What is a Christian To Do About Political Issues?

What should a Christian Do Who Wants To Be A Good Citizen?

Recently, I had a discussion with a Pastor about what you can, or cannot say from the pulpit. His position was that you are only to preach the truth of the Gospel and pray. This follows the old line of “don’t mix religion and politics.” The real question might be “does a Pastor give up his constitutional rights when he stands in the pulpit.” We agreed that the United States is heading in the wrong direction both governmentally and spiritually. We also agreed that the U.S. two-party system is flawed with both Congress and the Senate ineffective and corrupt whether Democrat or Republican. There are lots of organizations pointing out problems, but few proposing workable solutions.

The current administration wants to redefine the constitution to say “freedom of worship” rather than “freedom of religion.” The idea is that you can say what you want inside the walls of the Church building, but should refrain when in public. The other lie that is voiced frequently is that to speak religion in public would violate “separation of Church and State,” which, of course, does not appear anywhere in the Constitution or the Bill of Rights.

The overreaching government has attempted to silence Pastors by threatening to repeal their tax exemption if they say anything they disapprove of. The truth is, they have done so only rarely.

That being said, is it OK for a Pastor to discuss political issues from the pulpit? In my opinion it is, as long as he doesn’t endorse a particular candidate. The Bible makes it clear that we, as Christians, are to pray for those in leadership (not criticize them), and that we are to oppose evil (1 Tim 2:1-2, Eph 6:10-17). Do we put on the full armor of God to do battle inside the Church, or do we go into the world to do battle?

It seems that we are limited in what we can do, given the current regulatory climate, but that we certainly can use our most powerful tool, which is prayer. As citizens, we have more latitude in what we can do in the public square, but joining a secular activist group may not appeal to most Christians.

Recently, I attended a meeting put on by the Heritage Foundation, and I was impressed with their presentation. The Heritage Foundation was established in the 1970’s as a non-profit policy research organization. It’s headquarters in Washington with close proximity to the Capitol and Legislature has facilitated their ability to provide valuable information to the leaders of this country. Most significantly, it is strongly conservative. As a NGO, Heritage Foundation is limited in what they can, and cannot do. They are not a lobby or a political action committee. Since 2014, Heritage has been led by former South Carolina Congressman and Senator Jim DeMint. After over eight years in the Legislature, DeMint realized he could not accomplish the changes he wanted as a Washington insider – he gave up his position to work outside the corrupt system of cronyism.

Under DeMint’s leadership, Heritage has created an initiative called “Reclaim America.” They formed an independent grass roots organization  called “Heritage Action For America,” with a slogan “Opportunity For All, Favoritism To None.” Their strategy is to utilize lobbyists inside Washington, and a grassroots team of 12,000 (and growing) coordinators and activists, called Sentinels, to hold Congress accountable in their local communities.

Led by CEO Michael Needham, Action for America is running a 2016 presidential campaign platform review to evaluate candidates on their willingness to embrace conservative policy solutions.

I like this approach, and I am watching what they are doing. Look here for more information – www.heritageaction.com