One Pastor, Two Politicians

One Pastor, Two Politicians

The two U.S. presidential hopefuls, Senators McCain and Obama, were invited to Saddleback Church on Saturday to account for their faith and politics. The two-hour forum, designed to acquaint voters with the candidates' style and substance, was moderated by none other than Pastor Rick Warren.

We should add that Pastor Warren's non-threatening and engaging format on a whole range of life matters (not just abortion) was both refreshing and commendably executed.

What is troubling is that U.S. evangelicals are routinely cast as "white," "progressive," "red letter," and "Christian Right." We are repeatedly reminded that the two candidates came to Saddleback to woo "white evangelicals."

Political ideology and the color line seem to define much of what we know about the U.S. evangelical community. We just wonder what it would be like if the message of the Cross of Christ permeated evangelical interactions. We worry this is bound to negatively affect missionary work in the rest of the world.