The Steve Nam Podcast

So what do you do when your pastor supports a political figure that you absolutely cannot stand? Do you walk away? Do you pretend it doesn't bother you? Or do you try to wrestle through it? See, right now I've got some friends who feel totally disconnected from church because of an apparent political stance that they saw from a pastor on social media. And so they're wondering if it's time to find another church. And maybe you've been there too.

And so today I want to have a real talk about why politics and faith can collide, and it can be so painful. And really, I want to also talk about why no pastor is going to be perfect, and they're not meant to be your spiritual everything. I also want to address why unity matters the most, even when we disagree.

And just getting practical, how do you stay rooted in your walk with God, no matter who's in office or what your pastor thinks about it? So let's talk about it. I want to talk about personal stories, biblical insights, and really what are the steps that might just set us free from letting politics hijack our spiritual lives. I want to have a conversation where we're not talking about canceling anybody, but we're still going to acknowledge the reality of the feelings that we deal with in a highly charged political climate.

And so let's jump in right now. I talked about how the scenario is that I have some friends who have been part of church for a while. They love the community, but recently pastor posted or hinted at support for a political figure that unfortunately they absolutely dislike, and they might even hate this guy.

And so suddenly they find it hard to receive his sermons, to feel connected, or really just to trust his spiritual leadership. And they've told me, maybe I should find another church. I'm not sure how far along they are in that, but it has caused them to really reflect and think about, hey, this could be a deal breaker for me.

At the same time, they recognize that there's power in community, and they don't want to be disconnected from the network that they've built, from really the body of Christ. I really applaud them for their honesty, and they've shared it with me and with my wife, and we're trying to help them navigate this tension that they're feeling. And I have been trying to encourage them that this is a time where when we're offended, we can really see what is really at the heart of it.

Why am I offended? And that this could be a great time of growth for them. And this could be the beginning of an era for them where they not only grow emotionally and learn to deal with differences, but also really spiritually, they get to reflect upon what really matters to them and what really matters in their faith. And so how do we navigate this tension? See, I think part of the struggle is that we often hold our feelings, the genuine feelings that we have, we keep them secret because we worry that we will be judged just as harshly as we might judge others.

And I know this from personal reflection myself, when you stay quiet because you think, well, if people really knew how I felt about this issue or this matter, they might reject me, I might lose some friends. And sure, it might be wise to stay quiet in a certain moment, but the ironic thing is that we might be doing the same things to others. And so when we hear something that we dislike, maybe it's a pastor seemingly encouraging posts for a political person, then we go, what? They support this person? And we immediately feel like we want to disqualify them from their position or their vocation or their skills or whatever it is, or their ability to counsel me or for me to receive from them.

But the thing is, it's very possible to disagree with somebody without disqualifying them. When we are in healthy community, when we're in healthy relationships, it means that we can say, hey, I see things differently, but I still value, I still respect you, I still love you, and I know that I can still learn from you. I think that that is a mature place to be in.

Now, it's easier said than done often when we have differences, but really it's exactly what we need if we're going to heal from the divisions that we find between so many of friends, family, and especially in the church. And first, I want to separate politics from our spiritual growth. If you are out there thinking that, hey, my pastor doesn't align with my political beliefs, and so I can't learn from him anymore, I just want to challenge that mindset.

Because as much as politics feels deeply personal, and it is, it's also a temporary reality compared to the eternal kingdom of God. There is a passage in 1 Timothy 3, 1 through 7, it lays out the qualifications for pastors, for elders, and it talks about how things like integrity and self-control and the ability to teach being above reproach. These are the things that qualify them for their role.

Not once does it say they must align with a specific political party or stand on one side or the other of certain political issues. But here in 2025, it's so easy with how polarized things are to equate political agreement with spiritual agreement. Unfortunately, that's misguided, and I think we can see that.

And the reason why politics and religion don't need to be equated is because politics and government can never change the human heart, right? That's God's domain. They can make laws, they can position things to happen, but the gospel is what changed a human's heart. And so, I want to share a personal story.

One of my former pastors actually supported a political candidate that I did not prefer. And so, I questioned it. I went through this myself.

I did wonder, why would he support that person? And I realized that, look, he's entitled to his view, and that's fair, but I can still learn from him. And once I adopted that attitude, I asked God to humble my heart, and I just prayed for them. I prayed for the specific person that he was supporting that I did not agree with, but I prayed for it based on a verse that I found in Romans.

Romans 13, one through seven, it reminds us that the governing authorities are established by God. That doesn't mean that we're going to be blind to everything they do, but we pray for them because we recognize that God is sovereign over all of it. And so, when the pastor publicly supported that candidate, it did make me reflect, and I needed to have a gut check.

