The Supreme Court this week overturned a long-standing rule on religious freedom that will have a major impact on the way some pastors and some churches do their work.

It won’t change even to the slightest degree how I preach or teach.

Here are the details:  Previously, according to an IRS ruling, churches would lose their non-profit status if they endorsed a political candidate or party. It wasn’t often enforced, so many pastors and churches did so anyway, but it was a tool that the IRS could use to keep churches out of the political arena. If a church were to lose their non-profit status, they would pay more in taxes and members could not deduct any tithes and offerings to the church. Until now, when churches endorsed—at least in theory—they would be treated as a political party and lose the benefits of being a non-profit organization.

This week, after a legal challenge and a lengthy battle through the court system, the Supreme Court said that the first amendment protection of religious freedom meant that churches could preach or teach whatever they thought was best, including endorsing a political candidate or a bill.

I’m not a constitutional lawyer or a judge, but I believe I would have voted the same way. I believe strongly in religious freedom, and I don’t want any government agency telling me, “You can’t say that, or you lose your tax status.” 

Still, though, I hope and pray that churches will have the self-control to refrain from endorsing a candidate for any office. Just because we CAN doesn’t mean that we SHOULD.

When people think of the church or of me as a pastor, I want them to think of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I want them to hear the truths of the Bible. I want them to hear what it means to follow Jesus. I want them to know Biblical morality.

In a divided country like ours, endorsing a candidate means that I am immediately offending 50% of our potential audience. Most of the offended won’t listen to anything else I say. And even for those who agree with me, I’m opening the door for more andmore political talk, and I do not want to become a political organization. We are a LOVE GOD, LOVE PEOPLE, and FOLLOW JESUS organization, and that’s what I want people to hear about us and from us.  If I’m going to offend, I’d rather it be because I’m speaking about Jesus than about politics.

It’s not that I won’t take a stand. If you’ve read my blogs or listened to my preaching, you know that I do take stands on Biblical and moral issues frequently—enough so that I sometimes rub people the wrong way. Some of these issues have political implications, obviously, but I speak as a pastor teaching the Bible and not as a politician promoting a candidate or an agenda.

The Supreme Court has changed the rules, and I understand why they did it, but it won’t change how I preach, teach, or write. I hope other churches will join me in this stand.

Pastors, preachers, and churches—preach Jesus and the truths of the Bible and leave endorsements and politicking to others.