Mitt Romney WIll Get My Vote

Though I’m not a full-time pastor anymore, I had the wonderful opportunity to preach this morning at the First United Methodist Church in Cocoa Beach. My sermon was about how Jesus was seen to have authority by those who heard him teach – even in the early days of his ministry – because he had a combination of knowledge and experience.

As I was driving home, I thought about my words and made sure that I reinforced them so that I could try – with God’s help – to live as I had preached. I called on the church today to keep growing in wisdom through worship and Bible study and then to share the experiences of their faith with others. Facts and feelings together – I told them – are more likely to garner peoples’ trust than either of those by themselves.

This then led me to think about the presidential contest – and my vote on Tuesday. Which candidate has my values? Which candidate has a positive meshing of knowledge and experience? Which candidate would I feel comfortable as an authority figure in my life?

The earlier conclusion I had reached that Mitt Romney will get my vote was clarified and solidified after I went through this process.

Since I am a protestant Christian and Mitt Romney a Mormon, our faiths are somewhat dissimilar. But our doctrinal differences are not great enough to offset the common values that we share.

There is no question in my mind that Mitt Romney is a smart man – in business, in organizational management, in politics. He has certainly been successful in the first two. In politics, he has had his ups and downs, his wiggles and wobbles. However, he has generally run a solid campaign this time and will be a force against President Obama in state-to-state contests.

Finally, he has lived a wide range of life experiences – and this is always a plus. Romney has committed time away from home to serve his church, he has been a chief executive, he is a faithful husband and loving father. He has not been a Washington insider – but knows enough of them to know how it works.

He is not perfect in this conservative’s eyes. However, no candidate ever has been. I pick the one I think is best for the particular job – at the particular moment. For me, this time, the only answer is Mitt Romney.