Pastor’s eNote: Weekly Update

I vividly remember teaching this last fall at SPU when our class convened the day following November’s Presidential Election. Students looked stunned, excited, and even resigned. Most of them were 18 or 19 years-of-age and this was their first opportunity to participate in a general election. There was little to say to comfort those who were disappointed or to congratulate those who applauded the outcome.

We simply prayed.

In the months since the election, the cycle of disappointment/celebration dominates the news cycle daily. I watched the Episcopal Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde with keen interest as she spoke directly to the President at a prayer service the day after the Inauguration hoping he would embrace a merciful posture in the new administration. Within minutes, others in the Christian community were either defending the Bishop or condemning her remarks.

Pastors, me included, have been warned many times to keep politics out of the life of the church. Typically, these warnings come from those who disagree with what they may have just heard (or thought they heard) in the sermon. For many others the church is the safe haven away from partisan divides. Is there a nuanced way to be that safe haven, appealing to the greater Kingdom of God, while affirming that people of faith have a voice in our culture and social order?

Our beginnings as a Free Methodist community happened in a similar time of political and social upheaval. The call for the abolition of slavery, free pews, and the recognition of women in leadership were political in that time. Our need to have a voice in moments like we live in today is still important. I am mindful of those students in class last fall. Perhaps they, like many of us, long for grounding in these tumultuous times.

This is tough work. Balancing our allegiance to an eternal Kingdom while being in the world but not of it requires care. As an example, our Board of Bishops in the Free Methodist Church released a pastoral letter last week about immigration. You can read it by clicking HERE.

May our reflections, prayers, and actions point to a living Lord Jesus whose confrontation with the powers of His day brought about the salvation of all who call His Name.

Grace to You All,

Pastor Craig Brown
(February 4, 2025)