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In my recent book, The Good Citizen: a Four-Step Guide to Gospel-Centered Citizenship, I noted that the most effective Christian citizens approach public life in a Biblical, strategic way. More specifically, they generally follow the following steps, and they spell “GOOD,” as in “good citizen.” We should all be good citizens, so we should: (1) G – go over or review our role as citizen in light of Biblical principles and examples, (2) O – offer prayer for and build relationships with elected officials, (3) O – offer solutions and partner with government officials to solve key community problems and (4) D – do the hard work of Christian citizenship in the public square.
We are doing our best to provide real-life examples of this strategy and not just a written road map, so here is a great example of this type of strategic, gospel-centered citizenship from the Buckeye State.
Pastor Jeremy Rands leads Monclova Road Baptist Church (“MRBC”) in Monclova, Ohio (near Toledo); and the church also operates a Christian day school (pre-school through 12th grade), Monclova Christian Academy. He has closely studied the Biblical role of church and state, routinely builds relationships with elected officials, strategically serves his community and even made the difficult decision to file a lawsuit to prevent the closure of the school (and won at the 6th Circuit). I appreciate Pastor Rands’ perspective and his approach to public life, and I enjoyed this practical discussion about engaging in public life now.
Key Takeaways;
- Pastor Rands’ unique opportunity to minister on the Ohio Governor’s Advisory Council, how he received an invitation to that position, and the nuts and bolts of those meetings.
- Why we shouldn’t overlook the Old Testament when developing public theology.
- His approach to building relationships with government officials.
- MRBC’s remarkable community service efforts.
- The difficult decision to file suit over a county order that allowed casinos to remain open but closed in-person education, and the outcome of that decision. Here’s the Order from the 6th Circuit.
- The steps Pastor Rands has taken since then, and his advice to pastors as they navigate political differences in their congregations.