Local pastors: Falwell's passing part of change in discourse

By: JAMES CURRAN - Staff Writer | Friday, May 18, 2007 10:01 AM PDT ∞

With the passing of Moral Majority founder Jerry Falwell earlier this week, local church leaders said change in the Christian political landscape is afoot.

Local preachers wouldn't hazard a guess as to whether the faithful will change political parties or if voters wanting religious guidance would stay home. Instead, many agreed that the influence of preachers who have made names for themselves on the national talk-show circuit was already on the decline.

Moreover, many are elderly. Falwell died Tuesday at the age of 73, presumably of a heart abnormality. Among other faith leaders who push political agendas on the national stage are Pat Robertson, 77; D. James Kennedy, 76; James Dobson, 71 and Jesse Jackson, 66. Not many replacements are seen on the horizon.

"I think the whole Moral Majority concept has kind of gone by the boards in terms of a political-based surge," said Kenn Coil, pastor of Gateway Church of the Nazarene in Murrieta. "I am not personally familiar with groups that are rising to replace them or take the role."

Falwell founded the Moral Majority in 1979. The right-wing lobbying group was credited with political victories for the Republican Party, including the election of Ronald Reagan to the presidency and control of the Senate.

The Moral Majority disbanded in 1989, yet Falwell remained a regular on television debate programs, urging voters to support the war on terror and work against gay-rights issues.

Mixing faith and politics has not been exclusive to conservative thought. Jackson and the Rev. Al Sharpton, 52, have rallied faithful to liberal and Democratic causes.

Robertson 'doesn't speak for us'

Robertson, Dobson, Jackson and Sharpton share faiths that are represented in Southwest County, but two local faith leaders said the national advocates do not speak for them. Matt Hsieh, pastor of Rancho Baptist Church in Temecula, laughed when it was suggested that as a fellow Baptist, Jackson represented his views.

"It's pretty much the opposite," Hsieh said. "I mean, I definitely support civil rights, but in terms of other things, I pretty much lean more to the right."

However, he added that preachers who espouse right-wing beliefs on the national circuit have crossed the line, as well.

"I believe there are many religious leaders who have said many things that are unloving," Hsieh said. "Some things you really can't speak to."

Nor does Robertson, the Southern Baptist televangelist who once ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 1988, speak for Southern Baptists, according to the Rev. Blake Withers of Las Brisas Bible Fellowship in Murrieta. Withers reflected a view from other local faith leaders who were tired of being linked to political topics by nationally known religious advocates.

"Understand that Southern Baptist churches are all autonomous," Withers said. "We are a cooperating group of churches. ... (Robertson) doesn't speak for us.

"Whether I would agree with Jerry Falwell's politics or not, we come together on missions of taking the Gospel around the world, where every man, woman and child has a chance to read the Bible and decide for themselves on Jesus Christ."

Political preaching

One local preacher expects Falwell's mantle not to be picked up by -- but to be thrust upon -- the leader of a megachurch.

"A lot of that has to do with people the media have deemed as spokesmen," said John H. Wells Jr., senior pastor of Mountain View Community Church in Temecula. "These megachurch figures are usually deemed spokesmen for the Moral Majority because they represent such large congregations. I think there are many pastors around the nation proclaiming the word of God and taking a political stance that are not seen by the media."

Wells came to terms with blending faith and politics in order to campaign for a seat on the Murrieta Valley Unified School District board in 2005. Wells said that when he stumped for votes, he did not use a religious agenda. From the pulpit these days, he said he gets the urge to comment on political issues "every week."

"The pulpit is a great power and always has been, from the times of Dr. (Martin Luther) King proclaiming the dream," Wells said. "It has been a powerful megaphone to the community. When we talk about fighting for the protection of families, I think the church has an obligation to stand and fight for that."

Two local pastors suggested the future of injecting faith in national discourse may be based on how Al Mueller, the Louisville, Ky.-based president of Excellence in Giving, communicates. Withers said Mueller writes a blog on topics in the news. However, the blog is not a call to endorse a candidate or legislation.

"He addresses how a God of order can allow what happened at Virginia Tech," Withers said. "It's kind of a nonwaffling way of discussing the Bible, social issues instead of politics."

Coil thinks Dobson -- who is not a preacher, but an evangelical Nazarene who runs the advocacy group Focus on the Family -- is effective in his methods "because he's coming from a family standpoint, not a political one."

Wells said he couldn't predict who is in position to become "the next Jerry Falwell." Hsieh agreed that someone will "for sure ... rise up to fill these voids."

Treading carefully

Local preachers said they were not certain it was beneficial for Christian leaders to talk politics. Unless the issue was black and white -- two cited abortion, for instance -- there are far too many topics where solutions are not outlined with clarity in the Bible.

"There's a lot of gray area for debate and that's where politics comes in," Withers said. "If I were a politician, I may tell you what you want to hear. In Scripture, I'm going to give you what God says in an attempt to obey him. Can preachers be politicians? I guess so, but it's so problematic."

-- Contact staff writer James Curran at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2627, or jcurran@californian.com.