Important Word to Everyone,
Especially Pastors and Church Leaders

Churches and Political Action—
What Pastors and Churches Should and Should Not Do

The present election season is extremely important in American politics. So what’s a pastor or church to do? Or not do? From my 50+ years of activism and based on the law as it now stands, I offer these thoughts to assist you.

These guidelines have appeared here before. They were even distributed once to a list of pastors by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, an organization with which I rarely agree!

I challenge all churches to do all they can that is legal and ethical, but not to cross the line. Please share these three pages.

– Donald Shoemaker

1. I RECOMMEND these points of guidance:

• Always maintain a distinction between the ultimate issues of the Kingdom of God and the penultimate possibilities of the political process. The latter are worthwhile but not perfect. They are secondary and not primary. They need the church’s voice and attention but must not get top billing.
• Preach on morally laden issues and proposals like good or bad legislation or initiatives. But be sure that the biblical “connectedness” is made clear. Of course we preach sensitive to the congregation and visitors in such matters, but avoiding the topics should not be considered an option.
• Have the church’s official body (Elders, board, or congregation) take positions on issues subject to the above qualifications and when the issue is important.
• Do voter registration at the church before and after services. This is a non-partisan activity.
• Have a forum to educate church members on ballot initiatives. Have a table for people to sign initiatives the church has approved.
• Encourage members to write elected and appointed officials to express their opinions and to ask for a vote for or against a measure.
• Have your facility used for voting, subject to acceptable rules (for examples, I wouldn’t accept a demand to cover the cross but removing a literature table may be acceptable). This is a natural way of showing interest in the wellbeing of your community.
• DO NOT politicize your message. By “politicize” I mean stridently or subtly speaking for or against a particular party or political stratum.
• Remember, the spiritual upbuilding of the saints is always the goal in a worship service. This influences sermon style and content immensely.
• Politically activist Christians must remember that the unity of the church must transcend all political and secular unities.
• Remember the admonition (I’ve made it often and sometimes it’s been heard with much irritation, but at least the point wasn’t missed):

“The church is the one place where a liberal Democrat and a conservative Republican should be able to join hands and sing,
‘We Are One in the Bond of Love’.”

2. From a LEGAL STANDPOINT, here are the “Do’s and Don’ts”:

• Churches MUST NOT endorse or oppose a candidate.
• Pastors MAY as individuals support or oppose candidates, but MUST NOT convey that they speak for their churches. And they should not proclaim their “personal decision” in any church medium (like the pulpit or newsletter or on-line). No preaching, “I’m not telling you who to vote for and I’m not speaking for the church, but here are the people getting my support…”
• Churches MUST NOT use their resources (like facilities, property or equipment) in contexts that endorse or oppose a candidate.
• Churches MAY invite candidates to speak if done even-handedly and not selectively. Their presence in a service or in the pulpit MUST NOT convey the church’s support of any candidate.
• Churches MAY distribute voter guides, but I don’t recommend it because almost all have a “slant” to promote. I also would not allow members or outside groups to bring literature to the church or blitz cars in the church’s parking lot with flyers. If outsiders show up or blitz the parking lot, it may be wise for the pastor to disavow the activity.
• Churches MAY schedule a forum where the candidates for an office are invited to speak and answer questions. If only one shows up that’s not a legal problem, but it may not look the best and the church would need to be careful not to have the occasion appear to be an endorsement of the candidate who appeared.
• Churches MAY spend money and lobby and encourage members in support of or in opposition to an initiative, ballot measure, or a piece of legislation. The limitation is that the resources expended MUST NOT be “substantial”. This may be interpreted as “not more than 5% of resources”, which would almost never be exceeded in churches as reticent as evangelical churches traditionally are. The limit applies not just to money spent but also to factors such as paid staff time.

3. Topics to Proclaim:

Churches have a powerful communication instrument known as “The Pulpit” (even if “pulpit” is now a metaphor). Here are some topics, which could be sermons, sermon points, or discussion points:

• Immigration from a biblical perspective
• The Sovereignty of God over the governments constructed by human beings (“The Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes.” – Daniel 4:25)
• Religious Freedom and how it is eroding
• How healing can come to fractured race relations
• The duties of good Christian Citizenship (in light of our living now in a multi-religious and participatory republic rather than in the Roman society that disadvantaged and even persecuted believers and where few had citizenship rights)
• The need for fiscal wisdom and accountability in government
• Godly people of the Bible who served the secular state and society of their times (Joseph, Daniel, Esther, Nehemiah)
• How God works peace and justice through governments he establishes, be they ever so fragile and faulty
• What God expects of secular rulers and those who “bear the sword”
• The Issue that Won’t Go Away—Protecting Unborn Human Life

donaldshoemakerministries@verizon.net

♪“The Answer, My Friend,
Is Blowin’ in the Wind.”♪
– Or Is It???

