Political Preachers

 

 

This story is addressed to preachers and is about preachers. While many of the reflections may be useful for all Christians, I’m writing specifically with my fellow pastors in mind. We live in a day where politics are everywhere, and everything is about politics. On one level this has always been true:

Jesus is Lord, not Caesar. That’s a political statement. Every sermon touches on the polis, on the city of man, on our earthly citizenship. But that’s not what I have in mind, at least not entirely. What I mean by “politics” are the elections, the elected officials, the political parties, and the endless stream of policy debates and legislative, economic, and judicial controversies that so much of our daily news and social media feed to comment on constantly.

What is a pastor supposed to do with these controversies and debates? That’s my question. When preachers are quickly criticized for saying too much (you’re not gospel-centered!) or saying too little (you’re not woke!), it behooves us to think carefully about the relationship between pastoral ministry and politics. Here are seven thoughts:

1). Let the Bible set the agenda for your weekly pulpit ministry. I love preaching through the Bible verse by verse. I’m not smart enough to decide what the congregation really needs to hear this week. So they’re going to get John 5:1-18 this Sunday. Why? Because last week they got John 4:43-54. And in the evening they’re going to get Exodus 24 because last Sunday was Exodus 23. That means I’ve talked in the last two months about abortion, social justice, and slavery because that’s what’s been in Exodus. I want my people to expect, that as a general rule, the Bible sets the agenda, not my interests or what I think is relevant.

2). The gospel is the main thing, but not the only thing. To be sure, we must never wander far from the cross in our preaching. But if we are to give the “whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:26-27), we must show how a thousand other theological, philosophical, and ethical issues are connected to Christ and him crucified. Thabiti is right: “A ‘gospel-centered’ evangelicalism that becomes a ‘gospel-only’ evangelicalism ceases to be properly evangelical.” The Bible is a big book. It doesn’t say everything about everything, and it doesn’t say anything about some things, but it does say a lot about more than just a few things.

3). Distinguish between the corporate church and the individual Christian. We need believers in all levels of government and engaged in every kind of public policy debate. But there is a difference between the Bible-informed, Christian citizen and the formal declarations from church pronouncements and church pulpits. In the early part of the 20th century, most evangelicals strongly supported the Eighteenth Amendment, the Volstead Act, and Prohibition, in general. When J. Gresham Machen made the unpopular decision to vote against his church voicing support for the amendment, he did so, in part, because such a vote would have failed to recognize “the church in its corporate capacity as distinguished from the activities of its members, on record with regard to such political questions.”

4). Think about the nature of your office and the ministry of your church. I studied political science in college, and I’ve read fairly widely (for a layman) in economics, sociology, and political philosophy. I have plenty of opinions and convictions. But that’s not what I want my ministry to be about. That’s not to say I don’t comment on abortion or gay marriage or racism or other issues about the which the Bible speaks clearly. And yet, I’m always mindful that I can’t separate Blogger Kevin or Twitter Kevin or Professor Kevin from Pastor Kevin. As such, my comments reflect on my church, whether I intend them to or not.

That means I keep more political convictions to myself than I otherwise would. I don’t want people concluding from my online presence that Christ Covenant is really only a church for people who view economics as I do or the Supreme Court like I do or foreign affairs like I do. Does this mean I never enter the fray on hot button issues? Hardly. But it means I try not to do so unless I have explicit and direct biblical warrant for the critique I’m leveling or the position I’m advocating. It also means that I try to remember that even if I think my tweets and posts are just a small fraction of what I do or who I am, for some people they are almost everything they see and know about me. I cannot afford to have a public persona that does not reflect my private priorities.

5). Consider that the church, as the church, is neither capable nor called to address every important issue in the public square. This is not a cop-out. This is common sense. I’ve seen denominational committees call the church to specific positions regarding the farm bill, Sudanese refugees, the Iraq War, socially screened retirement funds, immigration policy, minimum-wage increases, America’s embargo of Cuba, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, global economics, greenhouse gas emissions, social welfare, and taxation policies. While the church may rightly make broad statements about caring for the poor and the oppressed, and may even denounce specific cultural sins, the church should not be in the business of specifying which types of rifles Christians may and may not use (a real example) or which type of judicial philosophy Christians should want in a Supreme Court justice (another real example).

