Living Together in this Election Season

We know that churches and preachers cannot be partisan or endorse political candidates publicly. That’s easy. But it is not easy to sense when the things we say or preach are the gospel - or are obviously leading people into a political party. No matter the size of the worshiping community, I know I am preaching to a “big tent” where half of the people out there believe one thing and half believe another. Whether lay or rostered, if we ‘have the mic’ it is not a dialogue. No one has the opportunity to be in conversation with us; it’s me ‘talking at’ a group of people. That is an incredible privilege and responsibility. As a preacher and public speaker, along with the Psalmist, I must always pray, “Set a watch before my mouth, O Lord, and guard the door of my lips.”   

Healthy conversation is great. Think about all the time Jesus spent talking with the disciples. It wasn’t crammed into a one-time, 50-minute time-block, though. They spent time together with their scriptures and with each other. These days, within the safety of trusted relationships built over time, we can have healthy conversations, too. We can do that in weekly bible study and adult ed, built on trusted relationships. Resources like those listed below provide leader guides to set up ground rules for respectful conversations using a variety of topics. Please check them out. Jesus Christ has made us one. It’s about unity, not uniformity. 

Social media is super tricky right now. We want to be influencers. Whether lay or rostered, many of us have a broad group of ‘friends.’ This may be the one place where we feel can state something that is only our opinion, but if our friends are people from our congregation, we may be setting up divides that cannot be mended in this season. This has become more high-stakes lately because the sticker merchandise out there – from any party – is plentiful. It’s a time for everyone to be intentional about how we engage in conversations in posts. It is far easier to share memes that demonize and offend others, rather than those that are thought-provoking and kind. And remember always that the things we post on social media are there forever. 

Great resources available to congregations:

As the ELCA, we have plenty of resources that can be helpful as we worship together these days. And now, especially as the ELCA is suddenly named nationally, from a variety of perspectives. A primary document to guide messaging is located here: Being A Public Church.pdf (elca.org).  Additional links to several other related resource documents can be accessed here:  Political Activity and Tax Status.pdf (elca.org).

Short story: because of our tax status, neither synods nor congregations may support or endorse candidates for office, but they are permitted to engage in issue advocacy and neutral political activity (e.g., nonpartisan registration drives, serving as a polling location, etc.). Pastors, deacons, church employees, and church members can endorse or support candidates, but only if it is clear that they are acting in their personal capacity and not in their capacity as leaders or employees of their congregations or as representing the whole congregation. As rostered ministers discuss in boundaries training, this can be blurry because most of us serve in areas where we are always recognized and greeted as “Pr.” or “Deacon.” So, please think twice before putting your pastor on the spot. We cannot endorse a candidate from the pulpit or on the congregation’s Facebook page, or place a candidate’s political advertising on the congregation’s lawn.

This is a great time to open up study resources for our congregations!