1. Politics are everywhere in U.S. news with the election less than a month away. Every once in a while I run across an article or clip that references a pastor endorsing a candidate. I'm not sure I can fully express how much that troubles and angers me. I think that pastors, like all citizens, should have their own carefully considered political opinions. But I believe that a pastor publicly endorsing a candidate is wrong, even if the statement of approval comes outside the pulpit. As Christians we represent Jesus Christ, and as pastors we formally represent His church. Publicly supporting a specific candidate as a pastor ties Jesus Christ and His church to that candidate and that party in the minds of a lot of people. That's wrong. Christ is not a Republican or a Democrat or a member of any other party. Pastors endorsing candidates can make others think that all Christians belong to a specific party or agree on a single candidate. That can easily push away those who hold opposite opinions on political issues, but the church transcends political parties and even national boundaries. Furthermore, as pastors we hold authority, whether we like it or not. Supporting a specific candidate comes across as an attempt to use that authority to influence another person's vote. I believe that is a gross misuse of pastoral authority. We can't find a passage in Scripture that tells us which party to vote for. There are no Bible verses that lay out a specific policy on health care or energy (though God does teach us moral principles that should shape our thinking when evaluating different options). This is an area where we can and should use our Christian freedom to decide for ourselves how we think we can best serve Christ and His kingdom with our vote. Christians, pleae, follow the Holy Spirit's leading through your conscience and make up your opinion, instead of taking someone else's opinion, especially a church leader's. I really don't think serving in a church makes someone more qualified to speak on political issues.
2. [Note: I'm not sure everything in this paragraph is going to be phrased as well as possible. If I say something misleading or hurtful, please correct me and help me to use my words more wisely in the future.] There has been a ton of discussion about the 2005 recording of some of Mr. Trump's comments about women released on Friday. Let me be clear: Mr. Trump's comments describe adultery and sexual assault. These comments and the actions they describe are inexcusable, deplorable, and sinful. This is a moral, not a political, issue, and I don't think there can be too many men speaking out against this kind of behavior, behavior that horribly takes advantage of the privilege and power that men, particularly white men, have in our society. But Mr. Trump's comments aren't the only ones that upset me. I've heard too many men saying that these comments are an outrage because they demean someone's daughter or sister or wife. (And I must admit, I sometimes think along these lines, too.) When we say things like that, we seem to be basing the identity and value of a woman based on whichever man she is most closely connected to. That's wrong. These women have identity and value as their own people. Women and men, girls and boys, females and males and persons who identify with both genders or neither gender, persons whose chromosomes are XX or XY or any other possible variation--all people are created in God's image. As human beings, we all have equal value and dignity. We should be upset by these comments because they objectify another human being. It doesn't matter if we have a personal connection with another person. It doesn't matter if we feel more similar to them or more dissimilar to someone else. We should be outraged when any one of us is treated as less than human, treated like an object for someone else's gratification. We cannot be silent when our fellow humans are degraded like this. What's more, if we have power and privilege, we must use them to combat injustice and to work for justice. If we have power and privilege, we must empty ourselves and be first to serve and honor and respect others. Let's treat others as we'd like them to treat us.
Grace and peace,
BMH
Point #2. So much yes.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Holli! Following your blog and reading the articles you link has really helped me get better at finding good words to address issues like this. Thanks for teaching me.
DeleteThanks Brian! I wonder though, do your thoughts on point #1 extend to political movements? Should a pastor say that black lives matter or that she/he is pro life? How far do pastors remove themselves from personally identifying in terms of political discourse apart from the pulpit?
ReplyDeleteThis is Eric Robbert by the way.
DeleteEric, thank you for this incredibly good question. I've been thinking about it the past couple days, and I'm going to take an initial stab at it here. (Hopefully we can continue to work this out over time.)
DeleteI think that we as pastors have the right and responsibility to address political concerns as far as they are related to our calling of proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ, which is recorded in the Bible. When Jesus saves us, one of the things He does is transform us, reshaping our lives and priorities and morals to be more like Him. So when political discussion touches on ethical issues such as abortion or racism, pastors should be willing and ready to discuss how God's Word teaches us how God wants us to live in such situations. (And we need to be careful that we are interpreting the Bible correctly together.) We can't just ignore politics because politics touches so many other parts of our lives and politics, too, falls under the lordship of Jesus Christ and His cosmic work of restoration.
So there's a broad principle. Let's get more specific. I am more comfortable with political movements than candidates and parties because movements tend to be more narrowly focused. When it comes to a specific case like war, for example, I think we can pretty confidently articulate a Christian position on war, allowing for some differences of opinion among Christians. However, there are a couple concerns we need to be aware of.
First, political movements, like candidates and parties, can quickly pick up unwanted baggage. I can say that I believe we should protect the life of human fetuses. But there are women who have been harassed and shamed for having an abortion by members of the pro-life movement. I wouldn't want to get myself (and by extension, the church) associated with harassment and shaming.
Second, even if we agree on a moral principle, that doesn't mean we have to agree on the best policy for how that principle should be enacted in society. Consider the death penalty. Most Christians would agree that God gives the government the authority to punish wrongdoers, that God condemns murder, and that God is gracious and forgiving and calls His people to be the same. So should Christians support the death penalty or not? I think that both positions are morally defensible, so I would be very wary of officially taking a side.
So while I don't think it's necessarily wrong to endorse a political movement, I would be hesitant to do it myself. What I would rather do is preach and teach specifically on what God's Word reveals to us about the morals underlying particular issues. I would rather lay out a framework for approaching an issue, take a particular moral stance, and leave it up to my congregation to choose a specific policy or group. I definitely won't be silent, but I'm not going to endorse a movement that goes beyond the confines of the church's work.
But maybe you think that's not a strong enough position. I'm still working this out. I'd love to hear your thoughts.