A prominent black pastor based in Detroit told Fox News Digital that it is “impossible” for pastors and Christians to be politically “neutral.” Lorenzo Sewell, who is a pastor of 180 Church in Detroit, Michigan said “The gospel message is a political message. The Bible is a political book from Genesis to Revelations. We see that the Bible is a political book.”
“It is impossible to be politically neutral,” he concluded. Sewell is a Republican who spoke at the last Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in July. Unsurprisingly, He endorsed President-elect Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. Lorenzo Sewell also made the news for hosting Trump at his church last summer.
“It is important to be spiritual because you are political. You cannot be a spiritual person and not be political,” Sewell explained. The pastor gave his thoughts on a story from the Washington Post in which a pastor from Los Angeles explained his struggle with uniting his church before and after the presidential election. First Christian Church of North Hollywood pastor Jonathan Hall explained his situation.
His church is part of the Disciples of Christ denomination and serves over 1,000 members. He said Persuading the Republicans, Democrats, and independents in his pews to stay and pray with one another is getting more complicated.“ After Hall planned to screen Christian nationalism, several congregants left the church due to their political differences.
Some congregants said the church was “too one-sided” and “anti-Republican.” Others left when they discovered their peers were attending Trump’s inauguration. Sewell stressed the importance of being civil. “We need to understand that you cannot have progress without being bipartisan. We understand that you have to work with the Democrats and you have to work with Republicans now in order to make real progress happen,”
He explained that “we have to have that discernment.” He acknowledged that “Adversely, we don’t believe that every Republican is a revivalist. We don’t worship a donkey nor elephant. We worship the lamb that was slain.” However, the native of Detroit’s east side said there are very real problems with the platform of the Democratic Party.
He stated “We do believe that it is very difficult for you to be a Bible-believing Christian and be a Democrat. We do believe that. Do I have Democrats in my church? Absolutely. We do not believe that every Democrat is a demon, but we do believe that the Democratic platform is demonic.” According to research we reported on earlier this year, most Christians avoid politics at church.
A study from The Hartford Institute for Religion Research shows that most religious communities are politically inactive and strive to avoid controversial topics. The researchers believe that incessant polling and political analysis of believers misses a boarder truth; most churches are not political. This study was focused on congregations and not religious leaders or institutions.
According to the director of the HIRR, Scott Thumma, “When they come together as a spiritual community, they don’t want politics directly involved. There’s a lot of pushback from the people in the pews.” He co-wrote the report with Charissa Mikoski, an assistant research professor. The report relies on reports from 15,278 religious leaders who replied on behalf of their communities.