Pastors, Teach Your Church Members to Vote!
A recent article by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian Univeristy is shocking.
Barna’s latest research shows that only 51% of all faith voters are likely to vote in November. That means a full 104 million faith voters are unlikely to vote this election—including 41 million born-again Christians (defined by their beliefs regarding sin and salvation, not self-identification), 32 million regular Christian church attenders, and 14 million who attend an evangelical church.
Apathy among Christian voters could be “a game-changer” this election, according to Barna.
Pastors are responsible for teaching believers how Christians should function in the world. This includes the church, home, workplace, educational institutions, and civic responsibilities. However, Christian pastors are miserably failing in this area of discipleship. This is from the same article.
The survey showed a disconnect between the issues that congregants want to hear about and those that are being addressed from the pulpit. While 67% of regular churchgoers reported hearing teachings on religious freedom and 63% on poverty, fewer received instruction on:
- Abortion: Only 49% recalled receiving teaching on this issue
- Crime and Law Enforcement: Addressed in just 45% of churches
- Same-Sex Marriage: Mentioned in only 42% of congregations
- Transgenderism and Gender Identity: Discussed in just 27% of churches
The least-discussed topics included the role and authority of government (34%), the Israel-Palestine conflict (33%), artificial intelligence (18%), and immigration and border security (25%).
The absence of these topics from church teachings is concerning, especially considering that the top three issues driving voting behavior among regular churchgoing Christians are the economy, immigration and border control, and crime and law and order. Barna noted, “It’s clear that many pastors are not addressing the very topics that their congregants care most about and that will ultimately influence which candidates they support.”
Barna emphasized that the potential influence of church leaders on election outcomes cannot be overstated. “Pastors often seek opportunities to have a positive influence in people’s lives and upon the culture. This research underscores that simply encouraging people to vote would not only be seen as fulfilling their biblical responsibility but would also directly impact the community by getting millions of Christians to the polls.”
Do Christians have a responsibility to vote?
We live in a system of government that was not comprehended in Bible times. We do not have a king. The Constitution of the United States is the closest thing that we have to a monarch. We do not serve our elected officials, they serve us. So, the civic responsibilities of “rulers” to administer justice, protect the righteous, and punish evil-doers fall upon us as citizens. That is why Abraham Lincoln called us a “nation of the people, by the people, and for the people.”
I do believe that I can biblically make the case that not voting, or choosing to vote contrary to biblical principles is a dereliction of our Christian civic duty and condemned by God.
Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: “As I live,” says the Lord God, “surely because My flock became a prey, and My flock became food for every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, nor did My shepherds search for My flock, but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock”— therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require My flock at their hand; I will cause them to cease feeding the sheep, and the shepherds shall feed themselves no more; for I will deliver My flock from their mouths, that they may no longer be food for them.” (Ezekiel 34:7-10)
In our civic context, we are the shepherds. It is our responsibility to protect the flock from those who would abuse it. Whatever side we might choose might lose an election, but our vote is still a stewardship before God. Voting is a civic responsibility that every Christian should take seriously.
Is it wrong to vote for the lesser of two evils?
Until Jesus Himself is on the ballot, we will always have to choose the lesser of two evils. Everything after that is just a matter of degrees. Christians around the world have more difficult decisions than we do. In India, Prime Minister Modi is loved by the Western world because of his pro-free market ideals. But Christians do not vote for him because he is very much pro-Hindu, and allows the persecution of believers. Those dear believers have to make the hard choice between voting for a socialist or for a persecutor of the Christian church. They have to decide who is more evil and who is less and vote for the leader who will do the least damage.
Is it wrong to be pragmatic when we vote?
Voting has never been a matter of idealism but of wisdom. As believers, we have to prioritize the issues that matter to us. Sometimes this is not easily apparent. For instance, is the right to life or freedom of speech more important? I would make the case that freedom of speech is of greater civic importance. An attack on freedom of speech is an attack on the Great Commission and our ability to share the gospel. Without freedom of speech, we could potentially lose the right to defend the unborn.
The abortion issue raises as many questions as slavery did 160 years ago. Those who want to defend abortion rights quickly go to the issues of rape and incest and ask what we believe about that. A life is a life. That is what I believe. But if we could end all abortions except those resulting from rape and incest, I would take that now. It would save millions of lives. It seems unwise to sacrifice millions because we cannot save them all, right now. Wisdom might lead us to patiently seek incremental change rather demand everything all at once.
We will not get all we want in any candidate, but we do have to legitimately ask which candidate would better fulfill the requirements of the job and which candidate would do the least damage to the ideals that we hold.
There are other races and other issues.
In Arizona, Proposition 139 enshrines abortion up until full gestation in our state constitution. It undoes every limitation or parental consent law that we have so hard to pass over the years. It is not only an attack upon babies, but also on women who are being pressured by men (and the abortion-for-profit industry) to kill their children, and it drives a wedge between girls and their parents in one of the most vulnerable times in their lives. I cannot imagine how any Christian can think that sitting out of a vote on this issue is pleasing to God.
We are hiring someone to do a job
When asked about endorsing Mormon candidate Mitt Romney in the 2012 election, Dr. Bob Jones III said, “We are electing a president, not a pastor.” He believed that Romney was the better choice for the nation than Obama. There are two realistic candidates for almost every office in the land. Most of us did not get the candidate we voted for in the primaries. Now it is time to look hard at the choice before us and be wise. We are not choosing leaders, we are hiring people to do specific jobs. One of the two candidates for each position will be hired.
We need to recognize the issues that should be important to Christians. These include the protection of innocent life and punishment of those who kill or harm others. The protection of private property is a scriptural issue based upon the commandment not to steal, and the fact that individuals are private stewards of their resources before God. Just weights according to Proverbs 11:1 also matter. The government has a responsibility to demand integrity in commerce (and in elections). Protection of life includes self-defense both personally and nationally and justifies an honest and just law enforcement as well as a military to protect a nation from foreign attack. While the economy and taxes might be the top issue for many in this election, those things do not weigh as heavily biblically as the issues above.
The fact that Christians have opted out of the voting process has had a profound impact on where we are now in this country. Pastors, you must speak on this. It is time that we choose to be salt and light again.
Audio version of this article: Pastors, Teach Your Church Members to Vote! (substack.com)