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God’s Politics vs Partisanship: Being Church Together

May 11, 2017 by Chad Herring Leave a Comment

 

The Rev. Aaron Roberts, The Rev. Kate McGee, and me, at the Kansas Statehouse in 2014, protesting a so-called “Religious Freedom” bill that would have permitted discrimination against LGBTQI people based on “sincerely held religious beliefs.”

 

If there’s one thing I bet you enjoy, it is reading church newsletter columns by a pastor.

I don’t usually share these here, but I thought the subject of my May reflection might be of broader interest. There might have been more to say about this if there had been the space. I might have discussed how the Theological Declaration of Barmen guides Presbyterians to affirm that, no matter who is in charge of our government or what is the status of the Johnson Amendment, we in the church turn to a higher authority in our reflection and our action. I could have explored how our Presbyterian Book of Order expands on what I referenced about not seeking preferential status from the government: “Therefore we consider the rights of private judgment, in all matters that respect religion, as universal and unalienable: We do not even wish to see any religious constitution aided by the civil power, further than may be necessary for protection and security, and at the same time, be equal and common to all others. (F-3.0101b).” I may have elaborated on the distinction between political speech and moral advocacy on the one hand (“God’s heart is broken when there aren’t places in our inner cities to buy fresh vegetables and healthy foods”), and partisan speech on the other (“Vote for Suzie because only she is God’s chosen candidate to bring food to hungry people.”)

Maybe you could reflect on those points too, but for now, here’s what I wrote to my friends at The Kirk:

///
Issues of church and state have been in the news, and perhaps it would be helpful for some reflection about it. For instance, the Wall Street Journal article “Trump Signs Religious Freedoms Executive Order” of May 4, 2017, outlined the intention of the federal government to ease up its enforcement of the so-called Johnson Amendment, the 1954 law that forbids non-profit charitable groups (like churches) from engaging in partisan activity, endorsing specific candidates for public office. While lawyers and scholars doubt this directive will have much practical effect (since there aren’t many prosecutions under this provision anyway), we might ask whether churches being involved in this sort of activity would be a good thing, even if permitted.

It might help to be clear about what is being discussed and what is not. Our tradition strongly values the separation of church and state enshrined in our constitution. We think that the government shouldn’t tell us what to do, and that public matters should not be debated on religious grounds nor bias any particular religious point of view (including our own).

This doesn’t mean, however, we think that people of faith should refrain from political action. Since the early formation of our republic, Presbyterians have participated in shaping our public life. Since our first church in America (founded in 1640), Presbyterians have been involved in political action. Presbyterians signed our founding documents and the Constitution, and were instrumental in the drafting of our system of government. We created public schools and universities, built hospitals, sent elders and pastors to elected positions, and marched for justice and equality in the civil rights movement. In the Church’s best moments, these efforts are inspired by God’s call to support the common good while seeking to help the hungry, the hurting, the poor, and those on the margins. We might call that God’s Politics, as its Greek root is polis, or the “city-state” that is the foundation of democracy.

Politics and partisanship are two different things. People of faith are concerned about matters of public import, and we expect that people of good will are going to see them differently. This may lead some of us to engage in partisan activity, focusing our energies with other like-minded people towards platforms within formal political parties. In our country, this is often how we engage in decision making about matters of public concern, and there’s nothing inherently wrong with this. Democrats, Republicans, Greens, Libertarians, and Independents, all may call The Kirk their church home. The church, and its politics, must not ever confuse the teachings of the Gospel with any party or candidate. All parties fall short; no candidate is above critique. Instead, the church must invite people of all partisan perspectives to work together to advance God’s politics. When it is faithful, the church should critique parties when they fall short, and encourage people of good will to see beyond party to a larger and greater good. It must respect that people of true and honest faith may disagree on means or process, while agreeing on the broader political aims that characterize Jesus’ teachings and the discernment that follows from them.

