Pastor Ed Brown,
Hope Chapel, Oceanside:

Do we understand the term, politics, to mean government in general, or the process of election and legislation? To either understanding, I say, yes, the church should be involved. Whether it’s making God’s voice heard in Congress or informing people on the moral issues or qualities needed in a candidate, the church should be involved. Can we legislate morality? No. But, we can be involved in legislation that will help safeguard our moral and spiritual environment.

Should the church tell people how to vote? No. But we can inform people of God’s standards for leadership and encourage them to take heed of those standards as they exercise their right to vote.

The church has been and must remain the moral and spiritual conscience of both government and the process of choosing leadership, better known as politics. For more on this subject see our “Weekly Dose” archives at www. hopechapel.net.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pastor Steven J. Duescher,
Bethany Lutheran Church, Ocean Beach, and Living Water Lutheran Church, Carmel Valley:

That’s easy enough to answer  “Yes.”  Every Christian represents the church well or poorly.  The church’s main mission is to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to all people.  We confront sin with God’s judgment and comfort the repentant person with God’s grace.  We encourage God’s people to grow up in Christ to become more Christ-like. 

As we grow up in Christ, it is normal for all our people, — whether business people, laborers, or professionals — to live out their faith during the week.  That faith is also expressed as each votes.  We are called to love our neighbors as ourselves.  Loving others includes wanting the best for them.  Sometimes obtaining the best happens through political means.

George Mason, father of the Bill of Rights stated, “As nations cannot be rewarded or punished in the next world, so they must be in this.  By an inevitable chain of causes and effect Providence punishes national sins by national calamities.”  If the church doesn’t stand up and speak for what is right and God-pleasing, who will?

Local churches and denominational leaders are not normally called to tell anyone exactly who to vote for, but certainly should make clear what God will bless — what values we expect in those we elect to office. As Christians, we are also called to be stewards of all that God has entrusted to us, that includes our nation.  To be good stewards we do need to be involved in politics.