Is this person, even through his supporting of this candidate, do I still believe he's leading me closer to God? Is he fulfilling his biblical role as a shepherd and as a spiritual coach, if you want to talk about it in today's terms? And the answer was yes. And if it's yes, then I can handle the fact that we can disagree on politics. And in fact, Matthew 22 points out, give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's.

So, we can acknowledge the reality of political authority without letting it overshadow our faith. Another thing that I think is really important to acknowledge is that whoever is in power at any given moment, it is temporary. God's kingdom is eternal.

And if we focus, if we fixate on the day-to-day, we can lose sight of the fact that God's story is so much bigger and that his plan is at work, and it's not going to be derailed by any particular presidential term. And so, if you are sitting at home raging at the TV, if you're scrolling through social media about everything that's going on, and you're just so charged and emotionally unwell, you want to ask yourself, is this helping me grow spiritually? Is it adding peace to my life, or is it stealing it? In Colossians 3, it tells us to set our minds on things above, not on earthly things. And when politics starts to overshadow our faith, I think it's a sign, it's an opportunity for us to re-evaluate.

And we need to remind ourselves to remember that no matter which human kingdom that we try to build, no matter who we're going to advocate for and try to tear down this idea or this ideology, it is still ultimately small compared to God's plan because he's going to accomplish what he desires. Part of our job is to keep an eternal perspective. And I know it's hard not to get wrapped up in the who's right and who's wrong when it comes to political ideology, but we need to remember that bigger picture because God's kingdom is going to be forever.

His kingdom is eternal, it is not temporary, which is so much of what we see on the day-to-day, on the news, on the algorithm. So much of what consumes us today will someday just be a small blip on the timeline of humankind, right? And I hear this saying often, and I've heard it a lot in this last election cycle, hey, keep church and politics separate. And I get it, politics shouldn't overshadow our worship, but sometimes when you ignore it and pretend like it's not there or just not talk about it, it feels a bit disingenuous.

It is so much of what we deal with day-to-day. And so for me, when it comes to church, I respect any spiritual leader who is willing to address it with a biblical wisdom lens, right? So whether or not we land on the same side politically, ideologically, I think that we as Christians have to be mature enough to say, look, I'm going to hear your viewpoint and I will glean what I can, the biblical principles at least from my pastor, and then I'm going to take that to God. I'm going to pray and I'm going to decide for myself.

I think that a pastor's role is that they equip the saints, right? They give us the tools to help us make our decisions as we stand before God. And if they can help us navigate the political scene in a way that glorifies God, that's great. And some people wonder if when a pastor prays for a president, if he says something that is any bit political, like why did they say that? Is he trying to align with somebody because they want to be popular? Are they just trying to be relevant? Are they trying to chase some kind of clout, right? And it's very easy for us to judge people who have a platform as if we know what they're trying to do and we understand their motives.

But the truth is we always do not know the actual pastor's heart and why they did what they did, what kind of counsel they have, what their conviction is between them and the Lord, and really they are accountable for anything that they do. And so that's not, I don't think that's our business in terms of trying to figure out why they did that. But what we can do is we can give them grace.

As our pastors, they face a lot of pressures and if they're doing their job, they're going to speak out of the conviction that God has given them. How did they arrive there? I can't explain, but I give them the benefit of the doubt that they have wrestled behind the scenes. And so I try to guard myself from jumping to the worst conclusion because I know that anytime I've judged someone quickly, I know that it always says something about my own insecurities than that person's actual heart and their actual motives.

And so I would encourage any brother or sister, give your pastors, give your spiritual leaders, give them the benefit of the doubt, especially if their biblical teaching is sound. The pastor's role is to equip us. It is not to be our spiritual everything.

And we see this in Ephesians 4. It talks about how God gave us pastors and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry. Their job is to guide, their job is to instruct, their job is to build us up, and it's not to replace our personal walk with God. They are not to become the only mouthpiece of God in our lives.

And I think we get in a dangerous territory when we place those expectations on them. If we're putting all of our hopes in a pastor and counting on him to be some perfect, sinless, 100% aligned version of our own beliefs, we definitely set ourselves up for disappointment because pastors are human. They can be fallen, flawed, just like the rest of us.

And so we just have to realize that if we are going to freak out or become so sensitive to any disagreement or difference, whether it's political or otherwise, it might mean that we've leaned too heavily on that human leader for our spiritual connection instead of trusting our own personal relationship with Jesus Christ. And so what we are responsible for is that we need to be feeding ourselves on the Word of God daily. We need to be walking in the Spirit and we need to be praying continually.

