Invariably I am asked the question, “Why would a pastor want to be a city council member?” My usual response is, “Why wouldn’t a pastor want to be a city council member?” There seems to be a certain tension with the idea of clergy in the political arena that resonates from the notion of separation of church and state. My journey to elected office is a by-product of seminary education, ministry context and the discussion about a separation of church and state.
Seminary education, an M.A. in Theology and a Doctor of Ministry, helped me to grow theologically, while my ministry work supplied the vehicle to adapt biblical principles onto the grid of a church plant in the city of La Mirada. Like any pastor I wanted the church to grow spiritually as well as numerically. Through my master’s work on urban development coupled with 1 Corinthians 3:9-11 and The Great Commission, Matthew 28:19, it became clear the church was called to engage the community. Then came the church and state issue. Thomas Jefferson used the term “wall of separation between the church and state” in a letter to the Danbury Baptist Association. His point was that the state shall make no laws governing the freedom to worship, thus affirming the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. This in turn allows for the freedom to exercise my faith upon the matrix of the local community.
If our church was to go into the community with the gospel, then a strategy was necessary. As a seminary trained pastor, I understood the tools of proper exegesis in order to understand a passage of Scripture. Taking a similar approach to the city of La Mirada, I researched a target audience in the community at-large and discovered many different people groups within the city, as well as a vast array of services. Cities rest on an infrastructure of roads, utilities, housing, commercial and retail business, along with public safety, parks, schools and staff that keep everything in proper working order. In the process of defining and engaging these groups, I began to see the needs within each group.
Ministry, in its purest form, is service – to minister is to be of service. I have long been a proponent for taking the church to the people. Once a church begins to engage and serve the community, relationships began to develop and needs become apparent. One such need, as outlined by a former City Council Member, was the desire for a Clergy Council in the city. With the help of another pastor, we formed the La Mirada Clergy Council. The LMCC put me in direct contact with city leaders, which led to more opportunities to demonstrate servant leadership. As a pastor, I could encourage the congregation to “go” into the community and serve, but I believed the best way to mobilize the church towards the community was to get involved myself. In looking for opportunities to serve I applied for a Community Services Commission position, and after receiving the appointment from the City Council I was provided a deeper integration into the community that ultimately led to running for City Council myself.
In conclusion, God created government. As Christians, we are called to walk morally, ethically, dispense justice, preach the Gospel and serve. Therefore, the city of La Mirada is an extension of my ministry context. To God be the glory.
Pastor Steve De Ruse D.Min
Senior Pastor First Baptist Church of Artesia
Mayor Pro Tem, City of La Mirada
