Election Worship Resources for Pastors: Sermons & Liturgy

Democracy in America and Faith

Following Jesus is Political — but not Necessarily Partisan

The ordinary Christian has rarely in history had much say in their government. Of course there were Christian monarchs from Constantine forward, but apart from a handful of kings and queens and the nobility who had some sway with them, the ordinary Christian mostly had to just figure out whether they would obey secular authority or not.

Each modern democracy has a different story of the relationship of faith to government. The United States, especially, has a long tradition of separating church and state.

According to this tradition, the state has no business telling the church what to do, and the church has no official power to tell the state what to do. But the church does play a role in politics, even if not an official one. Without endorsing a candidate or party, churches have driven many movements in politics: abolitionism (and resistance to it), Catholic support of labor movements, Black Protestant support of the Civil Rights movement, and Evangelical alignment with conservative politics from the 1980s forward.

Since the Johnson Amendment of 1954, churches are not free to support or oppose political candidates—but this does not affect their ability to teach on political matters—and this is not only important from the perspective of freedom of speech and freedom of religion, but it is critical because following Jesus as a disciple is not politically neutral.

That is not to say that Christians must be Democrats, Republicans, or be loyal to any party. But it does mean that we must judge our participation in the democratic process through the teachings of Jesus. There is room for disagreement about how to do this properly—but that it must be done isn't really optional if we follow Jesus. Taking up your cross isn't selective—it is all-encompassing.

Gospel First

In our politically divided day, we recognize that Christians of good will may disagree (perhaps sharply) about the right way to vote.

But we hope that we will be unified in preaching the Gospel and teaching our congregations what it looks like to follow Jesus: that their voting should conform to the Greatest Commandment to love God first and, then, their neighbor as themselves. Also, that their ultimate citizenship is in heaven and that they are accountable to God for their votes, not to an individual candidate or political party. And this goes far beyond American politics—whatever our role in politics and whatever the precise political system we live in, the key question will always be how we follow our Lord within it.

TPW curates materials to inspire your sermons and to help you craft worship services which help lead your congregation to worship in spirit and truth. We hope you find these resources helpful as you guide your congregations through the turbulence of election season.

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