes & Quotes:
“I was going to these studies and I started hearing words like evangelism and discipleship. I was like, ‘Man, I knew my friends, they loved the Lord, but they ain’t talking about this.’ You see, Christianity to them was don’t go to the club, don’t drink, don’t have sex outside of marriage, don’t join a fraternity or sorority, don’t, don’t, don’t. . . . I was just like, ‘God, I'm real clear on what not to do. I just don’t know what you’re calling me to do.’ ”
“It was like either I was around people who got my context but didn’t have that same commitment to theology and mission, or I was around people who got my mission in theology, but they didn’t get my context.”
“And many of us define God’s will by the path of least resistance. It is like, God, why does it feel like we are always calling Christians to easier and better? It’s never harder and worse. And I recognize that for many of us, our North Stars are comfort, and we’re addicted to our comfort.”
“We wanted to establish a blueprint and we want it to be a church that’s planting other churches because we want to be a church that’s going to be the last generation to leave the urban context for sound discipleship. And so that’s what we did.”
Links Mentioned:
Power Beats Pro Bluetooth Earbuds Giveaway
FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
Check out Dhati’s books Among Wolves and Advocates on Amazon.
To learn more about Dhati’s passion and vision for urban ministry, check out MyBLVD’s website
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Verses Mentioned:
Matthew 16:18
He joins Virginia governor-elect Bob McConnell as the second Republican Catholic to be voted into gubernatorial office today.
The Associated Press reports that with 75 percent of the precincts reporting, Christie leads with 50 percent of the vote over his Democratic opponent Gov. Jon Corzine, who is left with 44 percent of the vote. President Obama invested in the race, campaigning with Corzine five times on three visits.
During the campaign, Corzine targeted Christie in an ad criticizing Christie’s support of a constitutional ban on abortion and opposition of funding stem cell research.
Christie has explained his positions on social issues to the Star-Ledger.
In an interview, Christie today outlined his own positions on social issues, saying he evolved from pro-choice to pro-life with the birth of his children but would not use the governor’s office to “force that down people’s throats.” However, he said he favors restrictions on abortion rights such as banning partial-birth abortions and requiring parental notification and a 24-hour waiting period.
He said he favors the state’s current law allowing same-sex couples to form civil unions but would veto a bill legalizing same-sex marriage if it reached his desk. Corzine has said he would sign such a bill.
Late last week, Ben Smith of Politico reported that on two groups that were mailing out information about cultural issues in the race.
A pair of conservative advocacy groups – the New Jersey Faith & Freedom Coalition and the New Jersey Family Policy Council – are dropping mail in the Garden State that takes on Corzine and Daggett on cultural issues.
The pieces, which got into the hands of Democrats, were mailed to a household with an Irish last name, surely under the assumption that said household was Catholic.
Running in deep-blue Jersey, Christie has avoided cultural issues during the campaign.
