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Pastors shouldn’t endorse political candidates
A screen shot of video from Calvary’s Web site showing Pastor Skip Heitzig praying for Republican gubernatorial candidate Allen Weh on April 18.
The pastor of an Albuquerque megachurch allowed Republican gubernatorial candidate Allen Weh to speak to the church and prayed for him in front of the congregation. Because Weh’s opponents weren’t invited to do the same, that’s an implicit endorsement – and it’s not appropriate.
In October 2008, my church’s pastor asked me and several others to take part in a panel discussion about the upcoming election. He asked people of different political persuasions to be on the panel because he wanted the congregation to know it was OK to worship in the same church but disagree on political issues – in other words, to know it was OK to vote for John McCain or Barack Obama.
So we talked about political issues in front of a few dozen people on a Wednesday night. It was clear we had some disagreements, but everyone on the panel was respectful and made the event a safe place to discuss those differences.
Though my church is evangelical – meaning that most people there fall somewhere on the conservative side of the political, moral and social spectrums – the response to our panel discussion was largely positive. A few who are Democrats or were thinking about voting for Obama told me they were thankful that our pastor sought to foster a climate in which political disagreement was safe.
That incident made me proud of my church and my pastor – a conservative man in a very conservative culture who has the wisdom to understand that his mission isn’t political: It’s about healing division, repairing hearts and relationships and helping people find and grow in their faith.
A prayer and a political speech
Heath Haussamen
With that experience in mind, I read with interest a recent Albuquerque Journal report about Republican gubernatorial candidate Allen Weh being allowed to speak at four services of the city’s 14,000-member Calvary of Albuquerque megachurch during the weekend of April 18.
I decided to check out the situation for myself. I watched video of the service and saw the church’s pastor, Skip Heitzig, pray for Weh, who is a member of the church. Heitzig told the church that Weh had asked for prayer. He said he would “love to pray for anybody who wants to represent the Lord in that arena.”
Then Heitzig delved into politics.
“Allen’s been a part of our church for some time,” he told the church. “He’s not a career politician. I’m sort of stealing all of his lines here, but he’s fought in the military. He’s been a Marine. He’s fought for our county on many occasions. And he’s been in business, but again he feels like the Lord is calling him and he wants us to pray for him, so we’ll do that.”
Weh didn’t ask for votes but did give a brief speech.
“I’m running for governor to change the way we do business in this state and restore integrity to the office of chief executive,” Weh said. “As Skip said, I am not a career politician. I’ve never run for public office before in my life. I’m a businessman. I’m a retired U.S. Marine. I’m a father, I’m a grandfather, and I’m a Christian with faith. And those are the experiences and skills I will take to the governor’s office if I’m elected as your governor.”
When Heitzig prayed, he didn’t ask God to help Weh win. Instead, he asked “that Your will might be done, whatever that is,” and that Weh would have the strength to handle whatever God’s will would bring.
A pastor’s influence
I’m glad Heitzig didn’t explicitly endorse Weh or ask God to do so. But I’m still uncomfortable with how this played out.
Weh may not have asked for votes. But he certainly made the case for why he’s a strong candidate, using familiar lines from his campaign speeches and news releases.
Had all the other Republican – and Democratic – gubernatorial candidates been invited to do the same, I’d have no issue with the situation. But I verified with three other campaigns that they didn’t receive an invitation.
In my view, the fact that other candidates weren’t offered the same opportunity makes this an implicit endorsement of Weh. Pastors have a huge amount of influence over their flocks, particularly in evangelical churches. What they say goes unquestioned by many. And when a pastor gives someone the opportunity to sell himself before the congregation, it’s an implicit statement of support for whatever that person is doing.
Unless his opponents are also given the opportunity to sell themselves.
There are rules that prevent churches from engaging in partisan politics, but I don’t think this situation threatens the church’s standing with the IRS because there was no explicit endorsement by Heitzig or plea for votes by Weh.
Promoting understanding or spreading division?
However, the implicit endorsement raises a deeper issue.
Pastors can use their influence as a healing force – to find common ground, foster a culture of treating all people as human beings, and promote a spirit of love and understanding. Such churches help heal society’s ills.
I believe what my church did with the 2008 panel discussion is a great example of that.
Pastors can also use their influence to spread the disease of division by engaging in partisan politics. I watched a number of evangelical churches do that in 2008 by giving tacit support to McCain in special events featuring some high-profile national speakers.
Churches that engage in partisan politics alienate the other half of the country. In 2008, I actually heard one of those high-profile, McCain-supporting speakers use the word “enemy” to describe people who work in Hollywood.
People aren’t our enemies. War, disease, poverty… those are some of our enemies.
