KwaZulu-Natal pastor Ivan Haylock shares how a topic he always avoided ignited a calling to expand his understanding of discipleship and embark upon writing books and creating tools to empower believers to vote biblically and share their faith in polling queues
I never really imagined myself writing a book. In fact, if someone had told me a few years ago that I’d be spending my evenings reading political manifestos, researching government policies, corresponding with editors and publishers, and trying to understand the difference between an ISBN and a barcode, I probably would have suggested they find themselves a more interesting hobby! Yet here I am, at 50, preparing to publish my first book. It’s been quite a journey, and one that has reminded me just how much I still have to learn.
My name is Ivan Haylock, and I’ve had the privilege of serving in full-time pastoral ministry for more than 16 years. I’m currently the Senior Pastor of Amanzimtoti Baptist Church on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast. Like most pastors, much of my ministry involves preaching, teaching, caring for people and trying to help ordinary Christians understand what following Jesus looks like in everyday life. Somewhere along the way, however, I began wrestling with a question that I couldn’t quite put aside.
Every election season, someone inevitably asks: “Pastor, who are you going to vote for?” It’s one of those questions that can make a pastor suddenly remember an urgent appointment elsewhere! I’ve always been uncomfortable with the idea of telling Christians which political party to support. I don’t believe the Church should become a political platform, and I certainly don’t believe the pulpit belongs to any political party. Our responsibility is to preach Christ and teach the whole counsel of God’s Word, not campaign for politicians.
Have we become so careful not to tell Christians who to vote for
that we’ve neglected to disciple them in how to think before they vote?
But the more I thought about it, the more another question began bothering me. Have we become so careful not to tell Christians who to vote for that we’ve neglected to disciple them in how to think before they vote?
That was the question that started everything. I realised that while I’d encouraged Christians to pray for our country, respect governing authorities and participate responsibly in elections, I wasn’t sure I’d done enough to help them think through the biblical principles that ought to shape those decisions. We rightly teach that God’s Word speaks into every area of life, but what about justice, human dignity, leadership, truth, freedom, government and the responsibilities we have towards our neighbours? Surely our discipleship doesn’t stop when we enter a voting booth.
I wasn’t looking for a way to tell people how to vote. If anything, I was looking for a way to avoid doing precisely that while still taking seriously my responsibility to teach Scripture. I wanted Christians to be able to examine political promises, policies and priorities thoughtfully, with their Bibles open, rather than simply following personalities, family loyalties or the loudest voices on social media. I also wanted to acknowledge that Christians who genuinely love the Lord and submit to His Word may still arrive at different political conclusions. That shouldn’t surprise us, and it certainly shouldn’t become a reason to divide the Church.
So I began researching. Initially, I thought I might put together a few notes or perhaps a short resource for our congregation. But one question led to another, and before long I found myself working through Scripture, reading about Christian citizenship and studying the published positions of South Africa’s political parties. The more I read, the more I realised that this was going to require considerably more work than I’d anticipated. What started as a pastoral concern gradually developed into a manuscript, and eventually into a book called Before You Vote: A Biblical Framework for Thoughtful Voting in South Africa.
What started as a pastoral concern gradually developed into a manuscript,
and eventually into a book called
Before You Vote: A Biblical Framework for Thoughtful Voting in South Africa.
Writing it has been both rewarding and rather humbling. There were days when I felt I was making wonderful progress, followed by days when I’d spend an entire evening rewriting something I’d written the previous week. I’ve learned that finishing a manuscript and publishing a book are two very different achievements! There have been editors, cover designers, printers, quotations, deadlines and more decisions than I ever imagined. My family has also had to put up with a husband and father whose idea of an exciting evening increasingly involved discussing a paragraph about public policy. I’m not entirely sure they shared my enthusiasm.
But there has been a much more encouraging side to the journey. One of the things that has meant the most to me has been the willingness of others to come alongside this project. Friends, fellow pastors, supporters and people with skills I certainly don’t possess have given their time, advice, encouragement and financial assistance. My editor has helped sharpen the manuscript, and the publishing team has patiently guided a first-time author through a world that was completely unfamiliar to me. I’ve been deeply grateful for those who saw value in the vision when there was little more to show for it than a very long Word document and an enthusiastic pastor.
I don’t want to pretend that every step has been easy or that I’ve always known what I was doing. There have been moments of real uncertainty, particularly around the costs of publishing and whether the project would ever reach the printing press. But I’ve also seen the Lord’s kindness through the encouragement, generosity and practical help of others. It’s been a reminder that we are not meant to do everything alone, and that God often provides through the ordinary faithfulness of people who are willing to help.
As the manuscript began taking shape, something else happened that I hadn’t anticipated. I started thinking beyond the book itself. In particular, I began thinking about the young South Africans who will be voting for the first time in the 2029 national elections. They are growing up in a world where opinions are formed quickly, political messages arrive constantly through their phones, and social media can make the loudest voice sound like the most trustworthy one. I began wondering whether our churches were doing enough to prepare them. Not to tell them which party to vote for, but to help them develop biblical convictions before they are confronted with the ballot paper.
