[1]INDIANAPOLIS (BP) – The recent trip by a group of pastors to the Indiana Statehouse brought reminders that opened doors have a way of opening eyes.
Don Morris had seen Alex Zimmerman plenty of times as Morris preached at Vernon Baptist Church. Zimmerman, his family and mother-in-law are all members.
But Morris had never experienced the pleasure of visiting Zimmerman, state representative [2] for District 67, at his place of work.
“It was my first time to the Statehouse [3],” said Morris, an Indiana resident since he was 13. “We were able to take a few minutes to speak with and pray with him. It’s good for folks to see there are believers in politics and that often our leaders can feel alone.”
The trip was coordinated by Josh Hershberger of the Indiana Family Institute. The group consisted of pastors and State Convention of Baptists in Indiana staff. Hershberger has provided [4] legal direction for the state convention in the past.
[5]“He’s not only a good friend, but we go to him if we need answers from an attorney,” said Ryan Strother, SCBI executive director. “He has worked with our associations and through our partnership, made this day possible. All we had to do was register our guys and he arranged for them to meet state representatives and senators.”
“I appreciate Ryan helping us get pastors connected to our government leaders,” said Hershberger, who is also serves as teaching pastor at his church. He is the director and general counsel of Church Ambassador Network of the Indiana Family Institute.
“The Network’s goal is to connect pastors and governing officials for the purpose of ministry and partnering with them for the common good,” he told BP. “We want officials to see who they are in Christ and the church as a key partner for our city, state and nation to be transformed through the power of the Gospel.”
Similar church ambassador efforts are taking place in more than 20 states, added Hershberger.
After a brief orientation, the group met various lawmakers. Conversations were often met with opportunities to pray, which took place in the hallways well within earshot of those walking by.
Other appointments took place in offices. The informal discussions included legislators sharing their backgrounds. The group asked questions about their lives, shared Scripture and offered to pray for lawmakers, not all of whom shared in the pastors’ convictions.
In a little over five hours, the group connected with 15 officials. That included the offices of the lieutenant governor and governor as well as Senate Pro Tem Rod Bray (R) and Senate minority leader Shelli Yoder (D).
Politics was not the first point of discussion. Doors opened, literally and figuratively, through that approach. Jared Barham, just two years out of seminary, described the day as “eye-opening.”
“I can tell my students that you can be a Christian in whatever position or job you want to be,” said Barham, youth pastor at Northside Baptist Church in Indianapolis. “We prayed for and with our leaders on government property. We have the freedom and power to share the Gospel anywhere.
“Josh is doing incredible and eye-opening work, bridging the gap between politics and faith. It was a great experience for myself, as a student pastor, and I’m grateful for the opportunity.”
One lawmaker was especially appreciative.
“It was neat to open a Bible, share Scripture and ask how we can pray for them,” said Strother. “A common request was to pray for the budget to be passed. One lawmaker sat with us and said the last two weeks had been filled with a lot of hard meetings.
“She got up to leave and told us this was the most encouraging meeting she had had in that time.”
Churchgoers may misunderstand principles like the separation of church and state, said Morris, preventing them from being more active in making their values known. The group of pastors met and prayed with legislators, but also talked with them about pro-life concerns such as foster care.
“It was a good day,” Morris said. “These things affect everyone.”
Related posts:
Tennessee church giving aid to women in crisis with Safe Haven Baby Box 
Disabilities don’t stop fun at Maryland church’s ‘Harvest & Hayrides’ 
Ashcroft restores federal threat to doctors assisting in suicide 
FIRST-PERSON: The Bible speaks on racism 
2 seminarians venture to Africa for 6-month study of people group 
4 reasons why baptizing students is so important America awaits justices’ action on same-sex marriage 
State of the Church: More men attending than women, volunteering rebounding