Mike Griffin, the Public Affairs Representative for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, joined Priority Talk Radio with ALCAP President Greg Davis. He serves in a similar role as Greg in Georgia, and he has many years of experience advocating for Christian values.
They discussed how Georgia went from being a reliably conservative state to a swing state, with Mike saying that one of the reasons for this is Christian disengagement at the political level. He mentioned that, between the Georgia Baptists and Catholics, they make up 25% of the state. They should be more impactful than they are, and it comes down to political apathy. Mike Griffin is working to help Georgians change their minds and hearts concerning politics, and to join in the process as stewards of what God has given us.
He also covered how and why he changed his approach to serving at the Georgia capitol: “There’s only one thing worse than not doing the right thing. It’s doing the right thing the wrong way. My first years in the capitol, I would consider myself politically to have broken thumbs and taken knee caps out a lot. I’ve come to realize that being derogatory and not being kind and loving people to do the right thing actually ends up causing them to do the wrong things more. Over the last 8 years, God has worked in my heart to help me to see that I have to be a Romans Chapter 1 type of a person which is––like God––that I’m going to use my kindness and my love to draw people to repentance and I’m going to speak the truth.”
They also discussed Georgia’s pro-life heartbeat law (banning most abortions after a heartbeat is detected, which can be around 6 weeks), which was recently ruled unconstitutional by a judge before the state’s supreme court issued a temporary stay which allowed the law to be reinstated. Hopefully soon, there will be an official pro-life ruling on the matter that will be permanent. When it comes to the pro-life issue and activism, Mike has this advice:
“The truth, the Gospel, and the Word of God can make its greatest impact on the culture [when believers get involved] by educating Christians, encourage them to get engaged, support pro-life legislation, and get more pro-life legislators involved in government.”
To hear the rest of Greg Davis’ and Mike Griffin’s conversation, click here.