Tim Farron: Get involved!

Christians should care about and engage with politics because Christians should love their neighbour as themselves, and engaging in political decision-making is a key way to do that. 

Many people consider politics to be full of gossip and scandal, of intrigue and high wire cabinet discussions, soaring speeches and changing the world. Sometimes, it is those things. The reality at all levels, from town councils to UN Councils, is often more mundane!

It involves the decisions made about our day-to-day reality. Decisions about money for potholes, or local school provision, or affordable homes, and who should pay for it all. 

Politics is essentially about the way in which we run our society, or elect others to run it on our behalf. It is about how we live together in community and support one another, and it affects each of our lives in multiple ways. So whether you think you ‘do’ politics or not, you can guarantee that politics ‘does’ you! 

If Christians do not turn up and take part in these decisions, we can be sure that others will make them on our behalf – and they may not share our values and priorities. We should therefore – I would argue – absolutely bring our voices to the public square, which can of course be a tremendous challenge. It can be a difficult and sometimes hostile environment. Politics is a mucky business, tainted by compromise and sin, but so is everything else since the Fall, and this does not give us an excuse to hide away.

Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, we see that God himself chose not to withdraw from the mess that we have made of his world, but to enter into it as one of us, and to act from within the world to put it to rights. He wants us to work with him as we anticipate his final restoration of all things in a new heaven and a new earth.

So what does involvement actually look like? 

Well, you may already be more involved than you think. As Christians, we are compelled by our faith to love our neighbours and act as salt and light across society. Our churches work this out in practice by supporting people and communities in running food banks, homeless shelters, debt advice centres and many other activities. We may not think about this as ‘doing politics’, but it is. 

So if your church is involved in community-focused initiatives, be encouraged! This is part of our witness – not instead of sharing the gospel but as part of it. Jesus saved souls and cared for people’s physical needs at the same time.

And there are many ways in which you can get personally more engaged with politics. 

Firstly, pray!

Prayer sometimes seems a pat answer. But it is a clear instruction from Scripture – pray for those in power. If we really believe that we can come to Almighty God on the throne of grace, why wouldn’t we bring him everything that moves or troubles us, including in our politics? Can we really expect to see good government or a stable society if nobody is seeking God’s will and God’s way in the political realm? In 2 Chronicles 7.14, God promises that when we do seek him, he will hear our prayers and heal our land, which is a huge encouragement in these times when it’s all too easy to lose hope.

I know of a church concerned about corruption in their local council. At one prayer meeting someone brought along a local newspaper with a list of every local councillor and simply prayed for them all by name. They prayed for just government and fair decisions and for wrongdoing to be brought into the light.

Next, get informed.

The better informed you are, the more specific your prayers will be. When you know names, and the responsibilities of their office, you can pray in a more informed way and better recognise when you see an answer to prayer. 

Next, meet your local leaders.

Many people don’t realise that access to elected officials is a widely upheld duty. Go to a surgery or a hustings. Councillors, local mayors and MPs all hold public surgeries of some form. You may need to book in advance. 

One way to start might be to simply introduce yourselves and let them know that you are praying for them and their work, and to invite them along to church one Sunday or for a special Christmas service. It may well spook them a little so don’t make it weird or super spiritual, but you should also make no bones about the fact that you are simply living out your instruction to be faithful Christian citizens. It may begin a working relationship with them, meaning when difficulties or disagreements spring up, there is a respectful relationship already in place.

Perhaps, if your church is already engaging politically by providing food, shelter or advice to the local community, you can begin to explore how to take this work further through these relationships. What are the structural issues that result in people needing to access the services your church offers? Listen to their stories. What power and responsibility do your elected officials have to make change in these areas? How can you work with them to ensure this happens?

Many of my colleagues in Parliament, MPs and their researchers, only hear from Christians when they get in touch about controversial issues. For example, when a Domestic Abuse Bill was passing through Parliament recently, my inbox along with others was flooded with emails from Christians about one specific abortion amendment, many including horrific images. Now this amendment was one small part of a wider bill around the protection of women from violence and coercive control in their homes. My researcher – pro-life as she was – pointed out that not a single Christian had emailed in about the wider provisions surrounding the horror of domestic violence. I would humbly submit that alongside the important work of writing in about the contentious issues, neglecting to be passionate about anything else is to be a bad witness to my colleagues and their staff.

What if politicians of every party and every level of governance knew Christians to be the most consistently gracious, passionate, well informed, encouraging and honest members of their electorate?

What if they knew them as a group who will not simply tickle their ears and tell them what they want to hear, but will speak the truth in love and treat them as humans? As people who care deeply about their community enough to speak and organise and advocate; people who refuse to be neatly packaged into worldly ideologies; people grieved by the brokenness around them and moved therefore to action, not passivity. Not a group of naïve do-gooders, but humble people willing to learn how to serve their neighbour better.

‘You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5.14-16, NIV.)