posted by Joel Southerland
…Just kidding! In the area of politics and the pulpit there has not been a more controversial year on record. One group recently challenged the 1954 IRS ruling and defied the “gag” order on pulpits by the IRS and openly endorsed a candidate. You can read their story here: http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/09/29/pub-pastors-participate-pulpit-freedom-sunday/ .
Is that what we should be doing? In my personal opinion – No.
However, I am all for pastors preaching the subjects that often get deemed “political.” There are truths of Scripture that are essential to the Christian faith that we should stand for unequivocally (and loudly) – the biblical model of family, racial equality, human rights, sanctity of life, etc. Leading up to election time, those should all get mentioned or preached. In our church, we normally supply Christian voter guides for our members so they know where each candidate stands on these issues.
BUT, endorsing a candidate, in my opinion, crosses the line. And here’s why: EVERY CANDIDATE HAS THE POTENTIAL TO LET YOU DOWN! Both John McCain and Barak Obama bear that potential.
I can imagine the frightening scenario of endorsing a candidate that stands for everything I believe in until inauguration, and then his/her first act as President would be to take action in the opposite way. What are you going to do then? How will you respond to that? What if the person you endorse suddenly “changes their minds” on an issue near and dear to the heart of the church?
OOPS! You can imagine what would happen. The negative press. The scorned members. The church upheaval.
So, what do you do with your pulpit at election time? Keep silent? NO WAY! Just preach the truths of the Word of God. Stand for the issues from a biblical perspective. Your congregation knows exactly where every candidate stands. Let them “put 2 and 2 together.”
It is more important to know where the Bible stands on an issue than where a candidate stands. If I refrain from endorsing a candidate but rather stand on biblical truths, I have earned the right to hold his feet to the fire when they stray.
Politicians change their minds – God does not!
18 June 2011 at 8:06 pm
Hi there,
My name is Gabriel. A theology student with a minor in intercultural studies. I am not an American but because I believe that at this moment the world looks at America as the canon for Christianity I have chosen to follow its politics. I have had the opportunity to live in 4 different nations and visited between 15 and 16 including the US. I have also followed the politics of the world as I believe it reflects where some of our values are.
I totally buy into the idea of sharing what the bible stands for in different issues and I oppose endorsing candidates from the pulpit. This is because the area of religious instruction gets messy when mixed with political ambitions. But how well have pastors across the united states been able to do this the last few decades? The pastors tend to have first a national mandate before a supernatural and divine mandate from God. They are first Americans before they are Christians and subsequently pastors. Coming from a nation with a high number of muslims, I feel like they’ve got a great concept of religion and how it relates to politics. They are first muslims before they any political affiliation. Of course this is not true across the board but in most cases, this could be found. Nations who have looked to the U.S. for direction begin to see their lapses on racial relations and care for the poor. Our perception of America has changed in the last decade. From a nation that stood for biblical truth to a nation that is impacted by political issues that make the community of faith stray from the truth.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom says proverbs. How often do we think of the Lord on heated discussions? Issues like taxes should not occupy the minds of the congregation of Jesus Christ as money is not always what is needed to model a God that can provide in all circumstances. Maybe it is time to redefine the Christian faith in America from the pulpit. Here are some of my suggestions.
- We should remind our parishioners that they are first heavenly citizens under a great King before they are Americans ruled by the constitution.
- The constitution comes second after the authority of the Holy Scriptures and it is in no way a competitor with the word of God.
- “What would Jesus do” should be revived to help focus our energy and attention in a world with some many lies and deceptions.
When the Christians in America become solid, the nation would enjoy better productivity and social well-being.
P.S. pardon my grammatical errors, english isn’t my first language.