On November 3, Tennessee voters will choose a new governor, a U.S. senator, and nine members of our congressional delegation. All 99 Tennessee House seats and 17 of the 33 state Senate seats are up for grabs. Three constitutional amendments are on the ballot.

The results of this election could reshape Tennessee's political landscape on everything from abortion and marriage to education and parental rights. With this much at stake, two things are eminently clear: every Christian should make a serious effort to vote on or before November 3, and it’s time for churches to take a biblical stance on cultural issues – including political ones.

Many modern-day pastors are convinced that preaching about politics from the pulpit is illegal, immoral, or outside the bounds of what they are called to do. On the contrary – we believe that churches and pastors have a fundamental obligation to provide clarity on the pressing issues of our day in order to combat the darkness and delusion the enemy is promoting in our culture. If the church stays silent, who will speak the truth?

Pastors are called to disciple their congregations on biblical principles – that includes the sanctity of human life, traditional marriage and sexuality, the role of parents and children, and much more. Every election has the ability to significantly change our state and nation's laws on topics like abortion, drug legalization, assisted suicide, online gambling, and gender ideology.

Pastors don't need to make political endorsements to discuss what the Bible says about these important topics. Church members can then research and draw their own conclusions about who to vote for. The key is that their pastor grounds them in biblical truth and encourages them to engage civically and act as a wall of protection for the church, their children, and their communities.

Southern Baptist Convention President Willy Rice made that case last week on Fox News:
 
Rice argues the church's retreat is the result of Christians being counseled by those outside and inside the church to "be more quiet" and "withdraw from the political process."
 
In 1954, Congress amended section 501(c)(3) of the tax code at the urging of then-Senator Lyndon B. Johnson. The provision – known ever since as the Johnson Amendment – bars tax-exempt organizations from participating or intervening "in any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office."

Seventy years later, the law has been extrapolated on and used to fearmonger pastors into believing that mentioning an election, an issue, or a candidate's record could cost their church its tax-exempt status.
In seven decades, however, only one church has ever lost its tax-exempt status over politics – the Church at Pierce Creek in Binghamton, New York, which took out a newspaper ad opposing Bill Clinton in 1992.
For years afterward, pastors deliberately mailed endorsement sermons to the IRS hoping to provoke a test case. The IRS declined to take the bait.
Alliance Defending Freedom publishes a free legal guide for churches, Pastors, Churches & Politics: 5 Things to Know. We encourage all pastors to review this guide for a clear understanding of what the Johnson Amendment does and does not allow.

For example, discussion of issues and nonpartisan voter education is permitted. Support for specific legislation is permitted up to an "insubstantial amount." Only support for or opposition to candidates is off limits.

Churches and pastors, ADF explains, "can speak about the public, social, and moral issues of the day without restriction." They may also "discuss the positions of candidates on issues as long as the discussion does not support or oppose a candidate." Churches may run nonpartisan voter registration and get-out-the-vote drives, distribute unbiased voter guides, host candidate forums where every candidate is invited on equal terms, and even serve as polling places.

An additional point of clarification – the Johnson Amendment restricts the church, which includes a pastor speaking as the church's representative, but it does not restrict a pastor acting as a private citizen. In his personal capacity, a pastor may support or oppose candidates, contribute to campaigns, and speak as freely as any other American.

As ADF puts it: "Pastors do not check their individual First Amendment rights at the door when they agree to lead a ministry."

Allen Jackson, pastor of World Outreach Church in Murfreesboro, noted that Scripture is full of preachers engaging in politics and confronting rulers, from the Hebrew prophets to John the Baptist, beheaded for criticizing Herod.

"John the Baptist could have lived to be a very old man if he'd had no comments about current events," Jackson said.

The Bible does not advise against spiritual leaders engaging in politics – quite the opposite!

Tennesseans face a consequential ballot in the midterms. We hope pastors across the state will be emboldened to speak the truth without hesitation, and to encourage their congregations to exercise their right to vote on November 3.