God, Politics and the Church

Today, we're taking a break from the Healthy Church series to take opportunity with the National Day of Prayer. As we focus our prayers on asking God to help our nation and her leaders, I want to tackle a decades-old debate about what place God has in government, and what place politics has in the church.

I know many people who have differing opinions on these two subjects. "There should be no religious influence in government." "The church isn't the place for political speech." "The pastor should be able to talk about the candidates, and compare them to the Bible." Those are just a sampling of the comments we all have heard. And, now you're going to get my opinion.

God and Government

The National Day of Prayer serves as a strong reminder that God does have a place in our government, even if many people don't see it that way. Whether you are a Christian or not, there are some indisputable truths about our country.

• America's humble beginnings were in Christianity when the Pilgrims fled Europe, because they were being persecuted for their faith.
• Many of the founding fathers were either Christians or respected the Christian faith enough to recognize it contained the recipe for a healthy nation.
• The major laws of our land can be traced back to the morals and laws found in the Bible.

I could easily continue with quotes from some of the famous names in our nation's founding, and point out the evidence of Christ in their lives. Unfortunately, that would run this blog post to a lengthy degree. I'll leave the quote searches for you. There are many good books and websites that provide the evidence. For a quick start, click here.

Ultimately, what I'm wanting to show is that it was the intention of those who founded the USA that God be a major influence in the actions and decisions of the country. To deny that is to claim you are smarter than people who started a country, and I doubt you can do that.

Politics in Church

This has been a hot topic since Jesus commented on taxes. Should the church separate itself from political talk, or dive headfirst into the discussion? It's not an easy topic to handle, but I'll at least add my voice to the discussion.

I can understand both sides of the argument. In America, the free speech we do have has promoted free thinking and development of ideas and opinions on everything around us. To that end, many people entering into our churches today bring those opinions with them.

When it comes to politics, most folks land in either the conservative or liberal categories. These two ends of the political spectrum have a tendency butt heads rather ferociously at times. And, in the church it can bring about the end to some friendships. So, any political talk inside the church has to be handled carefully. Most churches tend to shy away from it for this very reason.

The flip side of this discussion says that pastors should be able to speak on politics and candidates from the pulpit, citing that if politics is running against Christian values it should be exposed. This view is in the minority, mainly because the IRS imposed rules in the last century to prevent churches from politicking from the pulpit. During last year's political campaigns, a number of churches banded together to challenge the IRS by preaching sermons where candidates were called out for their views, and some politicians were endorsed by pastors.

Here's my take on this sensitive subject. I'm of the belief that the pastor and his church should be able to voice any opinions they feel necessary from the pulpit, dais or whatever means of official communication they provide. If a church wishes to endorse candidates, they should be able to do so without fear of losing their IRS non-profit tax status.

Having said that, I still think most churches would chose to not participate in politics, simply because it could open a Pandora's box in their congregations. And, you know what? That's okay, too.

But, I do think churches and their pastors need to be brave and bold regarding the social issues of the day. History is littered with the disasters that have come about by the church remaining silent on the social changes occurring in their cultures. Lead on that proof sheet is the German church during Hitler's reign. When the Nazis wanted to step up their efforts against the Jews, the Christian church stood in the way. So, to counter this, Hitler cut a deal with the church, and many Christian leaders turned a blind eye to the Jewish persecution.

So, as America faces many challenges to Christianity in the culture and government, as persecution of the church is beginning to gain steam, NOW is the time for pastors and Christian leaders to begin expressing their biblically-based views on what is happening in the world around us. World history suggests that the clock is ticking. Time is running out for pastors to freely speak these truths in our country.

Tell me what you think.