Public witness and institutional integrity
For more than 24 years as a Faith Today columnist, I’ve written about public witness and the importance of integrity. These columns explored servant leadership, civility, church-state relations, political pluralism and the stewardship of religious freedom. They addressed the well-being of children in Canada, sanctity of human life, care for vulnerable people, and spiritual abuse.
How we engage matters. Fruitful engagement requires civility and respect, understanding our times, remaining curious, asking good questions, knowing when to speak gently and boldly and when to listen so we may better understand. Our tone, timbre and humility are critical, as is our ability to separate the wheat from the chaff in interpersonal, structural and legal matters.
I’ve overseen 65 of the EFC’s 70 court interventions, including 30 before the Supreme Court. Courts rarely deny standing to the EFC, recognizing the value we bring as a friend of the court.
During these decades I also appeared frequently before parliamentary committees, sometimes by invitation. We witness to persuade, and the manner in which we speak can determine whether we are invited to speak again.
A constructive approach opens doors to dialogue with leaders in religious and governmental roles. Despite occasional hesitation, coming in peace and seeking to contribute can challenge stereotypes and make genuine relationships possible (Luke 10).
As ambassadors for Christ and the coming Kingdom, we speak and act consistently, in season and out (2 Corinthians 5:20; 2 Timothy 4:2), when our interventions are well received and when our message may be unpopular or unsettle comfortable assumptions. Our call is to remain faithful and obedient.
A healthy democracy depends on respect for conscience, civility and collaboration across differences.
We engage differently from those who seek to reinforce convenient narratives, deepen stereotypes, advance business interests or preserve comfortable habits.
We challenge those who weaponize sacred texts, ridicule belief, exploit biblical illiteracy and historical or intergenerational ignorance, and those fostering polarization.
Canada’s social norms, including respect for life, are continually being reevaluated and reinterpreted. Since they frame how the Charter of Rights and Freedoms is interpreted, we must speak to them at the highest levels.
For example, the Charter can’t determine whether euthanasia should be permitted. That judgment rests on deeper convictions about human flourishing and the meaning of life –acknowledging fundamental differences in how law, belief and custom are understood.
Into this vortex we advocate for well exegeted biblical principles because everyone benefits when these shape our laws – life is honoured, care is extended and conscience is respected. A healthy democracy depends on respect for conscience, civility and collaboration across differences – resources it can’t generate on its own.
Families, congregations, schools and voluntary associations cultivate the habits on which democratic institutions depend – self-restraint, responsibility, truthful speech, mutual regard across disagreement, transparency and accountability.
When societal institutions weaken, public life becomes unsettled because the law is expected to do work character and community once sustained.
Our task as citizens is to participate in ways that nurture civility and greater understanding, collaborate with others of goodwill and seek the blessing of our communities (Jeremiah 29).
In this task we must steward our freedoms well. Freedom of religion is not a licence to harm or shame others, but the freedom to advocate for truth without fear of retribution.
Under Christ’s lordship we’re called to engage society in transformative ways. Our participation is marked by submission to Christ, not by predetermined rank, status, prescribed roles or privilege. We engage as brothers and sisters, gifted for service, equal in our adoption by God and our citizenship in His Kingdom.
Our witness and integrity are inseparable from faithful service. We advocate for justice without rancour or manipulation, honour our agreements, prioritize the vulnerable and commend a vision of life in which justice and mercy meet (Psalm 85:10). We do so in pursuit of the abundant life Christ emulated and promised alongside common hopes we share as we anticipate the coming Kingdom.
Bruce J. Clemenger is senior ambassador and president emeritus of The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. Read more of these columns at FaithToday.ca/TheGatheringPlace. Lisez cet article en français sur FaithToday.ca/francais. Photo of mercy and justice engraving: Brandt Bolding