2015 ERLC Conference: Review and Reflection
On Wednesday, August 6, 2015, two HSF contributors, Matthew Bracey and Phillip Morgan, attended the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) National Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. The conference theme, “The Gospel and Politics,” was much welcomed, especially post-Obergefell (the decision that granted marriage rights to same-sex couples). In this post, we’ll offer a summary and analysis of the day’s events.
Morning Session (9:00am-12:00pm)
“Welcome”
Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam greeted conference attendees with a solid opening welcome. He stated that retreat from the public square is not an option for us as Christians in our day and age; like Jeremiah, he explained, we should seek the peace of the city (Jer. 29:7). Haslam was direct in his support of political engagement, but withheld specific recommendations.
“First Things First: How a Commitment to Life,
Marriage,and Religious Liberty Shapes Our Political Outlook”
Jennifer Marshall of The Heritage Foundation discussed the Obergefell ruling and Planned Parenthood videos, and Christians’ responsibility regarding public influence. She offered these five points: (1) don’t prognosticate about the future, pray; (2) don’t despair, do something; (3) make conversations about life, marriage, and religious liberty inspire action; (4) replace recognition with responsibility; and (5) citizenship is about stewardship. Marshall spoke with clarity and conviction on each of these subjects. She was especially effective in presenting citizenship as a matter of faithful service to God.
“With Liberty and Jesus for All:
How the Gospel Reshapes Evangelical Political Engagement”
ERLC President Russell Moore, who recently released the book Onward: Engaging the Culture without Losing the Gospel, spoke from Acts 16:25-40. “How does the Church engage politics without being co-opted by it or losing it?” he asked. He highlighted church leaders’ responsibility to teach Christian faith and practice to congregants (or parishioners, depending on the denomination) and to build a community as Gospel people. He reminded attendees that we are agents of reconciliation in our society. In standing for our rights in society, and in considering those who come after us, we must not leave a legacy of public persecution. This means that retreat is not an option; God will hold us accountable for our apathy. Moore even suggested that this may mean that we join with those who agree with us on certain issues without necessarily endorsing their entire ideology. Moore has a unique ability to connect Biblical truth and contemporary reality, exploring actual issues that people face. This presentation was no different.
“Speaking with Grace and Truth:
How our Beliefs and our Tone Shape the Public Square”
Focus on the Family President Jim Daly spoke to conference attendees next. He contrasted the deeds of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit. He encouraged Christians to develop a deeper, more robust faith; and emphasized the importance of loving our enemies, even as ISIS mounts persecution against Christians. We must speak truth in our culture and society, he explained, but we can’t lose the character of Christ in so doing.
“2016 and Beyond: Charting a New Course for Evangelical Political Engagement”
ERLC Executive Vice President Phillip Bethancourt (moderator), Russell Moore, Jim Daly, and Samuel Rodriguez (President of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference).
Some highlights include:
- Rodriguez stated that cultural reformation must be a multiethnic effort, where Christians speak both truth and love.
- Daly pointed out that we shouldn’t participate in fearmongering among our congregations.
- Moore commented on the lessons that we can learn from the pro-life movement as we face public issues today. On an encouraging note, he also said that the belief that younger evangelicals are moving left is, in his experience, a myth. He also explained that our dissatisfaction with the way that a previous generation of Christians tried to influence society and politics does not negate our own responsibility to stand for truth publically.
“Panel Discussion: The State of Evangelical Politics”
Moore (moderator), Michael Gerson (columnist for the Washington Post, previously chief speechwriter for George W. Bush), Ross Douthat (op-ed columnist for The New York Times), Erick Erickson (redstate.com founder, Fox News contributor, and talk radio host), and Rod Dreher (columnist and author). This was an excellent, engaging panel discussion—perhaps the conference’s best panel.
Some highlights include:
- The Benedict Option: Much discussion, online and otherwise, has revolved around Dreher’s proposed Benedict Option. It has caused transformationalists some consternation since it seems to signal some form of public withdrawal. Their concern is not without reason; Dreher defines the Benedict Option as the “communal withdrawal from the mainstream, for the sake of sheltering one’s faith and family from corrosive modernity and cultivating a more traditional way of life.”[1] Despite this definition, Dreher clarified that the Benedict Option is not a call for heading for the hills, but for stability and order in our communities. Other panelists suggested that the proposal is a matter of emphasis. Erickson and Gerson, I think rightly, advocated for more emphasis on public influence and transformation; Gerson suggested the Wilberforce Option and pointed to Chuck Colson (with whom he closely worked) as a good model for public engagement. However our public influence looks, Dreher concluded, the Obergefell ruling was a watershed; and if the church does not catechize millennial Christians, the culture will. The entire panel heartily agreed.
- Don’t Disengage from Culture: Moore asked for a word of counsel for those tempted to disengage from culture. Here were some of the replies: We mustn’t assume that nonbelievers are not interested in Christianity; secularism is weak and thin, and it leaves people searching (Douthat). We must prepare to minister to those who will be (and are) victims of the Sexual Revolution (Gerson); as the Church, he explained, we should think of ourselves as a field hospital in the middle of a battle.
