As I shared in my last blog entry, there are times when it is our moral obligation as believers to disobey our government and the laws our elected representatives enact. The reason is simple. We are called to represent the Kingdom of God in the earth and to hold our civil authorities accountable to their God-given task. While our main assignment from Jesus is to win the lost and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20), we share the additional responsibility of being the conscience of our nation and the instrument of moral accountability.
Once again, I find inspiration from the words of Martin Luther King, Jr:
“The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state. If the church does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority.”
Richard Neuhaus agrees. He eloquently wrote that, “the Church can and should subject to moral questioning every political agenda or cause, thus keeping the entirety of human politics under the transcendent judgment of God.”
God forbid we that we ever become the “irrelevant social club” King warned would happen if we cowardly retreat to the cloistered confines of our church buildings. We have been given an important mandate from our Lord to be the moral conscience of our nation. May we never shrink from this essential task.
Marion and I had the privilege of speaking at the Family Research Council’s “Faith & Family Summit” in April of this year. Our topic was “Empowering Pastors to Be Salt & Light.” We encouraged pastors to be a prophetic voice and to engage their people in Christ’s command to “make disciples of all nations.”
The response from the people was both enthusiastic and alarming. “My pastor will not discuss controversial topics from the pulpit,” lamented one of the attendees. Another shook his head in disbelief as he shared of the total lack of involvementby his California, mega-church pastor in the “Prop. 8″ battle for the sanctity of marriage. The common thread we heard from all the people was a cry for their pastors to provide courageous leadership outside the four walls of the Church. I could hear them say, “Please lead us and we will follow.”
This is why we must look to the first American Revolution to find pastoral leadership models to guide us in our present conflicts. In 1898, Bishop Charles Galloway reviewed the role of preachers in the American Revolution. Here is his summary:
“Mighty men they were. Men of iron nerve and strong hand and unblanched cheek and a heart aflame…God needed not reeds shaken by the wind or men clothed in soft raiment (Matthew 11) but he needed heroes of hearty hood and lofty courage and such were the sons of the mighty who responded to the divine call…”
One of these “heroes” was Rev. John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg, the pastor of two churches and a member of the state legislature. On Jan 21, 1776, he preached a sermon from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 which includes the verse, “A time of war and a time of peace.” The night before, the British attacked the town of Williamsburg, Virginia. Rev. Muhlenberg rode 197 miles from Williamsburg to join his congregation in Woodstock, VA. At the conclusion of his sermon, Muhlenberg removes his clerical gown right in front of the congregation and stands before them in full military dress. He walks down the center aisle, preaching as he walks, and 300 of his men respond to his call to arms. These valiant men became the 8th Virginia military brigade. Rev. Muhlenberg goes on to become one of our highest ranking military generals.
Muhlenberg embodies what we mean by the expression, “Patriot Pastor.” We must faithfully stand in our pulpits declaring the whole counsel of God, but after we romove our ecclesiastical gowns, we must boldly lead the army of God in the task of cultural transformation. Preach the Word and engage the culture. The two must always be kept in balance.
My pastoral heroes do not come from the ranks of the current “politically correct, seeker sensitive, five-points- to- a- better-you, we all worship the same god, stop global warming, save the whales” genre. (Although, I do like whales). There was a day in American history where the pastors were on the front lines of revival and reformation in the culture. The declared God’s word with prophetic zeal and weren’t afraid to stand for truth even when it landed upon a few toes. They may not have won the popularity contests of their day, but they did win something more valuable: RESPECT.
I have a great deal of respect for the couragous “patriot pastors” who led the way during our fight for independence. Consider the leadership of Rev. James Caldwell. The Library of Congress features a painting by Henry Alexander Ogden entitled, “Rev. James Caldwell at the Battle of Springfield.” The painting portrays Rev. Caldwell on horseback handing out books to the soldiers, one of whom appears to be about to tear pages from the book.
Why is someone tearing pages out of a book? What book was it and why was this destructive act captured by the painter?
During the Revolutionary War, Rev. James Caldwell (1734-1781) was known as the “soldier parson” and the “rebel priest.” A presbyterian minister, Caldwell also served as chaplain of the Third New Jersey Brigade. In 1777 the British practically destroyed his hometown of Elizabethtown, including his church. Rev. Caldwell then began to hold services with loaded pistols on each side of the Bible and sentries in the belfry. During one battle near his church, the Americans ran out of paper stuffed into the muskets to keep the powder and ball from falling out. Rev. Caldwell ran to his church, gathered all the hymnbooks he could carry, and began distributing them to the soldiers. The hymns were written by Isaac Watts. As Pastor Caldwell passed out the books, he yelled, “Put Watts into’em boys! Give ‘em Watts!” Before the war was over, Rev. Caldwell would lose his wife and his own life as well.
Courageous patriot pastors, like Rev. Caldwell, led the way in standing against governmental tyranny and injustice. May God raise up more like him in our day!
