Four Ways Church Leaders Can Make a Difference This Election
Earlier this month, I had the privilege of speaking to hundreds of pastors and denominational leaders at the Sent Summit, a gathering of the National Coalition of Latino Evangelicals (NALEC).
I'm grateful to Gabe Salguero (pictured here with his son and me) for his invitation and partnership in our shared commitment to social justice.
With so much at stake in the midterm elections, I believe church leaders have an important role to play. The policies of this administration that harm vulnerable people, including cuts to nutrition assistance and health care and brutal immigration policies, are not consistent with Christian values.
I talked about four ways pastors can influence elections:
Discuss the values and beliefs at stake in these midterm elections.
Encourage Christians to vote.
Encourage people to be active in the elections and generous with their time and resources
Provide opportunities for civil discussion between conservative and progressive people..
People of faith have an important role to play in this election. We need to reclaim a Christianity that reflects the values of a loving and forgiving God—and a politics that reflects a generous and caring nation.
NALEC recently released With Love: A Christian Guide to Faithful Voting, and I encourage you to read it. It asks three powerful questions:
Does this candidate demonstrate love of neighbor?”
Does this candidate show trustworthy character?
Will this candidate use power responsibly?”
These questions call us to consider how our votes will affect our neighbors, especially those who are most vulnerable.
Great questions to think about when you vote.
