While political strategists speculate on issues to inspire the favor of evangelical voters, Leith Anderson prefers simply to focus on their faith. “Politics is a part of people’s lives, but God is the center of their lives,” said the 64-year-old president of the National Association of Evangelicals, representing more than 40 denominations in 45,000 churches throughout the U.S. He sat down with The Examiner to share why that distinction is important.
Do you consider yourself to be of a specific faith?
I am a Christian, and in many ways that’s all the definition that I need to have. Recognizing that it’s helpful sometimes to offer more detail, I am an evangelical Christian, and I acknowledge Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and I take the Bible seriously. My faith gives me an anchor for living life, and hope for the future.
Did anyone especially influence your faith or your path in life?
Yes — the person who is now my wife. We grew up in the same area outside of New York City and started dating in high school, at a time when I was wandering away from my childhood faith. I discovered then her vibrancy of faith. And what I saw in her then was transformative and a blessing, but it is something else to watch someone’s life and faith for decades, and to know it’s a continual reality. She has a close relationship with God and a complete trust in God that is both innocent and informed. I’m more of a questioner and have tendencies toward skepticism that are well balanced by her faith.
You spent time on Capitol Hill this week calling for immigration reform. Why now?
Specifically, the resolution that the National Association of Evangelicals passed this week [supporting comprehensive immigration reform] has been in the works for a couple of years. The Bible speaks directly to how you treat, in Biblical terms, “aliens of the land,” and that is with mercy and respect. And there are many, many immigrants in evangelical churches, so they are us. Immigrants have become the growth edge of evangelical churches and denominations.
Have any biblical passages helped to guide you through the two years since you’ve taken upon the evangelical leadership?
A topic of real interest to me has been studying the New Testament Book of Acts, to learn how Christianity in its earliest years functioned and fared in the Roman world, which was pagan, and to think about the parallels today. The early Christians in the Roman Empire didn’t have a vote — many were slaves, they were poor, they lived out their faith in a context that was not hospitable to their values. But they were consistently Christian, and eventually that triumphed over the paganism of the empire.
Worldwide, we are witnessing the greatest expansion ever of Christianity — not primarily in North America and Europe, but in Asia and Africa and South America. We are experiencing greater growth now than in the Book of Acts in the first three centuries. I don’t think there will be a parallel triumph over empire, which is probably good because that led to problems. I’m not sure exactly what we’ll see, but it will be a delight to learn where God takes all of this.
At your core, what is one of your defining beliefs?
I believe in God and I believe that God is good, and loves us. That permeates my understanding of reality, and our world, and of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our world. If you look at the world through eyes that believe in a good God, you have a different vision than if you don’t believe that.
-Leah Fabel
