Preaching and Politics

Jan 15, 2026

Guest

Joe Mangina

Joe Mangina, theology professor known for doctrinal clarity; Annette Brownlee, pastoral theology professor emerita with parish experience; Tish Harrison Warren, Anglican priest and writer on liturgy and everyday faith. They discuss when and how preaching intersects with politics. Short takes on preaching’s purpose, forming congregations, prophetic voice, liturgy’s shaping role, and navigating parish conflict amid political polarization.

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ADVICE

Discern Politics Through Prayer And Silence

Let the Holy Spirit lead when deciding whether and how to speak about politics from the pulpit.
Practice silence, scripture listening, and prayerful discernment before addressing political moments.

INSIGHT

Church Identity Trumps Political Labels

The primary context for preaching is the church as the body of Christ, not the nation-state.
Preaching should build a single Christian identity that resists reducing people to political categories.

ADVICE

Form A Prophetic People, Not A Social Media Commentator

Distinguish the prophetic roles: parish clergy shepherd the congregation while public prophetic speech may belong to others.
Use preaching to form a prophetic people, not merely to indict or perform on social media.

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How should ministers of the gospel engage politics from the pulpit?

Today’s episode is from a panel at the RadVo 2025 conference on politics and preaching: the if, why, and how.

Panelists discuss discernment, formation, and what preaching is for, and give examples of how the gospel of Jesus forms people who can be both responsive and resilient to political challenges and change.

Panelists include:

The Rev. Dr. Annette Brownlee, professor emerita of pastoral theology and the former chaplain at Wycliffe College at the University of Toronto. She has served the life of the church widely in both the academy and in parish ministry, and she's the author of Preaching Jesus Christ Today: Six Questions for Moving from Scripture to Sermon as well as “The Responsibility of the Church to the State in an Era of Mass Migration.”

The Rev. Tish Harrison Warren, writer and priest in the Anglican Church in North America. She's the author of several books, including Liturgy of the Ordinary and Prayer in the Night, which won Christianity Today's book of the year awards (2018 and 2022). She has also been a columnist for the New York Times and Christianity Today, and is a senior fellow at the Trinity Forum.

Dr. Joe Mangina, professor of theology at Wycliff College at the University of Toronto. He is the former editor of Pro Ecclesia, the ecumenical journal of theology, and has served on the Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialogue for Canada. He is the author of several books, including a commentary in the book of Revelation with Brazos Theological Commentary series.

The panel is moderated by the Rev. Dr. Matthew Olver, executive director of The Living Church.

Thanks to RadVo and Church of the Incarnation in Dallas who hosted this panel.

From the Bible, to the ballot box, to meditating come-to-Jesus meetings between parishioners fighting on Facebook, we hope you enjoy the conversation.

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RadVo 2027

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