Is the Church Too Political?

Tomorrow morning at TNC, Steve, Jay Knotts, and yours truly will be sharing our thoughts about the Church being too political. It's the fourth installment of our "Confessions of a Christian Church" series. The series is based on the book Unchristian which gathered results from a recent Barna Research Group survey. It is a humbling report on how young Americans perceive the Church in America today.

Here's some of what you'll hear from me:

Why do young Americans have the perception that Christians are enamored with politics? I think the creation and involvement of groups like the Moral Majority started it. (It’s interesting to note that the Moral Majority was created in 1979 to help an actor from Hollywood, Ronald Reagan, defeat a Southern Baptist peanut farmer, Jimmy Carter. The Moral Majority is credited with giving Reagan 2/3rds of the white evangelical vote.)

2/3rds of young outsiders believe the political efforts of Christians is a problem. Nearly half of young Christians agree.

Involvement in politics is seductive. It can be an obsession, maybe even an addiction. Years ago, I used to get a “rush” listening to talk radio. I read a lot of right-wing political newsletters and magazines. I’ve watched the talking heads for hours on the TV news networks. I’ve taken the advice of the Moral Majority and the American Family Association. I even boycotted K-Mart for years because K-Mart owned Waldenbooks, the largest supplier of pornography in the country. I refused to listen to certain radio stations or watch specific TV shows as a form of silent protest. I wrote letters to the editor, congressmen, even the vice-president and president.

There was a time in my life when politics would make me angry, anxious, and nervous but several years ago I decided that I was not going to let the political world control my emotions. I still read the newspaper almost everyday. I see what’s going on in the world online each day. But I don’t spend much time watching or listening to the news channels any more. It was for my own sanity and peace of mind to let those things go. I chose to no longer be obsessed with it.

I was once convinced that it was the job of the church to correct the wrongs in this country through its political system. When you get involved in the machinery of an election process and believe that you have a part in influencing elections, it is tempting to believe that one of the main purposes of the church is to shape the political process.

I have put my trust in men, political organizations, and political parties. But my trust has to be in God. I cannot be obsessed by politics but I can be obsessed with God.

Psalm 63:1 - O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you… (11) But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by God's name will praise him, while the mouths of liars will be silenced.

We need to be engaged, informed, and involved in politics without jeopardizing the impact we might have on others – especially those with different points of view. One of the things that struck me the most in Unchristian was the statement that outsiders feel hostile toward Christians is because of our swagger, i.e., how we go about things in an arrogant manner. We have to be careful that in our enthusiasm for an issue, candidate, or party that we don’t project ourselves as better than others.

We need to realize that our involvement in politics is important. But politics can only go so far. Lives are ultimately transformed by connecting them with Jesus. And that is our greater calling.