The Gospel and Politics

                                                                   photo courtesy of Debate.org

Last month, a pastor from Texas wrote a great article in Baptist News Global about the difficulties pastors could be facing in the coming years due to the changing cultural landscape. Without going into too much detail, because I think you should go read the article for yourself, his main point is that many topics confronted within the Gospel narrative have been politicized over the last year. And because of this, there will be those in our congregations who are upset that there is too much politics coming from the pulpit. It seems you can’t through a rock these days without hearing about something to do with our political climate being mentioned in religious settings across the ideological spectrum. Let’s just admit up front that the sermons that will probably anger us are the ones we disagree with and leave it at that.

I remember talking about this during staff meeting at my church this last week. It was during one of those moments where we had not started to address the agenda for the week yet and were just making general comments about the status of our congregation. The senior pastor, one of the calmest ministers I have ever met, said, “That should have always been the case.” His words struck me because I was ready to get on my progressive soapbox and start advocating for our church to be a place that does not flinch in confronting our context with the Gospel, but he was right. It should always have been this way.

I’ve been rereading Jurgen Moltmann’s, “The Crucified God,” thinking specifically about the political images the German theologian highlights as conflicts between Jesus and the religious/political power structures of his time. In reading the Gospels from this perspective of the God who suffers with us, it is impossible to avoid seeing how Jesus’ teachings collide so spectacularly with the norms of his day. In a world where “separation of Church and State” would not exist for another 1700 plus years, these collisions are not even subtle.

In the midst of this thinking and meditating, a thought has resurfaced for me from my early days in seminary. The Gospel is not merely supposed to transcend our political boundaries, but to break through them. In the coming days, when we take to our pulpits, the Lectionary texts may lead us in to some troubling waters where we are discussing things that carry intense political baggage, but I must remember that my Savior is not a politician. I may have voted a certain way, I may be rejoicing or grieving the outcome of the Presidential election, and I may even have some politicians who I like what they are saying. But even a cursory reading of American history shows that political climates change. A party who may have started a movement at one time may find that movement becoming the cornerstone of the opposition’s message a generation later. 

What’s important for the church is to remember that we are preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are preaching a Gospel that we believe comes from God. If politics and culture finds itself butting up against what comes out of my sermon…that’s politics and cultures problem, not mine. 

Have faith in God.

Preach the Good News.

Follow The Most Excellent Way.