Politics in Pulpit and Pew

God does not withhold wisdom from His children, but He does call us to press in to discover what He wants to teach us.  Daniel 2 even explores how this applies regarding the selection of governmental
authorities. We see these verses:
20 Daniel answered and said: "Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His.
21 And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding.
22 He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him.

I believe the Lord is very active in the affairs of government, and we are charged in 1st Timothy 2 to pray for our leaders, that believers can lead a quiet life; I believe that has to do with principles concerning religious freedom - that we may peacefully live out our faith.  We can see God's hand in the life of our nation, and we recognize, according to that Daniel passage that He is involved in establishing those in leadership - we should not withdraw from political matters, but be engaged.

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God has a purpose for earthly governments, and Christians in America have the opportunity to participate in the selection of who will lead those governments. We can see in 1st Peter 2:
13 Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme,
14 or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good.

In an election year, there will no doubt be plenty of discussion about politics. And, while we should never allow politics to transcend our devotion to Christ, we also know that our participation in government and proclamation in the public square are important.  So, for church leaders to say that we should be "less political" may not be an accurate, or even helpful statement.  As in any area of life, we should allow our Christian worldview perspective and devotion to God's Word to determine how we approach matters of governance.

ChristianHeadlines.com reports on a new Pew Research Center survey, which...

...asked if churches and other houses of worship should “keep out of political matters” or “express their views on day-to-day social and political questions.”

The article relates: "Although 63 percent of all U.S. adults say churches should stay out of political matters, evangelicals disagree, and by a 55-43 percent margin say churches should express their views on social and political questions. Members of historically black congregations also chose the 'express their views' option by a margin of 54-43 percent."

There has been discussion over the last few years about loosening restrictions on what pastors can say behind the pulpit on political matters.  The survey found that, "Forty-five percent of members of black congregations and 36 percent of evangelicals say churches and other houses of worship should 'come out in favor' of one candidate over another."  These numbers are significant, but may indicate that great care should be taken when dealing with specific candidates.

And, to a certain extent, pastors feel a responsibility to teach their congregations regarding so-called "social" issues.  A Christian Post article from early last year about a Barna survey relates:

The report also showed that 53 percent of clergy believe it is part of their role to help Christians understand their responsibility to vote on specific issues and 21 percent agree that it is part of their job to help Christians understand why they should vote for or against specific candidates.

Ninety percent say it is a major part of their role to help Christians have biblical beliefs about specific social issues and 72 percent believe helping Christians think well about culture in general is a major part of their job.

But, pastors feel they are walking a tightrope; the article says:

Sixty-four percent of pastors said they felt “limited” in their ability to speak out on “moral and social issues” due to those within their congregations, while 69 percent reported feeling “pressured” to speak out on “moral and social issues” when they were “not comfortable discussing” them.

And, George Barna, who is no longer with the organization that bears his name, lamented that pastors were not preaching on a variety on important issues, writing in 2016:

One of the complaints heard from Christian conservatives during the 2014 mid-term election cycle was that their church was providing little guidance for their thinking about the issues. Surveys have borne out their disenchantment: relatively few pastors preached about the issues of the day during that election cycle. During 2014, a majority of theologically conservative pastors (63%) preached about matters related to religious freedom, but none of the other nine issues tested were taught about by at least half of the pastors.

The 2016 presidential election cycle promises to be even worse. Looking at the same ten issues, there is no issue that even four out of ten theologically conservative pastors have preached about or plan to preach about before the November 8 election. The most likely issue to be discussed in church services by theologically conservative pastors is again religious freedom, but the proportion who have spoken or plan to speak about religious freedom has plummeted from 63% in 2014 to just 36% this year.

Abortion, which was the second most frequently preached about current issue in the 2014 cycle (addressed by 48% of theologically conservative pastors) again ranks second. However, the number of theologically conservative preachers who have or plan to preach about that subject is barely half (26%) of what it was in 2014.

These are figures from his former organization, the American Culture and Faith Institute. Now, according to his website, "George Barna is a professor at Arizona Christian University and leads the Cultural Research Center based at the university."

Much to consider here, and we have to informed, Biblically, about the issues at stake in the 2020 election.  First of all, I believe there is a responsibility for the Church to be a place where good information is shared that is consistent with Biblical truth about a variety of issues, including political matters.  The Church should not shy away from politics, rather, we can go to the Church, Christian leaders, and other Biblical resources to govern our involvement. 

We can be committed to allowing the Word to govern political choices.  God has ordained human government for His purposes, so to withdraw from our important responsibility as Americans robs us of an opportunity to do the work of the Lord.  But, we can remember that politics should never become an idol.  And, be careful when you hear this phrase that Christians should not be tied to a political party - I'm not sure what that even means, but I'll just say that there is a clear and distinct difference between the platforms that the major parties in the U.S. have crafted - I will grant that some candidates do not agree with various tenets of their party's platforms, and that's why it's important to be knowledgeable about where various candidates stand on issues and to measure and evaluate those stands based on the principles we see in God's Word.