Speaking Out

Jesus calls us to come before Him and to know Him; we worship Him based on our knowledge of
Him and our position in Christ. John 4 states:
23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.
24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

We are called to grow in the Lord; our salvation experience is not an end unto itself, but the beginning of an adventure that He desires for us to pursue.  He desires for us to get to know Him; and we know Him as we fellowship with Him, as we call on Him, and as we spend time in the Word of God. The Word will change us from within, and we can see how His principles apply to each area of our lives.  His truth renews our minds, influences our decisions, and addresses our concerns.

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We can be earnest seekers of God's truth and be motivated to apply and proclaim what God's Word
has to say. John 16 states:
13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

The Bible speaks to a comprehensive array of topics; in fact, when we are facing a dilemma, it's important that we make Scripture our "go-to" place in order to receive answers.  The Bible has plenty to say about matters that would be considered to be political, and we should not shy away from speaking out boldly consistent with a Christian worldview perspective.

But, I think that the Church could do well to confront a hesitancy to speak out on these matters, even though political commentary, debate, and discussion dominate so much of the media today.  I believe that our worldview can provide the context through which we can see a host of issues.

A Barna Group survey has identified even a hesitancy in our pulpits across America.  ChristianHeadlines.com states:

In a new report from the Barna Group, nine out of 10 Christian pastors said they feel that helping Christians form biblical beliefs about specific issues is a major part of their job.

The report found that pastors face pressure to address specific, sometimes hot button, issues. However, at the same time, pastors said they struggled with just how to address those topics, such as LGBT issues and same-sex marriage.

“The stakes are high in the public square,” the researchers wrote in their report. “The issues pastors feel most pressured to speak out on are the same ones they feel limited to speak on.”

The article linked to a Christianity Today report on the survey.

In its report on the Barna study, ChristianHeadlines.com stated that, "half of Christian pastors said they felt occasionally or frequently limited in their ability to speak out about those controversial issues."  Barna Group President David Kinnaman is quoted as saying, "They actually feel pressured to not preach on certain topics or pressured to speak on topics that they are not ready to talk about..."

The actual Barna summary states that 11% of Christian pastors say they frequently "feel limited in their ability to speak out on moral and social issues because people will take offense;" 39% occasionally feel that way.  That adds up to the "half of Christian pastors."  The summary states, "When asked to identify the source of the concerns, pastors are much more likely to say that they feel limited by those inside the church than those outside. In other words, the reactions of those in the pews are most on the minds of today’s pastors."

The article says:

The biggest topic clergy say they felt pressure to talk about is homosexuality. Nearly half of respondents says they feel limited in how to talk about homosexuality in their church, but at the same time some 37 percent said they felt pressure to speak about it.

Another topic the survey covered was religious freedom. The story related, "Some 75 percent of pastors said they believe religious freedom is becoming 'less valued,' while about 44 percent said they predict that other freedoms could be threatened in the next 10 years."

While this Barna survey dealt with pastors, there can be some universal applications for all of us.  One of the first principles is to pray for boldness.  It can be intimidating sometimes to speak out, I get that.  We can make sure that we are informed, that we are Biblical, and that we are dependent on the Lord to give us the right words to say in the right spirit.

Number 2 is related.  We can be motivated to get some assistance, do some research, find instances in which the Christian worldview perspective is clearly articulated.

And, finally, we can certainly recognize the Bible's authority over a holistic array of issues.  This would include topics that would be considered "political."  As Franklin Graham wrote on Facebook recently, "...God doesn’t have a political party. But God does have commandments, laws, and standards He gives us to live by. God is God. He doesn’t change. His Word is the same yesterday, today, and forever."