Am I a crazy conservative or a looney liberal?  I have been called both in the last month.

I should probably go ahead and admit to the crazy and the looney part, but much to the frustration of some of my friends and even fellow pastors, I don’t think I am either a conservative or a liberal—at least politically.  The fact that I don’t fit into either category doesn’t bother me at all, for I don’t define myself primarily in political terms.   

Please hear me out before you write me off!

Biblically speaking, I accept the Bible completely as God’s Word and our ultimate source of truth.  I take Jesus seriously, and I try to model my life and my ministry closely after Him.  I work hard to study the Bible (and teach it) and find out exactly what it means.  So, I can say by way of introduction that I am a Biblical conservative.  

But when people try to peg me as a political conservative or a political liberal, the tags don’t fit.  I honestly don’t even try to be conservative, nor do I aspire to be progressive.  My goal is to be as Biblical as possible, and I attempt to model my thoughts and actions after Jesus.  That’s my goal.

I’m not claiming to be there yet.  God is still working on me, refining me, rebuking me when I’m wrong, and correcting my faults.  Quite often, my study of the Bible challenges my assumptions on issues that I thought were settled in my mind.  I’m still learning to think like Jesus.  And that is a process.

Still, people try to peg me as a conservative or a liberal because of the way American culture categorizes beliefs and judges those immediately who aren’t in their camp.   In that regard we are as bad as the Pharisees and Sadducees of the New Testament era—and maybe worse.  We should remember that neither of those two groups pleased Jesus.

Here are some examples of why I’ve been labeled as either conservative or liberal.  Notice that my goal (in italics in each bullet point) is to seek truth from the Bible rather than from a political ideology:

I believe that abortion is wrong, so people label me a conservative.  I get my belief from the Bible, which teaches that human life is made in the image of God.  Therefore, I consider human life to be special and unique and to be protected and to be taken only in extreme circumstances.  See Genesis 1:27 and Exodus 20:13.

I believe we need to do a great job of taking care of the environment, cleaning up our water and air, and reducing atmospheric carbon, so people label me a liberal.  I get my belief from the Bible, which teaches that the Earth was created by God, and we are obligated to care for it and manage it well.  See Genesis 1:26-31 in which God gave mankind responsibility for the Earth.  Furthermore, several Old Testament prophets (see Jeremiah 2:7 for one example) called out the Israelites for not caring for the land.

I believe we should elect governmental leaders with a high standard of honesty, morality, and integrity.  People label me a conservative when I apply that standard to liberals and a liberal when I apply that standard to conservatives.  I get my belief from the Bible, which teaches that there is a Biblical standard for life and especially for leaders.  It applies to all leaders.  See Exodus 18:21 and Proverbs 16:12 for a few of the many verses that give Biblical standards for leadership.

I believe we (and I apply that to individuals, families, churches, and governments) need a balanced budget and that we shouldn’t spend more than we have, so people label me a conservative.  I get my belief from the Bible, which teaches that we should be good stewards of our resources.  See Proverbs 6:6-8.  There are many other verses in Proverbs that talk about hard work, restraint in spending, putting money aside for the future, and using wisdom in spending.

I believe that citizens of other countries are as important as we are and that our love and concern for people does not end at the border, so people label me as a liberal.  I get my belief from the Bible.  It clearly teaches that all people are made in the image of God.  Furthermore, there is no specific mention of the United States in the Bible, so I recognize we are just one nation among many.  See the way that Jesus treated Gentiles in Matthew 15:21-28 and how the early church treated an Ethiopian in Acts 8:26-40.  See also Peter’s vision in Acts 10.  And recall that the entire teaching of the New Testament is that we are citizens of God’s Kingdom first and foremost.  

On the other hand, I believe that the United States of America has been tremendously blessed by God and I love my country deeply, so people peg me as a conservative.  I get my belief from the Bible, which teaches us to thank God for all good things and to support our government.  See Romans 13:1-7.

I read a lot of science and history in addition to reading the Bible, so to some people, that makes me a liberal.  I get my belief from the Bible.  God created the world and so to study science is to study what God has made.  God has also been in control since the beginning and so to study history is to study how God has worked over time.  I don’t always agree with the conclusions of scientists or historians (nor do they always agree with each other), but I consider the study of both science and history as important ways to seek truth.  See Genesis 1:1 for the truth that God created everything.  All that has happened started with God.  Everything that exists started with God.

I believe we are to respect and pray for our president.  When a conservative was in office, people thought that made me a conservative.  When a liberal is in office, people think that apparently makes me a liberal.  I believe the Bible teaches that governmental leaders are to be respected and prayed for—regardless of who they are.  See 1 Timothy 2:1-2.  (And before you give the standard complaint that it’s hard to respect ungodly leaders, remember that this was written during the era of the Roman Empire and the Emperors and Kings under them were notoriously ungodly.)

I believe that God’s people are to feed the hungry, so people label me as a conservative when I feed American citizens and label me as a liberal when I feed asylum seekers.  I get my belief from the Bible, in which God’s people are commanded to feed the hungry, whoever and wherever they may be.  See Matthew 25:35-40.