We need to maintain our own connection with God. If we let our pastor become our only conduit to God, it is easy to feel betrayed or even devastated or to feel sensitive or offended when we spot any flaw or any disagreement. And so if a pastor's political stance in a specific area unsettles you to the point of now you're having a spiritual crisis, I think it is a great time for reflection and you can ask yourself, have I been depending too much on a human being or a pastor or a church for my spiritual connection to God? Because a spiritual connection to God must be maintained daily, moment by moment.

And Scripture reminds us that there's only one mediator between God and man, and that is Jesus Christ. It talks about that in 1 Timothy 2. Ultimately, your pastor is not going to be a replacement for your prayers, your Bible study, or your intimacy with God. And while we're on that point, speaking of leaders, pray for your pastor.

He has got a lot on his shoulders. And taking it a step further, I'm thinking of not just praying for your spiritual leaders, but pray for your political leaders. I imagine that they have a lot on their shoulders as well.

And so when I see a leader that I don't align with, whether it's a pastor or whether it's a politician, I think that we can pray, God, would you use them? Would you let your kingdom purposes be accomplished through their lives? Would you guide their actions? Even if they get off track, would you convict them? Would you help them to steer them right? Bring them closer to you. Let them understand your heart. Break their heart for the things that break yours.

All the things that you pray for yourself, you can pray those things for your pastors, for your politicians. It is not a foregone conclusion of, oh, I know how my pastor is going to act now because they've said this. I know how this politician is going to act now because they've done this.

God can change any heart. And I think we should continually pray for our leaders. If we truly trust that God is on the throne, that he's sovereign above all, and that he's fully in control, we can pray for our leaders.

And we can trust that God will move behind the scenes, through them, without them, in spite of them, even if we don't see the immediate change. It's not on our time, it's on God's. He has his timeline to accomplish his purposes.

And I think that if we refuse to pray because our candidate didn't win, or we don't agree with a policy, or we don't like this viewpoint, it can push us away from God's call to love and unity. While it's understandable to feel disappointed, even upset when our political preferences aren't met, I don't think we need to let that derail our commitment to seeking God's best for everyone, even those that we disagree with. And unfortunately, this mindset, though, has crept into the church.

We see it on a large scale. I think everyone understands what cancel culture is, but basically people will cut someone off the moment that they disagree with them, right? But thank God he doesn't treat us that way, right? Thank God that while we were yet sinners, Christ still died for us. And in the church, we need to be modeling this.

What does it look like to not write people off because they disagree with us? What does it look like to not call people idiots, whatever names, because they didn't see it the way that we did? How do we handle disagreements without division? We might see or hear something from a pastor that rubs us the wrong way politically, but that doesn't automatically negate the spiritual fruit in this person's life because of the ways that God has used them. I think sometimes we go on this search of finding this perfect spiritual pastor. We've got all these different influencers, spiritual influencers in social media today.

And so we feel like we have a lot of choices. Oh, there's another church down the street, or there's another pastor on social media that I can follow and I can just be spiritually fed by them, right? And so we church hop and we're not really loyal to any particular place. And we also become shallow in our involvement.

We never get involved in a church and get plugged in and be able to be used by God in a way that blesses the local church. And so if we have this mentality and we are just looking for a spiritual leader or pastor that never offends us, never challenges us on any level because essentially they say all the things that we agree with. And we have to be honest, you know, that pastor does not exist in its entirety.

Maybe he exists in certain clips, certain Instagram reels. Oh yeah, I like what he said there. You can take your buffet deal and put together the perfect spiritual pastor that never rubs you the wrong way.

But if you keep leaving a spiritual leader or a church, the minute that you have a point of contention, you will end up with no real home, no real place to be rooted, to grow in fellowship. And I don't think that's what God wants for you. That's not what God wants for his church.

Unity does not mean that we all think the same way politically, but I think that it means that we all share the same core faith in Jesus. We are all united at the foot of the cross. We all share a common surrender and that is to Jesus Christ.

And we have to realize that that trumps so much else that we allow ourselves to be divided by. And so, let's talk about self-reflection because I think at the heart of the matter, we want to ask ourselves, why are we so offended? Why is it so easy for someone to offend us? What hurts have we experienced there? What are the places that we need healing? I think that the offense can illuminate where we have been hurt, where we might need some healing. And it's not just about, oh, I disagree here.

It's that I've been wronged here. And yes, I'm pointing to my heart. Sometimes it reveals that something in our heart needs healing.

