A report of reaching out to religious folks by the presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) indicates that he’s making a broad-based effort to promote discussion of relevant issues and enlist their support.  Obama is a member of the United Church of Christ, seen by many as a liberal denomination, but he is not presenting himself solely in that light.

In New Hampshire, Obama’s campaign is hosting “faith forums” to talk about the interplay between faith and politics.  “The candidate himself wasn’t on the bill.  But about 50 showed up to talk about the war, poverty and trying to seize back the moral mantle some in the GOP claim.  The night also featured an Obama video and campaign altar call – an invitation to become a ‘congregation contact’ and rally support for the candidate.”

Our afore-mentioned friend, Welton Gaddy, head of the Interfaith Alliance, isn’t impressed.  In fact, he went so far as to suggest that Barack Obama, “has sounded precisely like George W. Bush,” as he has addressed people of faith at their churches.

I have to admit I’m not sold on Obama as a viable candidate.  I like the fact that he isn’t simply another person of privilege being propped up to hold the seat of power, having spent time actually trying to improve the lives of other people through his community organizing work in Chicago.  His limited experience in government causes me to wonder if he is ready to be president, but then, the Current Occupant didn’t have much of a resume when he ran for the job, either.  Also, when candidates start trying to “talk the talk” with church people, I become suspicious of their motives.  Hopefully, I’m wrong about that.

But, this is where Obama gives me pause.  He has said he wants to be “an instrument of God,” which is ok, I suppose, but I cringed when I read this quote: “we can create a kingdom right here on earth.”

God’s reign already exists, and people of faith are called to live in it.  We don’t create it.  We don’t set the terms.  We don’t decide who’s in and who’s out.  All of that is up to God, who is beyond partisan politics, ideologies, and political parties.

What we need, it seems to me, is clarity in recognizing God’s reign and discernment as to how we might express its reality in and through our lives.

This morning, along with several hundred other people, I attended the annual “Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast” in our town.  It was held at the Coliseum, site of a scene or two from the 1985 Ron Howard movie “Cocoon,” starring Don Ameche, Brian Dennehy, Hume Cronyn and others.

Local ministers and others offered prayers; a choir drawing from local congregations provided lovely music; the mayor made remarks and introductions; and a wonderful breakfast was served.  The guest speaker was someone who apparently has a program broadcast on Christian radio stations across the continent.  He spoke about a “special word” that provides meaning to his life and work.  The word is integrity.

His outline was that personal peace is not possible without integrity; relationships are not possible without integrity; and impact is not possible without integrity.  He did a creditable job of filling in his outline with pertinent observations.  He pulled in a few scripture verses to underscore his points.  His whole approach stemmed from his experience growing up with a father who pushed for excellence, achievement, and success, and from his own personal “emptiness” when he followed his father’s guidance.  The whole talk, while helpful and enlightening, focused strictly on the individual.

My hope is that someday a Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast, wherever it might be held, would encourage cooperation, working together, and appreciation of the differences people bring to the table in trying to address the concerns of the community.  My wish is that such a gathering would challenge those in attendance (always privileged, connected, or wanting-to-be-connected) to share ideas and resources in looking for ways to improve the lives of everyone in the community.  My prayer is that these kinds of breakfasts would be less feel-good and more of an inspiration to live transformed lives.

Together.  In community.  For the sake of everyone.  As an expression of faith.  As a response to the blessings we receive in abundance.

The National Council of Churches is set to name a Disciple as the next General Secretary.  It will be Michael Kinnamon, currently the Allen and Dottie Miller Professor of Mission and Peace at Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis.  Following final approval at a November board meeting, Michael will begin his new duties on January 1, relocating to New York.

A long-time leader in ecumenical circles, he is a great choice to succeed Bob Edgar as the head of the NCC.   Edgar, a pastor and former member of Congress, left the NCC at the end of his stated term to become the president of Common Cause in Washington, DC.