I began wondering whether our churches were doing enough to prepare them [young, first-time voters]. Not to tell them which party to vote for, but to help them develop biblical convictions
before they are confronted with the ballot paper.
That thinking has led to a second planned book, Before Your First Vote, which I hope will become a useful resource for youth ministries, Christian schools, families and first-time voters. My desire isn’t to produce a generation of young Christians who all vote alike. It’s to help young believers understand that following Jesus should shape the way they think about the world, including their responsibilities as citizens. We may disagree about policies and parties, but we ought to be learning to reason carefully, speak graciously and submit our thinking to God’s Word.
Then another idea began to develop, and this one came from something very ordinary: standing in queues. South Africans are rather experienced at queuing. We do it at banks, government offices, supermarkets and, of course, voting stations. Sometimes I think we deserve a national qualification in patience! But I began wondering what might happen if Christians approached Election Day with more than just the intention of casting their vote.
What if we saw the people standing around us as neighbours to be loved rather than simply strangers holding up the queue? What if we came prepared to pray for our country, offer practical kindness, begin a conversation, listen well and, where an appropriate opportunity arose, share something of the hope we have in Jesus Christ?
What if we saw the people standing around us as neighbours
to be loved rather than simply strangers holding up the queue?
What if we came prepared to pray for our country,
offer practical kindness, begin a conversation, listen well and,
where an appropriate opportunity arose,
share something of the hope we have in Jesus Christ?
That idea became While You Wait, a collection of free evangelism resources that we’ve been developing to help churches equip their members for Election Day. These include prayer cards, gospel booklets and simple resources to encourage thoughtful conversations. The initiative is intentionally evangelical, non-denominational and centred on the gospel. It isn’t about using voting stations to campaign, interrupt the electoral process or pressure anyone into a religious conversation. It’s about helping Christians be ready to serve, listen, pray and speak of Christ naturally and respectfully, wherever it is appropriate to do so.
I find that possibility particularly exciting. Imagine churches across South Africa preparing their members not only to vote thoughtfully, but also to see Election Day as an opportunity for Christian witness. The ballot box matters, but so does the person standing next to us. And long after an election is over, the Church still has the same calling to love our neighbours and make disciples of Jesus Christ.
All of this has gradually developed into what we’re calling The Road to 2029. The approaching municipal elections on 4 November provide an immediate opportunity to introduce the book and begin some of these conversations, but I don’t want the vision to end there. My concern is that if churches only begin talking about Christian citizenship a few weeks before an election, we’ve probably started too late. By then the posters are up, the political campaigns are in full swing and social media has already done a fair amount of shaping people’s opinions.
What if we began earlier? What if the years leading towards 2029 became an opportunity for pastors, churches, youth groups and families to open their Bibles and work through some of these questions together? What if we could encourage Christians to engage with public life thoughtfully without expecting everyone in the congregation to arrive at the same political conclusions? And what if we could do all of this while keeping our attention firmly on the person and work of Jesus Christ?
That’s really the bigger vision now. The book is one tool, but my hope is that it might help start conversations and provide resources that churches can use in their own contexts. I would love to see pastors and churches across denominations making use of these materials, adapting them to their ministries and encouraging one another in faithful Christian citizenship and gospel witness. I’m not interested in creating another denomination, political movement or complicated church programme. Most pastors have enough meetings already!
As I write this, Before You Vote is approaching its first print run, with pre-orders open and the wider resources beginning to take shape. I’m excited, grateful and perhaps a little nervous. There’s something rather sobering about spending so long writing a book and then realising that other people are actually going to read it! But I’m thankful to have reached this point, particularly because of the many people who have helped along the way.
I have no idea how far this initiative will reach, and I certainly don’t imagine that one book is going to solve South Africa’s political problems. I do hope, however, that it might make a small contribution towards helping Christians think more carefully about their responsibilities, speak more graciously with those who disagree and remain confident that our ultimate hope is not found in political parties, presidents or election results.
If it helps a pastor begin a conversation he has been reluctant to have, a young Christian approach their first election with greater biblical understanding, or a church prepare its people to share the gospel while serving their community, I will be deeply grateful.
Looking back, I began this journey trying to answer a question about voting. Somewhere along the way, I found myself asking a much bigger question about discipleship. I still believe the Church should never tell Christians where to put their cross on a ballot paper. But surely we have a responsibility to help form the Christian holding the pencil.
My hope is simply to see the Bible open before the ballot paper arrives.
Because when the posters come down, the votes have been counted and the politicians have made their promises, Jesus Christ will still be King.
And that is where our hope belongs.
Please help us to keep on publishing news that brings Hope in Jesus:
>> Donate >> Become a Super Subscriber
VISIT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/gatewaynews100
COMMENTING GUIDELINES
You are welcome to engage with our articles by making comments [in the Comments area below] that add value to a topic or to engage in thoughtful, constructive discussion with fellow readers. Comments that contain vulgar language will be removed. Hostile, demeaning, disrespectful, propagandistic and off-topic comments may also be moved. This is a Christian website and if you wish to vent against Christian beliefs you have probably come to the wrong place and your comments may be removed. Ongoing debates and repetitiveness will not be tolerated. You will also disqualify yourself from commenting if you engage in trolling.
