On the Pastor and Politics

I enjoy the podcast Pastor’s Talk with Mark Dever and Jonathan Leeman.  Leeman’s views on politics are too tolerant for me, but these principles from a recent edition are good.  Here they are, with some commentary of my own.

 

Don’t be a brawler

I appreciate political energy and opinion, but there’s a way to fight that divides and tears people down.  We should fight for God’s ways in the public square, but in a way that helps the body of Christ, not tears it apart.

Don’t panic

AMEN.  Election seasons, like pandemics, expose our real priorities.  And we tend to love too much (idolize) our nation, our own opinions.  We also tend to think we are the captains of our fate, that if we work hard enough we can make life how we want it.  Politics exposes this lie, and it really bothers us.  We are unsettled with the real-world consequences that God is sovereign, not ourselves, not “We the People,” and not the USA as a nation.

 

Speak pastorally and charitably, instead of demonizing the other side

Most talk radio/podcasts fail miserably here.  Ben Shapiro castigates liberals as garbage.  Trump insults his opponents on Twitter.  One reason this is happening is because popular media no longer discusses substantive ideas and policies.  They mostly focus on political processes and races and personalities.  We vote for candidates based on how they look, and how they make us feel.

 

Stay in your area of expertise as a pastor.

This is a tricky one.  I am not a two-kingdoms guy as much as Dever and Leeman.  The Bible addresses politics, medicine, the whole gamut of current events.  But they are on to something to say that pastors are not medical experts, and ought not parrot Fox or CNN talking points from the pulpit.  The key is to be bringing the Word of God rightly to bear on current events.  Not to assume it doesn’t relate to politics.  And not to be carried along by an earthly agenda.