Kinnamon will be the 10^th person to serve as general secretary of the NCC, and third Disciple.  The NCC was established in 1950.  You can bet Disciples were heavily involved in laying the groundwork for the organization, given our heritage of Christian unity and ecumenism.

Kinnamon stated that one of the main challenges for North American churches is “being ecumenical.”  He further remarked, “We cooperate well. We do things together. But the idea that we need each other…that’s never taken deep root…There’s no such thing as a self-sufficient church.” 

The Disciples are blessed to include Michael Kinnamon among our ranks, and the NCC is blessed that he now will lead their organization.

Way to go, Michael and NCC.

I like Richard Cizik.  Mind you, I’ve never met the man, but I’ve seen him talking on television, and have read about him from time to time.  Cizik is the Vice President for Governmental Affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals.  So, he’s the “Washington guy” for evangelical Christians.

My impression of Richard Cizik, first and foremost, is that he doesn’t take himself too seriously – always a plus for a clergyperson, as well as for a Washington guy.  Cizik also seems to be open-minded and thoughtful.  Again, plus factors.  He is an evangelical who acknowledges that global warming is a reality, a position not widely shared among evangelicals.  

According to an article by Dana Milbank, “Two dozen prominent evangelical leaders, including Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, wrote a letter earlier this year demanding that NAE silence Cizik’s ‘relentless campaign’ on climate change or force him to resign.”  Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) refers to Cizik as a “global-warming alarmist” whose views differ from most evangelicals.

Cizik has a broader picture of evangelical Christians than many, and perhaps that is what keeps him from getting pushed aside by people like Dobson, Pat Robertson, and the late Jerry Falwell.  Cizik maintains, “Evangelicals are not what people think they are.  We aren’t the Hummer-driving, Wall Street Journal-reading armchair armageddonists that we’re characterized as.”

Richard Cizik even went so far as to invite United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to address a major NAE dinner held just across the Potomac River.  This is remarkable because significant numbers of evangelicals fear the United Nations, and in the “Left Behind” book series popular with many of them, the fictional equivalent of Ban is the Antichrist who heads up “an abortion-promoting world government.”  Who makes up this nonsense?  (Answer:  Someone who knows how to cash in on people’s worst impulses and fears.)

In any case, it looks to me as if Richard Cizik has his stuff together, and while it's possible he and I would not agree on everything, I also am sure “We are one in the spirit, we are one in Lord.”

With all the emphasis and talk about religious faith in the unfolding presidential campaign, one of the candidates, the newest one, is taking a different approach.  According to Bloomberg News Service, former senator and television actor Fred Thompson told some fellow Republicans in South Carolina “that he is not a regular churchgoer and does not plan to talk about his beliefs in the campaign.”  Fair enough.

He further stated that while he goes to church with his mother when he visits her in Tennessee, he is not a member of any church, nor does he attend one where he lives.  He also told them, “I know I’m right with God and the people I love.”

It will be interesting to see how Thompson gets through the campaign without talking about his “beliefs.”  Apparently, he was baptized in the Church of Christ, cousins of us Disciples in the Stone-Campbell movement.  I realize a lot of us in our tradition are somewhat reticent about faith-sharing and testimonials, but to not talk about it at all leads me to wonder how important Thompson’s “beliefs” might be to him.  Especially since he is clear that worshipping God and pursuing Christian spiritual growth are not on his personal agenda.

I also wonder how he determined that he was “right with God.”  Did he make a deal with God?  Did he have a vision in which God told him, “You’re excused from worship, fellowship, stewardship, and Bible study?”

At least he seems to be clear and certain about what he “believes,” as are so many others who have determined that they can relate to God apart from the community of believers to which Jesus called his followers, and which was so important to Peter, Paul, James, Silas, Timothy and others; the community so important to the people of Israel, as they were called out from slavery in Egypt to make God’s name known, and to be a blessing to others; the community, actually, which is paramount throughout the whole of scripture.

