Church under investigation for Obama speech
Posted by Shannon on February 27, 2008
Churches have to walk a fine line when it comes to commenting on social issues of the day and making any declaration about a political candidate. To make a declaration about a political candidate or to seemingly endorse one, as a church, comes as a problem for our friends in Washington known as the IRS.
As with any nonprofit organization, churches have to obey federal tax laws regarding refraining from political speech or else face the possible investigation from the IRS. Enter into the story the United Church of Christ, which finds itself in the crosshairs of the IRS.
Last year, the United Church of Christ invited Democratic presidential nominee … er candidate Barack Obama to deliver a speech to its national convention. The Obama Campaign says the speech was simply a talk where Obama came to talk about his spiritual journey and that he spoke as a member of the United Church of Christ and not as a Democratic candidate.
As the Obama Campaign points out, he’s not the first to speak in front of a religious gathering, so the question could be offered of what makes this appearance different enough to raise the eyebrow of the IRS. That’s between the IRS, the Obama Campaign, and the United Church of Christ.
Regardless of what takes place, it could be worth a discussion on the proper role for churches in the political arena. I would be interested to hear your thoughts on this.
As for me, I believe the church has a right to criticize elements of society that we find violates kingdom principles, but we have to stop at endorsing a candidate, either as a pastor - individually - or as a church universal. When we endorse, we show our biases. Now of course we all have biases, including those in the church. I’m going to have more to agree with politically with a Mike Huckabee or a Ron Paul than I am a Barack Obama. It doesn’t mean that I disagree with Obama on what the important issues are of the day, just I support different ways of solving them.
Here’s where the tricky part comes in. I believe, as a citizen, I have every right to discuss the views of different candidates with other friends and people I meet on the street. My position or aspiration to work in the church should not limit me from exercising that right. However, I must be clear that I’m speaking as Shannon Blosser, the individual American citizen, and not Shannon Blosser, the church employee.
All this being said, we can do a better job as a church when we interact with the political scene. That means we don’t endorse a political candidate from the pulpit, as North Carolina Baptist minister Rev. Chan Chandler did in 2004. Church membership information should not be given to political organizations.
