By L.A. Williams
Christian Action League
May 24, 2024
No one can turn out voters like the clergy, Democratic Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock told his audience at Reeder Memorial Baptist in Charlotte last Sunday afternoon. Warnock and N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein urged faith leaders to mobilize their congregations to head to the polls in November.
“This is a rare point of agreement I have with Stein and Warnock: Clergy do have a significant influence on their congregations when it comes to politics,” said the Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League. “In fact, research by the Barna Group in 2016 shows that at least a fourth of Americans trust their church or pastor to exert ‘a lot of influence’ on how they vote.”
That’s all the more reason that conservative Christians need to be aware of and combat the political tactics of progressive churches while exerting their Bible-based influence on voters around them, he said.
“There have been fewer things more damaging to the cause of Christ in this country and around the world than progressive clergy and churches. While they may appear welcoming and inclusive on the surface, we must discern the truth and be vigilant about what they represent,” he added.
Creech said the churches often pride themselves on their modern, liberal interpretations of Scripture, claiming a fresh perspective on Christianity, but undermining the Word of God.
“The Bible is God’s Word – every part of it. It doesn’t just contain the truth, its very words give us the truth. We must embrace it as authoritative on all matters of faith and practice, and not dilute it to fit the changing cultural norms of our day,” he said.
He warned that if progressive churches get congregants to turn out en-masse to the polls, they’ll elect candidates who represent a departure from what made our nation great, to begin with – its reliance on the moral compass of timeless Biblical truths.
Although Warnock alluded to morality on Sunday as he described his political campaign as a “moral struggle for human dignity,” Creech said the causes championed by liberal and progressive churches are often those prohibited by Scripture, including same-sex marriage, gender fluidity, and abortion.
“Christians must show respect for the human dignity of every person, but we’re not allowed to compromise on the truths God has given to protect us,” Creech said. “Progressive churches tout a theology that is more about social justice than salvation by faith in Christ alone. They emphasize good works and addressing societal injustices. These should not be left undone, but they should never replace the core message of the Gospel – that Christ died for our sins and no one can go to heaven with the Father, except through the Lord Jesus.”
He said progressive churches lead many to believe that good deeds can earn them eternal life (a blatant contradiction to the message of Ephesians 2:8 and 9) and that the churches sow seeds of doubt concerning fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith, including the Trinity, the Deity of Christ, His virgin birth, substitutionary blood atonement and bodily resurrection from the dead, as well as His Second Coming.
“Our Lord is the same yesterday, today, and forever. We should hold fast to the truths passed down to us by the apostles and not be swayed by the shifting sands of cultural trends,” Creech added.
The fact that Stein and Warnock are rallying progressive churches to get folks to the polls should ignite conservative, evangelical churches to respond in kind.
“Urge your congregations to vote for individuals who are more closely aligned with God’s Word in their political positions. No candidate is perfect, but to vote for a candidate whose political policy positions are anathema to God’s commands would be a denial of Christ,” Creech said. “And, in a representative Republic, to fail to vote for someone who seeks to faithfully represent the truth, is not giving God nor Caesar his due.”
Creech said it’s worth noting that a 2013 study of more than 21,000 sermons from 2,100 clergy showed that overt political messages are more common from mainline Protestant clergy than from evangelical ministers.
“Everyone has equal rights to be involved in the political process, but I find this push from progressives a bit hypocritical since conservatives are accused of being ‘Christian nationalists,’ when we try to get out the vote,” Creech said.
The good news, according to the Barna study: Pastors and people’s religious beliefs have the most prolific levels of influence on the political choices of evangelicals.
“The influence of the two religious inputs examined was four times greater on evangelicals than it was on all other people associated with the Christian faith,” George Barna reported. “Evangelicals take a lot of criticism for their blending of faith and politics, but they believe that their faith is meant to be integrated into every dimension of their life. The research shows that they are following through on that belief.”