Who needs it? Right?

I’m glad, though, that Sen. Thompson is not putting on phony airs about his faith.  I guess we can rest assured that with him, “what you see is what you get.”

During last week’s sermon preparation I came across a story that I liked, but didn’t use in my sermon.  It went something like this:  A young shoe salesman was assigned a territory in a rural area in the foothills of a mountain range.  After a few days, he sent a communication back to the home office.  He said, “I’m coming home.  No one here wears shoes.”  Shortly thereafter, another shoe company sent a sales person to the same community.  He also sent a message to his bosses back home.  “Send more product immediately.  No one here wears shoes!”

I guess this is the old “glass half full/glass half empty” routine.  If no one wears shoes, how could you sell them any shoes?  If no one wears shoes, the market is wide open and ripe for the picking.

So many churches today are dying a slow, agonizing death as times, culture, and neighborhoods change.  “We can’t do this.”  “If only we had more money/young people/time/you name it...” “Why can’t it be like days gone by when everyone came to church?”

Some churches are passionately alive today as times, culture, and neighborhoods change.  “What is God calling us to be and do in this place and in this time?”  “Our worship and study prepare and inspire us to minister in the name of Christ when we leave church each Sunday.”  “If the mission before us is big, beautiful, and impossible, it must be coming from God.  Let’s find a way to make it work.”

No one here wears shoes!

My entry yesterday got me thinking about the coach from my high school that I mentioned.  He won a few football championships during his tenure at the school and had a big-time reputation in the state of Virginia.  He was the coach of our team during the season that is portrayed in the film “Remember the Titans,” and though I cannot now recall for certain, our football game against the T.C. Williams team spotlighted in the movie might have been the only loss for our team that year.

As I mentioned, I didn’t play football, and I think he held a little grudge against me for that.  I know I developed some hard feelings toward him over time.  My complex relationship with him actually began when I was eight years old.  Our elementary school had a summer recreation program, and Coach was earning a few extra bucks by helping out with the sports.  One day they were getting ready to have a baseball game, and when I tried to get in the game, he told me I was too young. Only kids aged ten and older were allowed to play.

I went home in the middle of the program, I was so upset, and when I told my mother what happened, she actually went up to the school and confronted Coach about it.  Much to my amazement, he backed down and allowed me to play.  But, when I dropped a ball hit to me during the game, he made a taunting remark.

Fast forward six years, and I showed up for J.V. baseball.  The first two days of practice, all we did was run.  And then we ran some more.  We ran laps around the whole school property.  Of course, a number of guys quit right then, which I guess was the purpose of it all.

When we finally began actually working on baseball skills, I did pretty well.  Then he started nagging me about playing football, mocking the fact I was in the band.  But, when I ruptured a muscle during practice, he actually held open a place on the team for me until I recovered and rejoined the practices just before the games began.  We were pretty lousy, winning only one game, but I was the only one who played every inning of all the games.

The next year, I was invited to try out for the varsity, and sometimes the varsity and J.V. practiced together.  One day, Coach was hitting grounders to the infielders between pitches in batting practice.  He hit one to me that hopped up on me, and I turned my head.  He flew into a rage.  “Are you AFRAID of the BALL, Howell??”   Then he began hitting balls as hard as he could at me, but they all flew over my head.

Another time, he was pitching batting practice, and I ripped a line drive right back at him that almost took his head off.  So, he began throwing pitches directly at me.  Meanwhile, he made the occasional remark about how he wished I would “come out in the fall.”  And he would watch me run in P.E. class.

Some twenty years after the batting practice incident, during which time I saw him maybe once or twice, Coach mentioned to my brother that he had been thinking about throwing the ball at me, and felt bad about doing it. 

He never said it me.

So, while Coach seemed to promote my athletic ability on the one hand, he sometimes behaved like a madman on the other.  At the time, I was trying to do whatever I could to please him (except play football), but while I still laugh at some of the ridiculous things he said to me and others, I don’t hold him in the fondest of places in my heart.

