A recurring theme in Scripture is the need to pass responsibility on, from one person to another.

• Moses led the Israelites out of a life of slavery in Egypt. Moses then passed the “baton” to Joshua whom God had chosen to lead the Israelites out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land.
• The Prophet Elijah passed the baton to the Prophet Elisha. God used Elijah to rid the Israelites of the 450 false prophets of Asherah who ate at Jezebel’s table.
• Jesus Christ Himself had to pass the baton on to the 11 remaining faithful Apostles who became the very foundation of the Christian Church. Jesus Christ had fulfilled his purpose; by His life, death, burial and resurrection He conquered sin and death and provided a way of eternal salvation for the world. (See 1 Corinthians 15:3, 4)
• The Apostle Paul was also passionate about passing the baton. To his understudy Timothy he wrote, “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Timothy 2:2 Emphasis mine)

At COIPAC we also believe in the “passing of the baton”….by politicians. We believe in the “2 and up or 2 and out rule”. After two terms in office a leader should be willing and ready to pass the baton. When leadership sits long it becomes stagnant and harmful. Washington is too filled with politicians who need to “pass the baton”. They have sat too long and dare I say have become harmful…even dangerous. Seemingly, politicians in Washington are more interested in their special interest groups (Have you seen the pork barrel spending numbers?) than a “government of the people, by the people, for the people.” The number of carreer politicians in Washington is staggering.

I was recently perusing the list of Congressmen, Congresswomen and Senators currently serving their terms in Washington. This list is on the COIPAC web site. There is a column on this web page designated for asking these politicians to pledge the COIPAC principle; 2 and up or 2 and out rule.

At the time of this writing not one politician in Washington has made this pledge. Perhaps they are not yet aware of COIPAC. Perhaps they have heard of us, but have a comfortable living and enjoy benefitting from your tax dollars. Or maybe they are still trying to decide what is best for their political future. Who knows? One thing we know for sure is; you and I need to get the word out. Tell your family, tell your friends. Incumbency is not the answer~Passing the Baton is.

There is no stronger statement that you can make than the one you make at the ballot box. Are you registered to vote? Please honor the men and women who have sacrificed their lives so that you and I can vote. Voting is one of the greatest privileges and responsibilities of every American citizen. We need to vote out these career politicians. These career politicians need to pass the baton.

I believe that I am guaranteed and have the freedom under the United States Constitution to provide verifiable information about politicians who may be running for elected office to the public. In fact it is my privilege and responsibility as an American citizen. Our government is a “government of the people, by the people, for the people.” Merely looking at a particular politician’s voting record will tell us a lot about the character of that person and what they really believe in.

During the 2008 General Election, churches were “warned” that they could not discuss information regarding political candidates to their congregants from the pulpit. Fair enough, BUT if they even discussed a particular candidate they would be dangerously close to violating their nonprofit status and possibly even lose that status. Allegedly the reason cited was that the 1st Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibited such practices because of the “separation of church and state”.

Now I am no expert on the Constitution, but I have read it several times however, I do not recall “separation of church and state” in the 1st Amendment or anywhere in the United States Constitution. Here is the 1st Amendment, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

I knew I was correct. “Separation of church and state” is not in the 1st Amendment, so where did it come from? According to Wikipedia, “…the phrase “separation of church and state” is generally traced to an 1802 letter by Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptists, where Jefferson spoke of the combined effect of the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.”

Now, while may agree that the pulpit may not be the proper platform for political campaigning, it is certainly not because of the 1st Amendment. In fact, I believe the 1st Amendment states that we have freedom “of” religion not freedom “from” religion and this, at the very least, guarantees our freedom of speech. There are rules and regulations however that vary from state to state which determine a church’s nonprofit status, largely these laws refer to their tax status. I have often wondered how Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s church; Trinity United Church of Christ retained their nonprofit tax exempt status. The sermons I’ve heard him preach in that church’s pulpit were obviously politically charged. I also understand that he was part of the “Barack Obama for President Campaign” in 2008. I wonder if Trinity United got the “warning”.

According to the Bible, in Acts chapter 6, a Pastor’s primary responsibility is the ministry of the word and prayer. This means simply to teach and pray for those who are put under his charge. In 1st Peter 5 and Acts 20, the Apostles Peter and Paul both commanded pastors to “shepherd” the flock of God. When The Apostle Paul was departing the church in Ephesus for good, his charge to the remaining pastors there is recorded in Acts 20:28-30, “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.” Now in all fairness a good bible teacher will teach that this in its context would be a reference to men coming in the church and teaching false doctrine among other things, and they would be correct. However, as in all of Scripture there may be one truth with many applications.

But what is the application here? As a pastor I am responsible at the very least to protect the people put under my charge from people who distort the truth. Can you think of any politicians who may distort the truth? It seems in this day and age the “spin” is all that matters. Does the truth matter anymore? To this Pastor it does matter.

In this light: Will I “endorse” a particular candidate from the pulpit? No, I will not. If my counsel is sought however regarding my knowledge of a particular candidate or my convictions about them: I will speak because I must speak. I am confident and comfortable in sharing my views because of the guarantee in the 1st Amendment of the United States Constitution and it is my charge as a Pastor to keep watch over my flock. As their pastor I have a responsibility to protect them from distortion of the truth no matter its source. Yes, I will speak.