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obama on his pastor

Posted on March 18, 2008 | Filed Under faith, politics, ucc 

I have been thinking about how best to respond to folks who ask about the flap over Barack Obama and his former pastor at Trinity United Church of Christ, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. But Obama himself has provided the best response in a speech delivered today in Philadelphia. It is a remarkable speech, putting our nation’s “original sin” of racism in broad historical context, and challenging us as Americans — of all races and political persuasions — to find a way to move beyond the divisiveness that has so dominated and damaged both our political discourse and our common destiny. Here …

the world doesn’t revolve around you

Posted on May 19, 2007 | Filed Under humility, politics 

Senator Barack Obama delivered the commencement address today at Southern New Hampshire University. He talked of three lessons he had learned about growing up, about becoming an adult and putting away childish things (1 Corinthians 13:11).

The latter two of the three lessons are typical fare for a commencement speech:

Challenge yourself. Take some risks in your life.

Persevere. Making your mark on the world is hard … It takes patience, it takes commitment, and it comes with plenty of failure along the way.

It was the first lesson Senator Obama cited that caught my attention and is not so standard fare — for …

not ready for a color-ful president?

Posted on May 9, 2007 | Filed Under politics, tolerance 

It’s a sad commentary on the state of our nation that an intelligent, articulate, Harvard-educated, church-going, family-oriented, compassionate, bridge-building presidential candidate requires early protection by the Secret Service … because he happens to be black. Racism is still embedded in our nation’s psyche — broadly and deeply — so much so that a truly viable candidate of color apparently poses an unacceptable threat.

We like to pretend this bile is not still in us. We like to pretend we are beyond it. Then the man who could be our next president must ask to be protected from those who think him …

obama: the role of faith in political conversation

Posted on December 20, 2006 | Filed Under faith, politics, religious language, tolerance 

Tolerance and passionate faith are not mutually exclusive. In fact, I believe the opposite is true. Passionate believers, genuine believers, are more tolerant people, because they understand how tolerant God has been with them!

It is refreshing to hear Sen. Barack Obama, a Christian and a member of the United Church of Christ, speak about his faith and its role in framing his political agenda … and his response to folks who may not share his political agenda. He is not apologetic about his faith. Neither is he dismissive of other people’s faith.

He is right. We need a deeper, fuller conversation …

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