Rick Warren Teams With Obama, Angers Pharisees

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EDIT ADD: Newsweek has a new interview with Kay Warren on the subject posted. And Time has a column on the controversy that smartly recognizes the parallels between this controversy for Warren and the controversy that Billy Graham used to walk through because of his actions during the civil rights era.

Rick Warren Teams with Obama - Angers Small-Minded Christians
Or: Why A Sinless Life Is Not Required To Enter A Church

Today the LA Times and the Orange County register both featured, on the front pages of their respective Local sections, articles on Rick Warren and the controversy that has errupted with the arrival of Barak Obama to Saddleback to speak at Warren's second AIDS conference. It's remarkable that both of the major newspapers in the area find the story to be so important, though it's also sad that the press is showing just how small-minded some of us in the church continue to be. The LA Times goes even further, and writes an editorial today on how both George W. Bush and the Christian church are not getting enough credit for their work against the AIDS crisis. (Links: LA Times article, OC Register article, LA Times editorial)

Though Warren has been explicitly clear that he does not endorse or agree with many of Obama's other political stances (on issues such as abortion), he recognizes that you have to build teams and work with people outside the typical evangelical community to affect real change on a mass scale for a crisis of this magnitude.

Quoting the Times article; pay particular attention to the bolded areas in the middle:

They came from different worlds: Rick Warren was the conservative white pastor of a 20,000-strong evangelical church in Orange County; Illinois Sen. Barack Obama was a liberal black politician, and a rising star in the Democratic Party... Some evangelicals had already criticized Warren for his different approach toward AIDS, which included working with gays. But the speech by the pro-choice potential presidential contender has drawn renewed vitriol from conservative Christian radio hosts and pundits, as well as some evangelical preachers...

"Why would Warren marry the moral equivalency of his pulpit — a sacred piece of honor in evangelical traditions — to the inhumane, sick and sinister evil that Obama has worked for as a legislator?" wrote radio host and blogger Kevin McCullough...

Saddleback Church responded to the criticism with a statement Wednesday defending Obama's appearance at the conference, but also noted Warren's disapproval of some of his political beliefs. "Our goal has been to put people together who normally won't even speak to each other. We do not expect all participants in the Summit discussion to agree with all of our Evangelical beliefs. However, the HIV/AIDS pandemic cannot be fought by Evangelicals alone." ...

"Evangelicals have been really afraid," she [Kay Warren] said. "They don't want to talk about condoms. They don't want to talk about HIV because that means having to talk about sex. We want to break that kind of silence."

Kay Warren became aware of the vastness of the problem in 2002, after she read a news magazine article about the 12 million orphans the disease had left in Africa. This discovery spurred her to visit Mozambique, where she met an emaciated woman lying beneath a tree who was dying of AIDS. Warren grew angry that everyone — the woman's family, her church, her government — had abandoned her. Then, she realized she, her husband and their church in an affluent Orange County community were guilty of the same indifference.

"We had done nothing, we had done absolutely nothing," she said. "That hit me like a ton of bricks. Instead of being judgmental about what wasn't being done in other places, since we were doing nothing, we had to come back and repent. We have been so wrong. We haven't cared. We haven't said one word."

The fruit of that revelation is unfolding today at Saddleback Church, where hundreds of scientists, pastors and caregivers will meet at the AIDS conference.

"I have no doubt if Jesus were walking the Earth today, he would be hanging out with people with AIDS," said Rick Warren, author of "The Purpose-Driven Life," the Hawaiian shirt-wearing founder of Saddleback and among the nation's most influential evangelical preachers.

His wife was the catalyst who drove his concern over the disease. "I realized the face of AIDS was more than just a white gay guy," he said. "It's all kinds, black, brown, women and children, much bigger than I realized. I had no idea what a big deal it was."

The Warrens believe that the vast network of houses of worship throughout the world, acting in concert with government, businesses and nonprofits, can provide medical treatment, nutrition and services to people with AIDS. While they do not condone some of the behavior that may lead to the spread of AIDS, the Warrens said it is their sacred duty to show mercy to anyone the disease afflicts.

A broad range of speakers from the medical community, relief organizations and religious groups from around the world will discuss the problem, and how local churches can help solve it. Rock singer Bono, Bill and Melinda Gates and Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) will deliver messages via videotape. In addition to Obama, addressing the conference will be evangelical leader Franklin Graham, and Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), another potential presidential candidate.

"While we will never see eye-to-eye on all issues, surely we can come together with one voice to honor the entirety of Christ's teachings by working to eradicate the scourge of AIDS, poverty and other challenges we all can agree must be met," Obama said in a written statement.

