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Leaders have a tremendous responsibility.
Whether you’re in charge of a company, a sports team, or a steering committee—leadership means responsibility.
And for pastors that responsibility is perhaps even higher.
Scripture offers a sober warning:
“Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.” (James 3:1)
Yet many pastors, it seems, are missing the moment.
They are slow to grasp what troubles their congregation and respond to it.
In these times, many Christians are shuffling into church emotionally bedraggled from the onslaught of a hurricane of headlines.
Children incarcerated, murders of civilians by law enforcement, wars and rumors of wars, the abuse of people and power by the highest officials in the land.
The Midterms Are Being Undermined
Right now, the midterms are being undermined.
The FBI raided an election center in Fulton County and confiscated 700 boxes of ballots and other materials, much of which were the original documents with no other copies.
The actions took place under the guise of investigating the debunked claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Trump.
In reality, this is not about past elections, it is about future elections—specifically, the 2026 midterms—and the effort to illegally and unjustly bend them in the president’s favor.
That should set off alarms in every pulpit in America. Instead, too many pastors are debating tone.
Concerned people of faith are eager to hear a word from the Lord, and yet from the pulpit preachers are mute about these matters.
A silent sermon that only adds to the ache.
The Time to Speak Up Is Now
Pastors must preach about politics.
Failing to do so in this moment is spiritual malpractice.
Justice—embodied, material, tangible—should be a regular part of sermon explanations and applications.
Justice—“making wrong things right”—should permeate the life of the congregation.
In Bible studies, ministries, training opportunities, and more. You can preach from beyond the pulpit.
I hasten to add, that not every sermon needs to be about current events. You need not always preach about a specific happening.
But enough with the tiptoeing around the topics that are threatening people’s lives and the foundations of our electoral process.
Jesus didn’t soften the truth about injustice, he confronted it.
Following Jesus has always required taking sides, and Jesus sided with the marginalized.
Too many Christian leaders are asking, “How do I say something without upsetting anyone?”
When we follow the example of Jesus, the real question is, “Who gets hurt if I say nothing?”
How can we both challenge and support our religious leaders in this moment? Share your ideas in the comments.
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