'Faith as a Verb': Kamala Harris Preaches Community, Action

OAKLAND, California – In these last weeks before Election Day, Kamala Harris has intentionally headed to the pews, hoping to make clear the role faith plays in her vision for America. 

"Let us, as the Good Samaritan did, see in the face of a stranger, a neighbor," she recently told parishioners in Georgia. She's also told churchgoers how her God "is a loving God" and she's often fond of saying, "One must do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with our God." 

That mindset has been a constant theme throughout her life. Some might call it a, 'Social Gospel' approach. "I don't know if I put a label on it as much as, how do you help people thrive," says Pastor Leah Daughtry, her close friend of 20 years. "Government has a role, and so whether it's helping people to buy their first homes, or whether it's helping children to go to good schools, which then gives them the foundation to become whoever they want to be, it's really grounded in those early lessons that she learned in church." 

That is a lesson Kamala Harris often mentions. "At an early age, I learned that faith is a verb," she frequently says. "It is something we show in action and in service."

That perspective of her faith started in Berkeley, California during her elementary school years. It was on Sundays as a youngster when her mom dressed little Kamala and her sister Maya in their 'Sunday Best' and then they headed about 20 minutes down the road to Oakland where they attended Twenty-Third Avenue Church of God. It is there where the learning really began. 

CBN News went inside her childhood church in Oakland and spoke with lead pastor Demetries Edwards, a close friend of the Vice President. He painted a picture of what a young Kamala would have experienced inside. 

"Imagine a church that is made up of people who were business owners, teachers, just regular, hard working people who simply shared their faith, loved their neighbor," Pastor Edwards tells CBN News as we sat inside her childhood church. "That's the kind of environment that she experienced here at this church...These people spent time together. They did life together so it wasn't about walking into a building, singing and leaving, but these people were involved in each other's lives." 

For Harris, that connection centered on Regina Shelton, who lived downstairs from the family and regularly took them to church. She stepped in because Harris' mother, a Hindu, worked long hours on many weekends. "Ms. Shelton was our second mother," Harris has explained in the past. "She was a small-business owner and I would not be here today without her." 

Pastor Edwards says that bond was crucial in the vice president's life. "It's just simply Miss Shelton being a good neighbor. She was already watching them as kids, when her mother would be away for work or staying late for work. It's just that outgrowth of being a good neighbor saying, 'hey, if you guys are going to be here at the house, let me introduce you to this community of church of believers at 23rd avenue.'" 

The strong 'Love Thy Neighbor' approach taken by Harris however, hasn't quelled critics, despite a recent CNN Town Hall where she was asked if she prays daily. "I do pray every day," she told CNN's Anderson Cooper. "Sometimes twice a day." 

Conservatives aren't buying it. "It's very simple, every American who considers himself conservative or Christian has a moral obligation to vote against Kamala Harris," says conservative influence Matt Walsh. 

Overall, conservative evangelicals see Harris as promoting anti-biblical positions including her staunch pro-choice position; being against religious exemptions on abortion; embracing policies that promote LGBT and multiple gender lifestyles; plus a skepticism that she's 100 percent supportive of Israel based on mixed messaging. 

In addition, her pastor, Amos Brown, has espoused liberal ideology for decades. Recently, in his invocation at a church service in Georgia where Harris spoke, he said the following: "Thank you, God, that we can live on and say that I thank you that I'm a woman but I'm wise. I'm gay but I'm godly. I'm straight but I'm sensible." 

So, what does Pastor Edwards say to those who say that Harris is not a Christian? "My response would be, work out your own soul salvation with fear and trembling," he tells CBN News. "The other part of that is my belief, is that I don't believe that God is more interested in writing moral laws more than he's interested in writing on people's hearts...I may have a belief or a stance, but if I can't love my neighbor enough to soften their heart that God can write on it, then it's going to be a lesson of futility." 

The bottom line is that Harris sees faith through action, compassion and ultimately community, thanks to her childhood church experience. "I grew up in the black church," Harris recently told radio host Charlamagne tha god. "I grew up attending Twenty-Third Avenue Church of God in Oakland, California...that is church!" 

So how did growing up in the black church shape her? "Simply, that when we say the black church it's the unique experience of our institution being more than just a place of worship," Pastor Edwards explains. 

Leah Daughtry knows the black church experience well. It's how she grew up too. "The black church experience, it's personal," she tells CBN News. "You know each other, you know people's names, you know their circumstances, you know their mother's names. You come as a family unit, and if you come by yourself, you make family at the church." 

So as we near Election Day, prayers will be going up for the VP but prayers are being said for Donald Trump as well. Both sides are praying for their candidate to win. No matter who prevails, there's ultimately good news. "I don't lose hope because a candidate doesn't win – because my hope is in Christ," Pastor Edwards says. "At the end of the day, I want to see the kingdom of God win, so even if my candidate doesn't get in, Jesus is still Lord. God is still on the throne." 

NOTE: CBN neither supports nor opposes any political party or candidate. Our goal is to cover the news because truth matters. Please join with us in prayer for God to use CBN News to share the truth from a Christian perspective.