Associated Baptist Press
January 21, 2009 · (09-9)
David Wilkinson, Executive Director
Robert Marus, Managing Editor/Washington Bureau Chief
Bob Allen, Senior Writer
In this issue
Obama inaugural events bracketed by prayers, controversy, ecumenism (1,281 words)
Multi-racial inaugural throng elated to watch racial barrier crumble (606 words)
CBF leader writes President Obama with 'heartfelt requests' (332 words)
Youth from three denominations celebrate unity at Disney (883 words)
Ethnic missions pioneer Oscar Romo dies (549 words)
Opinion: A humbled nation summons itself (739 words)
Obama inaugural events bracketed by prayers, controversy, ecumenism
By Robert Marus
WASHINGTON (ABP) -- The inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States began Jan. 18 with an invocation and ended Jan. 21 with a benediction. Controversy over religion between those bookend events highlighted America's ongoing give-and-take over the role of faith in political life.
Early in his Jan. 20 inaugural address, Obama alluded to the Apostle Paul's words to the New Testament church at Corinth in a call to more civil discourse and more prudent decision-making.
"On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises -- the recriminations and worn-out dogmas -- that for far too long have strangled our politics," he said.
"We remain a young nation, but -- in the words of Scripture -- the time has come to 'set aside childish things,'" Obama said, quoting First Corinthians 13:11.
A Christian, Obama invoked "God's grace" at the end of his speech, but praising American diversity he acknowledged those of minority faiths as well as secular Americans.
"We know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness," he said. "We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and non-believers."
Atheist groups praised Obama's mention of the non-religious, and it reflected the ecumenical tone of the ceremony and the week's other religious events related to the inauguration.
Obama began the day -- as all presidents have since 1933 -- with a private prayer service at St. John's Episcopal Church, located on Lafayette Square just across from the White House. Speakers included the church's rector, Luis Leon, as well as prominent evangelical pastors T.D. Jakes and Joel Hunter.
Evangelical mega-celebrity Rick Warren began the swearing-in ceremony itself with an invocation. Obama -- who is well-acquainted with Warren -- inspired some controversy for picking the California pastor because Warren supported Proposition 8, the successful ballot initiative that revoked same-sex marriage in the nation's most populous state last year.
Warren offered a prayer that was conciliatory in tone and began on an inclusive note. He quoted the Shema, the most common prayer in Judaism, and also alluded to the Islamic formulation of referring to God, or Allah, as "the compassionate and merciful."
"Almighty God -- our Father. Everything we see, and everything we can't see, exists because of you alone. It all comes from you. It all belongs to you. It all exists for your glory. History is your story," Warren prayed. "The Scripture tells us, 'Hear, Oh Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one.' And you are the compassionate and merciful one. And you are loving to everyone you have made."
Warren ended on a more controversial note, closing his prayer "in the name of the one who changed my life" and referring to the Hebrew, Arabic, Spanish and English names for Jesus. He then led the two million-plus observers in the Lord's Prayer.
Another prayer delivered at an inaugural event garnered almost as much attention as Warren's. The committee in charge of official inaugural activities picked Gene Robinson, the openly gay Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire, to deliver the invocation at the Jan. 18 inaugural kick-off concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The pick pleased gay-rights groups, but angered some conservatives. His intentionally non-sectarian beginning was itself an exercise in trying to strike a balance between civil religion and inclusiveness.
"O God of our many understandings, we pray that you will bless us with tears -- tears for a world in which over a billion people exist on less than a dollar a day, where young women in many lands are beaten and raped for wanting an education, and thousands die daily from malnutrition, malaria, and AIDS," Robinson prayed. He went on to ask God for anger at discrimination, discomfort with simplistic political answers and humility, patience and compassion to fight the battles ahead.
In a preview story on his prayer, Robinson told the New York Times he disagreed with previous inaugural prayers that were exclusive of minority faiths and he would deliver an invocation that was not Christian-specific.
Conservative evangelical critics panned the Robinson pick and his publicly announced decision to make his prayer inclusive. Al Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., posted a blog entry Jan. 14 calling the prayer idolatrous and comparing the controversies over the Warren and Robinson picks.
"These two responses illustrate the depth of the divide over the issue of homosexuality," he said. "Representation is undoubtedly symbolic, but Rick Warren and Gene Robinson represent radically divergent worldviews and incommensurate goals. They are not two very different representatives of one religion. They are instead two very symbolic representatives of two very different religions."
