The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) hosted an event on Sunday night (June 8) in advance of the SBC Annual Meeting to discuss Southern Baptists’ role in the public square with a group of elected officials.
According to Baptist Press (BP), the event featured ERLC President Brent Leatherwood speaking with U.S. Senator James Lankford (R-OK), Ambassador-Designate Mark Walker (R-NC), and Rep. Nathaniel Moran (R-TX) about what it’s like to serve as a Christian in public office and the challenges they face.
Walker said the biggest challenge of being a Christian in politics is “standing up for biblical values in the face of radical ideology, but not in a way that ruins your personal Christian testimony.”
“I think we have to be careful of a lot of nominal Christianity that kind of sinks into the political culture. In this world of the political arena as a believer, the challenge is to push back on attacks against Christian values, but also not cross a line where I’m no longer representing Jesus Christ well in this environment.”
Walker then spoke to the importance of religious liberty in politics, stating, “Evil never rests, so to have an opportunity to hopefully expose and in some cases eradicate the atrocities that are committed against people of faith is very important.”
He emphasized, “Religious liberty is something we should be seeking God’s guidance on every day because of these atrocities. It should matter to all believers because these folks matter to God.”
Before entering politics, Walker served as a Southern Baptist minister, mostly notably as worship pastor at Lawndale Baptist Church in Greensboro, N.C., from 2008-2013, as reported by BP.
Walker served as a member of the House representing North Carolina and is known for building bipartisan coalitions to support religious freedom, human rights, and international engagement. Recently, he was nominated by President Trump to serve as the U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom and is currently awaiting Senate confirmation.
Moran, who is part of the House Committee on Ethics, stated, “There’s not a different set of rules that are set up in Scripture for if you are in politics and if you are not in politics.” He explained, “The Lord gives us directives about how we should speak, behave and treat other people, and that doesn’t change when you get into politics.”
“We are in a spiritual battle, but it often shows itself in a cultural and political manner,” and stressed, “We should step out when the Lord calls us, and each of us is called to do that in some way in our communities because leadership is action.”
Lankford, who had served in ministry in Oklahoma for more than 20 years before being elected in 2015, offered encouragement to Southern Baptist pastors, emphasizing the importance of faithfulness in preaching the Gospel.
“Washington doesn’t change the country, the country changes Washington,” and added, “I believe what changes the country is the Church and the Gospel. Pastors and leaders often ask me what I can do to change what’s happening, and I just encourage them to keep preaching the Gospel,” Lankford stated.
