As pastors, I believe we have a responsibility to teach our congregations how to choose good leadership. Choosing leaders who represent God’s values the best.
During an election you have the privilege to vote. I suggest you look at the parties who are running. Whether they are republican, democrat, or independent, to see whose values best line up and represent God.
When choosing good godly leadership, examine all parties, look for leadership parties who acknowledge God and have a relationship with him. Look at the full list of candidates who are running and their support team of advisers and their relationships with God. We read in Jeremiah, that any moment God can choose to tear down leadership and a country, because of their wicked ways. Or, He can raise up leadership and a country, if they repent for their wicked ways and get right with God.
In Jeremiah 18:8-10 MSG version, we read:
Then GOD’s Message came to me: “Can’t I do just as this potter does, people of Israel?” God’s Decree! “Watch this potter. In the same way that this potter works his clay, I work on you, people of Israel. At any moment I may decide to pull up a people or a country by the roots and get rid of them. But if they repent of their wicked lives, I will think twice and start over with them. At another time I might decide to plant a people or country, but if they don’t cooperate and won’t listen to me, I will think again and give up on the plans I had for them.
After reading this verse, even if the leader doesn’t have a relationship with Him now, in the end we need leadership who will submit to God’s authority. God wants to be right with them.
I am not an expert in a lot of things, but I do know about life issues. Pastors, many of you lead large congregations, please, do not lead them astray by leaving them on their own to figure this out. Take the responsibility to teach and help guide your congregations how to vote. There are so many good qualities that God is looking for when choosing good leadership for countries, but I think the big one in all elections is about life. God is for life. Look at the parties who are for life, and choose them. Vote for the parties who represent life. God is not for abortion. Do not vote for the parties who represent abortion.
Many of you as pastors, might need to take a stand. If you haven’t already for yourself, to align yourself with God’s values in your voting. Your congregations need to see you stand up for life in your free choice of choosing as you vote this year and future years. You are training the people in your congregations how to be Christian people and Christian leaders.
Who knows some of these people in your congregations may go on and be the future politicians of our country. Have you prepared them for life issues? The people do what you do. If you don’t tell them how to choose life or how to vote for a politician who represents life, then they won’t either.
This year I would like to encourage everyone to get out and vote. This year we have the freedom to vote. God is watching how you vote. Let’s do all we can in the natural world, by getting out and voting. Letting our voices be heard by choosing leadership parties and their support teams of advisers who best represent God. Let’s be thankful that we have the opportunity to let our voice be heard through our votes for our country. It is a privilege to vote and represent God’s voice at the election polls.
So, what can we do if we haven’t been talking about life issues from the pulpit? I pray that you would have the courage to begin to.
God represents so much that is not spoken from the pulpit. I heard another senior pastor speaking from a recent pro-life conference I attended online. Both her and her husband lead a multicultural, multinational church. They are church planters of two churches. She was speaking from their church in Florida. They have not been politically correct. The teaching was about how to bring those hot topics into your pulpit. God has the antidote to abortion, divorce, sex trafficking, homosexuality, sleeping around and addiction. These are some of the hot topics that fall under life issues. Also, I believe when people experience these things and are left on their own, they become a wounded spirit suffering in pain sitting silently in your congregation. If you don’t talk about them from your pulpit, the people think God is silent on this and doesn’t have an answer on that issue. The people think God doesn’t care about their wounded spirit pain they are carrying around. They think that their problems in these areas are too big for God to handle. You have to say something about each of these topics to trigger a response from them. Slip sayings, examples into your pastoring, teaching, sermons, “Hey I know some of you out there have experienced abortion. I want you to know that you can be healed and forgiven from that. God sees it, and He loves you and He has healing for you.”
If you don’t tell them that there is healing for all these hot topics I have listed, who will tell them? How will they find healing? It’s better they hear it from you.
Romans 10:14 talks about preaching the truth. We have to preach the truth of the sin, so that the people won’t do it.
For example, preach against the sin of sex trafficking. If we don’t talk about it, they will never know.
If we condone sin with our silence or theology like its ok, God loves you, we are communicating through our silence thats its ok. We’ve communicated that their pain and sin is ok.
It’s never too late to begin talking about these topics from your pulpit. Even if you don’t fully understand the topic or have the answer to these issues or know how to address them, you have to slip it in your pastoring, teachings, sermons, that God through His word, has answers to all of these woundings of pain. God has answers and cares for you. You can be healed and set free from your wounds of abortion, divorce, sex trafficking, homosexuality, sleeping around and addiction.
Thanks for reading,
Live, Life, Liberated.
Julie Weber
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