The Jan. 21 Washington National Cathedral prayer service that officially ended the inaugural ceremonies was less controversial. Obama, his wife, Michelle, Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, members of Congress and other dignitaries packed the cavernous Gothic cathedral to lift up the new administration in prayer -- a tradition that dates back to George Washington.
Obama put his stamp on the traditional service, asking a larger and more ecumenical group of religious leaders to speak than those invited in the past. The order of worship -- with hymns such as "Holy, Holy, Holy" and "Great Is Thy Faithfulness," choral presentations and a homily -- followed a traditional Episcopal liturgy, but it also featured prayers and responsive readings by a broad array of Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Hindu leaders.
Christians participating included Otis Moss Jr., recently retired pastor of Olivet Institutional Baptist Church in Cleveland, and Andy Stanley, pastor of North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Ga. Moss' son, Otis Moss III, is the pastor of Obama's former congregation, Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. Stanley is the son of Charles Stanley, the former Southern Baptist Convention president and longtime pastor of First Baptist Church of Atlanta.
The service also featured women prominently. For the first time in the history of the prayer service a woman delivered the sermon. Sharon Watkins, president and general minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), drew on Isaiah 58, where the prophet upbraids the ancient Israelites for keeping holy fasts but denying justice to the poor even as they have just returned from a long period of exile.
"Their joy should be great, but things aren't working out just right," she said. "Their homecoming is more complicated than they expected; not everyone is watching their parade or dancing all night at their arrival."
When the people ask God why, noting that they have kept up their religious rituals, Watkins noted, "Through the prophet, God answers: What fast? You fast only to quarrel and fight and strike with the fist. Is not this the fast that I choose, to loose the bonds of injustice; to share your bread with the hungry and to bring the homeless poor into a house?"
She asked Obama to lead Americans to choose the proper fast.
"In hard financial times, which fast do we chose? The fast that placates our hunkered-down soul, or the fast that reaches out to our brother and sister?" she said. "In times such as these we need you, the leaders of this nation -- all of you. We need you to be guided by the counsel that Isaiah gave so long a go to work for the common good, to work for the public happiness, to work for the well-being of the nation and the world.
"This is the biblical way; it is also the American way -- to look beyond ourselves, to reach out to neighbor, to build communities of common hope, of liberty and justice for all."
Multi-racial inaugural throng elated to watch racial barrier crumble
By Greg Warner
WASHINGTON (ABP) -- "Now I don't have to lie when I tell my children they can do anything," one black father, with tears in his eyes, declared to the celebrants around him on the National Mall the moment Barack Obama took the oath of office as the first African-American president Jan. 20.
Other African Americans -- as well as whites -- who traveled from across the country to participate in the inauguration said it was as much the man as his race that distinguished this day.
Ann Randle, 62, said she didn't think she would live to see a black president. The African-American grandmother made the trip from San Antonio primarily "to see a black take the office and become the 44th president," she said. But she quickly added Obama's race and religion don't matter "if he can do what he says he wants to do."
Four retired white school teachers who said they supported Obama "from the beginning" traveled together from as far away as Syracuse, N.Y., to witness a black man assume the presidency. But the significance was more than race, they said. "It was this black man," said Ann Kreiling of Syracuse. "He could have been green!"
Rod Batiste, an African American and Catholic, drove most of his immediate family from New Orleans, picking up other family members in Atlanta and Richmond, "to witness history" at the Capitol. But, the former Hillary Clinton supporter added, Obama's race "wasn't as important right now" as his policies.
Between 1 million and 2 million people braved frigid morning temperatures and impossibly crowded subways to take their places on the National Mall, most viewing the swearing-in ceremony on a series of massive video screens. Many huddled in blankets and sleeping bags before dawn in order not to miss the historic event, which taxed Washington's mass-transit system beyond its limits.
Revelers interviewed for this story voiced optimism for the freshly minted president, who promised to reinvigorate and reinvent American democracy.
Batiste's hope for the new administration is "to get rid of the divisions that we have."
His 11-year-old daughter had her hopes set even higher. "No more wars," Etienne Batiste said.
"I want to see some health-care reform," added Carlette Stephenson, Rod Batiste's sister, a health-care worker who worked for a while without any health insurance for her family. She now works for a Catholic AIDS ministry.
Obama's Christian faith will aid him by providing "a bigger worldview," Stephenson added. "A good Christian background gives you insight."
The retired teachers from Syracuse "drove all the way down here just for the experience," said Allan Wood. The group had a variety of hopes for Obama.
Wood's wife, Cathy, said she looks forward to the new president "restoring the dignity" of the office. Lydia Rappolt, who housed her three Syracuse friends in her Maryland home, said she wants Obama to "undo the Bush doctrine," the foreign policy that permits pre-emptive war against countries perceived to pose a threat to the United States.
