Barbara Burke's recent statements to Spiritual Baptists which implied that they should vote for the United National Congress sparked a debate as to whether a spiritual leader has the right to tell followers for whom they should vote.
The guide of the church must always be the Bible. Believers are to be guided by the clearly written word or in instances where something is not clearly stated, we must be guided by biblical principles.
The Bible does not anywhere directly authorise pastors to tell or not to tell their flock who they should vote for in any national election. In the absence of a direct statement we are therefore guided by biblical principles.
We have not had in T&T, the experiences that South Africans have had under the apartheid system where people were dehumanised because of their ethnicity and skin colour. Would it have been wrong for pastors in South Africa to tell their congregation for whom they should vote when an opportunity would have arisen to bring in a government that would put an end to the discrimination?
Martin Luther King was at the forefront with a number of other church leaders in the United States in protesting discrimination. They led huge public marches against the governance and would have been influential in the politics. King and leaders like South Africa's Desmond Tutu would have been certain that they were on the side of scripture in influencing the politics with a view towards ending discrimination.
The position of the church is not that different from business. Business wants to influence the election of a government with policies favourable to business. The church wants a government whose policies won't war against righteousness.
There could always be situations in which a government's policy negatively affects the church's mandate to promote righteousness in a nation and it certainly would be consistent with Biblical principles for pastors to tell their membership for whom they should vote.
This statement should not be seen as endorsing Burke's position. This rather is a commentary on the broader question as to whether pastors have the right to tell their membership for whom they should vote.
Pastor Just