Afternoon Session (2:00-5:30pm)
“Politics and the Pulpit:
How Churches can Engage the Public Square without Compromising the Gospel”
J.D. Greear (N.C. pastor, author) reminded attendees that we must be involved in the public square—no question. Yet we must be careful not to compromise the Gospel. He made four basic points. (1) We mustn’t treat secondary issues as though they’re first issues, especially since they often separate believers who should be in community; and yet we mustn’t act as though secondary issues don’t matter. (2) Christian truth applies to politics. (3) There are times to take a controversial stands; he cited John the Baptist and Dietrich Bonhoeffer as helpful examples. (4) We must be cautious and remember that we don’t see everything clearly.
“Panel Discussion: The Pastor and Politics”
Phillip Bethancourt (moderator), J.D Greear, D.A. Horton (Executive Director of ReachLife Ministries, National Coordinator for Urban Student Missions at NAMB, author, educator), Matt Carter (Texas pastor), and Jimmy Scroggins (Florida pastor).
This panel discussed what public engagement looks like from the pulpit and in the local community. For example, how do we discuss certain public issues without dividing our increasingly diverse congregations? Or what do we do when political candidates ask for our endorsement or ask to come to our churches—again, especially considering the increasingly diverse make-up of our congregations? Some of the answers that came from these questions and others include:
- Horton reminded attendees that we should not oversimplify what issues are important to a given demographic (blacks care about more than racial reconciliation, Mexicans care about more than immigration, and conservative Caucasians aren’t trying to keep down minorities by calling for smaller government).
- Greear suggested pointing congregants to voter guides and Internet sites as a helpful course.
- Carter stated that Christians should get involved in their cities as a testament of Christian love, serving persons and causes of both parties—school boards, soup kitchens, and so forth.
“End It: The Power of the Gospel to Address the Crisis of Human Trafficking”
David Platt (President of the SBC’s International Mission Board) shared the story of a young Tibetan girl whose mother was deceived into letting her daughter go with a man into Kathmandu to look for work. The man was a sex trafficker who raped her repeatedly and then forced her into sex slavery. Today more people are victims of sex slavery, Platt explained, than everyone in the entire transatlantic slave trade combined. Like Obergefell, Planned Parenthood, ISIS, and so many other issues, sex slavery is also a public, political issue about which we must be concerned.
“The Lamb’s Agenda: Why Jesus is Calling You to a Life of Righteousness and Justice”
Samuel Rodriguez preached in a passionate and lively manner that the Christian public witness must be accompanied by both righteousness and justice—characteristic of Billy Graham and Martin Luther King, Jr., he stated. Just as God raised Moses against Pharaoh, David against Goliath, Elijah against Jezebel, Daniel against Nebuchadnezzar, and Jesus against Herod, to stand publically for Him, so God would raise up similar leaders in our societies—perhaps even me or you. Rodriguez’s overarching theme was simply this: when Light stands next to darkness, light always win; we must be that light in our societies.
“Panel Discussion: The Future of Evangelical Politics”
Andrew Walker (moderator), Samuel Rodriguez, Barrett Duke (ERLC’s VP for Public Policy and Research), James K.A. Smith (philosophy professor at Calvin College), and Karen Swallow Prior (English professor at Liberty University, ERLC research fellow).
Some highlights include:
- The More Option: Whereas Dreher pointed to the Benedict Option, Prior pointed to the More Option. Like William Wilberforce, Hannah More helped to end the slave trade in England. As Christians then, she explained, we must publically stand for truth, like those before us. Prior also outlined four qualities that should be true of any approach to culture: Christian commitment, moral imagination, cultural engagement, and convictional collaboration.
- Political Theology and Political Indifference: Smith offered a primer of his political theology, which simply asks how we live in common beyond the basic categories of family and tribe. He pointed especially to Augustine’s The City of God, Oliver O’Donovan, and Abraham Kuyper as helpful starting points in political theology. In contrast to Dreher’s emphasis in his Benedict Option, Smith explained that while we must come out of the world in how we live and move and have our being, we should then “lean out into the world” to engage and transform it. In regards to younger Christians who seem disenchanted with politics, Smith reminded attendees that that they are passionate about justice. In addition, their biggest problem—and we must help them overcome it—is that they are “paralyzingly self-conscious,” which often causes them to act indifferent toward politics because of perception. We must remind them that their value is not found in perception, but in Christ.
- A New Movement of the Spirit: When asked what gave the panelists hope about the future, Duke pointed to a new movement of the Spirit among millennials. Despite the apathy and indifference of some, younger evangelicals are beginning to see the implications of Christ’s Gospel in all areas of life, including political and social issues. Indeed, this can give us hope.
Conclusion
While we may not agree with everything for which every participant stands, the addresses and discussions offer great help in thinking through these difficult days. For example, we might offer a certain critique of emphasis of Dreher’s Benedict Option, yet we can appreciate how he has inspired a serious conversation about a Christian’s Biblical disposition before culture. Indeed, any Christian interested in his or her role in modern society—and that should be all of us!––can benefit from listening to presentations of this conference. In fact, recordings may be accessed here. We (Matthew and Phillip) especially liked Moore’s keynote and the panel discussions on The State of Evangelical Politics and The Future of Evangelical Politics. All in all, this was an edifying conference, and we commend it to you.
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[1] Rod Dreher, “Benedict Option,” The American Conservative, December 12, 2013, accessed August 14, 2015, http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/benedict-option/.
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