The four teachers said they were "caught up in the moment" of the historic inauguration, which imbued a million-plus observers with jubilation and optimism. The feeling was one of "total joy," said Rappolt.
Four 17-year-old high school students from Toledo, Ohio, who were experiencing their first inauguration were impressed with the spirit of the day.
"I just feel history was being made," said Jessica Serpa.
Being part of that history was "inspiring," Katherine Tylinski. added.
"It was really cool. There was a real sense of unity," said Mariah Riley.
"I feel change in the air," said Camille Duet. "I can feel the wheels if history beginning to move."
Greg Warner is the former executive editor of Associated Baptist Press.
CBF leader writes President Obama with 'heartfelt requests'
By Bob Allen
ATLANTA (ABP) -- Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Executive Coordinator Daniel Vestal sent an Inauguration Day letter congratulating Barack Obama and urging the newly sworn-in president to lead America in building a more civil and just society.
Writing on behalf of the moderate Baptist group of about 1,900 churches, Vestal pledged to pray for Obama, his family and the administration and made three "heartfelt requests" in an open letter distributed Jan. 20.
Vestal asked the president to help "create a cultural ethos that transcends our religious and regional division."
"Many of us believe it is possible to engage one another in serious conversation, even disagreement, without demonizing one another in rancor," Vestal said. "The religious and cultural differences in our society need not be the cause of bitter division. We pledge to do our part, but we need your strong leadership and continued example."
Vestal also called on Obama to "take bold steps to make life better for the poor and powerless."
"You have already made clear that the challenges facing our nation will not be met easily or quickly," he said. "But we ask of you to ask of us to serve and sacrifice so that 'the least of these' among us may have equality and opportunity."
Vestal also asked Obama to "help us realize the fulfillment of Martin Luther King's dream for America as 'a beloved community.'"
"We realize that government can only do so much to bridge the divides among us and eliminate the disparity between us, but we ask for leadership that forges creative partnerships between government and all institutions in our nation to work for the common good and not just for the special interests of some," Vestal said.
"We ask for policies that are fair and compassionate, laws that are just and government officials who fulfill their duties with competence and integrity," Vestal continued. "We ask for accountability and honesty in your administration. We ask for you to tell us the truth, even when it's not politically expedient."
Bob Allen is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.
Youth from three denominations celebrate unity at Disney
By Bob Allen
ORLANDO, Fla. (ABP) -- Youth from three Christian denominations spent Martin Luther King Day Weekend exploring commonalities of their respective faiths through worship, education and community-building activities.
Nearly 2,500 students in grades 6-12, group leaders and chaperones traveled to Orlando, Fla., for the Jan. 16-19 event sponsored by The Presbyterian Church (USA), The Episcopal Church and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.
The gathering is thought to be the only nationwide ecumenical event for youth sponsored at the denominational level.
"This is the only thing we do that brings young people together with people of other denominations," said Brian Prior, a regional youth ministries coordinator for The Episcopal Church.
The tri-denominational gathering featured worship services from each faith perspective. During the Baptist service, for example, Colleen Burroughs, executive vice president of Passport -- a youth camping ministry partner of the CBF -- described distinctive Baptist beliefs like freedom to interpret the Bible and the freedom of local churches to select their own leaders.
Popular Baptist preacher Tony Campolo, professor emeritus at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pa., challenged students to "move from beyond being a believer to becoming a disciple."
"The difference between a believer and a disciple is a believer has it in his head," Campolo said. "A disciple is somebody who is willing to take the dare and hear Jesus say, 'If you would be my disciple, forsake all, take up the cross, follow me.'"
Campolo "dared" students to live lives characterized by prayer, joy and love toward others.
"It's about time we break out of our cultural boxes and recognize that all kinds of people are wonderful, not just the kinds of people that society says are wonderful," Campolo said.
Campolo said being a disciple also involves courage to move beyond what society expects.
"When Christ is in you, you become daring, and you dare to become friends with people who society pushes off to the margins," he said. "You dare to reach out to those that church people have questions about."
Youth studied Bible verses in interdenominational small groups graded by age, including one morning session exploring multiculturalism and faith at Disney's Epcot Theme Park.
Disney's Youth Education Series -- a program for youth groups that uses Disney theme parks as a behind-the-scenes classroom setting for subjects like arts and humanities, leadership development and natural and physical sciences -- modified a regular curriculum about understanding other cultures to allow Passport to add a faith component using Bible verses and discussion questions.
