Pulpit and Politics

And Smothermon helps, he says, because it’s in his nature to be encouraging and because it’s important for churchgoers to know who represents them and have a chance to ask the questions they find important.

“We’re not a political church by any means,” he said in a Journal interview. But, he added later, “we believe in taking, at times, moral stances on things that we consider morally right, scripturally. So, as far as that goes, I’m really not involved with politics.”

Some might disagree.

Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry says Smothermon wanted “significant influence” over the mayor’s office and once took issue with someone he hired, though Berry and Smothermon disagree over the nature of the dispute.

They’ve also sparred over Berry’s signing of a proclamation supporting the annual gay-pride parade.

Kathy Korte, a school board member, says Smothermon announced, from the pulpit, his plans to vote for her. They later had a falling out, and she says Smothermon once called to chastise her for clashing publicly with fellow conservative — and Legacy Church member — Dan Houston, the Bernalillo County sheriff.

Smothermon disputes that he wants influence over Berry or that he has chastised Korte.

But it’s certainly true that he touches on politics and candidates from the pulpit, at least on occasion.

In August, for example, before the municipal election, he told churchgoers that City Council candidate Greg Payne “espouses our beliefs” and he criticized Payne’s opponent, incumbent Trudy Jones, for a vote in a zoning case.

He praised Houston for standing up to the American Civil Liberties Union and said Berry had refused to do the same.

“I’m tired of these candy-legged politicians,” Smothermon said in the sermon. “… They call me and call me and call me, and then when we just ask them to stand up for what’s right — because we the people of God would stand up with them — they run and hide.”

In political spotlight

Legacy Church, where Smothermon preaches, is among the state’s biggest, with nearly 20,000 members.

Political insiders say it’s emerged as a good place to try reaching socially conservative voters, both Republicans and Democrats. It’s clear that candidates themselves view Legacy as influential, given the number who show up during election season.

The church was also thrust into the spotlight this year when the ACLU and Sheriff Houston clashed over whether it was appropriate to hold a cadet graduation there.

That controversy was part of an August sermon, in which Smothermon blasted Berry. It was also during that sermon that he criticized Jones for her vote regarding zoning for “The Palms,” an adult establishment that intended to have nude or topless entertainment.

The Internal Revenue Service prohibits nonprofit groups from participating in political campaigns for or against candidates seeking elected office. There was a national movement by pastors in 2008 and other election years to flout the rules on First Amendment grounds, but Smothermon said he didn’t participate in that and doesn’t identify with that movement.

He said he’s “not at all” concerned that his comments about Payne, Korte or anyone else from the pulpit are in violation of IRS rules for nonprofit groups.

“What’s tough is, the church is one thing,” he said in an interview, “and I’m another thing.”

On Korte, he recalled, “I said I personally am going to vote for her.”

He didn’t actually do so, though, because he later learned he wasn’t in the correct district.

As for Payne, Smothermon said he was involved in the vetting of Payne — who came and talked to him, among others — but that he doesn’t recruit candidates to run for office.

“I tell our church that I talk to these candidates,” he said. “I think probably anytime I get up and introduce any candidate, that can be construed as something. (But) no, I don’t have any concern that it’s violating the IRS” rules.

In any case, the talk rubs some people the wrong way.

“I belong to a big mega-church, too, and I would never ask my pastor to get involved in a political race,” said Jones, the incumbent councilor who defeated Payne in her re-election bid. “It’s not the place for a church. It’s just wrong.”

Clashes with mayor

Smothermon has clashed with Berry and criticized him from the pulpit.

Berry said he visited Legacy Church a couple of times before taking office in 2009. He was introduced during a service and answered questions from churchgoers in the lobby. He says he met lots of good people.

But “after the election, it became apparent that Pastor Smothermon wanted to have a significant influence over the mayor’s office, and I simply will not allow that,” Berry said in a written statement to the Journal.

Smothermon, in turn, said the mayor’s statement “is absolutely outrageous” and that, as a constituent, he has the right to air his opinions.

One dispute between Berry and Smothermon centered on city hiring decisions after Berry won the election.

In the statement to the Journal, the mayor said: “Based on conversations that myself and another city employee have had with Pastor Smothermon, it is obvious to me that he is concerned over the fact that there are individuals that work for city government and the mayor’s office who he believes may be part of the GLBT community.”

Smothermon says the dispute was about ideology, not homosexuality. Berry had presented himself as a conservative, Smothermon said, but then he hired some liberals, including one person — a lower-level staff member — whom he said Berry had specifically pledged not to hire.

“The whole thing was not whether these people are homosexuals or heterosexuals or whatever. It was the ideology,” Smothermon said.

He described it as a matter of principle.

“If he claims to be a conservative, which is how he represented himself to us, (then why didn’t he) go out and hire some conservatives,” he said. “He went and hired some people that were in the other spectrum.”

Asked whether he told Berry to get rid of someone, Smothermon said: “I can’t tell anybody who to hire and fire. I mean, gosh, no more than you can walk in and tell me who to hire and fire. I don’t even think that way.”

As for the “GLBT” community — gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender — Smothermon said, “I’ve never used that term with him ever.”

He added that he understands the city hires “people on their merits and not their lifestyle. I’m perfectly OK with that.”

In any case, Smothermon said his primary objection was centered on David Campbell, a Democrat and land-use attorney hired to serve as Berry’s chief administrative officer. Smothermon calls him a “leftist activist.”

Campbell, a leader in the business community, had earlier worked for both Democratic and Republican mayors. He and his wife left Albuquerque this year for the Indian Ocean, where Campbell now serves in the U.S. Foreign Service.

