SBC president calls on pastors to engage in abortion, immigration

Key Points:

• Southern Baptist Convention President Willy Rice urged pastors nationwide to actively participate in the political process ahead of the midterm elections, emphasizing the historical role of pastors in American politics.
• Rice criticized the trend of Christians withdrawing from political engagement, noting that the theological and political left remains highly active in mixing religion with politics, creating a void in Christian leadership on the right.
• He identified abortion, marriage definition, gender identity, and immigration as key theological issues that should motivate Christian voters to take a clear stance.
• On immigration, Rice acknowledged the complexity but stressed the importance of balancing compassion with the enforcement of laws, warning against manipulative arguments that conflate compassion with open borders.
• Rice argued that political engagement by pastors is essential because many political issues are fundamentally moral and theological, impacting both individual and cultural flourishing.