Give the other candidates the same opportunity
I don’t know what Heitzig’s motive was in allowing Weh to speak before the church and receive prayer without inviting the other candidates to do the same. Heitzig is in Israel and currently unreachable, the church told me, so I wasn’t able to ask if he even considered inviting the other candidates.
However, Heitzig said during that April 18 service that he would be happy to pray for “anybody who wants to represent the Lord” in the political arena. Now he needs to give the other gubernatorial candidates that opportunity by inviting them to come before his church.
That would let parishioners know they’re welcome to worship Jesus even if they don’t support Weh’s candidacy. It would let people of all political persuasions know that Calvary of Albuquerque is a safe place to grow in their faith. It would be a strong step toward demonstrating some integrity.
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It wasn’t that long ago that churches that preached against war were investigated by the IRS, and threatened with having their tax exemption forfeited; and those that showed the video purporting that Georgejr was the Second Coming weren’t.
I’m not sure exactly what the problem is. This article stated that Weh is a member if Heitzig’s church. Churches pray for their members because they are family. That’s how churches work. No matter what the issue, the church does not (nor shold they be required) to invite someone from the opposite side whenever they pray for one of their own family.
I’m sure that everyone from that church knows that one of their own is running for governor and did not need to be reminded. I’m also sure that they already know whether they will vote for him or not. Neither Skip nor Weh specifically asked for votes.
I understand the concern of whether churches endorse specific candidates but I think this post is making more of the issue than is actually there. I wonder how many people could have mis-read what happened at your church if they had not been there.
(Note: I attend nether Heitzigs church nor a Calvary Chapel and I also do not plan on voting for Weh. Just throwing that out there so nobody thinks I’m endorsing anybody.)
laloba,
Yes, and in the early days of this country we had legalized slavery, women were not allowed to vote, and leeching was considered state of the art medicine. Just because they did something in 1790 doesn’t mean it should be done now.
When religious leaders try to control the political process through either supporting politicians or specific policies (including Rev Wright) they are getting out of their job. I liked Heath’s description of what a preacher is supposed to do, “It’s about healing division, repairing hearts and relationships and helping people find and grow in their faith”. Endorsing someone in front of your church (and lets face it everyone, that is exactly what this is) only serves to divide people and lead them away from faith in some higher power.
If they want to be politicians, then they should run themselves like Pat Robertson. Luckily, those that have tried have never been all that successful because most Americans, even most Christians, are uncomfortable being told how to pray.
By the way, if you check, I think you’ll find the Col. is a member of the church he was introduced to……Maybe the pastor will introduce all of his congregation who are running for office.
Wow, amazing displays of ignorance of fact and of history. If it wasn’t so pitiful, it would be funny.
Documented history tells us that in the early days of this country, while the authors of the constitution were still living, election days began in the churches, with sermons, admonishing the citizens to vote for those who would stand for right and righteousness in office. A number of those sermons are still around. They were written out so folks could take them to the polling places with them.
There is no violation of IRS rules to have candidates speak at a church. There are rules that govern any 501C3, but if it doesn’t go over the cost limits or the time limits there just is no problem with it. If a church endorsed a candidate, they might get some flack for that, but pastors can introduce whomever they please. Liberal intimidation aside, the big question is where were these whiners when ole’ Dr. Wright was flapping his jowls for Obama? Didn’t hear them beating their drums then! Oh, one sided, you say. I understand now.
Thank you for this informative post, Heath. In addition, thanks to KEMVrba for additional light on what is a very ugly phenomenon in American politics and fundamentalist christianity today.
@bobwolfe
Clearly I was pointing out the over the top rhetoric you chose to use when you decided to comment on Republicans and their beliefs.
I choose to believe that there is some good in everyone, no matter what their beliefs are. Not all GOP are overbearing Christians and on that same note not all Democrats are progressives. For too long our country has been run by the extremes of both parties; this is the reason that nothing gets done, and when something is done it creates massive controversy.
I am so sick of all this rhetoric from both sides- Yes I maybe Republican but I know that if we work together things will get done the right way the first time!
People like you are the reason why our country is in the shape that it is… Open your mind to new ideas! Isn’t your party the one that touts liberalism and free thinking?
Heath, Major applause for this article. I wholeheartedly agree. As others have said, this does go on all over the country but, it still doesn’t make it right. I’m reluctant to invite the people, whom I attend worship services with, to my home for a Meet & Greet with a candidate I am supporting, let alone try to have them speak in church. Calvary should lose their 501(c)3 status for this.
@garciam2007r
So now I have “no respect for the working class citizens and life in general…” because I voted for Obama. The hyperbole in your post is same over the top rhetoric I hear from you guys/gals when faced with facts you don’t like. BTW, it’s true that Reagan is largely responsible for bringing the ultra conservative religious right into political prominence. Dispute that.
@KEMVrba
You wrote: “You can be sure he would have a tremendous amount of influence in a Weh administration.”
Great post. Scary thought.
