Evil always fills a void or vacancy
ORLANDO, FL – A pastor’s role is to equip their congregants with biblical truth, which includes connecting that biblical truth to governance and today’s political issues.
During the founding era, the American pulpit regularly shaped the cultural and philosophical mindset by teaching their congregations on unalienable rights, human dignity, and the rule of law.
From the American Revolution to the end of slavery to the civil rights movement, it was religious leaders that understood that spiritual stewardship required defending not just freedom and justice in the public square, but also biblical values and truth.
The cultural narratives demanding that Christianity stay out of public life has largely silenced the American pulpits in recent generations. However, there are still pastors in the pulpit today who are exercising their citizenship and stewardship to address the moral issues their congregants and everyday people are facing as the 2026 election season is underway.
“It’s my job,” said Pastor Jack Hilligoss regarding preaching politics from the pulpit. Hilligoss is the pastor of HighPoint Church in Lake Wales, Florida, and also serves as the town’s elected mayor. He said while his church initially lost some congregants when he started preaching about politics, that the church has tripled since then and new congregants want to know what the scriptures teach about the issues they are going to be voting on.
“There is no way I can be silent about these things,” noted Pastor Hilligoss. “There is a world out there that is hungry for some sense of truth and absolutes that they can build their life on.”
Pastor Hilligoss, who does an annual “Beyond Red and Blue” sermon series, noted it’s important to preach biblical messages on the political issues of the day because “every local church is an embassy of the kingdom, and every believer is an ambassador of the King.”
“I can preach from any text and eventually it’s going to get to a political issue,” he continued. “Politics is just religion externalized.”
Unlike Pastor Hilligoss, many American pastors stay silent over the widespread misconception that tax-exempt houses of worship will be penalized or lose that status under the 1954 Johnson Amendment if they address, oppose, or endorse political candidates and issues. However, pastors are free to speak up regarding the biblical and moral issues relevant in this 2026 election season and any election season.
“No church in the history of America has lost its tax-exempt status for opposing or supporting a political candidate or issue,” said Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver. “For those pastors who might have a fear or misconception about how they should shepherd their congregations in how to act politically or in how to vote this year, rest assured that the Johnson Amendment has not been used to sanction churches into silence.”
The silence from pastors afraid of being labeled “too political,” or of losing congregants, or of losing their special tax-exempt status comes with a cost. Where pastors and churches have remained silent and conceded ground, the secular and progressive movements have aggressively advanced to fill the void. Right now, the issues of sanctity of life, biblical marriage, the definition of human sexuality, which are fundamentally theological before they are political, are all up for a vote this 2026 election cycle.
“Society loses its moral anchor when pulpits go quiet on these foundational principles,” said Staver. “There is no excuse to stay silent. Biblical truth and values belong in the public square. When the culture demands silence, then the church must respond with conviction. And by looking at what’s on the ballot across America in 2026, you will find plenty of measures that are directly contrary to biblical values in which we cannot stay silent about.”
For instance, sanctity of life is on the ballot in Idaho, Nevada, and Virginia asking voters to amend their state constitutions for the right to kill innocent babies in the womb, while Missouri is the only state asking voters to constitutionally protect unborn babies. The issue of marriage is also on the ballot in Virginia asking voters to redefine marriage from one man and one woman to any two adults regardless of sex or “gender identity.”
There are also positive initiatives to protect females and keep gender-confused males out of female sports on the ballot in Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, and Washington, while another Colorado initiative seeks to protect minors from irreversible, mutilating gender surgeries.
In light of the advancing political agenda, several prominent pastors say that a clear directive emerges—pastors and churches must be involved in politics or evil wins.
Pastor Gary Hamrick of Cornerstone Chapel in Leesburg, Virginia said that the state’s two proposed constitutional amendments on abortion and marriage would make Virginia’s constitution “inconsistent with God’s view of the sacredness of marriage and sacredness of life.”
“The political, secular world has stepped into the theological world,” said Pastor Hamrick. “When that happens, we as pastors need to speak out.” Pastor Hamrick regularly preaches on the issues of the sanctity of human life, marriage, and delivers an election sermon during a presidential election cycle.
According to a 2024 study from Dr. George Barna at Arizona Christian University, about 32 million self-identified Christians who are regular churchgoers had planned not to cast their vote in 2024. Dr. Barna noted that “an estimated five million regular churchgoers would be likely to vote as a result of [a] simple exhortation [from pastors].”
“The majority of Christians sit it out, and as a result, we allow evil,” said Pastor Hamrick. “We can’t compromise on the truth. I wish I had more pastor friends who were consistent with teaching the truth.”
Pastor Jack Hibbs of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills in Chino Hills, California said that many Christians don’t see keeping the American Republic and the biblical values it was founded on as a part of their “ministry stewardship.” He cited the exit polls of the 2024 election in New York City that showed that the Muslims turned out to vote, but many Christians did not.
“As Abraham Lincoln warned, if we ever collapse, we are going to collapse from compromise from within,” said Hibbs. He admonished the pulpit and non-voting Christians for staying uninvolved in the political process. “Here we are. Evil always fills a void or vacancy—Jesus said that.”
Pastor Hibbs described the state of our culture as a “battlefield,” yet he said many pastors will never address the issues “kids deal with in school, the definition of marriage, abortion, or who to vote for to preserve a Judeo-Christian worldview.” He exhorted the church that it must be involved in the culture and can’t just sit it out.
“Voting is a Christian responsibility,” urged Pastor Hibbs. “It’s an opportunity to do good. The Bible says, ‘To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin’ [James 4:17].”
For more information and resources for churches, visit Liberty Counsel’s website here.
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Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics.
