Since my post on Prop 8, I have been in ongoing dialogue with friends, family and co-workers over the Prop 8 debate and fallout, and over the bigger issue of legislating morality.

I have been challenged to revisit how much we should legislate what are (as Joan Ball and others pointe out) essentially spiritual issues. I see the point that legislating is not necessarily the right solution, and I am thinking a lot about it. As my friend Bryan said to me today, the conversation that needs to happen is not happening, and a lot of conversations that are not offering helpful solutions are taking everyone's attention.

It has been suggested to me that we should only legislate over moral issues that directly affect a person's civil rights.

If you didn’t see it, I recommend reading the article “Aliens and Citizens: In the Body of Christ, We Learn to be Both,” by Jordan Hylden, Christianity Today, November 2008.

He explores and articulates a struggle I really feel, and I suspect many of you do. I am not aligned cleanly with the "right" or with the "left." I feel very strongly about issues that seem to be represented (or dismissed) by both conservative and liberal politics, and I confess to being a bit resentful about being labeled conservative or liberal by whichever side I'm not - well - siding with.

That, incidentally, was why I had a very difficult time deciding which presidential candidate to vote for in the Nov. 4 election. Neither one fully represented good solutions to the issues I feel most strongly about.

This paragraph in Jordan's article particularly resonated with me:

“What, for instance, should make the protection of unborn life and the promotion of stable families necessarily “conservative” issues? Shouldn’t all Christians have an interest in saving unborn lives and in strengthening marriage in a country where nearly four out of ten children are born out of wedlock? And what, to take another example, should make environmental stewardship and the plight of migrant farm workers the sole preserve of the Left? Don’t all Christians have an obligation to care for the earth and for the alien and stranger in our midst? Yet only rarely does one year a pro-life call from the Left, and any mention of fair-trade foods tends to earn automatic derision and skepticism from the Right. Before we are Christians, it would seem, many of us remain Americans.”

How about you, dear reader? Am I right? Do you struggle with this as much as I do?

I don't know if you happened to see the fictional letter that Dr. James Dobson wrote regarding what an Obama Presidency would look like in 2012. I found it pretty low to speculate with such little hope. I also resonated with the response letter from Jim Wallis to Dr. James Dobson. I think as Christian leaders we need to be smart as we play in the political realm. I think to be Dr. Dobson and to have his level of potential influence on the office of the Presidency and to then forfeit that possibility by writing the letter that he wrote is a sad day. But, maybe that's spineless Christianity, not to speculate the worst?! I had a guy recently tell me that I'm spineless in my faith because I won't bash Obama. This is what we relegate following Jesus too?!

What are your thoughts?! Here is the letter to Dr. Dobson from Jim Wallis and in it you can find a link to read the fictional letter that Dobson wrote:

At a Planned Parenthood address, then presidential candidate Barak Obama stated that the first thing he would do when elected President of the U.S. would be to sign the Freedom of Choice Act. This Act would nullify all previous legislation designed to place restrictions on abortion, such as parental notification and bans on partial birth abortion. If you are unfamiliar with the Freedom of Choice Act, click here for more info.

continue reading

So, last Tuesday, while waiting in line to vote at the local church where we vote, I struck up a conversation with the gentleman directly behind me.  One of the first questions that came up, as usually does in this sort of conversation, was that of occupation.  I told him that I am a pastor on staff at a local church, and that I lived nearby.  He then said that he believed that we "follow the same carpenter" with a sort of "nudge, nudge, wink, wink" in his voice.  A bit cheesy of a line, but I understood what he meant.

He then went on to tell me he was a financial advisor and that his business was to tell Christians how to manage their finances according to God's plans, etc.  This all sounded pretty fair and good.  He then began to tell me about his kids.  He had three, and two were currently attending High School.  When he told me which one, I quickly thought, "wait a minute, that school is not in our district, what is up?"  So I asked him about why his kids were not in our district (I am intentionally keeping specific names out of this blog), seeing as I knew he had to live only a block or two from my house to be voting where I voted.

continue reading

No, no, I’m not referring to Obama’s sexual orientation!! Don’t get it twisted yo! However, I am referring to Obama’s ethnic background: Bi-racial. Or, as many would call it, “Mixed.” Black and White. Hmmm. African American & Euro-American. Hmmm. Or is he just Black as many people, including myself, have summarized him down to? It’s hard being mixed. Trust me, I know, I’m half Black and half Mexican. My mom is Mexican and my dad was African American. I’ve struggled my entire life trying to “fit in” with one or the other. But to have a “mixed” president, is a new and uplifting thing for me.

 

Back in the day Tiger Woods got a lot of slack for not identifying with his “roots.” In other words, Tiger was slammed by many in the Black community for not claiming his Black side. Tiger simply said that if he only paid attention to the Black side of him, he would be denying his mother. A lot of folk could not understand that, yet, I could. I’ve been forced to choose many times. And not just by “friends.” Take a notice on any type of professional application you fill out, there will inevitably be a section there to fill in your “race.” If it’s electronic it will typically only let you choose one box and they’ll make it clear: African American (non-Hispanic), Latino (Non-African American), etc. America does not do well with “multi racial people.” In most cases you are asked to choose between the two. When I’m with my Latino friends, it’s hard to have the Black in me come out because of the racial tensions. When I’m with my Black friends, those Brown tensions run deep too. Growing up, I was never called a spic, wetback, or greaser. I was called a coon, nigger, and a colored; I therefore began identifying with the Black side of me. Having a mom that loved Black culture didn’t help either!

continue reading

It's election night. The internet is abuzz with people leaving their commentary on Obama's win, and here are some quotes from my own friends who were obviously looking for a different outcome:

"I am moving out of the country"
"I am about to drive off a cliff"
"Come quickly, Lord Jesus"
"I feel like the floodgates of war have just been unlocked"
"I am buying a gun tomorrow"
"I hope American doesn't implode"
"I am fearful of things to come"

Oh boy.  Sorry to call you out, my dear social networking friends.

I am annoyed by these comments not because I am a Democrat. ('cause I'm not). I am annoyed by these comments as a Christian and as an American. I realize that some people are disappointed, and that may prone them towards a little dramatic license right now. But this is ridiculous.

continue reading

The votes have been cast.  Two stirring speeches were given, both striking in their humility and call for unity.  American democracy was on a world stage last night and we collectively demonstrated that the ideals of giving everyone a voice are still alive and well, perhaps more visibly demonstrated this year than any other.  

But now that it's over, millions of believers are waking up either elated or exasperated, overjoyed or angry, delighted or despairing.  I know this because this is a time of seismic political shifts among people of faith, with fractures growing along geographical, generational, theological, and economic lines, depending on your particular situation.  I know this because in this  first election since the rise of the blogosphere, infammatory pixels have been hurled, believer at believer, with such intensity that outsiders would think the left and right worship different Gods.  

continue reading

“The most important election in …”

“This is the greatest financial disaster since …”

“We predict the largest voter turnout since … “

“There is more at stake in this election than … “

“Clearly this is the nastiest election in the history of  …”

“The country hasn’t been this divided since … “

The candidates, their campaigns, main stream media, new media, neighbors, friends, pastors, dentists, and bloggers have characterized the presidential election of 2008 in terms that should be reserved for the most prominent moments in history—you know, like the Big Bang, the asteroid that destroyed the dinosaurs, or universal heat death.  Based on the rhetoric students will never again need to study history because it has reached its zenith in the epic battle between two omnipotent forces.

continue reading