Why We Don’t Politicize the Pulpit

We realize that there are meaningful issues at stake in almost every election.  Christians should be aware and involved in those which have substantial impact on the moral and religious climate in our country. The guiding question, though, does not revolve around the intensity or the impact of the political position alone, but around the real goal and direction of the church. Our stated goal and purpose is the dissemination of the gospel of Jesus Christ (See our mission statement). Though we believe in political involvement on the part of individual Christians, we as a body do not want to be a political entity. Nor do we intend to become affiliated with any political party. Nor do we endorse individual candidates.  Nor do we tell Christians how they “should vote.” What we intend to do is teach people to think like Jesus, within the reality of His Kingdom as revealed in His Word, according to the gospel. Moral and ethical issues are addressed clearly and regularly from our pulpits. Learning to think like Jesus will enable Christians to vote according to biblical wisdom with personal integrity.  

What this priority statement means is that we will not allow our pulpit, mailing list, meetings, foyer, bulletin, or any other facility we have to be used as a platform for political persuasion. This applies to petitions, posters, political magazines, flyers and general persuasive techniques used by the political organizations of our day.

We believe that when people come to this place or partake of any of our ministries the focus should be exclusively on the Lord and His work. We want the atmosphere to remain simple, worshipful and Christ-centered. Political action groups can and should find other ways of reaching the public than through the worship services of our church.

The hardest decisions are the ones that demand a distinction not between good and bad, but between good and better. This has been a delicate issue with some people. We trust that the intent of this position is clear—to devote ourselves exclusively to serving undistracted devotion to the Lord, even if that means not doing other good things.

Having said all that, we would like to explain that there are times of rare exception when the issue at stake might be of such grave importance to our community or faith that we would break with our usual rule. Those rare exceptions must receive staff approval at least a week before they can be brought to the body.

Very Sincerely,
The TCF Elders and Pastors