Dallas (BP) — The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) hosted an event discussing Southern Baptists’ role in the public square with a group of elected officials on Sunday night (June 8) in advance of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meeting.

The event featured ERLC President Brent Leatherwood speaking with U.S. Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), Ambassador-Designate Mark Walker (R-N.C.) and Rep. Nathaniel Moran (R-Texas) about what it’s like to serve as a Christian in public office, the challenges they face and the opportunities they envision for the future of the country.

Leatherwood affirmed the important role these fellow Southern Baptists fill in the public square, saying they serve “with distinction.”

“The churches of the SBC are truly grateful for you, and I’m grateful for the privilege to visit and discuss concerns with you and your colleagues,” Leatherwood said.

After each shared their personal Christian testimony and journey into politics, the three officials gave their thoughts about the importance of representing the character of Christ in the political arena.

“I don’t see a footnote in the Bible next to ‘love your neighbor as yourself’ that says ‘unless you’re in politics,’” said Lankford, who served in ministry in Oklahoma for more than 20 years before he was first elected in 2015.

“We have to watch who we are, not just what we do.”

Moran, one of only five Republicans appointed to the House Committee on Ethics, echoed this sentiment.

“There’s not a different set of rules that are set up in Scripture for if you are in politics and if you are not in politics,” Moran said. “The Lord gives us directives about how we should speak, behave and treat other people, and that doesn’t change when you get into politics.

“Someone asked me once, ‘If you’re a Christian, how can you be in politics?’ My response was if you’re a Christian, how can you not be involved in politics? We are in a spiritual battle, but it often shows itself in a cultural and political manner. We should step out when the Lord calls us, and each of us is called to do that in some way in our communities because leadership is action.”

Walker said the biggest challenge of being a Christian in politics is standing up for biblical values in the face of radical ideology, but not in a way that ruins your personal Christian testimony.

“I think it’s challenging to represent Christ no matter if you’re in Congress or some other job because we are inundated so much with ideology that’s contrary to the Scriptures,” he said.

“I think we have to be careful of a lot of nominal Christianity that kind of sinks into the political culture. In this world of the political arena as a believer, the challenge is to push back on attacks against Christian values, but also not cross a line where I’m no longer representing Jesus Christ well in this environment.”

Walker was recently nominated by President Trump to serve as the U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.

The position, which was created in 1988, heads the Office of International Religious Freedom (IRF) within the U.S. Department of State. The IRF promotes religious freedom as a foreign policy objective of the United States.

The candidate is nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Walker currently awaits this confirmation.

Walker previously served as a member of the House representing North Carolina and is known for his efforts to build bipartisan coalitions in support of religious freedom, human rights and international engagement.

Before entering politics, Walker was a Southern Baptist minister, most recently serving as worship pastor at Lawndale Baptist Church in Greensboro, N.C., from 2008-2013.

Leatherwood commended Walker for his long-standing work in Congress and said it is critically important that he be quickly confirmed to the ambassador position.

Walker then spoke to the important role that the Southern Baptist value of religious liberty plays in politics.

“Evil never rests, so to have an opportunity to hopefully expose and in some cases eradicate the atrocities that are committed against people of faith is very important,” Walker said.

“Religious liberty is something we should be seeking God’s guidance on every day because of these atrocities. It should matter to all believers because these folks matter to God.”

Lankford, who has long worked with the ERLC to help advocate for Southern Baptist policy priorities, took a brief moment to acknowledge the active role he has seen Leatherwood play in this advocacy work.

“All of us representing our various states in Congress see Brent all the time,” he said. “He’s speaking up on tough issues, and he’s out there working and engaging on these things everywhere.”

Lankford closed by encouraging Southern Baptist pastors that one of the most important things they can do to affect the political arena is to continue faithfully preaching the gospel.

“Washington doesn’t change the country, the country changes Washington, and I believe what changes the country is the church and the gospel,” Lankford said. “Pastors and leaders often ask me what I can do to change what’s happening, and I just encourage them to keep preaching the gospel.”

(EDITOR’S NOTE — Timothy Cockes is news editor at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.)