Evangelicals + Environment =

Me. Which until recently, I thought I was a rare breed. But increasingly many evangelicals are coming to grips with the idea of being "stewards of God's creation" rather than the destructive idea of a trampling kind of subduing. It is being termed "creation care".

And it has created a strange alliance-evangelicals with environmentalists. Which means for many, a crossing of party lines. This spells big trouble for high-profile, political evangelical leaders who are trying to hold together their voting block. But, it's about time we start thinking for ourselves in this.

God did put us as stewards over the earth to care for and tend it. Rob Bell, in his book Velvet Elvis, describes pollution and environmental destruction as a "sin problem", because innately, we are all environmentalists-because we are "of God's creation". To deny it is to deny what God created us to be. I welcome the dialogue, it is long overdue. Because evangelicals tend to vote for a single party based on issues of perceived morality, they too often "give up" the ability to cast a vote for the respectful use of God's creation.

Now, I'm not a whacked out environmentalist type......I've never tied myself to a tree, yet, nor do I picket (see entry below), and to be honest, I haven't switched our light bulbs to compact fluorescents. I do recycle. And I do care about the health of the land we will pass to our children and grandchildren. Not only do large corporations need to be held responsible, but individuals also, and governments on how they allow land to be used (more on that later).

So, I ask you to very seriously consider what impact you are leaving on the environment-one created by a Holy God for our enjoyment, not our destruction. And read up on the latest on the evangelical approach to the environment. PBS may run its special on it again as well-it was painful to watch with the labels I wear.