The future of religious freedom depends on a free pulpit to communicate fundamental, biblical principles to congregations across America. Join a growing movement of bold pastors preaching biblical Truth about candidates and elections from their pulpits on October 7, 2012.
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By Pastor Kevin Baird
I have been a pastor for over 28 years, and for many of those years of ministry I preached under a misconception that many (if not most) pastors live under, as well. It’s the misconception the IRS perpetuates through the Johnson Amendment to the 501 (c)(3) code that restricts our rights as pastors to apply the Bible to what might be deemed “political.” For year, I avoided many topics from the pulpit because I mistakenly thought that if I broached that topic I could jeopardize the church’s tax-exempt status. There was always this subtle “fear” that the IRS would sweep in and impose some kind of monstrous repercussion.
As my ministry matured through the years and I became more convinced that the Bible is to be applied to every arena of life (including public policy discussions and “politics”), I came to this crossroads again. Would I stand, declare, and apply the whole Word of God to my congregation with regards to these subjects, or would I tacitly allow the IRS to be a content manager of my sermons? It was during this season that I was introduced to the great people of Alliance Defending Freedom. This amazing team of attorneys took the time to help educate and inspire me to press forward in not only my First Amendment right of free speech, but in all reality, my mandate from God to speak into the culture.
So, when I heard about the Pulpit Initiative and the scheduling of Pulpit Freedom Sunday, I immediately wanted to participate. This coming year will be my third official year of being a participating pastor. On that Sunday, I intentionally prepare a message that addresses a current public policy or “political” issue and use the Scripture to either endorse it or critique it. For example, this year I am considering using the topic: “A Biblical Referendum on the Policies of our Current Administration.” At the end of the message I will make what I consider to be a biblical conclusion concerning the election. I will then do what I have done in previous years. I will make the message public through all our media venues and also send the IRS a copy. I have to admit in my first year of participation I did have a slight residue of the fear that I previously lived under. After all, how many of us have lived under that self-imposed censorship for years?
What was the outcome of doing that?
I have never been contacted by the IRS and, to be candid, I do not expect to be. My congregation has been incredibly supportive and grateful for my leadership in this regard. I suspect many congregations are waiting to cheer their pastors forward if only their pastor would take the step and participate.
One of the good feelings is knowing that behind my ministry is the incredibly capable Alliance Defending Freedom team who will bring the resources and legal expertise should my sermon ever be challenged by the government. I could not encourage pastors more emphatically to get involved with Pulpit Freedom Sunday. Shake off the fear, embrace your call, and become a part of a powerful movement of pastors on Pulpit Freedom Sunday, October 7, 2012.
Five Reasons Your Participation is Vital
Pulpit Freedom Sunday is October 7, 2012. In case you or others you may know are undecided about participating, let me give you five very good reasons why your participation is so important. After considering these reasons, the next step is to go to www.pulpitfreedom.org and sign up. You may even decide to send this information to five or ten of your pastor friends and urge them to sign up, as well. It’s time this movement of bold pastors sweeps the nation.
1. The issues the country is facing are biblical issues. Pastors, more than many others, are uniquely suited to speak to the issues confronting the country in this election season. Issues such as life, marriage, the family, the economy, the poor, and many others are addressed specifically in scripture. The effect of the Johnson Amendment has been to make these biblical issues “political,” as if slapping a “political” label on an issue somehow removes it from the purview of scripture. For example, a pastor preaching a sermon thirty years ago that abortion is wrong was just being biblical. But that same sermon today is labeled as political and, as a result, the pastor is sidelined into silence. It’s not that the church is somehow becoming “political.” It’s that politics is invading the realm of the church.
2. The free exercise of religion requires a free pulpit. The First Amendment prohibits the government from enacting laws prohibiting the free exercise of religion. A pastor preaching a sermon from the pulpit is one of the core activities of the free exercise of religion. A law, like the Johnson Amendment, that prohibits pastors from speaking freely from the pulpit violates the free exercise of religion. How can the exercise of religion be free if your church is subject to fines and penalties for something you as a pastor say from the pulpit?
3. Every church and pastor has the right to decide what is preached from their pulpit. Pastors and churches should decide for themselves what is preached from the pulpit. The IRS should have no power to insert itself into that decision-making process. But since the adoption of the Johnson Amendment in 1954, the IRS has done just that. Pulpit Freedom Sunday removes the government from the pulpits and churches of America.
4. The Johnson Amendment is blatantly unconstitutional. Pulpit Freedom Sunday is a head-on constitutional challenge to the Johnson Amendment, which is blatantly unconstitutional. This unjust law, which never should have been applied to churches and pastors, has had a devastating effect on their constitutionally protected rights. Pulpit Freedom Sunday is a strategic initiative to remove this unjust law and restore a pastor’s right to speak freely from the pulpit.
5. America needs to hear from pastors. Pastors in America have a rich tradition of speaking prophetically and boldly from their pulpits on the great issues of the day. The voice of America’s pastors led the way through independence, slavery, civil rights, and have even influenced which men and women we put into public office. But because of the Johnson Amendment, the voice of pastors is unjustly silenced every election cycle. It’s time for America’s pastors to become part of the process again and to stop being sidelined by an unconstitutional law.
As pastors, you have a decision to make – do you want to have the ability to speak freely on all issues the Bible addresses, or do you want to let the IRS and culture define for you what is permissible for you to address? Pulpit Freedom Sunday frees pastors to make that decision for themselves.
