Where is Billy Graham when you need him?
A community is well served by a spiritual leader: Someone who can rise above politics and speak truth to power. Someone who doesn’t take sides but listens to all sides with respect. Someone whose words can calm hearts and help extinguish anger. Someone like the Reverend Billy Graham.
Billy Graham was close to Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon, even helping Nixon behind the scenes on the 1968 campaign. But after that he seemed to rise above partisan politics. He personally ministered to 11 different presidents. His friendship with Nixon became strained when Graham criticized Nixon’s behavior relating to Watergate. He prayed with President George H.W. Bush as the first bombs fell on Baghdad during Operation Desert Storm. He counseled both President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. He became America’s family counselor.
It seems like America could use that right now. But Billy Graham is 98 years old and doesn’t appear in public anymore. And America’s religious leaders, including his son Franklin Graham, are falling short. Too many of them are becoming too engaged in partisan politics.
Franklin Graham used his religious pulpit to advocate for the election of Donald Trump. There is no doubt that among his followers there were supporters of Clinton or even other candidates. When a religious leader weighs in on behalf of a candidate, his followers surely assume that the leader believes he is speaking on behalf of God. Except there is no evidence that God picks sides in political campaigns and these leaders know it. So, endorsements like these can only cause conflict within their church family.
Early in the 2016 campaign Jerry Falwell Jr., President of Liberty University and son of the famous preacher and founder of the Moral Majority, Jerry Falwell, endorsed Donald Trump for president. The endorsement was controversial and one of his board members, my friend Mark DeMoss, resigned over it. But he has been steadfast in his defense of Trump. Last week he was the only non-administration official who agreed to speak publicly in defense of the President’s Charlottesville comments. This week, hundreds of Liberty alumni have mailed back their diplomas in protest. His public role in politics has brought great division to his flock, and to what end? These leaders appear to be using their pulpit for access to power and political perks, and not their stated mission of expanding God’s kingdom.
Sometimes politics even eclipses the ministry. Like when Rev. Jesse Jackson and Pat Robertson ran for president. The first campaign I was involved in was in 1988 for Robertson. I was raised in an evangelical home and Robertson in our home was like the pope is to Catholics. He was someone who God spoke to and spoke through. So, when Robertson said, “God told me to run and he told me I’m going to win.” My family didn’t question it. Except he didn’t win. By the same token, I have heard religious leaders suggest that God was on the side of candidates opposing Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Both of them won. So, either God was never opposing them or he wasn’t powerful enough to defeat them. Neither is a good narrative for these Christian leaders.
The left has their share of these charlatans too. Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rev. Al Sharpton come to mind. Neither of these ministers is shy about selling their support to the highest bidder on the Democratic side in exchange for access, contracts and perks.
These so called “religious leaders” should all take a page out of Billy Graham’s book and get out of the political game. They should stop endorsing and vouching for political candidates. They should use their role as spiritual leaders to minister to candidates and officeholders and more importantly to minister to their flock. They should be a safe refuge for those looking for comfort in a confusing, complex and sometimes scary world. They should not be advocates for political parties and candidates who compromise their ability to minister.
I have read the Bible cover to cover and never once did I see a story of Christ or his disciples getting involved in a political campaign. They were one hundred percent focused on spreading the Gospel. I’m sure that’s true of other religions as well.
George Bernard Shaw once said “I learned long ago, never wrestle with a pig. You’ll both get dirty and besides, the pig likes it.” Politicians are the pigs.
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