True Pastors Don’t Endorse Candidates!

Back in October, I was absolutely appalled at the spectacle of seeing a room full of evangelical pastors fawning all over Donald Trump. Not long after the circus, the Pastor of First Baptist Dallas Dr. Robert Jeffress stood in front of another circus to pray for and practically endorse Trump at one of his rallies. On the other side, pastors are also rushing out to endorse and champion Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. To make matters worse, pastors also seem to think that they need to make state and local endorsements. Over and over, I continue to watch pastors sell off their potential prophetic voices to the highest bidder. I don’t remember Jesus ever endorsing any candidates. I think he was smart enough to know that an endorsement limits your ability to speak prophetically to whoever is elected and limits you ability to minister to the whole populace after the election.

In 2008, I got excited about Barack Obama. I bought the shirt, hat and bumper sticker. I was two years past my ordination as pastor. Early one Saturday morning, I’ll never forget sitting down with a cherished mentor. As I proudly wore my Obama shirt, my mentor leaned in and said, “How are you going to demand that the Obama not bomb some poor nation after you have run around with his shirt on? How are you going to minister to those who hate Obama after they see you with that shirt on? True pastors don’t endorse candidates!” I believed her then. After seeing President Obama violate my Christian conscience by bombing countless nations and watching our nation become as polarized as I’ve ever seen it, I believe her more now.

Amen.