These are just five good reasons why you should take a moment and go to www.pulpitfreedom.org to sign up to participate in Pulpit Freedom Sunday on October 7, 2012. It’s time to stand… time to stand together with hundreds of other pastors from across the country who agree that pastors, and not the government, should decide what is said from the pulpit.
Speaking out on political and social issues requires special courage for pastors, many of whom walk a tightrope entwined of strands both practical and theological.
Persecution of churches is a subtle but very real – and growing – threat around the U.S. today. Pastors and church leaders who speak out boldly can suddenly find themselves facing new tax laws, zoning challenges, and even graffiti and vandalism from groups opposed to what a church teaches. American Christians long immunized from such aggressive opposition are often loath to see persecution as a privilege (Acts 5:41).
Nor is all the opposition external. Many pastors are understandably concerned that making strong, declarative statements about political candidates and/or politicized issues will alienate significant persons in or percentages of their congregation. The price for that kind of alienation may be measured in anything from tithe checks withheld to memberships dropped.
And yet: speaking out on the character of our leaders and the issues of our time is a clear mandate of Scripture, modeled throughout the Bible by prophets like Nathan and Jeremiah and preachers like Stephen and John the Baptist – not to mention Jesus Himself, who answered questions on still-hot topics like the meaning of marriage (Matthew 19:4-6), taxes (Matthew 22:21), and the character of public officials (Mark 8:15, Luke 13:32).
Clearly, those vested with the responsibilities of church leadership are expected to speak truth to – and about – power, whether that power is represented by political authority or other Christians en masse.
One of the most fascinating explorations of what it means to confront ungodly political leadership is detailed in the adventures of Elijah, in the book of 1 Kings, as he duels for the soul of Israel with weak-souled, selfish King Ahab and his implacably evil queen, Jezebel.
Both in one-on-one encounters (17:1, 18:8, 21:20) and before all the people (18:20ff.), Elijah bluntly confronted the monarch with his sins. But the prophet also offered Ahab messages of hope (18:41), and even looked out for his personal safety and welfare (18:44). His actions are reminiscent of those of then-still-private-citizen David toward King Saul, as recorded in 1 Samuel, and of Paul toward Felix and Agrippa (Acts 26).
The Bible never prompts us to mock our leaders, hate our leaders, or pray for their destruction – indeed, we are directed to treat all those in authority with unswerving respect (Romans 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:17). But the Bible also teaches that the highest respect we can give to anyone – government official or fellow church member – is to speak the truth to that person, in love (Ephesians 4:15). Jesus declared Himself the ultimate embodiment of truth (John 14:6), so to speak truth is, quite literally, to speak – to reveal – Christ to the one we address. Indeed, it’s impossible to give a faithful witness to anyone, whatever their station of life, unless we are willing to tell them the truth.
As spiritual leaders, pastors face an extraordinary and unique responsibility in this critical season, as Christians join their neighbors and strangers in communities coast to coast in making the choices of the ballot box, deciding not only candidates for national, state, and local offices, but political questions with enduring import for our country. Our prayers are with every conscientious pastor who braves the dangers of the pulpit and the public square …
… working to speak the truth of Christ not in vague generalities, from the safety of charming ecclesiastical clichés, but in firm, clear, straightforward, biblically-grounded specifics that take an unwavering stand on even the most divisive issues of our day.
May God give each of His servants, coast to coast, the courage and wisdom to discern His truth, communicate it in love, and accomplish His purpose for the people of America.
The IRS warned pastors attending a faith leader’s summit in Washington D.C. recently not to speak from their pulpits about candidates or elections. As reported by OneNewsNow, IRS official Peter Lorenzetti attended the summit and told pastors that prohibited activities include anything that supports or opposes a candidate for public office. Mr. Lorenzetti’s statements are not surprising or even noteworthy given the fact that IRS officials have been interpreting the Johnson Amendment in this way since its addition to the tax code in 1954. So why should we be concerned about these statements?
Well, for starters, Mr. Lorenzetti’s statements follow a long pattern by the IRS of intimidating pastors and churches into silence on the issues surrounding candidates and elections. The Johnson Amendment operates as a direct restriction on the speech of pastors and churches. There is no denying this fact. And there is no denying the fact that the Johnson Amendment is unconstitutional. It is never permissible to allow a government agency the power to punish a church for something its pastor says from the pulpit. Where did America’s churches ever get the idea that it was okay to invite IRS officials into the process of sermon preparation and allow them to wield the power of censorship over what your pastor says from the pulpit? Such a regime is not okay, and indeed, it is unconstitutional.
That’s why ADF started Pulpit Freedom Sunday in 2008 – to restore a pastor’s right to speak freely from the pulpit and to remove the pen of censorship from the hand of government officials. Because we believe that the Constitution protects the right of a pastor to speak freely from the pulpit and that government should hold no sway over a pastor’s sermon preparation or delivery. It is for every pastor and church to decide for themselves what is said from their own pulpit.
Pulpit Freedom Sunday is October 7, 2012. If you are a pastor, please sign up to participate to exercise your constitutional rights on that day together with hundreds of other pastors from across the country. If the IRS wants to continue to enforce the Johnson Amendment against pastors and churches, then it will continue to take a sustained and united effort to remind the IRS of the constitutional rights of pastors and churches. If you are not a pastor, please send every pastor you know to www.pulpitfreedom.org to learn more and to sign up to participate on October 7, 2012.
