In times of public tragedy and social tension, church leaders are often left discerning whether and how to speak in faithful response. Recent events in Minnesota have sharpened these questions, prompting many leaders to search for answers. Lewis Center Director Jonathan Page offers five guiding principles for speaking with wisdom, humility, and conviction.
Over the weekend, Alex Pretti was killed during a peaceful protest of ICE operations in Minnesota. This comes just weeks after the killing of Renée Good in the same city. Many church leaders have spoken about this on social media, in sermons, and in the public square. Many others—clergy and laity alike—are asking questions about speaking up on behalf of the church; “Should I do this and how do I do it well?”
This article is meant to be a primer for speaking up in tense situations. By no means is this a complete set of ideas; however, my hope is that these five concepts can be a starting point for how you might share in public settings in the face of injustice.
1. Consider your positionality.
As you bring voice to any situation, recognize that your voice is unique. Your voice is shaped by a web of biological, cultural, experiential, and spiritual forms. Because of this, it’s important to consider how you are equipped to speak into different dynamics. Sylvia Duckworth’s “Wheel of Power and Privilege” is a helpful tool for identifying where our voices come from places traditionally seen as powerful and where our voices come from places traditionally seen as marginalized. This is important because you need to be able to consider how and where your voice is needed and when it might be a good time to keep quiet.
For example, it may not be advantageous for someone with wealth to try and explain the challenges of housing insecurity to a population currently experiencing housing insecurity. However, it might be appropriate for someone with wealth to advocate for the housing insecure amongst their spaces of influence that also have wealth. A good formula here is to listen first when in conversation and community with persons experiencing marginalization, and to speak up for persons experiencing marginalization when around those with equal or greater power to you.
2. Know your audience.
There is different messaging if you are speaking exclusively to your congregation, if you are making a public social media post, or if you are offering some kind of public communication. All messaging should be less about offering your personal opinion and more about creating some form of action. That action could range from prayer to public witness to protest, but simply putting your thoughts into the ether does not do a lot to move the needle.
If you’re asking your congregation to take action, think about the capacity of that community. How could anyone, regardless of their positionality, be a part of what you are asking them to do? Similarly, if you are making a public social media post, think about who you are connected to in that forum. If you are making a call for prayer, are you doing that in a way where a person from another faith tradition or perspective could participate? Ensuring that you are sharing messages that will resonate within your spheres of influence is a key step to speaking up.
3. Speak from your purpose.
I’m sure many of us, clergy and laity alike, have heard some form of the phrase “keep politics out of church.” While this is not a reasonable request (after all, Jesus was a fairly political figure), it is important to think about your purpose for speaking up when you speak up. Church leaders would do well to frame messaging in times of tension from a theological lens first. What are you sharing that is rooted in Scripture and the tradition of the church? How is that formed by a common sense of ethics, morality, and the experience of faith journeys?
This is important because, as a church leader, the theological perspective is one that you are more uniquely qualified to offer. It doesn’t mean that your messaging has to be apolitical; however, if you find that you are leading with politics, know that there are likely those who are more qualified to speak to that subject than you are. Consider how the Holy Spirit is asking you to speak and follow that theological and spiritual lead. How can you use your unique perspective to inspire meaningful action within the audience you are speaking to?
4. Clarity is kindness.
In the first draft of this article, I wrote the line “in the wake of recent events” as the reason for sharing this article. Really, I’m writing this because of what we are seeing happen with ICE in communities around the country and I sense church leaders need something to source as they look for how they can speak out about this and other injustices they observe. When you speak in generics and tip toe around the topic at hand, you reduce the power of your words and the inspiration of your calls to action.
Say the thing. My good friend Kim Johnson taught me a long time ago that “clarity is kindness”. Ambiguity is not helpful in situations where there is tension. It’s important that if you feel a call to say something when tense situations arise, you message with a clear sense of why you are speaking to the matter, what you are asking people to do about it, and how they can get involved.
5. Don’t win, just shine.
Ultimately, speaking up is primarily about shining the light of God’s love in through your vessel. If you are trying to win a popularity contest, it is probably better not to say anything. Speaking up, especially in politically charged environments, will likely earn you criticism and may lead to people distancing themselves from you or your church. That’s ok, as long as you are feeling called by God to say something and not just aiming for “street cred.”
In a similar way, there is not a race to see who can react first when something happens in the public sphere. If you have an immediate reaction, consider writing that down somewhere and then holding onto it for at least an hour. This gives you time to ensure that you have the right messaging and to see if there is other information worth considering before you go public with something. It is better to say something meaningful than say something first.
At the end of the day, you aren’t speaking up to win something, you’re speaking up to do something. In the face of injustice, church leaders are called to be a voice for those marginalized, to be a presence for those in the shadows, and to be a light in the darkness. I’m praying with you as you lead, believing that God is doing a good work in you and speaking through you as you offer leadership in your congregations and communities.
Related Resources
- Preaching Our Principles—Not our Politics by David R. Brubaker
- 4 Promises for Church Leaders Healing Trauma in Congregations by Ronald Bell II
- Community Transformation and Justice Require More Than Preaching by Kevin Slayton
- Christians and Public Policy: Be Engaged, Informed, and Conflicted by Miranda Zapor Cruz
- Faithfully Engage Public Policy by Miranda Zapor Cruz
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Cover photo information: This image was originally posted to Flickr by Chad Davis at https://flickr.com/photos/146321178@N05/55033437170. It was reviewed on 17 January 2026 by FlickreviewR 2 and was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-4.0.