Smothermon said, in general, that Berry hasn’t lived up to who he said he’d be.

“He said he wouldn’t be involved in the homosexual community, and then what does he do? He goes and signs the proclamation for the gay pride parade,” Smothermon said.

Berry maintains he is conservative, and he notes that he voted against domestic partnerships as a state legislator because he thought the proposal was designed to trigger a court fight.

But “when you’re the mayor of a city,” he said, “you’re the mayor of everybody.”

Berry said he issues proclamations for many groups and that, for the pride parade, “I couldn’t see a reason in the world that I wouldn’t welcome them like any other group to the city of Albuquerque and invite them to enjoy our great restaurants and shopping.”

Berry said religious leaders and the faith community are important public voices and that he has worked well with them to address homelessness and other problems.

Smothermon is not the only religious leader to take an interest in government. A left-leaning interfaith group testifies at City Council meetings on occasion, and the Catholic Church often weighs in on state issues, such as the death penalty, abortion and same-sex marriage.

Legacy and local pols

Some of Albuquerque’s political leaders attend Legacy.

Houston, the sheriff, used to work as Legacy’s director of security. City Council President Don Harris has attended off and on for a number of years.

Councilor Dan Lewis, a pastor at his own church, says he has been to midweek or other services at Legacy on occasion and that Smothermon is a good friend.

Teri Baird, a former chief of staff for former Mayor Martin Chávez, and her husband, Scott Baird, a sheriff’s captain, are members.

Harris, who has served on the council since 2005, said Smothermon offers encouragement and shows interest in the city, but he’s not influential politically.

“If he doesn’t like the vote, he’ll give me grief about it,” Harris said, “but he never tries to get me to vote a certain way ahead of time.”

Lewis, who joined the City Council in 2009, said Smothermon is a “good friend and encourager,” but not more than that.

“He does what friends do: You offer advice from time to time,” Lewis said. “I’ve never experienced any strings attached to that whatsoever.”

Legacy members take pride in their community involvement. The church makes space available for public meetings and graduations, and members have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy equipment for local fire departments and to support medical and community groups, education programs and the military.

Venue for candidates

In a Journal interview, Smothermon stressed that he is a pastor, not a politician, and that candidates approach him, not the other way around. He said he has “never solicited one candidate” to show up at Legacy.

Instead, “candidates constantly call me,” he said.

He will introduce them to the church, Democrats and Republicans alike. He reads a few bullet points, and the candidates don’t get to speak during the service. They can set up a table outside where churchgoers can question them.

He noted that, in the 2009 mayoral election, both Berry and Chávez, running against each other, visited the church.

He said that, unlike Berry, he never felt Chávez was dishonest with him, even though he’s on the other end of the political spectrum. Berry is a Republican, Chávez a Democrat.

Smothermon said that, as a pastor, he will speak on moral issues, though some might view them as political topics, and he doesn’t expect churchgoers to agree with everything he says.

“I take a moral stand on things,” Smothermon said. “I say things, and it’s to help people understand what biblical view we have as Christians, and it’s up to them whether they have it or not.”

Even the officials who attend his church aren’t likely to agree with everything he says, and that’s “absolutely” OK, Smothermon said.

“I can’t even get my wife to agree with everything I say,” he said, laughing.

In his own words
Pastor Steve Smothermon focuses on the Bible but touches on politics, too.
“We believe (in) standing up and supporting the moral issues of the day and getting involved with candidates who espouse our values. Folks, listen, this is important, right here that we do this. I know a lot of people balk when we do this, and people will say ‘separation of church and state,’ even Christians. … It’s almost like we’re ashamed or afraid, or we think it’s wrong to invoke the name of God in any institution, and, folks, it’s never wrong to invoke the name of God. It’s never wrong to talk about our lord and savior. It’s never wrong to put God first. It’s never wrong. And so we believe in getting involved in these candidates’ life.”
— Aug. 28 sermon
•••

“In fact, there’s a candidate that’s in our church. He’s at our east side campus today. His name is Greg Payne. He’s running in District 8, and we believe that he espouses our beliefs. He joined the church months and months ago. A group of us sat down and talked to him and said, ‘Would you please run in this race?’”
— Aug. 28 sermon, before explaining that Payne’s opponent had sided with a “nude bar” in a zoning case
•••

“When it comes to Christianity, they’re against everything we’re for. They attack us every chance they get, and that’s one fight I wouldn’t mind picking. I have no regard for them. They’re awful. They’re what’s ruining our nation. They were built out of communism. Well, we could go on and on about them.”
— Aug. 28, on the ACLU, which objected to holding a sheriff’s cadet graduation at Legacy Church
•••

“I’m going to tell you someone who didn’t (stand up to the ACLU), someone who I actually helped and supported when he ran who I will not help again. Our mayor, he didn’t stand up. I’ll tell you something: This church and other churches have been good to APD and to this mayor. … He runs and hides and he won’t stand up for anything. You know why — because these people think that they can dis God anytime they want.”
— Aug. 28 sermon, contrasting Mayor Richard Berry with Sheriff Dan Houston
•••

“Whoever said the church shouldn’t be involved in the political things of our day? That’s the question. Let me give you the answer. … God’s word never said that.”
— Sept. 4 sermon
•••

“I hear people say that about us, about me. ‘Well, you’re a little fanatical. You get involved in a lot of things.’ Yeah, that’s because I care about a lot of things. I do. I care about who represents us in our state and who represents us in Washington, D.C.”
— Oct. 2 sermon