Bobwolfe – If that’s what “Reagan” Republicans do, then I guess it’s fair to say that having no respect for the working class citizens and life in general is what “Progressive OBAMA” Democrats do…
If anyone checked the Bernalillo County list of delegates to the Republican Pre-Primary Convention held in March, they would have found Skip Heitzig’s name on it. I thought it would have raised eyebrows at the time. “How does the leader of a religious organization the size of Albuquerque’s Calvary Chapel become a delegate to a very partisan political party convention?”, I thought at the time. It is not like he is a complete unknown. His name has certainly been in the press regarding his affiliation with the shenanigans that have been going on at this Calvary Church in Albuquerque for the past five or more years.
Skip Heitzig has a very checkered history with the Albuquerque Calvary Chapel, going back several years. He left for some “great calling” in Southern California, taking thousands of dollars from the church with him, involving revenue from his radio programs. The real reason for his sudden departure, thought and voiced by many, was to become the heir apparent to aging Chuck Smith, the founder of the Calvary faith and take over his megachurch in Orange County where the potential for aggrandizing himself was much greater than if he had stayed in Albuquerque. He never cut his ties to the Albuquerque Calvary Chapel, however, and essentially continued to run it from Southern California, as head of some self-appointed board or committee. When it became apparent that he was never going to become the “Rick Warren” of the Calvary Chapel, he abruptly departed Southern California on the premise that the church in Albuquerque desperately needed him to return. It mattered not that the poor misguided remaining church members had moved on and hired another pastor. Skip had no compulsions about displacing this new pastor who had uprooted his life and family and moved there from another Calvary Chapel in Colorado. He was summarily dismissed, and “King Skip” was back!
To say that Skip Heitzig is not an opportunist is to say that it won’t snow somewhere in Alaska in December. You can be sure he would have a tremendous amount of influence in a Weh administration.
But when it comes to religion and politics, this kind of intrusion is no different than what goes on in all parts of the country, because the line that is supposed to separate church and state is not only blurred, it has completely merged and disappeared. Heath is correct in that the opportunity should be granted to every candidate seeking elected office, but legally, it should not happen at all. How these religious groups continue to maintain their tax-exempt status remains a complete mystery. If the IRS investigated even half of the tax-exempt religious organizations that are openly and heavily involved in politics, the results could probably wipe out a good chunk of the national debt. I personally would like to live long enough to see a complete separation of church and state where religion plays no part in governing, but I’m already too old for that to ever happen. And it should start with abolishing the National Day of Prayer which has already been ruled unconstitutional by a very brave, but wise, US District Judge, Barbara Crabb, of Madison, Wisconsin. She stated that the day amounts to a call for religious action. In her decision, she wrote, “In fact, it is because the nature of prayer is so personal and can have such a powerful effect on a community that the government may not use its authority to try to influence an individual’s decision whether and when to pray.”
Religious organizations giving politicians and candidates a platform from which to sway opinion in their favor is no different.
I wonder where this leaves all the non believers. There are more than most people think.
Nothing wrong here. Pandering to the extreme Christian right is what “Reagan” republicans do.
Everyone should call the IRS everytime a church makes this violation, Democrat or Republican. The First Amendment is 1st for a reason. If you have knowledge of tax fraud being committed, you may make an anonymous report toll free to 800-829-0433. Tax exempt status is made a mockery of when this sort of thing is tollerated and it may lead to this exemption being revoked at some point which will hurt the churches that abide by the law and truely do the Lord’s work.
I agree with Powakee … all of our politicans – who hopefully evolve into statesmen/women – merit our prayers. My guess is that chruches don’t ASK politicans to attend, politicians ask churches. In this case – I’d be curiuos how many asked for similar opportunities and didn’t get them, at Calvary or Legacy.
This has been going on for years and its done all across the board. This appears to be his church and speaking at your own church is somewhat different than the blantent pandering when a national candidate, for instance, goes to a prominent church in some big city, complete with news coverage and outright campaigning.
I’d prefer to keep churches out of the process, and in particular doing anything during a normal worship service. Have a special event for that purpose, fine.
If Weh’s church broke the IRS threshold, it’s in fine company with many many churches, across the country, that’s not really the problem here. IMO
Well, I hope someone files a complaint with the IRS. The pastor did not explicitly endorse Weh, but he gave him the equivalent of free air time with 14,000 people. That is using the church’s resources, provided by tax-free donations, to support a political candidate.
First, as to the issue of praying for a politician ~ the only thing I can think is “lord knows they need the prayers.” Second, we should not begrudge prayer for anyone at any time. Whether prayer connects us to some higher power or not is something that politicians and religious leaders like to argue about; but, that prayer connects all of us together no one questions. We can all use a little more connectivity with our fellow beings. . . . . (even if they are of a different political persuasion).