Warren said creating a forum where people of differing viewpoints can discuss their beliefs and possible solutions is key to slowing the spread of AIDS.

"Republicans, Democrats, gay, straight, Christians, Jews, Muslims — can we not work on some of these issues together?" he asked.

No is the answer some evangelicals give. Warren's willingness to work with people he disagrees with has drawn the wrath of some conservatives, as has his support of condom use outside of marriage to prevent AIDS.

"You can't work together with people totally opposed to what you are," said Wiley S. Drake, pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Buena Park and second vice president of the 42,000-church Southern Baptist Convention. "This kind of conference is just going to lead people astray."

AIDS activists also question the Warrens' sincerity, given their belief that homosexuality is a sin.

"This is a group that's going to have to prove their good work before the AIDS community and the worldwide health community trust them," said Craig Thompson, executive director of AIDS Project Los Angeles.

Progress appears be taking place, albeit slowly. Alan Witchey, executive director of the AIDS Services Foundation of Orange County, didn't attend last year's conference because he had no interest in what the Warrens had to say. But his organization and the Warrens have had conversations in recent months, and Saddleback Church has conducted food drives for the foundation.

"Five years ago, if you had said to me, 'Would you ever sit down at a table with an evangelical group and talk about how to collaboratively provide services?' I would have thought that couldn't happen," he said.

Well, when you look at the quote from Wiley Drake, can you blame him for feeling that way? Mr. Drake apparently feels that Mr. Obama is "totally opposed to what" he is. Well, maybe in the case of Drake this is true. But his point is not. Let's be clear. Just because a person does not line up lock-step with orthodox Christian theology, thought, behavior, and lifestyle does not mean that person is or should ever be persona non grata in or to the church. Nor does it in any way disqualify them from being able to team with us, the church, on something as important as the AIDS crisis, or anything else for that matter.

People who think like Drake, and the rest of the protesting mob, fail to comprehend why the church today is so hated and misunderstood by those who do not know Christ. As John Fischer has previously stated, you do not have to clean up before you come to church; those who do not yet know Christ are not supposed to be acting like Christians, because they're not - they're lost. And when someone is lost you do not berate them for being lost; you instead hand them a roadmap and show them the way. Drake's attitude does just the opposite. He states or implies that a man like Senator Obama is somehow unworthy of being associated with us - the evangelical church. Last time I checked, Mr. Drake, the whole lot of us were unworthy of even touching the shadow of Jesus Christ, our savior. Luckily for us, Jesus extends us his unmerited favor. Maybe by doing the same with the world around us we might actually start to make a bigger difference in their lives.

Furthermore, these kinds of attitudes just make the church look stupid. And I mean that literally. It also makes us look cruel. Things like the AIDS crisis are serious life and death matters. People are dying. And instead of putting aside differences and working as a team, Drake and his buddies nitpick and play the role of the pious morality police. As if a dying child cares what the politics of someone like Obama are, as long as Obama wants to help. A non-Christian looks at an article like this and more often than not doesn't note that Warren wants to help, but instead notes how Drake is more concerned about politics than loving the dying.

I wonder... if Drake were on the side of the road in a ditch, dying, if he would accept help from Obama? Or would he reject it, because Obama is "totally opposed" to what he is. After all, you just can't work with a guy like him, right Mr. Drake?

And I also wonder if Drake would let Obama enter his church on a Sunday morning, and if he would make Obama feel welcome and wanted. If not, the one who needs to re-examine their heart here is more Drake than anyone else.

The politics of abortion, gay marriage, or any other controversial issue are not what matters here. None of those things disqualify a person from the grace of God, nor do they disqualify someone from entering into community and working with the church. Too many of us in the church today are so appalled by the stances that others take on those issues that it has blinded us in ways that are not becoming to our identities as Christ-followers. We need to move past that, and take our cues from Jesus, not the old religious right movement of the 1980's.

Jesus was a friend of sinners. He loved, and came to seek and save, the lost. Looking at the story above, who is acting with the love of Christ, and who is the Pharisee? And which side do you want to be on?

Chris The Man rocks Billboard
"Daughtry sold more than 300,000 copies to finish second on the Billboard 200 for the week. The album was behind only Kingdom Come, the new disc by sporadically retired hip-hop icon Jay-Z. Fueled by post-Thanksgiving retail activity, Kingdom Come sold 680,000 copies in its first weekend to easily outpace the competition.

While Daughtry couldn't out-sell Jay-Z, his first week sales were the best for any American Idol contestant not to reach the Top Two. Daughtry moved nearly 100,000 more copies than the first week of Clay Aiken's A Thousand Different Ways earlier this fall. It also nearly equaled the combined total sales of recent releases by former "Idol" winner Ruben Studdard and Daughtry's fellow Season Five contender Kellie Pickler through multiple weeks in release."

