How would you like to play a round or two of “Jeopardy”! Remember
to phrase your answer in the form of a question.
How would you like to play a round or two of “Jeopardy”! Remember
to phrase your answer in the form of a question.
Clue: George Bush, John Kerry, Ralph Nader.
Answer: Can a pastor or a church endorse a particular candidate for president?
Clue: Federal Marriage Amendment, stem cell research, school vouchers.
Answer: Can a pastor or a church endorse a particular position on legislative
issues?
Of course, the answers above only raise more questions, and the real answers
may be the difference between fulfilling a biblical calling and finding yourself
squarely in the legal crosshairs of the Internal Revenue Service.
Can pastors and churches comment on political issues?
Well, yes … and no.
Every election year, thousands of churches are frozen in inaction because they
are deathly afraid the federal government is going to swoop into their church
and take away their tax-exempt status. Their perspective is – it is better
to do nothing than to risk a tete-a-tete with the IRS.
However, with a little research and help from the iVoteValues.com Web site
(www.ivotevalues.com) sponsored by the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious
Liberty Commission, Christians can find clarity in the murky waters of the electoral
and political processes.
First, understand that it is legal and perfectly proper for Christians to be
involved in the processes of their government, despite the copious amounts of
misinformation about “church-state” issues communicated by the mainstream
media and liberal groups. God ordained government and expects us to be a part
of the process.
“Everyone must submit to the governing authorities, for there is no authority
except from God, and those that exist are instituted by God” (Romans 13:1,
HCSB).
We are called by Christ to be “salt” and “light” in our
world. Something cannot be “salted” or “lit” unless there
is actual physical application of the salt or light. So, how do we fulfill our
biblical mandates without compromising our nonprofit designations?
Below are a few key points, but there is a comprehensive and understandable
list at the www.ivotevalues.com
site. Look in the right-hand column for the large heading, “Know Your Rights.”
It will explain everything.
Churches, as tax-exempt organizations, cannot be involved in partisan
politics. Partisan is the operative word. Yet, there is nothing in the U.S.
tax code, in federal election law or the Bible that prohibits churches from
being involved in the civic processes of our nation.
The rules for all tax-exempt organizations are simple – no
endorsing of candidates, no favoring of one candidate over another. Any outreach
for voter awareness or voter registration must be broad-based. In other words,
you have to make your efforts available to anyone who wants to participate.
And when you are addressing the issues, you need to address a wide range of
issues.
Churches can host nonpartisan voter registration drives as long
as they allow anyone who wants to register to vote to register and as long as
those involved in the drive do not encourage registering so individuals can
vote for candidate X over candidate Y.
Churches can, at their discretion, host candidate forums for the
benefit of the community when all candidates are invited to attend. The church
property is not off-limits to this kind of “voter education activity,”
as the IRS calls it. These activities are permissible within the tax guidelines
for 501(c)(3) organizations.
Our faith in Christ is to salt all that we do. If a persons relationship
with Jesus does not impact what he says, how he acts and what he thinks, he
might need to revisit his relationship with him (1 Peter 4:11). If our faith
directs our behavior every day of the week, should it not then direct our decisions
when it comes to what candidates we are supporting? That is called values-based
voting.
Values-based voting requires taking stock of your own values as derived from
the Word of God and, then, examining the convictions of the candidates. Then,
vote with purpose for those candidates whose positions square with your scripturally-informed
values.(BP)