Nigel Webb is the Discipleship and Equipping Pastor at Palmerston North Central Baptist Church.
When I was younger, I would vote based on which party seemed to offer the most for me and mine, and I would evaluate the budget in the same way. Growing older, I came to realize that this was a pretty selfish way of looking at things. Jesus made it clear that he was about ministering to vulnerable people. So now my approach is to look for parties and policies that look out for the last, the lost, the least and the lonely. I know we can’t expect a government to completely model Jesus, but when politicians announce their policies, do they capture anything of the encouragement and hope for those at the margins that I sense when we read the Nazareth Manifesto in Luke 4:16-21? Are they speaking “good news to the poor”? Are they seeking to advance reconciliation in our fractured society? (2 Corinthians 5:16-21)
As a member of the Palmerston North Justice, Peace, Development & Ecology Commission I care about current issues such as the rising levels of poverty and mental health, treaty issues, the challenge of adequate housing and the weather events that impact our country as global climate change effects our nation and the world. Common Grace has a 3-part workshop resource for churches on some of these issues. Can I encourage us to engage with this resource in the run up to the General Election and to be prepared to move beyond the sound bites and talk with each other about things that impact the common good. It is worth prayerfully asking the question, what are my values when I come to voting this year?
When I heard that Baptist Hui 2026 was going to be on the same weekend as a general election, I was concerned that this would make it hard for our pastors and other leaders to vote. Then I realised that we could just vote early or cast a special vote at one of the polling stations close to the venue before heading home. And writing a letter about this to Chris scored me an opportunity to encourage us all to get out and vote! Check it all out at this link. I recently realised that with recent electoral law changes we can no longer enrol on Election Day or in the two weeks prior. This particularly impacts the marginalised. What can we as churches do to help them enrol and have their voices heard?
I believe we have misunderstood the separation of church and state. Of course we don’t want to tell people who to vote for, that is up to their conscience. But it doesn’t mean we don’t have anything to say or do in the public space. As Baptist theologian Stanley Grenz points out “it is neither intended to eliminate religion from national life nor to silence the church's voice in matters of civil concern… separation is intended to allow religious groups to carry on their own distinctive activities apart from the fear of persecution or reprisal.”[1]
As Kingdom agents of reconciliation and hope, how can we together engage in this important sphere?
Read others in this series:
Endnotes
[1] Stanley J. Grenz, The Baptist Congregation. A Guide to Baptist Belief and Practice (Juston Press: Valley Forge, PA, 1985), 89.