All of this is to say: as a pastor, I am grateful for the caution that the Johnson Amendment gives us. The church is called to be political, but not partisan. We should be careful to make this distinction, and to provide a space for different perspectives to be welcomed and discussed. I, like you, have my own partisan perspectives on the issues of the day, but they too are critiqued by the Gospel, which inspires me to look beyond them for a greater good. On my own time, I might work toward partisan goals, as you might. When I serve as your pastor, however, I am called and committed to serve everyone equally. I don’t expect anyone to uncritically agree with a sermon, and when I preach, I will never endorse a specific candidate or party. It would be wrong for me to tell you how you should vote. Instead, sermons should feed your spiritual life, encouraging you to ask questions, whether we agree or not, trusting you to engage the world through the faith God gives you. That may lead to different partisan outcomes, even if we share a commitment to pursue what God is doing in the world through the inclusive love of Jesus. As we move forward together, let’s pursue God’s Politics, and give thanks whenever any of us are inspired by a greater concern for the public good to get involved, as they prayerfully are being led, to solve our common problems. I’m grateful for a chance to be doing ministry with faithful people of good will, different as we are, as we seek to pursue God’s vision for the world together.

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Filed Under: Current Affairs, politics, presbyterian church (usa), Religion

Letter to a State Representative: Add the Words

February 10, 2015 by Chad Herring 1 Comment

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A letter to my state representative. A similar letter will be sent to my state senator.

Adapted from a previous open letter. Please feel free to use any/all of this for your own communication. Its time to add the words, Kansas….

—

February 10, 2015

The Honorable Melissa Rooker
Kansas State House of Representatives
Kansas State Capital, 168-W; 300 SW 10th Street; Topeka, KS 66612

Dear Ms. Rooker:

My name is Chad Herring, and I serve as pastor of the John Knox Presbyterian Kirk in Kansas City, Missouri, a position I’ve held since October, 2013. My wife and I moved to Overland Park, Kansas, in 2005 when I began my ministry as Associate Pastor of Southminster Presbyterian in Prairie Village (2005-2013). We welcomed our twin daughters to our family in 2006, moved to Prairie Village in 2011, and are all proud to call Kansas our home.

I never set out to be a campaigner for equal rights for people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT). It is not my personal experience or struggle.

Yet I feel compelled to write you today. Because until all of us are free, none of us truly are free.

Today, Governor Brownback issued executive order 15-01, rescinding anti-discrimination protections for state employees on the basis of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity. Part of his rationale was that such protections should “be done by the legislature,” and while I disagree with him on that argument, it opens an opportunity for the Kansas legislature to correct Brownback’s action.

It is argued that equal rights for LGBT Kansans is contrary to deeply held (often Christian) religious beliefs. However, those of us who are Christian read in the Bible that all of us are created in God’s image (Genesis 1:27), that nothing on heaven or on earth can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:38-39). We hear echoes of this in our nation’s founding documents, holding it to be self-evident truth that all men and women are created equal.

Accordingly, as a matter of both faith and secular standards of justice, I am compelled to write in support of equal civil rights for all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. It is necessary, in part, because of the pain I have seen inflicted on everyday Kansans:

  • As a youth pastor, I witnessed a young woman bullied because she was a young lesbian woman.
  • I know people who could not get jobs or were denied advancement because of their gender identity. Many live in constant fear of being terminated without cause or merit, simply for whom they love.
  • I pastor to couples of deep faith who want to be joined in marriage, but who still wait legal clarity about whether they can obtain a civil marriage license because of their sexual orientation.

In addition to the systematic exclusion from civil marriage, the foundational way our culture has supported and nurtured families, LGBT Kansans also lose out from many other essential benefits the rest of us take for granted everyday: tax breaks; access to hospital beds and decision-making rights normally afforded to family members when their loved one is hospitalized; certainty that we can rent a hotel room or see a movie or keep our job regardless of whom we love and want to spend our life with. Access to legal civil marriage will not be enough to protect LGBT Kansans from discrimination.

I often counsel Kansans who have been deeply wounded because of exclusion from family, faith communities, and schools. These wounds are multiplied by discrimination experienced in the public sphere. The harm done to them is unnecessary and avoidable.

My call, as a minister of the Good News of Jesus Christ, is to proclaim justice for the oppressed, to stand with people as Christ would. Jesus offered radical hospitality, inviting all people, no exceptions, to participate in the work of God’s mercy and love.