Students at Epcot's Morocco pavilion, for example, learned about similarities between Christianity and Islam, while those at the England pavilion discussed church history including the Protestant Reformation and Anglican Church.
"Cross-cultural dialogue is what we're after," said event coordinator David Burroughs, president of Passport.
Ruth Perkins-Lee, minister of students at Auburn First Baptist Church in Auburn, Ala., edited the faith-based curriculum.
"This was an outstanding weekend of celebrating our uniquenesses while living in our Christian unity," said Bo Prosser, coordinator of congregational life for the Atlanta-based CBF. Prosser termed the Epcot component "a fabulous learning opportunity to look at the effects of world cultures on us."
Stephanie Vance, a small-group leader from First Baptist Church in Madison, Ala., challenged her students to "find out who people are in your world -- who they really are."
Vance said understanding other people better will make it easier for youth to communicate with people who have different cultures or beliefs.
"It's been a great weekend," Vance said "I think it is going to make a real difference in them."
Bill Roark, a youth ministry worker at First Baptist Church in Asheville, N.C., said learning how other Christians worship helped youth "realize that all three denominations serve the same God."
Carol Ann Hoard, minister of students and activities at First Baptist Church in Shelby, N.C., said she enjoyed being in a small group with members of her own youth group, where she got to know them better.
"Waiting in line to ride rides gave me a chance to have that one-on-one time that I don't normally have with the youth," Hoard said.
Students asked to describe the weekend used terms like "great" and "awesome."
This was the second Faith in 3-D event. The first, held in 2006, grew out of friendships Burroughs made with other youth leaders while representing the CBF on the Ecumenical Youth Ministries Staff Team of the National Council of Churches.
The Episcopal and Presbyterian churches assigned paid staff to a task force that planned the gathering. Not having a full-time staff member assigned to youth, the CBF asked David Woody, minister of faith development at Providence Baptist Church in Charleston, S.C., to participate.
"My role has been making sure that CBF had a voice in what was going on," said Woody, the only minister who works in a local church included on the planning team.
Prior, rector of Episcopal Church of the Resurrection in Spokane, Wash., said one goal is for youth to build on their ecumenical relationships by working together with other youth groups in their local communities on mission projects like Habitat for Humanity.
The CBF sponsored Faith in 3-D through its Congregational Life Team. "I am grateful for visionary partners like Passport who continue to provide quality spiritual formation events," Prosser said. "It was a great weekend."
Bob Allen is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.
Ethnic missions pioneer Oscar Romo dies
By Bob Allen
CUMMING, Ga. (ABP) -- Oscar Romo, a pioneer in starting ethnic Southern Baptist churches, died Jan. 16 from complications related to Parkinson's disease.
Romo, 79, worked for the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, forerunner to today's North American Mission Board, from 1965 until his retirement in 1995. He challenged the conventional wisdom that the United States is a "melting pot," viewing the country instead as a national "mosaic" blending various peoples, cultures, languages and perspectives.
"It is said that America is a melting pot where the English language is the 'language' and the 'Anglo' (European) culture is superior," Romo wrote in a 1993 book, American Mosaic Church Planting in Ethnic America. "In reality, there are 500 ethnic groups who daily speak 636 languages of which 26 are considered major languages."
While the SBC, the nation's second-largest faith group behind Catholics, is predominantly white, most of the denomination's growth in recent decades has been among ethnic groups. Of 1,455 new churches started in 2007, more than half were ethnic or African-American. Out of 44,696 Southern Baptist congregations, according to NAMB, 9,338 are classified as non-Anglo.
Ed Stetzer, president of LifeWay Research, said Romo "helped Southern Baptists grow beyond our roots to embrace men and women from 'every tongue, tribe, and nation.'"
"His passion for what we now call 'people groups' helped our churches value and engage in ethnic ministry," Stetzer said. "Today, when we see that a majority of SBC church plants are non-Anglo, we know that Oscar Romo is a big part of that growth."
By focusing on intentional church planting efforts targeting specific people groups, Romo was at the forefront of strategy now used by Southern Baptist missionaries around the world.
Romo's former boss, retired Home Mission Board President Larry Lewis, called him "not only a dear friend but an outstanding missions leader."
"He more than anyone else helped Southern Baptists break from the 'cocoon' of white, mostly Southern, homogeneous culture into the most ethnically diverse denomination in America," Lewis said. "He was a great strategist and had the ability to train and motivate others in the effective implementation of strategy. His family, friends, Southern Baptists and the Kingdom will all miss him."
