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The Church seems to be playing a larger role in politics today. Did politics play a role when you started NCC?
We live in a culture where Christianity has been affiliated with one party or the other at different times. The pendulum swings, but recently it would be fair to say that in most quarters of our country it's swung more to the Republican side of the spectrum. But after moving to Washington, I started meeting God-fearing, Christ-loving people who are on both sides of the aisle. They were all very different politically, and I had to find a way to fit with all of them.
Part of my driving desire as a pastor is to remove every obstacle except the cross that would keep people from coming to faith in Christ. That means we don't want to affiliate with a party. We don't want to affiliate with a candidate. But we also don't want to avoid important spiritual issues simply because some people consider them political.
Homosexuality is a good example. It's a huge political issue, but it's also a spiritual issue. So I'm certainly not afraid to talk about it. I'd rather be biblically correct than politically correct. But there is a way to do it without igniting a political debate. That's why I try to focus on the positive message rather than the negative. That means celebrating sex as a gift from God intended for a husband and wife in the context of marriage.
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So people are really finding their unity in Christ rather than politics.
Right. And that's a biblical thing. Galatians 3:28: "There's neither slave nor free, Jew nor Greek, male nor female." What about Republican and Democrat? There's something about the church that unites people in a way nothing else can. The church is a place where we ought to celebrate diversity as a reflection of the kaleidoscopic personality of God. Too often it's not, but when it is it's a beautiful thing because it unites people that would otherwise be divided. And so I think there is something refreshing for people when they realize they can leave their political affiliation at the door.
That is what motivated us to be apolitical when we started NCC. I saw too many churches using the pulpit as a political platform to talk about public policy issues. I felt like our people eat and breathe politics five days a week. They didn't need more in church. They needed to focus on the spiritual dimension that will inform their political positions. So we try to focus on their relationship with Christ and trust that out of that they'll be formed and revitalized to do their political work during the week.
When someone new arrives at National Community Church, how do you encourage them to leave their politics at the door?
Loud silence. In a city that's always talking about politics, it's noticeable when we don't talk about it. We want church to be a safe place to hear a dangerous message, and it's not a political message. It's the message of the cross. We're very intentional about avoiding political stuff or anything that will distract from our core message. So, we're screening our bulletin, we're analyzing what we say up front. We keep it pretty simple. And I think that's what's really protected us from being distracted by the politics around us.
You want to focus on the gospel and avoid politics, but is that possible when the gospel has political implications?
I agree, the gospel does have political implications, but what was Jesus' intent? Was his intent for his followers to pass government laws and policies to create programs like welfare, education, and healthcare? Or was his intent for the church to take ownership of these issues and care for people? The early church didn't focus on getting Rome to pass laws to alleviate problems. They saw the church as the solution to the world's brokenness. Sometimes I feel like our focus on politics is a copout. We need to focus on how the church can be the solution to the problems around us and not just look to the government to solve everything. Government has an important role, but I think it's gotten out of proportion for many Christians.
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How are the young people at NCC motivated to live out their faith beyond the political realm?
The twenty-somethings are incredibly energized by social justice issues. I think the social implications of the gospel have been so deemphasized and neglected that the church is now, in a healthy way, swinging back. Of course some people will swing back into a social gospel that is all social and no gospel. But we should be motivated to care for the poor and reach out to them the way Christ has commanded us.
Last year we hosted a "Week of Justice" where we invited different people each night to discuss different topics—everything from AIDS, to poverty, the environment, and human trafficking. These are the ideas that energize our younger congregation.
Are you finding Democrats and Republicans in the church united around these causes?
No, there's not absolute unity. They don't see eye to eye on every issue. But we really emphasize Rupertus Meldenius' statement: in essentials unity; in nonessentials liberty; in all things charity. That needs to frame the way we think and the way we treat each other. We're all going to have nonessentials that we disagree on, so we need to agree to disagree. There are too many churches focusing entirely on peripheral issues. They become one issue churches. I don't want that to happen to NCC. I want us to always make it about the person of Jesus.
