Orthodox Reflections

Judging by the responses my ‘Open Letter to Our Shepherds’ in Orthodox Reflections (June 2, 2023) received, its urgent plead for our shepherds to stop hiding and start leading seems to have pricked a sensitive nerve among a frustrated laity left to defend for themselves their faith, families, and freedoms.

Before reading further, I recommend that you stop here and read the letter. Just so you know, for the record, I received not one reply from the dozen or so hierarchs I snail mailed it to across America. No surprise there but concerning, nevertheless. If their staunchly held silence is any indication, it underscores just how alluring the spell of complacency can be, even among higher-ups who should know better, and how their self-induced inoculation against leading by example has left their faithful flocks woefully unprepared and vulnerable to the hostile Woke mob tactics of fear and intimidation.

‘110 Things You Can Do’ comes from conservative firebrand, Idaho Rep. Heather Scott, and is meant to kickstart your efforts in an effective pro-active direction. What I offer below provides some additional context to the list, drawing from my own experiences in the trenches as a board member of Magic Valley Liberty Alliance here in my hometown of Twin Falls, Idaho, population 50,000, and exploding with California and Oregon refugees. The advice here is what I wish someone had shared with me when I was about to enter the mucky, yucky trenches of Woke warfare.

It’s Not About Politics

“I’m not political” is one of the most common objections I hear from newly awakened Christians considering transforming their faith into action. Boy, can I relate. My reply is this: “Neither am I. I detest politics as much as the next guy who just wants to be left alone. But here’s the thing. Though the battles are fought at city council and school board meetings, and the legislative floor, what we’re really fighting is nothing less than life versus death, freedom versus tyranny.”

That’s why confronting the Woke mob is not about marching with pitchforks and torches down Main Street, nor is it about shouting down opponents, as gratifying as all that might be. It’s not about winning elections or jumping on the MAGA bandwagon either. At its core, standing up to the Woke mob is about dutifully defending the Faith, our families and our freedoms.

Get Equipped

For that, we need to be properly equipped to ‘live not by lies’, a phrase author Rod Dreher borrowed from Aleksandr Solzhenitzen’s 1974 essay to the West for his 2020 New York Times bestseller, ‘Live Not By Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents’. In as much as the political battles are waged against behind-the-scenes dark forces of powers and principalities, it is essential for your soul and your sanity that you equip yourself with the whole armor of God (Eph 6:10-18), and stay armed through prayer, the services and the sacraments, and the fellowship of others.

Make it your aim to commit that your efforts flow from your love of God and love of neighbor. It is super easy to slip into self-righteous anger mode and make it all about your cause. I can tell you as a mental health therapist, that while anger serves as an important protectant against fear and vulnerability, it inevitably acts as battery acid and will corrode your soul and body, leaving you depleted and bitter. Add to your armor love, humility, patience toward all, with thanksgiving. Pray for your enemies. I find that reciting the Jesus Prayer keeps the passions in check.

As listed in my ‘Open Letter’, thanks be to God for richly blessing His Church with all that we need to be battle ready and faithfully persevere. I suggest you review the list often.

While fortifying yourself spiritually, do yourself a favor by getting valuable tactical training at MVLA’s Activist Training and Run For Office pages where you will find instructive videos and a recommended reading list. I highly recommend scrolling down our Activist Training page to review Rod Dreher’s ‘Live Not By Lies’ and Erwin Lutzer’s books. By the way, Angel Studios is making Dreher’s book into a documentary).

Get Educated

Chances are you are keenly aware of the plethora of pressing issues needing immediate action, if not already overwhelmed by them. If you’re like me, you may be feeling like a lone firefighter with a garden hose standing before raging wildfires. Welcome to the front lines. That feeling never goes away. More about setting limits later. To keep your head from exploding, simply choose which fire (issue) to start with by deciding what matters to you most and/or what is most greatly impacting your life or your community right now. And by all means – seek God’s counsel about it.

