The next General Election in New Zealand is coming up on Saturday 14th October 2023. This is the opportunity that those of us who are 18-years of age or older have to participate in our democratic right to help select those who will govern New Zealand for the next term of three years.
At the last General Election in 2020 there was a group of people who didn’t participate in the democratic process we’re offered; they’ve affectionately been called the ‘missing million’ for a while now, and most commentators suggest that they are predominantly (but not exclusively) young adults in the 18-30 age group. At the last General Election, approx. 800,000 people in this age group were enrolled but chose not to vote, while approx. 200,000 didn’t enrol in the first place.
What caused the missing million to go missing? Were they just busy on Election Day? Were they not interested? Did they think their one vote was wasted, particularly if they voted for a minority party or candidate? Did they not understand our political system? Were the All Blacks playing? No one is sure, except that there will be a multitude of reasons. Cumulatively, even if half the missing million had voted, NZ could be a very different country today, or it could be more of the same. We’ll never know.
Since turning 18 (almostthirteen election cycles ago) I’ve always exercised my right to vote, firstly because it felt very adult to be able to buy alcohol and vote on the same day, and secondly because I find politics a very interesting part of how our society operates. Over more recent years, I’vealso grown in my understanding that the tone that is set by the government of the day provides the context by which Christians work their mission out in the land of the long white cloud.
With a greater interest in politics, I’ve become more engaged in the process and more aware of the difference a cumulative voice can make. At a time when the voice of the local church is increasingly sidelined, rightly so sometimes for some of the things we say, we need to find other ways of standing up for the values that are intrinsically obvious in the Gospel narrative.
Greater awareness leads to more action. Becoming engaged in the political process makes a statement of commitment, and I’m committed to the engagement.
The political environment is not for the faint hearted. To try and hone my skills I’ve become involved in public discussions, predominantly just trying to provoke ideas on various social media platforms or on reader-invited responses on various news websites. Sometimes I go well, sometimes I’m shot down in a blaze of glory. I’m growing some thicker skin which has proved very useful over the last eighteen months in New Zealand with advent of vaccination mandates – the ‘discussion’ around that issue was certainly heated, rightly so.
Just quietly I’ve joined a political party to try and get more of an inside view of how policy is established, particularly social policy as that is what interests me the most. I’ve done that quietly because as a pastor this could be controversial – and I’m not going to say which party I’ve joined. Maybe one day I’ll say it publicly to see what response I get. My thick skin still needs to grow some more.
Standing up for the values and ideals of what we believe is never easy in our culture. As the founders of the tall-poppy syndrome, Kiwis are passionate about dragging others down when their views become controversial, or religious, or religiously controversial. With some significant hard-left social policies becoming part of NZ law over the last few years, there are some difficult days to navigate as a Christian.
We live in a very different world today than the context of society in biblical times. There just simply wasn’t the opportunity for the average person to get involved in the political environment; there weren’t even democratic processes, so exegeting an appropriate political response is difficult, barring praying for wisdom and courage.
I pray that the missing million of the past hasn’t included too many young people of Christian faith, but the reality is that it probably did. I’m an optimist though, so I hope that young followers of Jesus might become more interested in politics and realise that their cumulative voice can make a difference, rightly channelled. I pray that this generation of Jesus followers might take some time to hear the views of different political voices and make informed choices about who their vote is afforded to.
I don’t know where my political interest and involvement will go. I was a Voting Booth Centre Manager at the last election, who knows what big job I might end up this year! Whatever I become, at a minimum I’ve become engaged and am committed to seeking God’s wisdom in my commitment. Roll on 14th October 2023..
Grant Harris is the Senior Pastor of Windsor Park Baptist Church in Auckland, New Zealand, a church that was planted 65-years ago and comprises people of all generations seeking to reach a community that consists of people of all generations. The tagline of Windsor Park is ‘doing life and faith, together.’ Grant can be contacted at grant.harris@windsorpark.org.nz.