This picture is of a younger “me”, taken around 1989. I am at the top of Mt. San Gorgonio after camping for a night along the 23-mile trail. At 11,503’,
Mt. San Gorgonio is the tallest mountain in Southern California. To the right of my left shoulder is 10,834’ Mt. San Jacinto, my favorite mountain to climb. Palm Springs is behind the ridge over my right shoulder.

Between the two mountains is the San Gorgonio Pass. It’s one of the deepest (9000’) passes in the U.S, where wind whips through at high speed day in and day out. It’s one of the most continually windy spots in the U.S.

So the San Gorgonio Pass is the most natural place I can think of to have wind turbines. And over the years I’ve looked down from San Jacinto Peak to see more and more and more, almost to the point of turbine blight. But I still understand why we would want to put them there.

There was an effort to construct turbines off the windy coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, but localists fought it off, including environmental guru John Kerry. Mr. Kerry, a “not in my backyard” man or a “do as I say, not as I do” man (or both), travels the world in a private jet to fight global warming. Private jets are proportionately the worst means of travel when it comes to global warming.

The problem with wind power and solar power is their lack of constancy. They are intermittent in many places. So if we’re going to light our cities and charge our cars dependably, we’re going to need other sources of energy.

One is cheap hydropower, but as our rivers and reservoirs get lower, that won’t be as dependable. Another is natural gas—clean and plentiful. But in a few short years natural gas has gone from trendy (remember signs on trucks like: “This Fleet is Powered by Clean Natural Gas”) to an obscenity. Those who love cooking with natural gas may not be able to do so soon (back to electric!).

Another source of dependable power is nuclear generation. But many have considered that obscene for years. California has only one nuclear plant left, which produces 8% of the state’s electrical demand. It’s slated to close, but Gov. Newsom signed legislation to extend its life to the dismay of some.

Nuclear power has its challenges, especially storage of “spent” fuel, but if we applied the same determination, resources and research to that power source as we do to other futuristic sources of power (which may not succeed), I think we could see a (literally) brighter future. Some opponents of possible power sources seem to leave environmental science behind to embrace ideology.

Today (September 3) as I write this first draft, it’s 104 degrees outside. We’ve got the A/C set at 79 degrees. Our electric bill is high (electric is up 25% over a year ago) and there are threats of rolling blackouts. People are now being told—listen to this!—not to charge their electric cars between 4:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. The main reason I can think of for charging one’s electric car at 4:00 p.m. is that you need to do so. Otherwise, you’d wait and charge it at night.

Where are we going to get the energy to produce the electric we’ll need when California’s ban on new gas-powered vehicles comes in 2035? How are we to protect our planet while serving the reasonable needs and enjoyments of all (including billions of disadvantaged people around the world, for whom strong environmentalism is a luxury and hindrance to a little prosperity)?

These are creative challenges to us who take the Bible’s creation mandate seriously. God created humans in his own likeness and told them to subdue the earth and rule over all other created life (Genesis 1:26-30). This rule is to be for human enjoyment and benefit, but it also must be a responsible, respectful and conservation-oriented caretaking, as many scriptures testify.

“Let the birds increase on the earth” – God’s creative word on creation’s “5th Day” (Genesis 1:22). Wind power has a special challenge: How to minimize the death of birds. I surveyed some literature and found wild disparity on how many birds are killed by windmills compared to other sources of energy (reflecting some bias, I’m sure). Since nobody is counting carcasses, estimates range from 140,000 to 328,000 annually. Some argue that taller, bigger windmills are more dangerous and others say they’re safer. Should we take comfort that only 19 birds die per megawatt of energy in California (but only 4/mg overall in the US!!)? Of real concern is the disproportionate death of larger and exotic birds, including some on the Endangered Species list. One report claimed that 75 golden eagles die each year due to the 5000 turbines at a single wind farm (of five) within the Alamont Pass Wind Resource Area in California.

T“Worship Beneath the Cross of Jesus”(Luke 23:26-56)

– 8th Essay on Worship for 2022

(“Crucified for us under Pontius Pilate,
He suffered death and was buried”

The Nicene Creed (325 AD)

For Christians, Jesus’ death on the cross is a powerful moment of history. “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing,
but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18 NIV).

The Apostle Paul opposed any softening of the Gospel. The Gospel was being diminished in the church at Corinth by the “wisdom of this age” to make it fashionable. Against this, he asserted, “We preach Christ crucified!”

Modern “wisdoms of this age” include religious liberalism, Americanism, “self-help” and therapeutic messages, religious-zeal environmentalism, political issues, “health and wealth” gospels, “wokeness” and adjustments in worship and message to draw crowds. Many can be found in evangelical churches.

If the cross of Jesus is central to our message and who we are as Christians, then surely it will be central in our worship. If it isn’t, something is very wrong. What are some themes of the cross that should affect our worship?

1. The Cross calls us to FOLLOW Jesus in SUFFERING and OBEDIENCE.

As Jesus was led away to be crucified, “They seized Simon from Cyrene…and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus” (Luke 23:26).

