Biblical Support For Influencing Government For Good

We have a responsibility to be proactive in society and address issues whenever possible before harm to export button supporting or promoting institutions that are good both for individuals and for society like you think of a single institution better than the family is family policy with family president John Weston thanks for joining us this week for family policy matters. I guess today is pastor Thomas Graham, pastor, outreach director for our very own North Carolina family policy Council today as the 2016. General election quickly approaches we can be talking with Thomas about why it is so important for Christians pastors and churches to engage in the political process. Now there are a lot of misconceptions that suggest pastors and churches cannot get involved. Thomas has spent the last year connecting specifically with pastors and community impact team leaders and churches across North Carolina to equip them and to help them better understand the role and the responsibility we all have to be engaged people and groups of faith are indispensable to the proper working of our society and our political process, and I'm excited that Thomas and I have the opportunity today to talk about this Thomas.

Welcome to family policy matters. It's great to have you on the show will thank you, John.

It's wonderful to be in the studio with you, she served as the pastor outreach director for NC family. First of all tell our listeners about the vision and the mission of NC family and what your role is in helping us to fulfill that mission. Certainly the vision of NC family is one that we've adopted from our national partner and that partner is the family policy alliance and it is to have a nation where God is honored where religious freedom flourishes or families thrive in life is cherished. Of course, the mission of NC family is to equip North Carolina families to bring that vision to fruition, to be voices of persuasion for family values in their communities were all about engaging profamily citizens in North Carolina and effectively motivating them to act both socially on even politically in support of candidates and policies that undergird life and family and religious freedom. In my role, which I consider to be a real privilege in this mission is to work with pastors and congregations in North Carolina to help advance the causes that really do matter most to Christian and even socially conservative families.

I believe my 30+ years as a pastor and my 44 years as a husband and father.

Now even a grandfather of four grandchildren have prepared me well for this role, John Thomas.

It's a real privilege and an honor to have you as a member of our team, and a valuable member at that and we will be getting in our discussion to many of the things that you mentioned. But let's start with this. What if anything to Scripture. Tell us about the obligation that men and women of faith have to be engaged in the culture and in the political and public policy arena, which I believe the Bible has a lot to say about this.

In fact, from my years of reading the Scriptures.

I firmly believe that influencing government for good. On the basis of the wisdom found in God's own words.

That's a theme that runs throughout the entire Bible is quite a number of positive examples in the Scriptures of men and women of faith who were engaged in their culture and brought significant influence to bear on governments and their government leaders think if you will, of Joseph, Moses, Daniel Nehemiah, Mordechai Esther.

We could go on from there. In the New Testament we have the courageous examples of John the Baptist and Paul the apostle in Matthew chapter 5 in verse 13.

I think we find some very powerful words from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He gave two very powerful metaphors regarding her obligation to be engaged in the culture and public policy decisions. He spoke of salt and he spoke of light salt. John is as you know, a preservative that works only when it penetrates into food.

What he was saying, I believe, to his followers. Is that they are to penetrate society and preserve it from the evil that is inherited in society that is a society of ungodly men and women whose unredeemed natures are corrupted by sin. But there's something else about salt that we all enjoy that is salt also enhances flavor. What Jesus also desires of his followers. I take that to mean is that we are to enhance the flavor of life in this world. For example, where there is strife, where to be peacemakers where their sorrow are to be the ministers of Christ bringing hope and encouragement and of course wherever we find hatred and we see a lot of that in the world these days wherever there's hatred we are to exemplify the love of God in Christ and then similarly light penetrates darkness doesn't does II take that to mean that we don't just live out our faith inside the walls of our churches and our homes. Jesus says that the census is lighting a lamp and then putting that lamp under a basket. All of this tells me that Christian should be active in culture that we have a responsibility to be proactive in society and address issues whenever possible before harm takes place. That means supporting and promoting institutions that are good both for individuals and for society, and I can't think of a single institution better than the family for promoting the interests of the society at large and so John, that's the kind of broad view that we must take to live out a Christian response in our culture will that's a great insight. Thomas and I really appreciate the fact that you referenced Matthew five in those verses and I would actually go with a bit further and encourage or listeners to take out their Bibles and read Matthew chapter 5 in the context of what were talking about today and I would also point them in addition to verses 13 and 14 that you mentioned where Jesus says you are the salt of the earth. You were the light of the world. Look at the two verses immediately preceding that were after he talks through the Beatitudes. He says Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

In and what were the prophets doing they were speaking truth they were being salt and light in the culture. Speaking truth to who to society to society.