Claude Mariottini, professor of Old Testament at Northern Baptist Theological Seminary in Lombard, Ill., was one of hundreds of young leaders recruited by Romo to study, train and serve in ethnic ministries. Today many ethnic Baptists hold leadership positions in the SBC.
"Oscar Romo had a vision for ethnic evangelism and he believed that educated leaders could make a difference in the Southern Baptist Convention," Mariottini said. "[He] leaves a great legacy behind. This legacy is present in the lives of leaders he trained and in the ministries of the many churches he helped organize."
Romo is survived by his wife, Merry Purvis Romo of Cumming, Ga.; a son, Nelson Romo of Arlington, Texas; a daughter, Miriam Romo Reynolds of Cumming, Ga; three grandchildren and a son-in-law. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Zoe, in 1991.
Romo was a member of Johns Creek Baptist Church in Alpharetta, Ga., where his funeral was held Jan. 19.
In lieu of flowers the family suggested donations to the Contextualized Leadership Development Center at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in Mill Valley, Calif.
Bob Allen is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.
Opinion: A humbled nation summons itself
By David Gushee
(ABP) -- It was a humbled but hopeful America on display Tuesday in Washington. Staggered by economic crisis, wearied by two long, unresolved wars and damaged in its confidence and character, our nation summoned itself on Tuesday to enter a new era by drawing on older traditions and values that have carried us through our 233-year history.
Barack Obama was the central figure in yesterday's national summoning, but all participants in the drama at the Capitol struck similar notes. It was a day of looking forward by looking back.
If there was a shared narrative visible in Rick Warren's invocation, the oaths of office, the music, President Obama's address and Joseph Lowery's benediction, it began with a somber recognition that we are now in trouble -- economically, internationally and morally.
Warren's prayer alluded to our selfishness, our petty infighting and our failure to treat others and the earth (in a nice nod to creation care) with proper respect.
Obama noted how greed, irresponsibility and a failure to make hard choices have put us in a bad place economically, and called us to get past our conflicts, petty grievances, recriminations and worn out ideologies and dogmas. He also clearly rejected the needless sacrifice of American and humane values for expediency's sake in national security policy over the last seven years.
Lowery referred to our national brokenness and the need for a mending of our wounds.
The shared narrative included common appeal to foundational national values and virtues. I heard references both to shared political values such as liberty, equality and justice, and virtues such as compassion, respect, generosity, integrity and courage.
There were many references to the kind of spiritual and interpersonal posture that makes right relations possible with our neighbors: humility, civility, inclusion and tolerance. And several speakers referred to the classic theological virtues of faith, hope and love.
America's civil religion was on display, and undoubtedly the many references to God (and Jesus) were uncomfortable for some. But on the whole the "God-talk" of this inaugural worship service (which is basically what it was, a worship service) was constructive.
God was not invoked as a kind of national deity who automatically sides with chosen, almighty America. He was not aligned with our national power, as if (as in pagan times and so often in our own) the most powerful nation gets to claim the most powerful god.
Instead, language about God was used to remind listeners that God is sovereign and we are not. We were told that God is compassionate and merciful, that God commands that all people be treated with fairness and respect, and that the mark of a righteous nation is justice, health and opportunity for all as well as humility and restraint in its international affairs.
Warren's prayer included the cautionary note that all people and nations will stand accountable before God, a note that if taken seriously must have humbled and focused the hearts of the powerful men and women gathered on that platform.
This shared narrative -- after naming our situation of crisis, calling on our foundational values and offering a religious vision rooted in a transcendent rather than domesticated God -- moved on to suggest the kinds of behaviors required of Americans at this particular moment.
Here the new president played the lead role. He emphasized the need for national maturity ("we must put aside childish things"), hard work, shared sacrifice, risk-taking and inventiveness. He asked us to make hard, pragmatic decisions leading to vast improvements in our health care system, schools, energy use and government execution of its responsibilities. He asked for "a new era of responsibility" as together we "dust ourselves off and begin again the work of remaking America."
As for the very fact that a dark-skinned man named Barack Hussein Obama, of black African father and white American mother, was the one leading America into its next stage -- after a while this staggering fact begins to recede.
We did it. We broke the color line. It's amazing, it's wonderful, and it's done.
Now we need this man, and his executive branch team, and the Congress, and the business sector, and religious leaders, and cultural figures, and academicians, and nonprofit leaders, and auto workers, and state government officials, and schoolteachers, and parents, and everyone else, to just be their best selves and do their best work and together lead this nation out of the mess it's in.
-- David Gushee is distinguished university professor of Christian ethics at Mercer University.
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