OP-ED

Should Bible Belt Preachers Remain Silent on the COVID-19 Vaccine?

A Bible Belt preacher’s response to an Associated Press article.

Do preachers share the blame for people not getting the COVID-19 vaccine?

Maybe. Maybe not.

Many “Bible Belt” preachers have indeed been silent on shots while COVID-19 cases have soared again.

For those who don’t know, the “Bible Belt” refers to the Southeastern United States, stretching from Texas to the Carolinas. It’s called the “Bible Belt” because of how religious that part of the country has traditionally been.

I won’t keep it a secret from you that I am a preacher. I’m not ashamed of being a preacher. I love what I get to do.

I also don’t mind sharing with you I have gotten the Moderna vaccine.

So from the perspective of a preacher in the “Bible Belt,” should preachers remain silent on the COVID-19 vaccine?

Understanding the biblical role of the preacher

Before we start throwing around what preachers “should” or “shouldn’t” be doing, we need to understand what God expects of preachers.

Preachers are supposed to be proclaiming God’s message, so shouldn’t they hold themselves to the same message they preach?

Teach the Bible

God’s command to preachers is that they preach His word (2 Timothy 4:2). They must do this when the message is popular and when it’s not popular. They seek to save souls from sin by being patient and faithful to the Bible.

Too many preachers today have ignored this command from God. Many teach whatever they want and ignore what God has to say on the matter. “10 Reasons Why God Wants You to be Rich” is not a sermon from God.

God tells preachers to teach His words, not their thoughts or opinions.

Practice self-control

Preachers must practice self-control in their interactions with others and within their minds (2 Timothy 4:5).

How many times have you heard of a preacher who had an inappropriate and sinful relationship with a young person? Sometimes this contributes to why some grow discouraged with “church” and quit altogether.

God tells preachers to control their actions and thoughts.

Endure hardships

Because preachers must teach the Bible even when people don’t want to hear it, sometimes they face tremendous difficulties. Preachers have been told to leave and go somewhere else simply because they were taught something from the Bible that someone didn’t like.

Jesus is the preacher’s perfect example, and He was crucified because He taught a message that people didn’t like.

The work of preaching is so important. God encourages preachers to “hang in there” during the tough times (2 Timothy 4:5).

Share the good news of Jesus

The preacher’s work revolves around sharing the good news of Jesus with others (2 Timothy 4:5). The message of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus is the central theme of the Bible (1 Corinthians 15:1–4).

We all face death. Death is a consequence of sin entering this world (Genesis 3). Jesus’ resurrection from the dead broke death’s chokehold over us. Now, those who obey the good news of the resurrected Savior (Acts 2) can enjoy eternal life with God (Revelation 21).

God commands preachers to share the good news of Jesus’ victory over death with the world (1 Corinthians 15:55–57).

Devoted to serving others

Preachers are not supposed to be above rolling up their sleeves and working alongside everyone else. God commands preachers to be devoted servants (2 Timothy 4:5).

Preachers aren’t CEOs; they are frontline workers.

God tells preachers to remember that they are servants too and to be devoted to serving others.

So, now that we have a better understanding of what God expects from preachers — should preachers remain silent on the vaccine?

Before I give you my answer, we should consider some of the problems contributing to the vaccine's hysteria and confusion.

Too many uninformed people are speaking about the vaccine.

One of the biggest problems in the religious world is that too many people share their thoughts on something they know practically nothing about. The result is that some people are influenced by someone ignorant.

This is the same problem that the United States medical community is facing today. Everybody is an “expert” when it comes to COVID-19. As a result, some are listening to clueless people.

As a preacher, I can sympathize with the frustration the medical community is feeling right now.

People don’t know who to trust.

A trusted family member with a medical background advises that you shouldn’t get the vaccine. Your doctor for 20 years advises you should. I’ve seen this happen. I’ve also observed the opposite happen.

Who do you listen to? Who do you trust?

In my opinion, this is the biggest problem. I think most people want to make the right decision — but they hear so many different things from people they trust.

People are afraid.

Not only are we facing an epidemic of COVID-19 — we see an epidemic of fear.

In March 2021, 20% of Americans said they know someone who has died from COVID-19. That number only continues to rise.

People are afraid. They hear voices from all sides telling them what to think and do. Because they don’t know who to trust, many people are simply refusing to listen to anyone.

So — should preachers remain silent on the COVID-19 vaccine?

After all, I’ve mentioned so far — my belief is yes.

The preacher’s primary role is to teach God’s Word to others while growing as a disciple of Christ. Indeed, most preachers care about people and have an opinion on the vaccine.

While I believe preachers should remain silent on the COVID-19 vaccine, they should continue preaching and teaching biblical principles that will make a difference.

Treat others how you want to be treated.

“The Golden Rule,” as it’s often called, refers to what Jesus said in Matthew 7:12. If more people obeyed this rule, fewer uninformed people would speak about the vaccine. More people would probably get the vaccine because they would be thinking of others.

Be humble like Jesus

Jesus faced all kinds of harsh treatment, and yet, He remained humble through it all (Philippians 2:5–11). So many people are arrogant in their own opinions. If people practiced the humility of Jesus, we wouldn’t see so much hatred and division.

Be submissive to the government

The New Testament doesn’t say much about how Christians are to interact with the government. But one thing that is emphasized is that Christians are to be submissive to the government, so long as the government isn’t telling them to disobey God (Romans 13:1–7).

I believe preachers should remain silent on the COVID-19 vaccine. Instead of adding their voice to a room of shouting people, stay quiet and listen. By the principles taught from the Bible, hopefully, preachers encourage people to listen to the truth.

However, by focusing on teaching the Bible, an environment can be created where people will be more respectful of others and more likely to listen. Preachers must be encouraging people to listen to the truth.

And maybe that does or doesn’t lead to more people getting vaccinated.

Hopefully, it does lead to people treating each other better.

The inspiration for this story is from Jay Reeves’ article in the Associated Press titled “Many Bible Belt preachers silent on shots as COVID-19 surges.”