This article is not about our family’s recent 30-day sabbatical across New England, but there was a part of that unforgettable trip that inspired me to write down this story of two lanterns and one king. As many are aware by now, Christian leaders are often cautioned by foe and friend alike against addressing political matters from the pulpit. Now is the time to throw those cautions to the wind, where they belong. Christians, especially pastors preaching to their congregations weekly, must not abandon the often harrowing moral and ethical arguments taking place in the public square. Instead, we must embrace the task at hand.
Do not be Fooled
Not long ago, my family of six visited the great city of Boston. With only a Saturday to spend in its limits, we decided to tackle as much of the Freedom Trail as we possibly could. We began our trek on Boston Common, and within an hour we were standing on the front stairs of the Old North Church on Salem Street, a building with a front-row seat to nearly three centuries of still-evolving American history. It was on the night of April 18, 1775, that two men from the congregation climbed to the top of the steeple and displayed two lanterns: a sign warning the colonists that British troops were moving by water. This would allow riders like Paul Revere to spread the warning through the countryside before the Battles of Lexington and Concord commenced.
My kids were more interested in the size of the tombstones next door, many of them belonging to the first casualties of the Revolution, but my eyes were drawn to another church along the Trail: King’s Chapel. Founded in 1686, it was the first Anglican church in New England, and its bell, cast by none other than Paul Revere & Sons over 200 years ago, was draped in Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ flags. I couldn’t help but think about how these buildings had survived revolutions and changing governments, yet through woke ideologies and paganism, the congregations inside them had become fruitless to the Kingdom of God. Heartbreaking. Never forget, Beloved: the public square never stays empty. If the church doesn’t bring her moral claims out in public, the public will bring their false morality into the church.
Why Should We Get Involved?
My big question: Why would Christians conclude that our faithfulness requires us to stop making our moral arguments? Why do we continue to entertain the cowards or snakes demanding that we be more like Jesus and not weigh in on “political” discussions? Jesus never called His disciples to escape the world. In John 17, on the night before His crucifixion, He prayed that His Father would not take His people out of the world but protect them from the evil one. Then He said, “As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world” (John 17:18). We are sent into the world, but are not shaped by its rebellion against King Jesus. In this fight, we are to be set apart in holiness, not absent from responsibility.
Let’s be crystal clear. Politics is not the same as Christian ethics or biblical principles. Yet the two do overlap. To silence outspoken Christian leaders, critics will often accuse us of not “staying in our lane.” But what this accusation really means is “We do not want you to fill the space that we wish to fill with our own ideals.” Everyone is influenced by something. Everyone is being discipled by someone. That influence will either be from Christian morality, or paganism. Politics is the imperfect application of moral convictions within an imperfect human system. Biblical truth is the unchanging revelation of a perfect and sovereign God. We have an allegiance to the latter far before a devotion to the former. And while the two are not one and the same, they certainly should be bedfellows. Whether it pleases our sensibilities or not, the lanes will constantly cross if we are faithful in a lost and dying world.
In the words of my grandfather, if the federal government could guarantee that every second of its time would from now on be spent constructing bridges, heightening defenses, and paving roads, we wouldn’t have to spend so much time speaking out. But in the face of systemic infanticide, indoctrination by way of preferred pronoun enforcement, and the like, we must not be silent. As mouthpieces for God’s infallible Word, we are not entering a political lane when we speak against homosexuality, abortion, and the criminality of socialism, or when we insist that biological men stay out of women’s restrooms. We are simply reminding the world of absolute biblical principles, handed down from our Creator God for His glory and for our good.
Preach the Text
Pastors are required to preach the text, pulling out the truth, not putting in their preferences, and to remain loyal to that calling, applying the directives and commands God has for His people to the life of society in its entirety. This includes politics.
1. This is a reference to Fox News host Laura Ingraham’s infamous comments that basketball players such as LeBron James should not speak about politics. CNN, NBC, and other networks decried the statement, and it has since become a rallying cry for leftwing activism. Ironically, those who protested “shut up and dribble” when applied to athletes say the same thing (and far worse) to pastors, whose job has them eminently more equipped to comment on politics. See Emily Sullivan, “Laura Ingraham Told LeBron James to Shut Up and Dribble; He Went to the Hoop,” NPR, February 19, 2018.
2. Thomas Kidd, “John Brown Is Immortal: Charles Spurgeon, the American Press, and Slavery,” Midwestern Magazine, July 18, 2024.