I saw Coach about three years ago, and while I politely shook his hand and introduced him to my wife, the encounter was brief.

And empty.

There is a high school football coach in New Jersey who is at the center of a court case regarding prayer with the team prior to their games.  Apparently, he has had prayer with his team, one way or another, for twenty-three years.

I don’t know the content of the prayers, whether he wants God to lead his team to victory, protect the players from injury, teach them the lessons of clean-living through knocking people on their hind ends, or all of the above.  But, official prayer at a school-sponsored activity is a controversial subject.  Hopefully, the courts will order him to cease and desist and prevent him from further imposing his religious views on his players.

To me, it’s amusing to imagine the football coach at my high school leading the team in prayer.  I don’t know whether he ever did, because, despite his urgings, I didn’t play football.  But, I know the school received numerous complaints from neighbors whose backyards ran up against the football field at our school.  The complaints were about the high volume profanity emanating from the coaches during practice sessions.

It was my good fortune to experience some of this first-hand, because the football coach also was the junior varsity baseball coach, and I played on that team during my freshman year.  (I probably would benefit from speaking to a therapist about THAT period of my life!)  He was proficient at stringing together crude images, epithets, and vulgarities that likely are not allowed today.  Actually, it was pretty funny, but the laughing had to wait until after practice.  None of us especially cared for the extra wind sprints. We already were a better track team than baseball team that year.

I can’t imagine anyone taking him seriously if he were to say, “Gentlemen, take a knee, and let us pray.”   Of course, in the violent, mixed-up world of football/militarism/patriotism non-compliance would have its consequences.

And that’s exactly why the coach in New Jersey needs to knock it off.

The Roman Catholic Archbishop of St. Louis said, in response to a question, that if presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, or any other candidate, “had been admonished” for violating church doctrine, he would turn that candidate away from communion.  In the case of Giuliani – and Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) during the last presidential election cycle – the archbishop objects to his history of supporting abortion rights.  When asked about his response to a candidate’s support of the death penalty or pre-emptive war, the archbishop replied, “It’s a little more complicated in that case.”

Why is it more complicated?  Both run up against the commandment, “Thou shalt not kill.”  Maybe it’s because those being killed “in that case” are “bad guys,” or “the enemy.”  Maybe the archbishop feels they deserve to be killed, despite Jesus’ teaching to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”   I guess the archbishop’s idea is to allow everyone to be born, and we’ll sort out later who we want to keep around.  I presume he has a vote in the decision.

Flippant characterizations aside, I’m not intent on criticizing the archbishop.  But the notion of denying access to communion doesn’t compute in my mind.  To me, communion is not a reward or something that people earn the right to deserve.  It’s not up to me, or anyone else, to turn someone away from the table to which Christ invited them.

My perception is that Jesus said, “Remember me when you eat and drink together” precisely because he knew we would falter, he knew we would be tempted to uncritically embrace the ways of the world.  Jesus knew spiritual strength is found when believers come together for communion, and that in remembering him we also remember who we are called to be.  It seems to me, we need to encourage people to share in communion rather than keep them away.

If we included only those who “deserved” to approach the table, there wouldn’t be much need for bread and grape juice -- just enough for those who make the rules.  The biblical image of a heavenly feast would become a sad, ironic joke.

Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) statement that he would prefer a Christian in the White House stirred a strong reaction.  His assertion that the United States was established as a Christian nation is addressed by Welton Gaddy, head of the Interfaith Alliance.  Many people, of course, make the same claim as McCain.  However, it is false.  Only Christians, of course, say it, but in doing so they reveal their misunderstanding of U.S. history and of the Christian faith itself.

Read what Welton has to say about this.

Great will be the day when religious faith no longer is used as a political strategy, tool, or deception.

I don't look for that day to arrive soon, however.