CINCINNATI — Ohio State Representative Gary Click works on both sides of the faith and political divide. Those in his hometown in Northwest Ohio know him as the longtime pastor at Fremont Baptist Temple.
Click has taken firm conservative positions at the Statehouse. But he says being a pastor is about more than preaching. It’s about building relationships.
“If I’m talking to someone who has a different view from me, I really do want to have that discussion, cause usually what will happen, they will either strengthen my view, because I will say their arguments are really weak, or I might say you know what you brought something to that I hadn’t thought about, so I might alter my views,” said Click.
Lamar Ford is a community leader at Marantha Worship Centre in Dayton. He spends his time at church services talking to members in small groups not only about building a stronger relationship with God but also about social issues.
While Ford has a liberal stance on most policy matters, like Click, he also thinks faith can play an important role in the discussion, which is one he doesn’t shy away from.
“I’m not saying I develop relationships just to trick somebody into doing what I would like them to do, but I am hoping whatever spiritual information I share with them can align them with the ability to seek Christ, because that individual who I’m voting is going to control or influence how our community grows,” Ford said.
According to a survey this year by The Pew Research Center, two-thirds of Americans who attend religious services say their clergy discusses political or social issues from the pulpit. But most Americans think churches should not endorse political candidates.
Ford says he encourages members at the church to make their own decisions without influencing them with his own personal beliefs.
“When you go into that ballot to vote, votes what’s on your heart, your faith, you can see it in the dialogue of what you reading on the ballot if there is words in there that match what you believe that’s where you go if it’s not pivot, but for the most part follow what’s in your heart,” Ford said.
Even though Click and Ford have different political views, they both believe faith can bring both political parties together.
“God loves you regardless if you are Republican or Democrat,” Click said.
Both Click and Ford say it is possible for faith leaders to bring up public issues without steering their worshipers’ decisions at the voting booth.