More specifically to the political leaders of the day correct and so Jesus before he enters into the the salt and light verses that are so frequently referenced. He says Blessed are you, rejoice, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. And those prophets again were speaking truth into the culture and specifically to the leaders of the day and so I think that is an absolute admonition to us that no Cliff, this is what we are to be doing as part of or in a very important part of our personal ministries and that's very much what we do here at the family policy counts just what Thomas is a pastor for 30 years yourself. What do you believe is the biggest misconception or misunderstanding that pastors and churches have about political engagement, and how do you address those concerns as your talking with pastors and church leaders about those misconceptions. Let's agree questions on and as I've traveled this wonderful state of viruses great state of North Carolina have had the opportunity to have a lot of discussions with pastors and associate pastors and members of their staff and I would say that one of the biggest misconceptions or perhaps misunderstandings is that pastors and their congregations are only to be concerned with evangelism and discipleship and not get involved in politics that somehow politics is dirty and we should stay clear of that, there's a sense that I gathered that in some cases pastors and numbers of their churches seem to think that the gospel just does not allow for politics that it's not our mission that our mission is all about salvation and I'm all for when winning the lost and evangelizing, but the number one problem in America is indeed a spiritual problem. There's no question about that, but that's by itself does not exempt us from our political responsibilities. Primary goal of the church recognizes not to become a political movement but a spiritual influence and we both know that politics will save America any more than a dumbbell will save someone from traveling. Nevertheless, John. We just simply cannot ignore our God-given civic responsibility and the enormous impact of politics has on our society. You're listening to policy matters so I spent to listen to our radio show online and family resources have a place of persuasion in your community website family electing Thomas. There a lot of different ways for people of faith in their pastors and church communities to be actively engaged in the political process and are certainly good ways to do that without entering into overt political action like endorsing candidates and/or political parties. What are some of the ways that individuals pastors and churches can engage in order to make a difference in an appropriate and illegal fashion. Good question will obviously one of the very first ways people can get involved and begin really making a difference in the culture simply by voting and I'm very pleased to tell our listeners that once again for this upcoming election in 2016 North Carolina family policy Council has prepared voter guides. As you know John we heard from citizens across the state about how frustrated many of them are over the lack of information about candidates are running for elected office. And of course if you listen to the television as in the radio as you only hear what they want you to hear.

And so for us to be able to provide the kind of information on what the candidates really think about the issues that matter to us all.

It's just a joy to announce that were making available once again this year. The 2016 general election voter guide for the citizens of this great state of North Carolina. While Internet voter guide Thomas.

We surveyed all the candidates that are running in North Carolina for the U.S. Senate. The U.S. House Gov. Lieut. Gov. in Council estate.

The state Supreme Court and Court of Appeals in the entire state legislature. So we surveyed over 340 candidates asking them very specifically their positions on a wide range of issues dealing with religious liberty sanctity of life parental rights choice and education tax policy and a variety of other things to ensure that citizens have the information that they need when they go to vote, to be well-informed and it's an incredibly valuable resource and something that were very very pleased to provide as a public service to the state of North Carolina and were grateful to our supporters who enable us to provide that resource, but it it it still remains true that there are a lot of voters who are frustrated by a lack of available information, especially if they don't access resources like our voter God, lack of available information about the candidates and and quite frankly, in some cases about simply the selection of candidates that they have to choose from. This frustration often leads to voter apathy and far too often leads Psalm, including Christians, we know to simply choose not to vote.

Thomas, in your opinion, is sitting out and election an appropriate response to these kinds of frustrations not in my view.

John, I think that would be a neglect of one's responsibility to just turn aside and behave in a way that is less than what is expected of us as Americans. One of the things we have to keep in mind always, we have been given one of the most gracious and gifts that any nation could ever have been given and that is the freedom and the liberty to vote for those who would lead us and if we neglect that responsibility, then I believe you will receive a type of government that is much less than we deserve much less the and we prefer well it's a great way to put it in so we just want to encourage our listeners to make sure that they do get a copy of the north Carolina family policy Council voter God in writing to let you know how to do that in just a minute, but you can also order them for distribution at your church in your community in your neighborhood and so please be sure to avail yourselves of that opportunity, and that information so Thomas where can our listeners go to get a copy of the North Carolina family policy Council's 2016. General election voter God in order them also for distribution at their church for their community, civic groups and other outlets: glad to be asked that question John we have a fantastic website and anyone that has visited our website with. I'm sure about for that. It is information full that is feature-rich and offers a wonderful selection of variety of topics of information, but right at the very beginning when you land on our website@ncfamily.org a little box comes up and it's a if you click on that box. It'll take you to electronic form, you can fill out all the information requested there and be assured that your information is in our system and you will receive a voter guide that's right. When you give that website again it's NC family.org again NC family.org and folks can go to that website.

They can get their very own personalized voter God by typing in their information and it will identify the candidates that are running in your specific congressional and state legislative districts along with all the information that we have about candidates that are running for statewide offices in North Carolina and you can also place an order. There to receive voter guides in bulk for distribution at your church community. So, again, that website is NC family.org and with that, Thomas.

We are out of time, but I want to thank you so much for being with us on family policy matters and for your incredibly important ministry to pastors and church communities across North Carolina but rather it's a joy and I counted a great privilege to have this role as the stamp time in my life. I look forward to continuing to serve the pastors and the churches all across the state for many more years to come. Right, Thomas, God bless you and thanks so much listening to family matter the production of NC family to listen to our radio show online, and for more valuable resources and information about issues important to families in North Carolina go to my website and see family.org and