The Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) hosted a roundtable discussion at the SBC annual meeting in Dallas this week. One of the panelists was Oklahoma Senator James Lankford, who told pastors they ought to take it easy on politics in the pulpit.
Lankford, himself a Southern Baptist, told the ERLC panel of the time he chided a pastor who said no Democrat would feel comfortable in his church:
"I think he expected me to laugh," Lankford recalled. "Instead, I said to him, 'You're telling me half of your city can't come hear the gospel in your church? Why are you doing that?' The anger of our culture is bleeding into our congregations, and it is counter to the gospel ….
"The Church is getting drawn into the Fox News anger culture, rather than getting drawn into the leadership of the Holy Spirit."
American Family Association Vice President Ed Vitagliano argues that it makes no sense from a biblical perspective to suggest that pastors shouldn't preach or teach on issues that are considered "political" in nature. He points out that the alleged "separation of Church and State" wasn't an issue when the Bible was written.
"Back when the New Testament was written there was no such thing as a nation where religion and politics were separate. All cultures were religiously oriented," he explains.
Vitagliano, a former pastor, contends the law itself is a moral guide, which opens the pulpit up to address practically any issue. "Any law that is written has a spiritual or religious component to it because you're telling people what they should or should not do," he tells AFN.
If one follows Lankford's logic, says Vitagliano, a pastor would have to avoid preaching against abortion or homosexuality. No Democrat is going to be comfortable with those sermons, he notes – nor should they be.
"These are moral issues – and thus they are religious or spiritual in nature," says the AFA executive.
Editor's Note: American Family Association is the parent organization of the American Family News Network, which operates AFN.net.