And Matthew 7, three through five talks about, you know this famous verse, it's about pointing out that speck in someone's eye while ignoring the plank in your own. And so, if you find yourself instantly triggered, constantly bothered, and feeling like someone is evil or responsible, or feeling like you're quick to put these labels on people, I would invite you to pause and ask, what is going on inside of me? Because I don't know about you, but I change my mind all the time. I have evolved in the ways that I've thought, in the places that I've, which side of the aisle I might align on spiritually, where I fall on certain issues.

I have continued to just change. And once I get new facts, once I gain new perspectives, once I age and go through different life stages, I have changed my mind. And I think that that's a reality for all of us.

And so, we need to give that same grace and that same space for people to continue on their journey and not tear them down along the way, but pray for them if we find differences and even seek to understand. Maybe there's some place that we can grow, that maybe they've already done the growing and we can learn from them. It's not always about, oh, okay, well, if there's a difference, that means the person's wrong, right? We might need to look within it as well on that.

How do you actually grow in this then? How can we have that self-reflection? What are the steps that we can take or what's the practical step we can take so that we can understand the other side? And I think that it's maybe obvious, but it's about talking to people on the other side. It's about having conversations. I've discovered that when I actually sit down with people who have opposite views, and I've actually done this in the last election cycle.

I went and I would sit down with anybody that I knew at church from the last political cycle. I kind of knew where they stood. And I was curious to just ask them, how are you dealing at this time with the political climate? How are you making your decisions? What do you think about this? Without getting into the, well, this is what I think.

This is why you should think this way. I really sought to understand and not to be understood. I think that is a good first step.

It doesn't mean that you can't share your beliefs, but I think that a lot of times we think that the beliefs we've come to are 100% right because we've spent so much time thinking about them in our own minds, right? But the only problem with the things that went on in your own minds is a lot of times no one else was talking with you in that. You came to that conclusion. And so, it's great to test your views, to hold your views to the light and just see how it holds against other ideas and concepts.

Be humble. Be willing to learn from others. It doesn't mean that if one person's right, then the other person is wrong.

It's not always about a right-wrong. Everyone has their reasons for why they believe what they believe. And that's the beauty of diversity.

And it's part of the process that we have here in America. We have freedom of speech. People can choose to voice their opinions and we don't need to tear each other down in the midst of it.

Getting an understanding of why people have come to those conclusions really can help you learn about the person, their mindset, the life experience that have brought them there to why they come to those conclusions. We might still disagree at the end of the day, but there's a certain humanizing element that I think happens when we're willing to sit across the table, break bread and talk about the things that are on our hearts, whether it's political or whether it's anything else, right? We are so complex and nuanced and there's just different levels to us. Some that we show and some that we don't even know how to uncover ourselves.

And we're not just these demographics that we're so often categorized with. Most of us are really trying to do and enact and support what we believe is right. And so if we're only willing to stay in our own echo chambers and surround ourselves with people who will always agree with us, we are never going to grow.

We're never going to test our thinking to refine our perspective. And I think that's one of the best ways to fight that divisive spirit. It's just to have respectful, genuine conversations, ask more questions than you try to put perspectives out.

Listen more than you speak, I guess is what I'm saying. And I think that every time that I've done this, I have been so surprised that there's just wisdom on the other side. Oh, I didn't see it that way because well, I have my perspective.

And you might find more common ground than you would have thought existed. Okay. I just want to get real practical for a moment.

So if you are feeling stuck in a cycle of political outrage, or maybe you have frustration with a spiritual leader because of their political stance, whatever it is, here's what I would advise you to do. Number one, I think in 2025, this is a very practical step. Go on a media fast, a social media fast, a news fast, an algorithm fast.

I believe, and I've done this myself, 40 days without political news, without hearing social media rants, perspectives, without listening to news pundits, without seeing headlines and things that hook you and grip you in and feed that dopamine. And replace that time because it's not just about not seeing it. Every time that you feel like you want to do that, instead replace that time with prayer.

Cultivate that intimacy that you have with God, with scripture. You need to be living on the word of God and with any type of serving opportunity. Anytime that you can encourage a brother or sister, sending them a text, Hey, was thinking of you, I'm praying for you, or I really appreciate you for this.

I thank you for this. Any way that you can encourage somebody or serve somebody, I think would be a great thing to do. Secondly, I think a practical step is what we talked about before.

Pray for your leaders. Pray for your spiritual leaders, pray for your political leaders. And don't just pray that they'll fail.

Don't just pray that they'll get removed. Don't just pray that God will obliterate them or something like that. Pray that God's will would be done in their lives.

