The Politics of 'Against'

“WE CAN'T LET our status as nonprofits turn us into non-prophets.” My old friend Rev. Timothy McDonald III, senior pastor of First Iconium Baptist Church, said that at a town hall meeting on racism that we had in Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church last spring, on the anniversary of the murder of Martin Luther King Jr.

In McDonald’s “prophetic” way, he was pointing to a real dilemma that many of us as church leaders are having with this election. Namely, how do we speak to the clear Christian issues involved in this election without violating our status as a nonprofit organization? (Under IRS regulations, so-called 501(c)(3) organizations such as ours are prohibited from participating in political campaigns.) How do we raise up a morally independent stance, as opposed to a politically partisan position?

Sojourners has always sought to change the conversation of election debates by lifting up the voices and interests of those outside of traditional political discourse: the most vulnerable, who are often of least interest to those looking for votes or campaign contributions. We have never endorsed a candidate for president but have always raised the moral issues of poverty, peace, justice, and the dignity of every life during election campaigns and asked Christians to vote according to those values.

I spent three days in early September with three different groups of faith leaders who were trying to bring their faith to bear in this election. These meetings, which featured leaders from many faith traditions, ethnicities, and theological backgrounds, focused on how to respond to the divisive and dangerous racial rhetoric in this presidential election campaign. We sought to discern how to remain independent of partisan political causes, faithful to the transcendent Christian values that are clearly at stake in this election, respectful of Christians who are led to different voting preferences in every election (which is a healthy thing), and civil in our own public discourse in an election environment that seems to have lost all civility.

I have seldom felt such a deep and painful spiritual wrestling and soul-searching among Christians as I did at these three gatherings.

GIVEN THE imperfections and flaws among political candidates in these and other elections, it is hard to see most people of faith coming together as “for” one or another of the choices. People of faith, like the country, are divided politically as to who and what will best serve the range of issues we care about. But I have come to believe that we can and should come together around things that we must be “against.”

Racism strikes at the heart of the gospel, and racial reconciliation is at the core of the message of Jesus. Therefore, I believe that Christians can and must be against racial bigotry. We can’t ignore it, nor set it aside for other issues.

While issues of racism have often been implicit in our elections, they are now explicit, and racial bigotry, which is often expressed in the code language of “dog whistles,” has this time been sounded like a bullhorn. People of color are particularly afraid, especially for the safety and well-being of their children.

Our integrity as disciples of Jesus Christ is at risk here. White evangelicals have to decide if they are more white or evangelical. As I’ve written, “If white Christians acted more Christian than white, black parents would have less to fear for their children.” If a majority of white evangelicals end up being perceived as supporting racial bigotry in this election, it could be the obituary for the word “evangelical” in our lifetimes.

African-American, Latino, and Asian-American Christians are watching white Christians to see what they are going to do. And the rest of the world is watching as well.

As Christians, we cannot support division over unity, fear over hope, hate over love, and angry vitriol over respect. People will decide to vote for the best political outcomes they deem possible in imperfect elections, and they can decide to vote at some levels of the ballot and not at others.

But sometimes it is morally imperative that we stand up to say what we are against, and I believe this is one of those times. We should pray unceasingly, during this election season, for the soul and healing of the nation and the integrity of the churches.