The Christian Church has come under a great deal of criticism over the past several years for moving into the arena of partisan politics.  Being too political is one of the criticisms leveled at modern Christianity by up to 90% of young adults who are not actively involved in church (according to David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons in the book UnChristian).  A lot of these young adults have had some involvement in Christian Churches in their past, but now consider themselves outsiders.  Their opinions are important to us for many reasons including for the future health and viability of the institutional church.

 Many moderate and liberal Christians have been very critical of the religious right's outright advocacy of a particular political party and its candidates in recent years.  At the same time, many conservative and fundamentalist Christians have criticized the religious left and many African-American churches for a similar advocacy.  My own denominational tradition, Southern and also American Baptist, is well known historically for strongly supporting the separation of church and state.  The primary reason for this separation is to promote religious freedom.  As a result, I do believe we must tread cautiously when entering the political arena especially in a highly charged Presidential election season.  In fact, it is a legitimate question to ask, "Why should faith communities - both Christian and non-Christian - get involved with politics at all considering the negatives associated with that involvement?"  

 There is a clear and important distinction between churches supporting particular parties and candidates and faith communities advocating issues and policies that reflect their values.  The instant a church advocates a particular candidate or too closely identifies itself with a particular political party, it suffers a loss of credibility as a prophetic voice for the culture in which it lives.  In fact, all churches suffer that loss of freedom and at least the perception of integrity when we become too closely associated with government.  In such cases, we become dangerously like the court prophets of ancient Israel who just told the king what he wanted to hear.

 Why, then, is it important for people of faith to engage politically?  In the United States, we the people are the government - theoretically and in fact.  Unlike the world in which Jesus lived and the cultures out of which the Bible emerged, we have a great deal of access to the means of decision-making and power.  Sadly, we the people have given a lot of that away to special interests and media manipulation, but we still have an unprecedented amount of access to power.  As citizens and as faith communities, that access brings with it an obligation to be involved.

 What values do we hold that translate to politics?  There are many differences between faith communities in terms of practice and doctrine.  Among Christians, there are huge differences and even divisions when it comes to the way our religious practice translates to the advocacy of public policy.  These include, but are not limited too, the proper approach to the use of deadly force in national security, the government's role in health care, and the continuum represented by the issue of abortion.  There are both moral and strategic dimensions to these issues and churches need to be involved in terms of the moral issues.  Our focus should be along the lines of what Jesus taught as conveyed in the Gospels:  inclusion, compassion, and personal accountability. 

 Therefore, with some trepidation, I want you to know that we're starting a series of Conversations at Crossroads Church on the subject of faith and politics in this Presidential election year.  Discerning how faith finds expression in politics is not usually a black and white process.  We will undoubtedly come away with different opinions as to particular candidates, parties, and policies.  In the midst of this, I hope our congregation, our churches, and our culture can make love our aim.  The problems we face will not be solved by the power of coercion, but by the power of cooperation and compromise.

 Thanks for continuing to bless me as we are on the journey together.

--Jack Price

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