A Faithful Approach to Civil Discourse in the Church
Church leaders are understandably nervous about how the election cycle will impact their congregations, even as they see the opportunity it creates. I watched the Olympics in a hotel room in the Midwest and saw political campaign ads where various candidates used words like “communist,” “corrupt,” and “liar” to describe their rivals. It doesn’t make a church leader want to dive headfirst into the piranha-filled waters of American politics. Another way to think about this is to consider that, like Esther, you may be in leadership “for such a time as this” to help people consider a better way to engage in civil discourse and consider various viewpoints on issues that are important to our society and Christian discipleship as well.
There will be a spectrum of engagement in most local churches, often based on the level of trust the pastor enjoys, the cohesion of relationships in the congregation, and the desire of people to engage in sometimes difficult conversation:
Sanctuary churches – Leaders make a stated or unstated promise that church services and events will be a sanctuary from the ongoing discussion of politics and the election they experience everywhere else.
Advantage: It is safe. People in the church will not be divided by a conversation that does not take place.
Disadvantage: Avoiding hard topics is not a pathway to the growth of Christian discipleship. Some may feel that their church lacks relevance.
Teach people how to engage others – These congregations will have study groups, presentations or sermons that help people to understand how to engage in civil discourse, especially when there is disagreement.
Advantage: Many people are trying to learn how to gather with family and friends in a civil fashion and deepen relationships with open conversation. Teaching people how to listen and speak to others without contempt or judgement is an essential part of following Jesus.
Disadvantage: Leaders may not know how to teach such skills in a more divided time.
Engage important issues – Leaders who create opportunities to discuss issues that are important to elections like immigration, abortion, or the national economy understand that such conversations need ground rules and structure for the conversation. Offering the conversation demonstrates trust that members of their congregation can engage such issues with Christian love and humility.
Advantage: When people engage in important issues together in safe, organized environments, they gain insights, better understand others, and grow to a deeper level of Christian community.
Disadvantage: Done poorly, attempts to engage important issues can be a forum for bad behavior and division.
Over the course of my years as a pastor, I moved across this spectrum of engagement. I began with an unspoken pact with the congregation that we would never speak of anything related to an election. As I became more experienced, I realized that it would be worth the effort to teach skills that would help church members engage others in conversation about important issues. This required a great deal of thoughtful preparation. Our planning team intentionally included people from across the political spectrum so that everyone would feel a part of the leadership team. We had to find good resources and plan well. We discovered that a congregation with members who were Republicans, Democrats and independent voters appreciated the opportunity. They respected our leadership team for offering resources. They valued a church that understood that the love of Christ could bind us even when members had contrasting political views. Participants later shared that they understood others better and sometimes came to think differently about issues after hearing others. They stated that they appreciated a church that was relevant to their lives. It is important for clergy to consider what level of trust they enjoy from those they lead before speaking about controversial issues in a worship setting.
Trust is a factor in the choices clergy make about what to address on any given year. If you are newly appointed, it is wise to focus on how to share in civil discourse before talking about a particular topic that may be divisive. If you have served a church for years, faithfully visited members who were sick, provided pastoral counseling, worked with members in ministry, and officiated weddings and funerals, you will be able to carefully talk about important issues without dividing the church. Topics like immigration, abortion, or social services are often best discussed in groups or special programs rather than sermons on Sunday. Events give people the chance to talk together and ask questions. Even the most thoughtfully prepared sermons are one-way communication, and when there is disagreement, people may feel the pastor has taken advantage of the pulpit, which does not offer time for other voices. Sermons can be connected to follow up events where everyone has a chance to talk in groups or ask questions to a panel of speakers.
Pastors and lay leaders will need to start any event or program with a clear “why” statement that is based in Christian discipleship. The three General Rules of Methodism are:
Do no harm.
Do good.
Stay in love with God.
Leaders are trying to help people grow in their discipleship to Christ as they fulfill the General Rules when they delve deeper into these issues, understanding that Jesus talked about social issues in his society and that discipleship calls us to do the same.
In my last blog post I shared resources for the personal growth of clergy and lay leaders. Any of those resources could be the basis of a small group that could meet for three to six weeks. Gaining skills to hear and see others as well as the ability to state views in ways that can be heard is foundational to this work. Here are some other resources that could be useful to group conversation:
Church of the Resurrection: Kindness Campaign
https://resurrection.church/kindness/
The Kindness Campaign provides sermons, logos, yard signs and T-shirts for congregations who want to focus on ways to fulfill Jesus’ great commandment to love God and love your neighbor as yourself. The sermon series calls out the better angels of our nature during the election series and calls church members to encourage people to be intentional about treating one another with kindness, overcoming the polarization in our country through civility and respect. I recently interviewed Adam Hamilton on a video podcast to share more about the Kindness Campaign. Watch it here.
Forum: With Malice Toward None, With Charity for All
https://cathedral.org/calendar/forum-with-malice-toward-none-charity-toward-all/
This event was created by the National Cathedral, Wesley Theological Seminary and the Wheatley Institute at Brigham Young University. It explores how to “repair the breaches in our civic life.” The forum includes governors from the two major parties discussing how political leaders can disagree better and work for the common good, political leaders across the spectrum, and clergy who understand how Christian theology can inform such conversations. The three sections of this forum could be shown in segments with discussion following.
Engaging Differences
https://engagingdifferences.org/
This is a follow up event to With Malice Toward None held in Oklahoma in 2024. This event, along with video resources and information related to bridging political division, are a part of the work of the National Institute for Civil Discourse.
Social Principles of The United Methodist Church
Social Principles as Adopted by General Conference Charlotte, 2024
The Social Principles provide a starting point for conversation about issues as diverse as abortion, immigration and national defense. There are conversation resources provided by the General Board of Church and Society which are posted on their website along with contact information of staff members who can assist you.
When laws related to abortion were on the ballot, we offered an evening that included a panel discussion with church members who were doctors along with a GBCS staff member who discussed the United Methodist social principle related to abortion. We established ground rules for conversation. Table leaders led participants through a series of discussion questions following the panel. In the conversations that followed, a variety of opinions were discussed in thoughtful and respectful ways. Some groups stayed longer to continue the conversation. Evaluations of the evening demonstrated gratitude for the opportunity and for the way the evening was structured.
It is possible to consider important social issues as a community of faith. When church leaders work thoughtfully and carefully to offer structured conversation, people often come away understanding that even as opinions can vary, different people offer insights that can build a rich conversation. The key is to prepare carefully, involve church leadership so that no one is surprised at what is offered, and make sure that a variety of perspectives are included in the planning of the event rather so that everyone feels honored as the community does its work.