Lost fans will want to read this, for sure.

It's the Top 50 Lost Loose Ends. And, actually, with a show like Lost you're trimming the list to get it down to only 50. Anyway, the list is solid and contains good commentary.

Heroes, Monday night, was the best episode yet. So revealing, so exciting, and so heartbreaking...

I'm going to San Diego this weekend for a quick trip to see some friends and former co-workers. Should be fun.

The Pope, Islam, and A Violent Response

The Pope, Islam, and A Violent Response
I was going to try and find the time to blog about this weekend's controvery over the Pope's remarks about Islam that have resulted in another violent response from Muslims. However, I found a great editorial from Christianity Today that pretty much sums up everything I was thinking about the controversy as well as the stark contrast between Christianity and Islam that it represents, so I'm going to post that here instead. It's really a must-read, but I'll let it speak for itself:

The Muslim world is outraged by Pope Benedict's criticism of "violent conversion" and references to the siege of Constantinople. A lawmaker from the Turkish ruling party said Benedict's speech on the universality of reason "looks like an effort to revive the mentality of the Crusades" and that Benedict "is going down in history in the same category as leaders such as Hitler and Mussolini." Pakistan's parliament unanimously condemned the Pope and his remarks. In Srinagar, India, a group of Muslims burned an effigy of Benedict and shouted, "Those who dare to target Islam and the Prophet will be finished!"

"This is not an effective way to argue against someone who has questioned your religion's relationship to violence," notes Catholic blogger Amy Welborn.

"Honestly, the thin-skinnedness of many Muslims is getting awfully tiresome," agrees Rod Dreher at Beliefnet's Crunchy Con. "How on earth are we ever supposed to be able to have a dialogue if the non-Muslim side has to walk on eggshells to avoid offending the wounded sensibilities of Muslim leaders, who seem very eager to take gross offense at anything critical?"

Not that Benedict's point was to criticize Islam, says National Catholic Reporter's John Allen Jr. "He brought up the dialogue between Paleologus and the Persian to make a different point. Under the influence of its Greek heritage, he said, Christianity represents a decisive choice in favor of the rationality of God. While Muslims may stress God's majesty and absolute transcendence, Christians believe it would contradict God's nature to act irrationally. He argued that the Gospel of John spoke the last word on the biblical concept of God: In the beginning was the logos, usually translated as word, but it is also the Greek term for reason."

And that's why we should be defending the pope, said Italian Mario Mauro, one of 14 vice-presidents of the European Parliament. "Let us defend the Pope without ifs or buts, let us defend reason," he said. "The monstrous attempt on the part of many Islamic leaders, even the so-called moderates, to distort the Pope's reaching out to all religions (through the lecture), in order to hit out at Christians and the West shows us the gravity of the danger we are facing."

CMCentral Does Stellar Kart

Have you seen CMCentral lately? It's front page is dominated by an ad for the new Stellar Kart album, and its feature story has been replaced with another Stellar Kart ad. Sean says that the video's space was not paid for, and that that slot will never be for sale. However, he still gave them the slot - in a space that has historically been devoted to the feature story of the week for the site - it's the "front page" of the paper, in a sense, above the fold.

What do you think of the move?

I have my own thoughts, but I'm interested in what yours might be. Especially when we're dealing with not just a journalistic outlet, but a Christian one at that.

In other news, AOL has a list of the 20 Worst American Idol Performances ever. It's a strong... err... weak, list dominated by two Kellie Pickler appearances. And, of course, John Stevens. Check it out.

Ever wonder why more boys than girls are autistic? Apparently it has to do with the genes.

Billy Graham, ZOEgirl, Dumbledore, and Die Hard

Long time no blog. I've been busy but I feel the weight of my neglect hanging on my conscience, so here I am again.

Dumbledore Really Is Dead
Or so J.K. wants us to think. But she finally has come out and officially stated that everyone's favorite Hogwarts headmaster has kicked the bucket and that dumbledoreisnotdead.com no longer serves a purpose. That being said, and perhaps I'm being stubborn, but I still see an opening. Maybe he is dead. But just because he's dead doesn't mean he can't come back. Perhaps we should be saying Dumbledore is not GONE, instead of dead? Stephen King is okay with it as long as she doesn't also kill off Harry.

Harry Potter cont.
The composer for the upcoming Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix movie has been announced. And the winner is... Nicholas Hooper? He better not screw it up.

Die Hard 4
Is coming next year. Live Free or Die Hard. Yipeekiyay...

