Pastor Chris
A couple of weeks back, the IRS offered new guidance regarding the legality of religious organizations endorsing political candidates “from the pulpit.” The new official IRS stance is that they will not enforce the “Johnson rule,” which prohibits public endorsement of political candidates by religious organizations. A few folks have asked me how I’m going to respond to these developments, and I thought it would be worth sharing a quick word here on my philosophy on political movements, how I interpret this move by the IRS, and whether this changes how I will approach my role in the pulpit moving forward.
First, it’s important to recognize that even though the IRS has announced they will not be enforcing this rule regarding public endorsements, that doesn’t mean that the law is no longer on the books. Selective enforcement of laws is something that happens in all societies, and the current administration is using their authority as the “executive branch” to choose which laws are of higher priority than others. With the impending reduction of staff throughout the government, including the IRS, there are also practical reasons for de-emphasizing certain laws such as the law in question. On the other hand, there is nothing to legally prevent a future administration from resuming enforcement of this law, since, once again, it is still on the books.
I think it’s also important to acknowledge that religion, by its nature, is political. Jesus was political. He had to navigate the political structure of his society, and in much the same way, churches have to navigate the structures of our society to remain relevant and have an impact on our world. This is, by nature, a political reality. It’s for this reason that I’ll occasionally reference political matters in worship. To this point, however, I have not (and will not, for reasons I’ll explain shortly) endorsed a specific candidate or political party in my role as pastor.
The reason I haven’t done so up to this point, besides the obvious legal considerations I am forced to take into account in my role as leader in a religious institution, is simply because I don’t feel endorsing specific political candidates (or parties) is a faithful way to fulfill my role to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. As pastor, my first priority is to always point to Christ and the work that God sets before us. Sometimes the work that Christ puts before us is work that is meant to love our neighbor, and to speak up for those whose voices are diminished in our world. I will often speak of these things, and in our heated political climate, that might seem as if I am suggesting that people vote for one candidate or party over the other, and indeed I usually do have a personal opinion on which candidates are more likely to live into the Christian ethic of love of neighbor in their policy making. But once again, that doesn’t mean that I will use my role as pastor for specific endorsements.
The reason for that truly is because I hold the office of pastor – and my role as chief preacher in our congregation – in too high of a regard for such an action. If I were to endorse a political figure or a specific party from the pulpit, I would essentially be using my authority as pastor to tie God’s word and blessing upon that specific person or party. I would be stating that their victory is tied to the salvation that only God alone brings, and to my mind this is blasphemy. We cannot rely on a specific person or political party to bring about the salvation of God. That comes from God alone. Different churches, and sometimes different pastors even in this church, may have a different understanding of the pulpit, and that’s OK. But for myself and my role as pastor, I cannot foresee a circumstance where I will use my role as pastor to actively endorse a candidate. My role – and the role of the pulpit – is to point to the one who offers eternal life, and how that life might be lived out every day. I pray that this is how my role has been received by you in our time together here at Esperanza.
I also pray that as we wrestle with God’s word together weekly, you continue to ask the question of what is pointing to Christ in our life together. Know that our common purpose as people of God is to always live our lives for the sake of our neighbor, so that all the world sees Christ in our words and our deeds. As we navigate these challenging times together, know that I pray that Christ’s blessings be revealed to and through all of you, so that all the world may see Christ as the true source of life and salvation for all.
Pastor Chris