Occasionally, I am asked by a member of the church how I decide to speak (or not speak) at a particular
gathering outside of the church. "Rich, why did you speak to a roomful of Democrats? Legislators? Circus
Clowns?, etc." Here is the process I employ:
I pray very carefully about invitations that I have an inclination to take. I always ask myself the
question: Will this be an opportunity to honor Christ, build relationships, and speak about issues that I have a
passion regarding (such as poverty, racial reconciliation, and the plight of the unborn)? Do I feel that God is
leading me to accept this invitation?
What is the counsel that I am receiving from the rest of our Senior Pastoral Staff at the church? I run
all of my invitations by the five other members of our Senior Pastoral Staff (Craig Heselton, Bill Christensen,
Stephen Van Dop, Steve Robbins, and Eric Pickerill). What do they say about it? Do they have any reservations?
Will there be an opportunity for me to invite people into a relationship with Christ? For example, at
Governor Strickland's Prayer Breakfast I closed my message with an altar call and 41 people made commitments and
recommitments during the call.
Are there any restrictions placed on me regarding sharing what I believe God is wanting me to share? If
so, I decline the invitation. On the other hand, I have spoken at a local Unitarian Church (although I am
obviously Trinitarian), and I spoke at The Ohio State University College of Law because there were absolutely no
restrictions placed on my capacity to speak freely.
I am willing to work with people who agree with me on some issues, but with whom I disagree on other
issues. My rationale is that if I only cooperated with folks with whom I totally agree on everything, I would
never work with anybody (not even my wife). So I work with Republicans concerning the pro-life issue, even
though I strongly disagree with many Republicans on such matters as immigration and war. On the other hand, I
work with Democrats on issues such as hunger programs and health care, even through I strongly disagree with many
Democrats on the issue of life.
I am always looking for opportunities to inject a thoughtful biblical perspective on a particular issue
where that particular perspective may be lacking or absent. Thus, I've spoken at county workers' gatherings,
attorneys' dinners, school board meetings, state legislative hearings, etc., and have tried to inject into the
discussion a well-reasoned biblical viewpoint. It is for this reason that I have accepted interviews from the
New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Baltimore Sun, the Columbus Dispatch (on numerous occasions), and
secular radio stations.
I am a pastor. My fundamental job is to focus upon the discipleship of Vineyard Church of Columbus. It is to
the Vineyard that I have given my life and it is to the Vineyard that I am primarily called. But when I
occasionally accept other invitations to speak, this is the grid that I use.
P.S. I've gotten a lot of interest from people asking for a copy of my recent talk in Washington, DC at the
Sojourners/CNN discussion of Faith and Values with Barak Obama, John Edwards, and Hillary Clinton. You can read
my remarks on our website at: http://www.vineyardcolumbus.org/about/what_we_believe/positions.asp
