On Easter weekend, Indiana Statehouse chaplain Pastor Matt Barnes said the current political climate at the Statehouse is more tense than in recent years, driven in part by intensified intra-party battles on both sides of the aisle.
In an interview with Indy Politics, Barnes, who leads Public Servants’ Prayer and has served as chaplain to lawmakers for years, said that while politics is always contentious, the past six months have brought stresses that are “a little more challenging than it has been in recent past.”
Early voting for the primary is set to begin within days, and several incumbent Republican senators are facing primary challenges. Barnes noted that contested primaries are not new, but said the tone and visibility of the disputes have increased. Similar dynamics are visible among Democrats, where progressive challengers are taking on more traditional, establishment figures.
Barnes said these conflicts as part of a broader clash of worldviews.
“Politics is downstream from culture,” he said, adding that beneath the legislative debates are competing understandings of right and wrong. He argued that “all legislation creates a moral code,” and that policy fights are often battles over which worldview will shape that code.
He pushed back on the common claim that morality cannot be legislated. While he agreed the law cannot change a person’s heart, he said it clearly affects behavior. The deeper transformation of character, he argued, comes from outside the law, through faith.
Barnes, who is a regular presence at the Indiana General Assembly, said his role is to provide confidential counsel to lawmakers, staff, and others in the building, regardless of party or religious background.
He described the Statehouse as a place where appearances can be deceiving. “There’s a facade that everything is perfect,” he said, but behind that, legislators and staff face the same personal struggles as anyone else. His work, he said, is to “pull back the curtain a little bit and do peer-to-peer ministry,” walking with people “in their good times and in their difficult times.”
Part of that counsel sometimes includes advising lawmakers to acknowledge mistakes.
Barnes said he has had to tell officials that they mishandled situations and should take responsibility. He said humility generally earns more grace from both the public and colleagues than denial or defensiveness. Referencing Scripture, he noted that grace tends to flow toward the humble, not the proud, and suggested voters often respond similarly.
He also addressed the growing role of social media in political life and its impact on mental health. Barnes said he has advised some officials to step back from social platforms, or at least pause before posting.
“We don’t have to say everything that comes to our mind,” he said, adding that he often drafts messages and then deletes them after reconsidering.
Barnes said he counsels non-Christian lawmakers in much the same way as Christian ones, focusing on shared human experiences such as hardship, stress, and loss. He said his approach is to draw on what he views as timeless truths, offer compassion drawn from his own experiences, and provide support as officials navigate difficult issues ranging from high-profile moral debates to complex policy matters with no clear scriptural guidance.
“Whether they’re believers or not, we’re all walking through this life together,” he said.
You can hear the full conversation in the audio above. It runs for about 18 minutes.
