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THE CHURCH AND THE POLITICAL
In his book The Church (1995), Edmund Clowney describes positively the role of church members and officers in a democracy. While we can always quibble and say, "bUt wE'Re A rEpUBliC!" his points still stand.
Regarding the laity, Clowney says they ought to "consult together on political issues" (192). Clowney does not take time to outline what level of organization or action this "consultation" may or should reach, but he certainly doesn't promote the seemingly ubiquitous poo-pooing of politics as one of many "idols" that Christians may be tempted toward. This is because Clowney recognizes that, at root, politics is the science of loving your neighbor and is therefore eminently worthy of Christian attention.
He has more to say about the role of church officers. "So, too, the special officers of the church must provide biblical guidance and wisdom to assist in Christian analysis of political questions. The church has a prophetic role to perceive and expose ethical questions that underlie political issues. Where God has spoken in condemning sin, whether sodomy or financial exploitation, the church cannot be silent" (192-193). As the chapter continues, Clowney does make clear his disapproval of an overtly "Christian" state. I disagree with him on this point (as does, I believe, the bulk of the Protestant tradition). Presently, however, I want to discuss the good positive instruction he provided above.
1) Providing biblical guidance and wisdom to assist in Christian analysis of political questions. This is a simple question of shepherding. As Clowney noted, our form of government entrusts political responsibility and authority to each citizen of the nation. Just as any given man may be a husband, father, and employee, he is also a citizen. It seems that many conservative churches have emphasized the former roles but have neglected to shepherd the flock in the exercise of their citizenship. Instead, they incessantly remind the flock that they are "citizens of the heavenly kingdom" as a means of discouraging (purportedly) undue political interest. Interestingly, they tend not to remind the saints that they are "members of the heavenly family" as a means of encouraging neglect of their natural familial duties. But this rhetoric is actively used against so-called "idolatry" of the political.
Speaking positively, what does it look like to provide the flock with "biblical guidance and wisdom" for political questions? Realistically, it probably looks like a more moderated commitment to book-by-book, verse-by-verse preaching to allow for topical sermons when the need arises. The members of each flock are searching for answers to these contentious questions, and it is not a matter of if they will find answers, but where. Will they get answers from thoughtful and accountable elders who care for their souls, or internet pundits who are largely seeking clicks? It also means considering whether any given text that is being preached has application to the life of the citizen in the same way we also look for application in the spheres of family and work. Our churches are full of citizens, but those citizens receive very little teaching on how their faith ought to inform their political engagement. And now, even the fig leaf defense that churches might lose their tax-exempt status for such political discussion has been removed.
2) Still under the heading of the duties of church officers, Clowney says that the church has a "prophetic role to perceive and expose ethical questions that underlie political issues." Whereas point one addressed how pastors shepherd their own flock and the communication was Pastor -> Congregation, here Clowney seems to indicate that, like the prophets, the pastor also has a duty to address the world. This is communication Pastor -> World. And what is the aim? To show the world that their supposedly "secular" and "purely political" decisions are actually subject to God's judgment, as he is the King of kings. The church fails in its duty when it allows the world to careen towards judgment without warning. Preaching repentance means nothing to a culture that is unaware of its own sin. When John the Baptist preached repentance, he was specific: the crowds were to give charitably to those in need; the tax collectors were to collect no more than they were authorized; the soldiers were not to extort money by threats or false accusations and were to be content with their wages (Luke 3). The church is called address the sins of its culture specifically and to prescribe the proper forms of repentance.
It is also worth noting Clowney's inclusion of the word "perceive." Church leaders cannot expose the ethical issues at play until they perceive them, and lamentably few pastors seem to have this perception. One side-effect of this reality is that when church members voice concern about such issues to their pastors, the pastors cannot rightly gauge the validity of the concern so as to either comfort or correct the congregant properly, let alone to lead their church to to action on such issues.
While it is theoretically possible to "idolize" politics, that is not the ditch that most conservative Protestant churches ride along. Instead, we are riding the atomistic, neglectful ditch that claims politics is useless and that active work in the realm of politics is participating in an "over-realized eschatology" that is seeking to manifest the spiritual kingdom of Christ by earthly means. Any pastor who has preached a sermon that focused on parenting, finances, marriage, or any other similar topic has no excuse for not preaching on politics, as all these issues are similarly secondary. The argument that "this isn't the church's role" can be equally applied to all those other topics. (It should be noted that it would be equally wrong when applied to all those other topics.)
What if, instead, pastors actively encouraged political engagement in the recognition that the polis matters, and the politics is nothing more than the attempt to secure the good of our families and our neighbors? People will be political. You will not convince the present generation of young men that politics doesn't matter. Praise God, many young men have begun to recognize that it is actually better to care about politics than Marvel movies, or sports teams, or any of the other trains of endless slop. But if the officers of churches will not engage with and teach on the political realities and questions of the day, these young men will simply engage in a way that is uninformed by their spiritual leaders.
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