More than 700 Christian leaders — led by Pastor Kyle Lammott, lead pastor of Exodus Church in Wichita — have signed an open letter criticizing Democratic candidate Adam Hamilton (pictured above) over his theological stances.
Speaking Wednesday on the "Washington Watch" program, Lammott explained why hundreds of faith leaders have been compelled to speak out against a fellow minister, who is the lead pastor of Resurrection United Methodist Church in Leawood, Kansas, and is running for public office against Republican incumbent Sen. Roger Marshall.
"Adam Hamilton is first and foremost an ordained minister of the gospel," Lammott noted. "As an ordained minister of the gospel, there's an oath, there's a vow that pastors hold to the authority of God's Word, [to] stand on the correct side of these issues such as sexuality, abortion and even inerrancy and exclusivity of Jesus Christ as the way for salvation through faith alone."
Hamilton, he said, rejects these convictions.
Lammott warned that using a prominent religious platform in a high-stakes legislative race can create profound confusion among churchgoers regarding core biblical values.
"There's a strategy at play here that is clever; it's shrewd," he lamented. "It's to take ministers of the gospel and … to platform them in a race such as a Senate seat in order to push certain ideologies that go contrary to the Word of God."
He said many people will be inclined to trust Hamilton because he is a pastor.
Lammott's letter urges the United Methodist minister to repent of his teachings on salvation, biblical authority, same-sex marriage and abortion, arguing that they conflict with Scripture and historic Christian doctrine.
It also calls on Hamilton to withdraw from the U.S. Senate race, contending that his support for abortion access and his theological positions make him unfit to lead and represent Kansans.
The letter invites other ministers, ministry leaders and church members who share those convictions to add their names in support. It had garnered 767 signatures as of Oct. 15.