Here’s how a busy mom of school age children got her start in our community after discovering sexually explicit, pro-LGBTQ books in Magic Valley school libraries and public libraries. She made a PowerPoint presentation after doing her own boots-on-the-ground research at local libraries. She then found out about MVLA and introduced herself at one of our legislative update meetings. MVLA helped kickstart her efforts by promoting her PowerPoint presentation in the Valley, and welcomed her to display an info table at MVLA events. We also put her in touch with a researcher at Idaho Freedom Foundation already familiar with this issue. By making a list of contacts at each presentation she made, she built an email list of volunteers. She also has plans to help draft legislation to protect kids in our state’s 2024 legislative session.

Get to know the US Constitution and your state’s Constitution. Not knowing your rights is the same as not having them.

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Get Connected

The good news is that you are not alone. Nor should you try to be. Going solo is ineffective, unproductive and you will burn out. As you are getting the lay of the battlegrounds in your community and state, do what I did and find out who are the local and state conservative legislators and organizations needing your support. I began by attending the Twin Falls chapter meetings of John Birch Society (JBS). I later met personally with the state’s field director and then volunteered based on how much time I could realistically offer.

Through JBS I became aware of several statewide organizations, such as Idaho Freedom Foundation (IFF), Health Freedom Idaho  (HFI) and Idaho Family Policy Center. IDFPC is an affiliate of Family Policy Alliance. Before you know it, you will be effectively connecting and acting on their email action alerts, sharing them with friends and contacting your legislators.

Make it your aim to find out who are the real conservative players in your community (city council, commissioners, precinct committeemen, school boards, district legislators) and then support them like crazy. Just like you, they can’t do this without the support of others. And remember, they work for you. You (We the People) are the government.

Subscribing to your legislator’s newsletters and following them on social media are efficient ways to plug in and respond effectively to their calls for action, like when they urge you to contact your state’s Health & Welfare Committee about an upcoming proposed bill. I also follow several state news outlets, like Idaho Tribune, Idaho Dispatch, True Idaho News, Gem State Patriot News. Make it a point to diversify where you get your news. Don’t rely solely on legacy media. A quick way to access multiple news sources from one site is Whatfinger News, The Liberty Daily, Worldview Report, and World Net Daily.

Educate Voters

Refugees fleeing Commiefornia and Or-e-too-far-gone are shocked at just how purple Idaho really is and how fast it is becoming blue. Yep, the Magic Valley is a RINO (Republican In Name Only) stronghold. One of our tactics is to educate unsuspecting voters and point them to the Idaho Freedom Caucus, a small band of true conservative legislators. MVLA is doing its part to educate Magic Valley voters about our RINO problem by exposing their Democrat-friendly voting records. The chart below was posted on our website and social medial platforms. We also held regular legislative update meetings at a local coffee shop during the Jan.-Mar. 2023 legislative session to inform voters of important bills and how to take action. We recently held a training on how to run for precinct committeeman in the Nov. 2024 election.

Click here to the read the article that goes with the above chart. One of these Magic Valley Republicans is not like the others. See if you can spot the true conservative.

Build Allies Into An Army

I cannot stress enough the importance of forming small groups of tactical, moral and spiritual support. MVLA would never be the effective grassroots group it has become were it not for our board of committed Christ followers. Visit MVLA’s Partnerships page to see who we work with locally and across Idaho.

Prepare yourself for the fact that you may very well be the only Orthodox Christian working alongside Catholics, Protestants, Mormons, and everyday liberty-loving citizens. Most likely they will become a vital small band of brothers and sisters with whom you can confide, seek counsel, and count on through thick and thin. This is surely the case with our MVLA board.

MVLA’s formation began as a germ of an idea in the minds of about 12 like-minded people with a mutual goal of preserving our faith, families and freedoms in the Magic Valley. Over the course of several weekly brainstorming sessions, MVLA was born in May 2021, and a mission statement was formed:

We believe it is the responsibility of We the People to restore and keep a constitutional form of government that respects individual liberties and God-given inalienable rights. We behave in faith with courage, humility, and emotional intelligence. We educate the public, expose corruption, build strategic relationships both in the community and with elected officials, and promote peaceful and effective political activism.

