I ran across this post from nearly 2 years ago while doing a search on blogosphere commentary on the birth of Jesus

The Church, under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, is uniquely constituted to provide the spiritual hope and the economic opportunities that people need in order to flourish as human beings.

In this day and age the solutions to the problems we face are not likely to come from Washington, or Raleigh, or even the County office on North Main Street. They’re going to have to grow up from below. We will have to nurse along tender shoots of hope, and branches of opportunity here at the grass roots level. Most importantly let us gather under the shade of the Root of Jesse, the Tree of Life, who bears fruit in every season, and whose leaves are for the healing of the nations.

Source: The Ivy Bush: spiritual politics