It is because of my deep commitment to the God revealed in Scripture, and in particular to the teachings of Jesus, that I write you today in favor of public non-discrimination statutes. While Scripture says very little about sexual orientation or gender identity, it says quite a bit about justice, about hospitality, about welcoming the stranger, about God’s love for all people.

My stance for non-discrimination is deeply rooted in the word of God, a God who created each of us in the very image of God and declared that creation good. A God who became human and lived among us, full of grace and truth, eating with outcasts, touching the unclean, and inviting all to join in the work of grace, mercy, and peace.

But this is not just a religious conviction, but a fundamentally civic argument as well. My beliefs are consonant with my commitment to freedom of religion and equal protection under the law, as established by the United States and Kansan Constitutions. There is no conflict between freedom of religion, properly understood, and equal protection for all, and the non-discrimination laws that ensure it.

Let us be clear: freedom of religion is my inalienable right to believe what I want about God, to assemble in religious communities unencumbered by the state, and to practice my religion with others at my church. It is an inalienable right for others, too, who hold fundamentally different views than my own: such as an interpretation of their holy texts that prohibits women access to the priesthood or a view that the earth was created a few thousand years ago. This includes the right to believe that people who are gay or lesbian should not be full participants in their own faith community. Any church should be free, and in fact is free, within the walls of their buildings, so long as no one is harmed, to practice their faith as they feel called. This is religious freedom.

But non-discrimination statutes do not inhibit religious freedom. In fact, they are essential for religious freedom. The equal opportunity to worship God—or to not worship God—is essential in our democracy.

Similarly essential is that in public accommodation, no particular religious perspective prevails, so that anyone has unequal access to public services, goods, or rights. Equal rights for all means equal rights for all.

Freedom of religion is not my right to exempt myself from state laws that all other citizens have to obey. My freedom of religion does not include my ability to impose my faith on others.  It is not religious liberty to allow one group of people to cause pain in another group of people in the workplace, in public schools, or in the civic square because of how they interpret scripture. When in public, people of all faiths, or no faith, ought to be required to treat all law abiding, tax paying citizens exactly the same.

But today, it is legal to discriminate against LGBT people in the public sphere. They can be fired for being gay; denied access to a hotel room for appearing to be lesbian; denied service at a restaurant for holding hands with someone of the same gender. This is wrong, and no way to treat someone created equally in the image of God, who has the same self-evident inalienable rights that I do as a straight, white, male Christian pastor.

Representative Rooker, I submit to you that it is time to add the words “Sexual Orientation” and “Gender Identity” to Kansas Human Rights Law (Chapter 44, Article 10, Section 1).

These words would not curtail religious liberty, any more than the other prohibitions against civil discrimination based on race or sex or disability or religion itself. Churches can deny leadership to women, can choose not to sanction same-sex unions, and can decide to only hire adherents of their particular faith, even with our current Human Rights Law in place.  In places of worship, or in my own private thoughts, I can believe whatever I want to about God and about LGBT people. But in the public sphere, regardless of one’s religious or personal beliefs, one cannot deny equal access due to race or gender or religion.

Adding these words to Kansas Human Rights law would simply guarantee that this group of people, historically discriminated against, will have similar legal protections for equality in the public realm. The God I believe in wouldn’t condone public discrimination in any form, and our state’s highest ideals wouldn’t either.

I urge you to do all you can to fight discrimination against LGBT people and to promote equal protection for all under the law, including the addition of these words to Kansas Human Rights Law. Please act to sponsor and introduce legislation to that effect this legislative session.

Thank you for your service on behalf of all citizens of this our great state.

Peace to you in Christ,

The Rev. Chad Andrew Herring
Minster of Word and Sacrament, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Prairie Village, Kansas

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Filed Under: humanity, Jesus, Kansas, law, politics, social justice

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Chad Andrew Herring

Chad Herring

kairos :: creature of dust :: child of God :: husband of 21 years :: father of 2 :: teaching elder/minister of word and sacrament in the presbyterian church (u.s.a.) :: exploring a progressive-reformed – emergent-christianity :: more

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