Again, Machen’s approach is instructive. He insisted that no one “has a greater horror of the evils of drunkenness than I” and that it was “clearly the duty of the church to combat this evil.” And yet, as to the “exact form” of legislation (if any), he allowed for a difference of opinion. Some men, he maintained, believed that the Volstead Act was not a wise method of dealing with the problem of drunkenness, and that enforced Prohibition would cause more harm than good. Without stating his own opinion, Machen argued that “those who hold the view that I have just mentioned have a perfect right to their opinion, so far as the law of our church is concerned, and should not be coerced in any way by ecclesiastical authority. The church has a right to exercise discipline where authority for condemnation of an act can be found in Scripture, but it has no such right in other cases” (394-95).

6). Consider if you have been consistent. Obviously, there is a lot of talk at present about social justice and a host of issues often associated with the left. This makes people on the right a bit nervous, and understandably so. The gospel mission of the church has been buried before in an avalanche of humanitarian causes and social movements. At the same time, the concerns of the right ring a little hollow when pastors pass out partisan voter guides, tweet about the Second Amendment, sing the Star-Spangled Banner in church, and then when anything about race or justice comes up, start harrumphing about politics in the church. I’m sure the same thing happens in both directions: we are fine being political until someone on the other side gets political too.

7). Be prepared to fire when necessary, but keep your powder dry. There are times when the national crisis is so all-consuming or the political issue so obviously wicked (or righteous) that the minister will feel compelled to say something. Think 9/11. Or riots in your city. Or the declaration of war. But these are the exceptions that prove the rule. Our news media, not to mention social media, make us feel like every day is a global meltdown and every hour is a moment of existential crisis. Don’t believe the hype. There is no exact formula for when you interrupt your sermon series, when you drop a blogging bomb, or when you add current events into your pastoral prayer. These things call for wisdom, not one-size-fits-all solutions. But let me suggest that when it comes to politics and public policy, parenting is a good analogy: yelling works only when it is done sparingly. – Kevin DeYoung

Pastors cannot use their church (as a 501c3 entity) to endorse a candidate

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President Donald Trump’s order to ease limits on political activity by religious organizations is being met with both enthusiasm and dread from religious leaders, with some rejoicing in the freedom to preach their views and endorse candidates and others fearing the change will erode the integrity of houses of worship. Trump recently signed the executive order, saying it would give churches their “voices back.” It directs the Treasury Department not to take action against religious organizations that engage in political speech. “It’s never good for the church or the state when the two get in bed with each other,” said the Rev. Gregory Boyd, senior pastor of Woodland Hills Church, a nondenominational church in suburban St. Paul

Religion and Politics: Two things you’re not supposed to talk about in public. But pastors face the difficult challenge of potentially having to speak out in both worlds. In this video, Kelly Shackelford, President of Liberty Institute, walks through exactly what a pastor can and can’t do in the political arena.

Cultural pressure continues to mount against pastors and churches—challenging the long history of Christianity in our nation. More now than ever, pastors and church leaders find themselves backed into the corner by political correctness. Can pastors push back and speak out on topics in the political world? Shackelford, says yes. Kelly sets the record straight on a pastor’s involvement in the political process.

Kelly is a constitutional scholar who has argued before the United States Supreme Court and testified before the U.S. House and Senate on constitutional issues. In the past few years, Kelly has also won three landmark First Amendment and religious liberty cases at the state level. Kelly identified four misconceptions about what a pastor can and can’t do with regard to politics and elections, and explained exactly what pastors can do:

Pastors can talk about any political issue, such as abortion, immigration, or freedom of speech.
Pastors can educate their people, encourage them to register and vote, and pass out non-partisan voter guides.
Pastors can have candidates speak in their church, so long as they extend the invitation to all candidates running.
Pastors can individually participate in the campaign of someone who’s running for office.
No one has ever successfully prevented a pastor from doing any of the above four things.

Think through the current issues in our culture that the church can and should speak out about. Knowing that you have the legal freedom to do so, what could you present to your church on those issues? How?
Pastors have the legal right to provide their congregants with non-partisan voters guides and materials discussing crucial political issues. Have you distributed these kinds of materials in the past? How would your church congregation benefit from having a solid voter guide?

