Have you heard? Preachers are weighing in on politics and politicians. Two men with whom I preached in San Antonio and New Mexico feel very differently about a prominent politician. I agree with one of them. But all of this raises the question: should preachers be endorsing, or for that matter discrediting candidates. Churches can lose their tax-exempt status for endorsing a particular candidate.
One precedent goes back 2000 years. John the Baptist strikes us as a fearless preacher. He called the religious leaders snakes, so you can imagine what he thought of the adulterous Herod Antipas, son of the late but not so great King Herod. Brothers sometimes squabble, but one stealing the other’s wife surely created problem at holiday gatherings if the family got together. To be fair, John the Baptist had no power to seat or unseat the ruler. To be clear, he did not care.
It is interesting to watch how politicians, ancient and modern, respond to criticism. For that matter, how do we respond to criticism today? Jess Moody used to tell about a Baptist preacher in West Texas named Joe T. Grizzle. This prophetic pastor spoke 200 words a minute with gusts up to 300. In the spirit of John the Baptist, if Joe had not angered somebody by 9:00am he was having a bad day. So imagine when he was called upon to officiate the funeral of a sitting congressman. Dignitaries from across the state and nation gathered in his small town to hear what the 120 pound pastor would say. The sermon was short. Joe said, “Two years ago I asked the congressman if he were a Christian and he said he did not need God. Two months ago, he answered me the same way. If he did not change his mind before he died, the congressman is in hell today.” He sat down. The national media was scandalized by Grizzle’s candor. But that Sunday over a dozen adults in that little town made their profession of faith in Christ.
So if you please, if we are going to please anyone today, let’s be sure we please God. His opinion will ultimately be the only one that matters. And pray for our country, our leaders and all of us.
