The Kentucky General Assembly has many followers of Christ. These are men and women who love Jesus and have answered a call from God to endure the rigors of politics. They campaign, raise funds and sacrifice time away from their families and vocations so they can make laws and shape public policy in a way that promotes human flourishing.
These brothers and sisters are a gift from God and are making a difference for the well-being of our commonwealth. We can all thank God for them, pray for them and encourage them with our support.
At the same time, we are seeing laws come out of Frankfort that do anything but promote the well-being of our neighbors. In the past five years, Kentucky lawmakers have expanded gambling in Kentucky, brought the disaster of sports betting to the commonwealth, declined to exempt churches from collecting sales taxes and done little to prevent the life-ending abortion pill to infiltrate our state.
While there are believers in public office who live by a Christian worldview, their voice has not won the day. Many of the bills they wish to advance, while having widespread support, never see the light of day. We need more godly men and women from Kentucky Baptist churches to prayerfully consider running for office. Here’s why:
1. Because of our biblical convictions: The 2000 Baptist Faith and Message exhorts Baptist believers, in the section entitled “The Christian and the Social Order,”
All Christians are under obligation to seek to make the will of Christ supreme in our own lives and in human society. Means and methods used for the improvement of society and the establishment of righteousness among men can be truly and permanently helpful only when they are rooted in the regeneration of the individual by the saving grace of God in Jesus Christ.
Our beliefs compel us to consider whether elected office is the best use of our gifts, skills, resources and time. There are many people in Baptist churches who should prayerfully consider running for office as a way for them to promote human flourishing in the commonwealth.
2. Because of our love for our neighbors: When Jesus was asked in Matthew 22:36-40 what is the greatest command , He answered this way: “And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” We need sold-out followers of Jesus in elected office because they will make law and craft public policy in a way that demonstrates a love for our neighbors.
3. Because of our desire to honor God: Paul reminded the Corinthian believers in 1 Corinthians 4:2 that leaders have a stewardship responsibility. He wrote, “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.” God sanctifies His people through His work and calls us to live our lives for His glory. There are men and women who should answer the call of God to vocational Christian ministry — but there are others who need to become public servants in local school boards, city councils, county offices and state lawmaking positions. God is honored when we use our abilities for His glory and the good of others.
4. Because of our responsibility for the vulnerable: King Lemuel’s motheradmonished him in Proverbs to use his leadership voice and influence to care for the vulnerable. Her words are recorded in Proverbs 31:8-9: “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” Followers of Jesus are frustrated when we see lawmakers advancing the agenda of the gambling lobby or not fighting the influx of the abortion pill into our state. An unwillingness to address these matters is either a failure of nerve or a lack of interest. We need men and women in public office who have the courage of their convictions to defend the weak and voiceless against the powerful.
5. Because of our opportunity to bless people: God has blessed us so we can be a blessing to others. One way that Baptists can bless others is by electing representative leaders who will honor the biblical values we hold most dearly. Some of those values are summarized in the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message:
Christians should oppose racism, every form of greed, selfishness, and vice, and all forms of sexual immorality, including adultery, homosexuality, and pornography. We should work to provide for the orphaned, the needy, the abused, the aged, the helpless, and the sick. We should speak on behalf of the unborn and contend for the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death.
I want to vote for men and women who represent the values that Baptists hold most dear, and I think there are believers across the commonwealth who feel the same.
Would you prayerfully consider whether God is calling you to run for local or statewide office?
Dr. Todd Gray 