Perhaps Simon was in Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. Whatever his reason for being there, he happened to be in the right place at the right time. He felt the touch of a Roman sword on his shoulder and heard a voice of authority say, “You have just volunteered!”

So Simon carried the cross for Jesus, becoming a type of every follower of Jesus, modeling what our task should be. Jesus said (Luke 14:27), “Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”

Not all suffering is cross-bearing, and not all cross-bearing is from obedience to Jesus (some Christians make their own crosses and carry them loudly!). But when loyalty to Jesus leads to suffering and sacrifice, you are taking up your cross and following Jesus. See 1 Peter 2:20-21 and 4:15-16.

Simon’s deed and our own calling to bear the cross should lead us to sing:

May I be willing, Lord, to bear daily my cross for Thee;
Even Thy cross of grief to share. Thou hast borne all for me.
– “Lead Me to Calvary” by Jennie Evelyn Hussey, 1921

2. The Cross sets forth Jesus as THE MAN FOR SINNERS.

Jesus offended the VSP’s— the Very Separated People. On the day of his baptism he identified with sinners. He feasted with sinners, and his accusers asked him, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus said, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:27-32).

Again and again, Jesus placed himself on the side of the sinner crowd rather than with the self-righteous crowd (read his encounter with the crooked tax collector Zacchaeus— Luke 19:1-10).

Now at Calvary, Jesus is once again with sinners. “Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals, one on his right, one on his left” (Luke 23:32-33).

In worship we celebrate “the Man for sinners” and declare:

Man of sorrows! What a name for the Son of God who came.
Ruined sinners to reclaim. Hallelujah! What a Savior!
– P. P. Bliss (1875)

Jesus! What a friend for sinners. Jesus! Lover of my soul.
Friends may fail me; foes assail me. He, my savior, makes me whole.
Hallelujah! What a savior. Hallelujah! What a friend.
Saving, helping, keeping, loving—he is with me to the end.
– J. Wilber Chapman (1910)

3. The Cross teaches us FORGIVENESS – GOD forgives, WE should too.

Jesus prayed for his tormenters (Luke 23:34). “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

This prayer must have caught on with the first Christians because Stephen, the first Christian martyr, prayed the same way at his execution. Stephen fell to his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” (Acts 7:60).

Paul knew what it was like to experience God’s forgiveness: “I was once a blasphemer, a persecutor and a violent man. I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly” (I Timothy 1:13-14). He would teach the church: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). So in worship we bear witness to forgiveness:

Five bleeding wounds he bears, received on Calvary.
They pour effectual prayers, they strongly plead for me.
“Forgive him, O forgive,” they cry, “Nor let that ransomed sinner die!”
– “Arise, My Soul, Arise” by Charles Wesley (1742)

Upon that cross of Jesus mine eye at times can see
The very dying form of One Who suffered there for me;
And from my stricken heart with tears two wonders I confess;
The wonders of redeeming love and my unworthiness.
– “Beneath the Cross of Jesus” by Elizabeth Cecilia Clephane (1868)

4. The Cross brings us SALVATION because JESUS BORE OUR SINS.

He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities;
The punishment that brought us peace was upon him…
We all, like sheep, have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:5-6)

One of the two criminals crucified with Jesus said, “We are getting what our deeds deserve, but this man has done nothing wrong.” He turned to Jesus and pleaded, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus replied,
“I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:42-43).

Guilty vile and helpless we; spotless Lamb of God was he.
Full atonement—can it be? Hallelujah! What a Savior!

What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered was all for sinners’ gain.
Mine, mine was the transgression, but Thine the deadly pain.
– “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded” attr. to Bernard of Clairvaux (12th Century)

5. The Cross signals Jesus’ VICTORY over DEATH, EVIL and the DEVIL.

I have two problems with how evangelicals often observe Communion:
(1) We hurry through it. We have “fast food” McBread and McCup. “Here’s the Bread, here’s the Cup—We’re all done, time is up.”
(2) We are too somber. We make Communion like a “wake” for the dead.

Early Christians feasted and celebrated the Cross as a victory. This “victory celebration” has been lost in many church Communions today.

“Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit’” (Luke 23:46). Jesus thus declared: “My task is complete. The price has been paid. Salvation is secured. It is finished! Take me now, Father.”

Lifted up was he to die. “It is finished” was his cry.
Now in heaven exalted high. Hallelujah! What a Savior!

The Apostle Paul is clear that the cross is a great triumph. “Having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Colossians 2:15). So in worship we proclaim the victory:

This is the feast of victory for our God. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia
1 Worthy is Christ, the Lamb who was slain,
whose blood set us free to be people of God.
2 Power, riches, wisdom and strength, and honor, blessing and glory are his.
3 Sing with all the people of God and join in the hymn of all creation.
4 Blessing, honor, glory and might be to God and the Lamb forever. Amen.

For the Lamb who was slain has begun his reign. Alleluia
– John W. Arthur (1970)

Next Issue: “Triumphant Worship: The Book of Revelation”