Not every pastor feels comfortable having a candidate speak to their congregation—but it’s still a legal right so long as that pastor extends the invitation to every candidate running for the political office. What would be the benefit to your congregation of having a candidate or candidates speak at your church? Are there potential drawbacks? If so, what are they?

The final misconception Kelly dealt with says pastors can’t participate in a political campaign. But Kelly pointed out that, as an individual, pastors can be engaged with a campaign or even endorse a candidate. Does the freedom as a pastor to engage in a campaign encourage you? If so, why?

Where the four misconceptions above dealt with what the pastor as an individual is free to do, the two points below limit what a church as an organization can do. Kelly pointed out that, for now, the IRS is the only organization enforcing these rules. They have not yet been tested against the First Amendment in court. But the threat of losing tax-exempt status is usually significant enough to encourage churches to abide by these two limitations:

Pastors cannot use their church (as a 501c3 entity) to endorse a candidate.
Pastors cannot use their church’s money or resources to support a candidate. If, as a pastor, you chose to engage in the political realm in your individual capacity, what safeguards could you put in place to avoid tying your entire church as an organization to a political candidate? What kind of language could you employ that would help define the line between what you as an individual endorse in a political race and what your church’s stance as an organization is?

What is one key point that you came away with from Kelly’s clarification of a pastor’s ability to engage in the political realm? How will it change the way you lead your church this month? This year? As a pastor, you have the unique responsibility of equipping the people of your church to take their Christianity into every sphere of their lives. That means engaging well in the political system of our country. This month and this year, prepare the people of your church to make wise and God-honoring decisions. – RightNow

 

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Pastors involved in politics? Should churches be politically active?
It’s no secret. I do have an active interest in politics, both domestic and global. I am also keenly aware that my interest in politics must not overshadow my interest in the Gospel. I believe that many pastors and Christian leaders have allowed their interest in politics to subvert them from preaching the glory of God and the grace that flows from the cross of our Savior.

I think that Satan would gladly give Christians a victory in the polls on election day if it would mean that a great many would no longer listen to the proclamation of the good news of Jesus. Or to put it the other way around, I think we should be happy to lose every political battle if it means we win more men and women to genuine obedience of faith to our Lord and Saviour. We should sacrifice all to the Gospel.

I am not naïve. Political and cultural issues do affect the proclamation of the Gospel. I am also aware that political decisions do give direction to cultural trends. Furthermore, the Biblical doctrine of common grace means that Christians should actively work to bring betterment to human society. We do know that issues, like abortion, reflect upon the value that is placed on human life. Issues surrounding sexuality and sexual identity do have implications on everything from marriage to the structure of a better society. But, my point is that if we achieve a better society but lose Gospel influence, we have lost the greatest part.

A conversation between a preacher and a politician. All of what I have said is but an introduction to the story. Not long ago, I was seated at a table with a federal politician. He is a committed follower of Jesus. And so, our conversation was between a preacher and a politician. I expressed to him my desire that he would win the next election, and that his party would win as well. He responded by saying that, even though he was thoroughly committed to his calling as a politician, he was content to know that the next election would ultimately be settled by a sovereign God whose designs are infinitely above our own.

As I now reflect on that conversation, it seems to me that our roles were reversed. I was playing the politician, and he had become the preacher, reminding me to trust ultimately in God and not the partisan politics of the day. And that caused me to reflect: how easy it is, almost without noticing, for a preacher to forget his calling, and to become the politician.

In 1 Corinthians 2:2Paul lays down not only the commitment of his own ministry but the commitment of all who are called to proclaim Christ. “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” That statement did not preclude Paul from speaking to the issues in the church in Corinth. Those issues included divisions in the church, lawsuits among believers, sexual immorality, church discipline, principles regarding marriage, spiritual gifts and the theology of the life to come. From Paul’s perspective, all of these matters must be dealt with. But, he dealt with them from the vantage point of the cross. For Paul, the preaching of the cross directed his view of all other things.

As I reflected back on my conversation with the politician that evening, it helped me focus anew on the ministry of Christ’s church and her preachers. Ours is the role to proclaim Christ and to allow nothing but nothing to subvert that message. – Dr. John Neufeld

By CCNM

I have functioned as a Business and Media Consultant over the past sixteen years and spent many years developing my capacity to function in our ever evolving use of technology, communication, education and training.