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Faith & Politics

These days it’s not popular to talk about religion or politics. That makes the email I got today so odd. Rick Warren, Senior Pastor of Saddleback Church in California, will be interviewing both presidential candidates for a nationally televised forum. The email he sent was soliciting questions to ask and prayer for wisdom.  This will be a blend of both faith and politics, which should make it a very compelling thing to watch.

Pastor Warren will have to walk a tightrope as a representative of a non-profit organization, which just so happens to be a church, too. As such he cannot officially direct people on how they should vote or he would jeopardize the church’s non-profit status with the IRS. There are some practices that are allowed, but others that are not (see this article for more details). Since Pastor Warren will be interviewing both candidates he should be safe, but you know that the ACLU and other politial watchdog organizations will be keep close tabs on what is said.

I do think it’s important for Christians to be politically active. We’re instructed to pray for our government officials, pay taxes, and submit to laws of the land. It’s valuable to have Christians in positions of influence that can enact positive change for our nation and its future citizens.

Check out the email below:

Dear fellow pastor and church leader,

This next Saturday, August 16, 2008, I will interview Senators John McCain and Barack Obama for an hour each at our nationally televised Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency. The following morning I will be preaching a message entitled “The Kind of Leadership America Needs.”

I’d value your opinion and feedback. What question would you ask BOTH candidates if you had the chance?  Please frame your question in a way that it could be asked of both candidates (to be fair) and email it to me at pastorrick@saddleback.net. This would be a great help to me.

We’re in this together.  I also ask you to pray I’ll have the necessary wisdom. This will be an historic event. Never have the two candidates been interviewed by a pastor in a church. It will be a great day for all churches, showing the importance of the local church being at the civil table.

I thank God he has called you to serve Him.  For the global glory of God.

Rick
Rick Warren
Saddleback Church
Purpose Driven Network
The Global PEACE Coalition

Political Buzz

I’m starting to think that whoever ends up being the Republican Party representative (John McCain) might be doomed from the start. Not only does he have the negative associations that a lot of people have with George W. Bush, but no one is talking about him. Here in Texas, every commercial break on tv has an ad for either Barack or Hillary.  They’re gearing up for the primaries next week. I can’t remember seeing any commercials for McCain or Huckabee.

This lack of advertising doesn’t matter much now, November is still far off, but I know there is a saying that goes like: “There is no such thing as bad press.” People who don’t have ties with either party might be starting to make decisions about who they will vote for, so buzz now might pay off later.

I’m wondering if McCain’s team has recognized this and manufactured the “smear campaign” last week to bring people’s attention back to him. Probably not, I would hope, but American politics is dirty in election years.

Hillary Clinton as President would make the USA less safe

I assumed it was true before, but now that I’ve read this article from the Wall Street Journal I know it is true. If Hillary Clinton succeeds in her quest to become the next President our country will immediately become less safe. She is a politician in the worst sense. She makes decisions and holds opinions on issues primarily based on how it affects whether or not people will vote for her. He stance on issues are not based on commitment or personal values, they are basically a popularity contest. Here is an excerpt from the article:

The perpetrators were members of Armed Forces of National Liberation, FALN (the Spanish acronym), a clandestine terrorist group devoted to bringing about independence for Puerto Rico through violent means. . . . [On Aug. 11, 1999,] while Congress was on summer recess, the White House [Bill Clinton] quietly issued a press release announcing that the president was granting clemency to 16 imprisoned members of FALN. . . . Initial reports stated that Mrs. Clinton supported the clemencies, but when public reaction went negative she changed course, issuing a short statement three weeks after the clemencies were announced. . . . While the pardon scandals that marked Bill and Hillary Clinton’s final days in office are remembered as transactions involving cronies, criminals and campaign contributors, the FALN clemencies of 1999 should be remembered in the context of the increasing threat of domestic and transnational terrorism that was ramping up during the Clinton years of alleged peace and prosperity. . . . On the campaign trail, the Clintons like to say that Bill is merely supportive and enthusiastic, “just like all the other candidates’ spouses.” Nothing could be further from the truth. Returning Bill and Hillary Clinton to the White House would present the country with the unprecedented situation of a former and current president simultaneously occupying the White House, the practical implications of which have yet to be fully explored.

Read the full article.

UPS = Innovate Thinking

The NY Times has reported that UPS, the delivery company with the brown trucks, has reduced “28.5 million miles off its delivery routes, which has resulted in savings of roughly three million gallons of gas and has reduced CO2 emissions by 31,000 metric tons.” How did they accomplish this? By not turning left (when practical). The concept is that they have those huge, gas-guzzling trucks and sitting in the left-turn lane waiting for the green light needlessly uses up excess gas (and time).

This kind of thinking is brilliant. It’s not something that would be world changing for an individual, but when done at the scale of UPS it is. How many little changes like this could churches make that would have a significant impact in our culture?

University of California Marching Band

Whoever their marching band director is needs a raise. This is greatness!

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