ZOEgirl Loses A Girl
Oh, the horrors. The only remaining pre-fab teen pop group on the CCM scene has lost one of its founding members, Alisa. What about the children?? More importantly, how will FISH stations find pseudo/wannabe-cool music for its 40-something moms to play now? Quick, someone re-form Plus One!

Unthank
Why isn't Chris blogging anymore?

Idol Deathmatch Part II
It's Reuben VS Clay part deux! You can't tell me that these release dates weren't planned with a purpose. More importantly, what is the deal with Aiken? His second non-holiday release and he's already falling back to covering old favorites? He truly is fulfilling his destiny of becoming this generation's Barry Manilow, isn't he.

Starbucks Tanks
Everyone's favorite corporate coffeehouse's earnings are in the tank. Personally, I blame Dan, for moving away from his favorite local Starbucks and "swearing off" his extra Starbucks visits...

Online "Dating" Hits New Low
Could I possibly be rolling my eyes any harder right now? This couple goes out on an actual "date," but... well, read it for yourself:

"Realising that communicating via typing was far more comfortable ... we conducted ... our date without speaking. We traded headphones back and forth and typed and ordered beer and wine and more food ... The waitress thought we were crazy"

Umm... that's because you are crazy. If you're not comfortable SPEAKING with a person, maybe that person isn't such an ideal candidate for a date to begin with. Call me crazy.

Rabbi Gellman on Mel Gibson
Gotta love what the good rabbi has to say, again. Gibson was clearly drunk and everything he said was dead wrong. None of it should be excused or condoned. But, well, sometimes the alcohol does that to you. Especially if you have a bad history with the bottle. He's been far more contrite than most celebs usually are - they issue their "apology" which is nothing more than "I'm sorry if I offended anyone," which is not an actually apology to begin with because you're not then actually apologizing for your actions, only that someone might have been offended by them.

Billy Graham Newsweek Cover Story
Newsweek has a truly awesome cover story this week on Billy Graham. You can read the entire article here, online.

I have so much respect for this man. They say that wisdom is something that you acquire with age, and Graham is living proof if that. Too many of us in the church are putting our trust in the wrong people and places. We are divided by the wrong things and lose focus on the things that really matter. Graham's perspective is one that should be most welcomed. I love this segement of the article about him:

As he has grown older, Graham has come to an appreciation of complexity and a gentleness of spirit that sets him apart from many other high-profile figures in America's popular religious milieu—including, judging from their public remarks, his own son Franklin Graham, and men such as Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson. Others relish the battlefield; Graham now prizes peace. He is a man of unwavering faith who refuses to be judgmental; a steady social conservative in private who actually does hate the sin but loves the sinner; a resolute Christian who declines to render absolute verdicts about who will get into heaven and who will not; a man concerned about traditional morality—he is still slightly embarrassed that he kissed "two or three girls" before he kissed his wife—who will not be dragged into what he calls the "hot-button issues" of the hour. Graham's tranquil voice, though growing fainter, has rarely been more relevant.

What this article is really reflecting is a man of God who's voice of moderation, grace, and love that desperately needs to be heard and embraced in today's divisive world, but in and outside of the church. Read the article, and reflect upon the legacy of this admirable, remarkable man.

Baseball Card Memories

Lance Bass is gay. And a generation of now-20-something women have had their tender teenage years shattered. He's in a relationship with Reichen, of the Reichen/Chip Amazing Race duo.

Baseball Cards
I grew up loving baseball cards. I can remember the first two I ever had. Actually, I had football cards before this, but I eventually stopped collecting football cards as baseball became my prime concern. Anyway, my first two cards were 1987 Topps Mark McGwire and Wally Joyner. Soon after that came a flush of others as I became obsessed with collecting them. I subscribed to Beckett and read it religiously. I was lucky enough to have parents who indulged, or at least tolerated, my gum-scented hobby. My infatuation lasted into high school, when they were eventually discarded because they were no longer cool.

I once spent $5 on a pack of 1985 Topps cards; when I opened them up I found an Eric Davis rookie cards that was, at the time, worth $18. I had hit the jackpot! Unfortunately, Davis later lost most of his value, but at the time it was one of my best days ever!

I'm glad that I held onto my favorites, though. Today I still have two folders full of my favorite and best cards, and every once in awhile I go and look through them and reminisce. I remember some of the cards that I tragically lost in bad trades, like a couple of Jerry Rice (football) rookie cards. And I remember the great trades that I made and treasure the cards of favorite players that have long since been forgotten by the masses.

ESPN.com had a wonderful article looking back on baseball cards from days of yore. Check it out if you shared in this wonderful pasttime, and let me know some of your fond baseball card memories.