A Call to Action for the Church: Reject “Shun Politics” and Encourage Believers to Get Involved In Government!

With pastors across the Unites States beginning to stand against the heavy hand of government that has shuttered churches citing COVID-19 prevention as their reason while simultaneously allowing rioting in the streets, the cultural impact that Capitol Ministries’ mission has on the “here and now” is becoming increasingly important.

For decades, some prominent Evangelical pastors have taught from their pulpits and in books they’ve authored that committed Christians should shun the rough and tumble and slightly unseemly world of politics.

This concept, hammered hard on Sunday mornings by well-known men of God, has taken deep root in our nation. But such teaching is now yielding dire consequences as some mayors and governors are inexplicably calling lawless rioters “peaceful protestors” and allowing them to loot businesses, threaten innocent citizens, destroy historic statues, burn flags and Bibles in the streets, and set fire to cities while forcing police to stand down and churches to remain closed.

Believer’s shunning the institution of government has resulted in an underrepresentation of men and women of faith at all levels of our nation’s governance.

The United States was founded on Judeo-Christian values, many of our nation’s early lawmakers were in fact pastors. Today however, for a lack of sufficient men and women of God in government, increasingly, many of our laws and policies — and responsive decisions — run contrary to God’s precepts.

Many political leaders not only do not understand our Christian heritage and values but are attempting to smother the church’s influence in society. What else should we expect from those who are “dead in their trespasses and sin” (Ephesians 2:1), those who have not been regenerated by Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit? Some political leaders even argue that government should abolish the church altogether.

Christians have only ourselves to blame—at least those of us who have followed the lead of Evangelical pastors who do not view the institution of civil government as a mission field.

These same pastors do a good job preparing godly leaders for God’s institutions of family, marriage, and Church, but have a blind spot when it comes to doing the same for the state. Accordingly, they — and all of society — ends up reaping the devastation that their missional irresponsibility has caused.

This widely-touted “shun politics” concept is an aberrant view that is not supported by the Bible.

God’s Word takes a bold and declarative stand throughout the Old and the New Testaments that government is an important God-ordained institution that should be influenced by men and women of faith.

This does not mean that nations today should be theocracies as Israel was in the Old Testament. That era is over. The New Testament teaches that state and church in today’s time are to be separate institutionally, but that the church is to influence the state.

Among the Church’s primary roles are to evangelize and disciple believers so that they may influence the world around them including serving in political office. Jesus said: “You are the salt of the earth” and “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13, 14).

Notice that Jesus does not footnote “you are the salt and light of the world” with (“except in government”). You would think He did, given what some pastors have preached!

Civil government is a critically important mission field. Would governmental leaders be shutting down churches today if those same churches had been sending their best Christian leaders into office?

For 24 years, Capitol Ministries has operated contrary to the “shun politics” trend among Evangelicals because God’s Word places a high priority on reaching political leaders with the Gospel.

For nearly a quarter of a century, Capitol Ministries has created ministries to make disciples of Jesus Christ in the political arenas of the world and support these public servants in their vital roles.

In a “we the people” form of civil government, the Church must send its disciples into civil government in order to preserve and illuminate it as agents of salt and light.

It follows that with a missiology that excludes civil government as a mission field, it is only a matter of time until an increasingly secular civil government begins to persecute the church.

How can banning religious services be about public safety when governors are allowing abortion clinics, casinos, marijuana dispensaries, and many other businesses to remain open?

Are not the pastors who preach this the ones to blame for their own church demise and the demise of so many other churches around the nation?

Now is the time for the Church to support those Christians who are already in public office and to disciple, encourage, equip, and commission young believers in their congregations to lead our nation through government.

As well, now is the time for churches to partner with Capitol Ministries as we work with those who are elected to office. Failure to do so will result in more of what we are presently, increasingly witnessing: national erosion and darkness.

In His service,

Ralph Drollinger
President and Founder of Capitol Ministries

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