I believe that our country has made serious errors in the way we have treated native Americans, blacks, and others and that racism is still an issue, so I’ve been labeled a liberal.  I get my belief from the Bible, which strongly condemns racism, promotes honesty (even the tough truths about ourselves and our government), and teaches us to treat all people with respect.  I can’t give chapter and verse on history, but no serious historian beleves that we have been free from racism; indeed it has been one of our country’s most serious sins, and we have not yet conquered it.  I point to Peter’s Vision once again in Acts 10 as a passage in which even the disciples themselves needed a lesson from Jesus that God loves all people.

I believe in freedom of religion, so I’m labeled as a conservative when I apply that to Christians, but a liberal when I apply that to Muslims.  I get my belief from the Bible, which teaches us that the gospel is to be preached freely and it needs no governmental support, nor should the government hinder it.  The power of the Holy Spirit is sufficient.  See Acts 4:1-22 in which Peter and John were taken into custody for preaching Jesus.  They asked for no governmental support or preference.  They wanted freedom, but they proclaimed that they were going to continue to preach regardless.

My absolute belief and trust in the truth of the Bible makes me a conservative, but since I don’t use the KJV, I was told recently that I was a liberal.  I get my belief from the Bible, which teaches that the Bible is God’s word and should be honored, studied, and obeyed.  It does not, however, command any specific translation.  See 2 Timothy 3:16.

My willingness to lead our church to call women deacons led some people to call me a liberal.  I get my belief from the Bible which clearly mentions women deacons.  See Romans 16:1.  Phoebe was a deaconess, though some translations use the word “servant.”  The word used is the feminine form of the same Greek word (diakonas) used for deacons.

My belief that God’s plan for marriage is for one man and one woman to unite for life makes me a conservative.  I get that belief from the Bible, which clearly shows that this has been God’s plan from the beginning.  See Genesis 2:20-25 and Jesus’ use of that passage in Mark 10.

My belief in the separation of church and state is conservative, but my willingness to cooperate with other denominations and non-profit groups to help people is considered liberal by some.  I get my belief from the Bible, which teaches us to cooperate with others to do God’s work.  See Mark 9:40 in which the disciples saw someone doing the work of Jesus that they did not recognize as being part of their group.  Jesus told them, “Whoever is not against us is for us.”

I do not publicly campaign for or endorse any political candidates, nor do I tell anyone (except for my family) how I voted.  This leads many to suspect that I am not of their party or ideology.  I get my belief from the Bible, which teaches pastors to speak for Jesus and for Biblical truth.  I don’t want to mix that calling with any purely political ideology or candidate. I do have strong opinions—as this blog indicates and as my family knows—but I do not publicly point to any specific candidate or party.  Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:2 to, “Preach the Word,” and I consider that my commission.  There is no example of any preacher in the New Testament who preached the politics of the Roman Empire or of any country they ministered in.  They preached the gospel to non-believers and discipleship to believers.

I work hard to show love and compassion to all people, but I’m often labeled as a liberal when I do so to asylum seekers, transgender people, followers of Islam, homosexuals, convicts, and others.  I get my belief from the Bible and I try to follow the example of Jesus.  Jesus showed incredible love to open and notorious sinners as well as to outcast and hurting people.  The Bible is extremely clear that we are to love all people whether we agree with them or not.  It completely distresses me that some Christians view that compassion as a negative rather than a positive.  See the many times Jesus showed love to sinners.  In John 8, he showed compassion to an adultress.  In Luke 7, He did the same to a “sinful woman.”  Jesus didn’t always agree with their lifestlyes, and sometimes He pointed out their sin, but He still treated them with compassion.

I could go on with a few dozen more examples, but if you’ve read carefully, you have picked up on two things that are true about me.  First, and least importantly, I don’t like to be put into a category that doesn’t fit me and then be judged because of that categorization.  Judge me if you wish on my actions and my words (you can find ammunition there) or on my opinions (you can find ammunition there as well), but don’t judge me based on an incorrect assumption that you think is true of me.

Most importantly, though, I believe that Jesus followers can and should get our thoughts, attitudes, beliefs, actions, and opinions from God as revealed to us through the Bible.  If there is any confusion or misunderstanding on how to apply the Bible, we look directly to Jesus to know how to act and how to live.  As God’s Son, He is our prime example on how we should apply Biblical principles and teachings in daily life.

Feel free to disagree with me on any of the points above.  I love to debate and I don’t take disagreement personally.  But even if you disagree with a few points above, please do not miss out on my main point.  As followers of Jesus, we should not strive to be conservative, nor should we strive to be progressive.  Our ideas should not come from political parties, candidates, the media, governmental spokesmen, celebrities, the world of music and entertainment, or from ideological assumptions.

We are Jesus followers, so He is our ultimate example.

We are believers in The Book, so we study it thoroughly to get our beliefs and opinions.

We are God’s people, so we seek God and His truth.  

We are not primarily Americans, conservatives, liberals, libertarians, or anything else.  Therefore, our ideas, thoughts, and opinions should come from God and His Word.  And when we’re looking for an example on how to live, talk, and love, our ultimate model should be Jesus.  We must constantly evaluate our opinions, politics, ideologies, and thought patterns in the light of Biblical teaching and the example of Jesus.

That’s a huge part of what it means to believe in and follow Jesus!