I sat in the church as a visitor, invited by a loving friend. I initially felt oddly out of place, but that was dispelled by the warmth of everyone towards me.<\/p>\n
The music started and the choir swayed. It seems that everyone in the congregation was swept up. Then the message began. And I was gripped by energy and passion. But then, in the middle, a politician was introduced from the crowd. He was brought to the stage, preacher\u2019s arms draped around his shoulders and he was given the mic.<\/p>\n
He then began to enunciate his agenda for the upcoming state legislature with a list of giveaways and considerations, especially tailored for the moment. He was ushered off the stage to grateful applause and beaming faces.<\/p>\n
I felt sick.<\/em><\/p>\n Last week, at the National Prayer Breakfast, President Trump vowed to \u201ctotally destroy restrictions on churches\u2019 support of candidates.\u201d<\/p>\n The 60-year-old law uses the tax code, the same one that makes church tax exempt, to disallow houses of worship from \u201cdirectly or indirectly\u201d participating in a political candidate\u2019s campaign.<\/p>\n I have been going to Evangelical churches my whole life. I have probably sat through 2000 Sunday sermons and listened to another 4000 online through podcasts.<\/p>\n Never once have I heard such an overtly political message in church until this day.<\/p>\n For all the talk about the Religious Right, the collective lips of all my pastors have been silent on politics. Sure, they preached about saving life, the importance of family and fiscal constraint \u2013 all conservative ideas. But I\u2019ve never had a politician take the spotlight. I\u2019ve never heard a politician\u2019s name or a bill by name uttered, except to implore the church to pray.<\/p>\n I had to go to a mainline church to see politics injected into church.<\/p>\n Sure you can google Jerry Falwell and Franklin Graham and others and their political message is clear. And on the left you can find religious leaders as well. A survey<\/a>\u00a0from Pew Research Center said that 9 percent of people who attended religious services last year heard clergy speak out in favor of a political candidate, and 11 percent heard opposition message. The Atlantic<\/a> ran a piece about black pastors who openly embraced of Hillary Clinton.<\/p>\n And there are group of conservative church every year who dare the IRS to come after them. But it\u2019s been more than two decades since any church was punished.<\/p>\n Pastors, priests and rabbis all speak to the world around them, seeking to influence congregants to change their lives and keep free from worldly influence. There are varying degrees of influence on that world. Some believe we should run for office, influence the world structure and fight for change. Others prefer to do the work of the heavenly kingdom and trust that will be enough salt and light.<\/p>\n In today\u2019s age, you almost have to speak about issues of life, family, finances, and care for the needy. It\u2019s a real challenge not to place political solutions on those issues. But that\u2019s the hole that many tend to go down \u2014 and it needs to stop. Jesus implored us to personal action, not political savvy.<\/p>\nA proposal to allow churches to endorse candidates<\/h3>\n
Where is this happening?<\/h3>\n
Can you preach about issues without injecting politics?<\/h3>\n