Scott Cheatham’s Weblog

Our presidential candidates can now gear up for the November general election following Barack Obama’s victories in the final party primaries on Tuesday.

Let me state right off that I do not preach politics from the pulpit. I know several have by utilizing biblical texts for outlining their positions. They do so in a way that supports the stated ideals of a particular candidate without coming right out and “endorsing” the candidate themselves since that’s technically illegal for a minister to do. My philosophy in this area is quite simple: I preach the bible and it’s precepts and pray that my listeners utilize those principles when making their decisions about who to support on a local, state, and national level.

I’ve been criticized at times because I do not make the “hot button” issues that many well known Christian organizations focus on the ones that help me determine my own personal choices. Are they important issues? Certainly, but I’ve never felt that we can institute moral change at the ballot box. A person’s morals are developed over a lifetime and not by simple party affiliation. I feel that moral change can only occur in the heart of a man and one person at a time. Scripture tells me that when a man’s heart is changed by a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, then he becomes a new creation. Any one person can say any one thing to make themselves look like something they really are not. If Christians are looking for a candidate that truly identifies with their beliefs and convictions, they will be sorely lacking this election season. It will be better to refocus on our priorities and make our decision from there.

The one thing that does bother me a bit is how all of these candidates pander to the Christian and get by with it to so many of them. Truly we as a nation are biblically illiterate…

My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me. It is all your fault, you priests, for you yourselves refuse to know me.” (Hosea 4:6a NLT)

Most people in ministry are familiar with the first part of this statement but it’s the second part that’s always gotten me. The exegesis of this passage is another post altogether but for today, here’s the gist: We don’t spend enough time with God in order to be able to teach others. In fact, for many, we disdain some of the truth we find because it’s offensive to many and we instead focus on more comfortable passages that are “safe” to preach. I realize that I am speaking in generalities here but bear with me for a moment longer.

Monday, radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt aired some clips of a Barack Obama press conference where the candidate stated his reasons for leaving his church in Chicago. In being asked what he was looking for in a new church, one of the comments Obama made was essentially that he was looking for a solid family congregation (good political move to pander to quasi-conservatives) but not necessarily one that he would have to agree with every doctrinal position on. He gave as his example the issue of homosexuality (good political move to pander to his democratic base). Hewitt took him to task for this by asking him what on earth he had learned in 20 plus years of attending worship services.

I would have had much more respect for Obama if he had openly claimed biblical shortcomings rather than trying to paint himself as an informed churchgoer which he most certainly is not. From what I gather, Obama knew little of the faith he claimed to embrace and the solid biblical grounding of why he believed as he did. I’m not picking only on Obama here though it might look this way. It’s just that he has been in the news incessantly the past few weeks.

As pastors, we can’t make our listeners do anything with what we preach. They have to make that decision themselves. But if I heed the words of the prophet that I quoted earlier, I know that I must prepare myself and know God deeply in order to proclaim his truths. Those of us who are pastors have an obligation to preach the entire counsel of God in order that our people would at least have the opportunity to be fed spiritually so that our nation will produce the type of leaders we desire and not the spiritually emaciated climate of candidates we currently are considering.

There’s a lot more that could be said. Perhaps there is more that should be said. For now though, I challenge myself to be the type of pastor that the prophet challenges me to be. We should all heed his words.

On a lighter note, I just finished the new Richard Foster book “Life with God”. What an excellent read! I’ll post a review of it in the weeks ahead.

‘Til Friday, God Bless!