Church policy regarding politics & appeal for prayer for elections/officials:
“Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).
We turn to the Word of God to find out what kind of person we should “select” (in our case, elect) for our leaders at all levels of government. In Exodus 18:21 the Bible says, “But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.” We interpret “men” in a neuter gender sense, thus whether we are considering a male or female candidate, all Christians should vote their conscience while prayerfully desiring to select a candidate who (1) is capable, (2) is “from…the people” (i.e. not an enemy or even a foreign “friend” who is not loyal to the nation; in our case, this means someone who is truly American, in the sense of being educated in and faithful to our Judeo-Christian history/heritage and who holds dear our Bible-based values, and who will faithfully uphold and defend our U.S. Constitution), (3) fears God, (4) is trustworthy, and (5) hates dishonest gain. Please be in prayer for all elections in the United States, whether for President, Congress, or state and local government, as they are very significant in setting the direction of our nation. Also, please be in prayer for all such officials after they are elected, regardless of whether or not that official was your personal choice.
The church, as a corporate entity, does not endorse political parties or candidates, although all our members can and certainly may do so individually. The primary reason for the corporate entity not endorsing is that the church does not wish to state or imply that people must adopt a set political view in order to attend church, be a church member, or be saved. The church doesn’t want to turn away souls because they do not accept a set political view. Nevertheless, the voice of the church is crucial regarding certain issues that are affected by politics, while we are careful in any official statements regarding such issues, and we seek to be respectful always.
At the same time, we emphasize the right and responsibility of individual Christians to participate in the political process, to pray for the nation and its leaders, and to vote according to conscience based on moral values and scriptural teachings. We urge people to prayerfully choose leaders who are most likely to preserve freedom of religion and speech, to uphold moral values that are important to a healthy society, to help the country remain strong and free, and to help us deal successfully with the many economic challenges we face. We should pray and vote for effective leadership so that America will be a positive influence in world affairs, the American people will be able to support the church, and the American church will be able to support world missions.
This policy does not preclude individual church members, including church staff, from having and expressing their own views and supporting their chosen party or candidate in a personal way. Personal views should not be misconstrued as official church endorsement, and ought not be presented as such. Furthermore, we encourage all individuals to dialogue respectfully, avoiding use of pejoratives (derogatory terms), and we discourage use of ad hominem arguments. “An ad hominem (Latin for ‘to the man’), short for argumentum ad hominem, is an attempt to negate the truth of a claim by pointing out a negative characteristic or unrelated belief of the person supporting it” (Wikipedia). Such tactics are ineffective and can be detrimental to our Christian witness. No matter which party or candidate a person chooses to support as an individual, he or she can still attend church, be saved, and be a member while adhering to our membership policy.