In 1873, Charles Finney wrote to pastors challenging them to raise the moral standards of the nation through preaching.
He concluded: “If Satan rules in our halls of legislation, the pulpit is responsible for it. If our politics become so corrupt that the very foundations of our government are ready to fall away, the pulpit is responsible for it.”
In 1980, a very similar argument was raised by Jerry Falwell, Tim LaHaye, and other leading pastors as they launched the Moral Majority. Churches had been lured into silence on moral issues that were prevalent in politics, and we were reaping unwelcome consequences from our inaction. Cal Thomas and I were both involved in leadership positions in the Moral Majority in 1980 and were—and I believe, still are—friends.
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However, Cal’s recent column decries the idea that pastors exercise their right to fully preach about moral and political issues, along with giving their candid views on political candidates who have such a significant impact on these issues.
His column was sparked by a case that I led as lead counsel for the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB), Intercessors for America, and two local churches in Texas. This case has led to a proposed consent decree where both sides have asked for a ruling that a pastor’s speech about candidates from the pulpit does not violate the federal tax code — specifically the Johnson Amendment, which has thwarted pastoral freedom of speech since 1954.
So, should churches avoid talking about political issues?
Our political system has made the life of the unborn a hot political issue. The same is true for the nature of human beings. Does God make mistakes when He assigns gender through genetics and the biological processes? Should religious freedom protect Christian artists and speakers who do not want to use their constitutional right to speak to deliver messages that support same-sex marriage? Should high school boys from Loudoun County, Virginia be disciplined for simply asking the question of why a girl is in our locker room?
These are all political questions on which the Word of God has something to say.
Similarly, politicians don’t have lanes. They campaign on positions that directly affect biblical and sacred issues. For example, it is impossible for a pastor to address marriage from a biblical perspective without acknowledging a politician’s non-biblical stance — whether through policies, laws, or government funding.
Many want to separate the legislator from the legislation, the policymaker from the policy, and the budget from the budget makers. But faith and public life are inevitably intertwined, and pastors must engage honestly with the political realities that affect their flock.
If the Bible indeed speaks to every area of life, then pastors should speak to every area of life. One of the best-known verses in Scripture is Proverbs 3:6, which says, “[i]n all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path.” There is no footnote after the word “all” that says “well, except for issues that are deemed political in the age in which you live.” All simply means all.
The Bible speaks to every area of life. We are to acknowledge God in all our ways. This necessarily includes our role as citizens. We should follow God’s leading in how we look at issues of life and how we look at candidates.
I am not so naïve as to believe that all Christians will reach the same outcome as to how to apply these principles to each issue or each candidate. But I do contend that all genuine believers must accept the universal scope of Scripture and our duty to follow God in every area of our lives.
It has been my experience that those pastors who include these so-called political issues in their teaching, as the occasion requires, are also seeing far greater church growth, including a significant number of new conversions to Christianity. The argument that we must be silent on some issues so that people will accept the Gospel is not valid either as a matter of scriptural analysis or in real-world experience.
Pastors have a duty to teach their congregations the full counsel of the Word of God. A legal decision is pending that may make that possible without any fear of violating the rules of the IRS for the first time in over 70 years. This is a moment for hope, not naysaying.
Michael Farris is the General Counsel for the National Religious Broadcasters.
