2016 National Election

Pondering the Nov. 8 election, Daryl Cornett reminds, "God is bigger than Hillary and bigger than Trump. His providence over the affairs of men is bigger. His grip on my conscience is bigger. … And our hope will still be in Him as it always has been and always will be."

NASHVILLE (BP) -- Political endorsements by preachers appear to have been few and far between this election season. That may be because the most popular candidate among preachers is "I don't know," a new study shows. A new report from LifeWay Research found 4 out of 10 Protestant pastors are undecided about which candidate to vote for. A third (32 percent) plan to vote for Donald Trump. One in 5 (19 percent) plans to vote for Hillary Clinton. Four percent support Gary Johnson. Three percent do not plan to vote.

FARMVILLE, Va. (BP) -- A nine-minute discussion of personal faith and social issues capped a vice presidential debate between Democrat Tim Kaine and Republican Mike Pence that also included discussion of racial bias in the criminal justice system, immigration and humanitarian aid in Syria. The 90-minute debate hosted by Virginia's Longwood University Oct. 4 additionally featured squabbles about the character of presidential nominees Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (BP) -- Race relations, personal ethics and terrorism were among the topics discussed by Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump Sept. 26 in their first head-to-head presidential debate. The 90-minute event hosted by Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., included no mention of abortion, same-sex marriage, transgenderism or religious liberty by either candidate and no specific mention of radical Islam during the discussion of terrorism.

As Election Day approaches, Americans face "daunting challenges and problems that would have been unimaginable to our founding fathers," Rudy Gray, editor of the South Carolina Baptist Courier, writes. "We need the kind of change that politicians and political parties cannot provide."

SPRINGDALE, Ark. (BP) -- The collision of mindsets and ideologies in America is real. Regardless of what our nation experiences or discusses, these varying mindsets and ideologies surface and collide. Some say this ongoing collision of mindsets and ideologies will lead us to eventually implode.

WASHINGTON (BP) -- Evangelical leaders debated the appropriateness of a vote for Donald Trump during a Sept. 16 event at the National Press Club sponsored by the National Religious Broadcasters. Two supporters of the Republican nominee traded opinions with two of his opponents as a divisive campaign moves toward the Nov. 8 election. Evangelicals have not escaped the discord in response to the major-party candidacies of Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton. Some have said they will vote for neither of the major candidates, while others have thrown their support to Trump, with many citing him as the "lesser of two evils" and/or arguing a refusal to vote for him is a vote for her.

WASHINGTON (BP) -- In a speech to America's largest pro-gay lobbying group, Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine said the Bible buttresses his support of same-sex marriage. And he predicted the Roman Catholic Church eventually will change its mind on the issue, like he has. Evangelical theologians, however, said Kaine appeared to distort biblical teaching and Catholic doctrine in service of a political agenda.

Gary Ledbetter laments the tone of division among Baptists displayed in social media over two unlikeable candidates vying for the White House. "It's time to talk less," Ledbetter, editor in chief of the Southern Baptist TEXAN, writes. "It's time to pray more" yet making sure of "your own core beliefs."

NASHVILLE (BP) -- Conviction and kindness are the prescription of Southern Baptist leaders for the final eight weeks of the U.S. presidential campaign. With early voting by mail having begun in North Carolina and in-person early voting slated to begin in three states next week, Southern Baptist Convention President Steve Gaines, Dallas pastor Robert Jeffress, Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. and Cedarville University President Thomas White are among those to weigh in with ethical and spiritual advice for voters.