With the U.S. Independence Day holiday coming up, many churches will be holding patriotic worship services extolling the virtues of the nation. However, other congregations and pastors struggle with what kind of relationship the church should have with the nation. How should we acknowledge our gratitude to a country that allows us to worship freely without fear of persecution or censorship without abandoning our prophetic call to proclaim God’s kingdom on earth? There is no easy answer, and every situation is unique, so let me share about how it came up in my ministerial context one time.
I was the pastor of a church in a town with a very large army base, and the military pervaded the culture of the community. A member of my congregation called me up and said that a gospel singer he knew was going to be in our area and wondered if he could sing at our church on Sunday. I said that would be fine and that he could perform two or three songs as special music. I spoke with the singer later that day and told him what the scriptures and sermon would be about that day, and he said he would choose songs that would compliment the theme of the worship service.
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