3. Kidd, “John Brown Is Immortal”; see also “The Reason Why America Burned Spurgeon’s Sermons and Sought to Kill Him,” The Spurgeon Library, September 22, 2016.
Because I preach this way, my congregation has a good idea of where my convictions stand. This is the goal! While some may argue for keeping the pulpit clear of any political endorsement, the pulpit should be used to address the moral and ethical issues of the day. The people telling us to “shut up and dribble”1 are the same folks applauding Charles Spurgeon for publicly condemning slavery.2 Spurgeon went as far as allowing formerly enslaved people to give testimony to persuade hearts against its depravity.3 It is a lie from the pit of hell that we must separate Bible preaching from addressing the most controversial issues of our age simply because they fell out of the mouths of candidates the Saturday night before we preach the unchanging truth of the Lord on Sunday morning.
Recently, Dr. Willy Rice, our new SBC president, was invited to speak about faith and values on Fox News. This question came up: “Should pastors engage in the political process?” Rice answered, “They absolutely should. Because there are many political issues that are, at their heart, theological issues and moral issues that strike at the very center of what we believe to be true and what we believe people need to know in order to flourish personally and as a culture.”4
4. Anders Hagstrom, “Southern Baptist President Calls on Pastors to ‘Step Up’ Ahead of Midterm Elections,” Fox News, October 4, 2026.
After mentioning pastors who stepped up during vital moments in American political history, Rice said, “These issues are deeply, profoundly theological issues. They go back to the creation; they go back to Genesis 1 and 2. They go back to our understanding of what it means to be a human being, and our understanding of what God’s creative purpose is for us as human beings.”5
5. Hagstrom, “Southern Baptist President.”
Putting the Lamps Under a Basket
Professing believers hailing from the theological and political left have zero intention of remaining silent over what they think is true and just. Often, the positions they advocate for in the name of “Christianity” are directly opposed to Scripture. Yet for far too long, in the name of peace and pragmatism, some of our most prominent would-be conservative Christian voices have been intimidated into silence under the banner of unity and, worse, evangelism. Imagine thinking “taking the Great Commission seriously” translates to “not talking about profoundly theological issues in the public square!”
Compassion is not remaining silent during the rebranding of moral issues; compassion is being truthful even though it costs you. Believers should not treat everything debated by politicians as off-limits to biblical scrutiny. A culture that loathes evangelicals may punish Christian involvement in politically charged debate, but it needs to hear truth. Both Scripture and the times we live in demand that we speak.
Brothers and sisters, this does not remove the priority to preach Christ and Him crucified. I would argue the opposite: faithful application of Christian ethics in the public square displays the fruit of a living tree, radically changed and unashamed to preach the Gospel and its application to everyday life.
As Southern Baptists, we affirm in our own Baptist Faith and Message that Christians should seek righteousness, truth, and love in society, while also insisting that the church must not employ civil power to accomplish its spiritual mission.6 The church’s first assignment remains proclaiming Christ crucified and risen. There is no ballot box on earth that can give a sinner a new heart.
6. The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 (Southern Baptist Convention, 2000), arts. 15, 17.
I am not suggesting turning sermons into campaign speeches or inviting political candidates to share time in the worship service. I am not suggesting flagrantly touting an undying allegiance to a public servant of any kind. POTUS is supposed to be working for the people, and fandom without discernment is disaster.
I am asking that we stop this ridiculous cowardice, this apathy toward Christian ethics wearing the mask of politics. They may be “political issues” to the world, but they are undoubtedly moral issues to the church, and we cannot afford to be silent.
Conclusion
The day in Boston didn’t end so badly.
We happened to be visiting the city on the day hundreds of abolitionists against abortion took to the streets, displaying signs, handing out literature, and addressing the culture head-on. As we walked past them, my kids gave them high fives. We prayed for several, that they would speak the truth in love and with boldness, as they would surely be on the receiving end of unimaginable vitriol from those who find delight in killing children.
There we had quite the picture: two lanterns, an LGBTQ flag, abolitionists marching, and thousands of souls walking in and out of buildings unaware of the limited time they have on this earth.
We can enter the public square without surrendering our souls to it. We can vote without worshiping a politician. We can labor for what is good without being intimidated, because our confidence rests in the One who reigns over every nation.
The church does not need to enter the game only to seize the throne. However, the church does need to remember the King who sits on it and what He has commanded His people to do. Be salt and light. You are the city on the hill. Do not hide your light under a basket. Speak up, and apply the Bible to all of life. May the Lord count us faithful.
