Talking politics in ministry

One of the big "hot button" issues that pops up in churches regularly is politics.  Politics can be controversial and yet popular at the same time.  A church can be anti-government politics, or it could be a center for political activism. There is a legitimate need for both.  Some churches have been heroic political activist standing up for there community, values, or a minority.  Some churches have been careful to share the gospel without cultural snares so that even people "on the other side of the tracks" are welcomed and can come to Christ without conditions. In the Bible John the Baptist was fearless in telling society it's need for repentance. (Luke 3:1-14), yet Jesus turned down the offer of being a political king (john 6:15) and confessed his kingdom was not of this world. (john 18:36). Paul teaches us to mind governmental authorities (romans 13), but also Paul was quick to use his rights for protection and spreading the gospel. (acts21:37-23:11)  In America, "we the people" has sovereignty according to our constitution and so we exercise our God given authority to vote.  When dealing with teenagers you should encourage them into a personally responsible lifestyle as they will one day exercise their authority.  We don't need to push issues or ignore them.  We give our opinions(and scripture!) and let them develop theirs. The congregation itself will determine the tone. If they don't want to talk about the subject that is their right, if they like talking about the subject, that's fine as well.  Making sure that a youth who is zealous for righteousness isn't discouraged; and that the kid with a minority opinion is still welcomed as family. If there's a need to get political that's fine, but at some point that will be an activity of a political group instead of the congregation, our job is the gospel. A good line to draw is a biblical opinion at a topic is good, and endorsing a methodology is beyond the church.