I am a born-again Christian who just happens to be an ultra-conservative member of the Republican Party. As of late, I have heard voices within evangelical circles suggesting that God may be using the platform of conservative talk radio to address controversial subjects that pastors, behind their pulpits, are remaining silent about.

The thing that boggles my mind is that while talk radio personalities are using controversy to boost their ratings, pastors are afraid that controversy will lower their weekly church attendance.

My fear is that if pastors get any more silent than they are, someone had better check their pulses; however, I would sharply rebuke anyone who would dare to suggest that men such as Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck are the next Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Their personalities are overwhelmingly negative, sarcastic, disrespectful, arrogant and conceited.

Those are not the qualities that God is looking for.

I was very disappointed that Barack Obama became the 44th president. However, we here at the Jesus Party Pentecostal Kids’ Church remain committed to praying for the leadership of our country. We even go so far as to display a life-size cutout of the president in our chapel so the children can have a tangible point of contact when they pray for him.

Certainly, prayer must remain bipartisan and is more effective than constant criticism.

We must instill respect for government and esteem in our leaders if we want to be good examples for our children.

The Rev. Douglas Taylor, Lewiston