January 18th 2009
Obama And The Right (Not Wright) Church
The Obamas trekked off to church today – that mainstay of presidential photo ops – just 50 hours or so before he is to take his oath of office. I’ve been pondering this one for quite a while: Where will the Obamas go to church, since they obviously can’t return to the Black Victim Theology of Jeremiah Wright?
I imagine at least as much thought went into this at the Office of the President Elect as went into the selection of the presidential dog. Staff probably vetted churches in the downtown DC area, actually listening to the sermons and poring over the Web sites. And in the end, they selected the 19th Street Baptist Church.
And lo, it was good.
At Nineteenth Street Baptist Church in northwest Washington, the congregation erupted in applause when the Obama family walked in, including daughters Malia and Sasha and Michelle Obama’s mother. They sat in the second row, which had been set aside for them.
Obama was told anew that his rise follows the achievements of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., whose memory the nation celebrates on Monday.
When times turn tough and critics sound off, Pastor Derrick Harkins said, Obama should turn to the strength of his wife and to God. “Understand that God has prepared you, and God has placed you, and God will not forsake you,” Harkins told the incoming president.
The church, established in 1839, is a mainstream Baptist church that happens to have a black congregation and appears to be miles removed from the church of the hate-mongering Wright. Its mission statement is indistinguishable from that of suburban white churches, as if God didn’t much care about race:
The mission of the Nineteenth Street Baptist Church is to profoundly experience, joyfully celebrate, and meaningfully share God’s grace. We do this through Christ-centered worship, biblical instruction, prayer, nurturing fellowship, and caring acts that are reflective of our love for God and one another. We, through the power of the Holy Spirit, proclaim the Gospel and Jesus Christ to all people while supporting the work of missions in our church, our community, our country, and the world.
It’s What We Believe statement is mainstream Christian, and I loved the page on Man in Training page, which does reference being black, in the most positive, non-victim way:
Man In Training Pledge
(1) I WILL celebrate the heritage of the strong and wise African-Americans that have come before me and made possible the opportunities that I enjoy today;
(2) I WILL show respect for myself by respecting others and by always treating others the way I would like to be treated;
(3) I WILL be strong enough to not follow the crowd, instead, I will LEAD others by living a life that honors God, my family and myself;
(4) I WILL model integrity in all that I do – if I say it, you can count on it; I am claiming a manhood of accountability and responsibility, building a legacy for all those that will come after me;
(5) I AM, a Man in Training
Now two questions: Will the Obamas make this church their church, and will Obama listen more carefully to what Rev. Hawkins says than he (somehow didn’t) listen to Wright?
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