Above: LibertyFest 2021 marked MVLA’s public debut in the Magic Valley. It was a massive and profitable undertaking that put us on the political map. We sold over 400 tickets. We made the local news. About 25 organizations and candidates brought their information booths. How we grew from there is beyond the scope of this article, but I will gladly share if you email me, hilbernelson@gmail.com.

Find Your Niche

As you’re reading through ‘110 Things You Can Do’, seek God’s leading to determine what you are best suited for. Knowing where you fit will take some good ol’ trial and error. Don’t try to be all things to all people. You will burn out. I chose early on to volunteer based on issues of interest, my skill sets of graphic design, article writing/research and realistic available volunteer time. My primary duties as a MVLA board member have evolved to providing content for our website and our social media platforms (X, Facebook and Telegram), memes like the one below, and designing flyers for events.

I also make political cartoons when the inspiration strikes. I like to say that I’m best suited for behind the camera.  Each board member has found his and her own niche of interest and expertise (event planning, secretary, treasurer, legislator coordinator, some are running for precinct committeeman in 2024), and together we make a formidable multi-faceted team.

Set Realistic Limits

Make it your aim to continually balance volunteer time with your priorities and commitments. Set your boundaries based on your time and energy levels to avoid the all-too-common hazard of trench warfare: burnout. And don’t make the mistake of jumping in without first setting agreed-to limits with your spouse and family. As you will soon discover, they will be in this with you. Because this work is not a sprint but a marathon, picking your battles and pacing yourself against the raging wildfires clamoring for your immediate attention requires steady vigilance on your part. MVLA’s mission statement continues to keep us focused on our priorities and steering clear of the myriad of rabbit trails.

Prepare For Flack

As the saying goes, if you’re taking flack, you’re over the target. So, count on being attacked on all fronts: political opponents, family members, church members, so-called allies, your body, mind and soul. Count it all joy to be criticized, ridiculed, misunderstood, shunned, labeled, judged, de-platformed, maybe even demoted or fired. On the bright side, as I delightfully discovered, there’s a silver lining to embracing the suck: the Divine Liturgy tastes all the richer, the sacraments become all the more meaningful, and scripture the more nourishing when you’re wounded, discouraged and exhausted. I guarantee your faith will be challenged and deepened, and your bond with your band of brothers and sisters in arms strengthened.

Seek the Counsel of Others

When standing up to formidable spiritual and political forces such as these, by all means seek the prayers, guidance and moral support of your allies. As you grow into this role, you will soon discover you are in good company of seasoned commandos, ready to share their battle-born guidance. Seek them out. If your priest is supportive of your efforts, seek his blessing and counsel.

Whether you are considering entering the fray for the first time, just getting your feet wet, or are feeling battle weary and/or stuck, or you’re considering organizing a group in your town, feel free to email me at hilbernelson@gmail.com. I’m glad to pay it forward.

–Hilber Nelson, Orthodox since 2006. Iconographer and mental health therapist

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Note: The preceding is not an endorsement of the Republican Party by this site, particularly at a national level. As we recently published, “Much of the population has been scared into believing a right-wing, fascist takeover is imminent. Another large percentage is fearfully waiting a left-wing, communist coup. Neither side realizes that the revolution has already occurred. The oligarchic system in the West is designed to funnel ever escalating amounts of wealth and power straight to the very top.” At a federal level, and at many state levels, traditional political organizing is unlikely to make much difference. However, many local communities are places that concerned citizens can have an impact. The Republican Party, in many localities, tends to be a less toxic environment for Christians. Beware, however, of reflexive loyalty to political “brands”. Be equally wary of messianic promises from national figures. Live Local. Go to Church local (Streaming is not going to Church, and try not to travel too far from home for Liturgy for trivial reasons when a closer option is available). Think Local. Help Local. Organize Local. And don’t apply political labels such as “liberal” or “conservative” to Orthodox moral teachings, it is inappropriate.

–OR Staff

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