Pray for their success in bringing justice and wisdom where they serve. Pray for their success in enacting God's purposes. Pray for their continually changed heart that would make them into a man or woman of God more and more.

Pray for the same things you pray for yourself. A third practical step, I think, is to seek an eternal perspective. If you are constantly swayed by political headlines and, Oh, this is the next thing that happened.

This is the next thing that happened. By definition, your minds are set on temporary things, things that are happening just day to day, week to week that change so fast here one day gone the next. But Colossians 3, 2 says, set your mind on things above.

If the news is stealing your peace, if the news is stealing your joy, the joy that you have of your salvation in Jesus Christ, the joy that you have, that your sins are forgiven, that you have a reason for living today and you have a future in heaven. If that is stealing your joy and your peace, step back. Remember, the leaders that are here today are temporary, but God's kingdom is forever and we serve an eternal king.

We serve an eternal kingdom. And then stay in community. I would encourage you, do not get disconnected from the body of Christ.

Do not get disconnected from the people who you have built relationships with in your life. Don't isolate, discuss your disagreements, share your heart and do it with kindness and do it with a seeking to understand. Be willing to ask questions.

Let others ask you questions. We learn so much more when we hear different perspectives. And if you are in a place right now where you're strongly considering leaving your church because of a disagreement with your pastor, go back, read the Bible verses, check out what we talked about, 1 Timothy 3. Are they meeting the qualifications of a pastor? Because again, you're not going to find any perfect pastor.

You're not going to ever go to a perfect church where they're all full of sinners out there. I've gone to many of them. They're all full of sinners.

And they're all full of flawed people and imperfect people. And I've never seen a church that their execution of everything has been perfect, but there's a lot of great churches out there that God is moving in. So if the answer for your pastor is that they are fulfilling the roles of a pastor and they are biblically qualified, then I would encourage you, give them the grace to have their own personal opinions and realize that you don't need to line up with everything, all the preferences of life, all the ideas of life, all the concepts of life.

It's okay to see it differently from your pastor. If you're ever tempted to church hop because of a disagreement, just ask yourself, is it really about seeking a better spiritual home? Because this home has not been a good spiritual home, or is it because you're looking for that perfect person? Just remember that often God uses discomfort to refine us and to show us how to navigate being part of a community in spite of not seeing eye to eye with everyone else on every little issue or big issue. And at the end of the day, no matter who's in power, no matter which side wins an election, God's kingdom is the ultimate authority.

We are reminded in Romans not to let minor disputes break up our fellowship. Politics is important, but it is not worthy of our worship. It cannot save our souls.

Only God can transform a human heart. When Jesus prayed in the gospels, he prayed for unity among believers. And I think it's interesting that he could have prayed for so many things, but he prayed for oneness between his children, between his people.

And that means that we have a responsibility to strive for unity even when we disagree on issues. And so our unity is going to not be based on being uniform when it comes to politics, but the unity is based on our commonality. It's based on the cross of Christ, on the forgiveness and the grace that he's offered us, on the Holy Spirit that binds us together.

If we lose sight of that, if we get caught up in the 24-7 news cycle, we are missing the bigger story that God is telling. And if you're in that place right now, maybe you have a pastor who supports someone that you can't stand. I would humbly, as your brother, encourage you to ask yourself, do you still believe that God can use them to speak truth into your life? Are you willing to trust that God is sovereign and in control even in politics? Can you keep an open heart? Can you remain teachable? Can you stay connected to your church family in the midst of all of it? Because I think that walking away over politics, it might solve some immediate discomfort that you feel, but you can miss a ton of growth that comes from wrestling with disagreements and doing it in a way that is seeking God, because I think that that's what's going to stretch you.

That's what's going to grow you in your faith. And again, ultimately, you are responsible for your connection between you and God. There's no pastor that's ever going to fill that need for you.

And if you are relying on that, you will be sorely disappointed at some point or the other. Okay, so I know we talked about a lot. Politics can be uncomfortable.

I think if we don't talk about it, we can let frustration just fester in our hearts, in our minds, and it robs our peace. It robs our joy. I'm so glad we got to have this conversation.

I know I spoke for a lot of it, kind of one-sided. Maybe you're shouting back at me, but if you are going through this right now, I want you to know you're not alone. And I believe that there is a path forward that leads to a deeper faith, to stronger community.

And I think you can still do all this while keeping and maintaining your own strong convictions. Until next time, keep your heart aligned with God's kingdom and His purposes. Everything else will be taken care of.

God bless, and I'll see you in the next episode.