Too much for Obama

Well, given my previously-stated opinion, I was a bit disappointed this weekend when I heard the news that Barack Obama has withdrawn his membership from Trinity UCC in Chicago. It's understandable, but sad, that this would be the next logical move.

Here are a few reflections from the Methoblogosphere...

Jeremy Smith: Did we just drive our future President from Church?
Steve Heyduck: Even when Wright is Wrong
Ben Simpson: Obama Resigns Church Membership

There are more, but these three are a good start.

Switching topics completely now, here's a bit from Eric Kieb that I like to call "Receiving Communion: Ur Doin It Wrong." (Y'all, for future reference, the appropriate response is "Amen.")

Comments

[Spencer]

Given that Amy is referencing a previous blog entry that includes a pretty impressive firestorm in the comments, I'll try to say something helpful, but ask in advance for your forebearance if I fail...

I have seen sound bites of Wright's sermons interspersed with (what I thought were very cool) video clips of a multiracial group of people drumming in a worship service, on TV monitors as I walked through airports.

That's everything I know about Trinity UCC when Obama was a member, and my limited experience from the African-American preaching tradition is that if you want to know what the preacher said, you probably can't know that in a sound bite that's less than five minutes long, so I'm not going to express an opinion about what goes on at Trinity UCC, because I just don't have the background.

I am thinking that I'm hearing from a lot of people who think that church="a place where you go to listen to sermons", not "a thing that you do". If church is a place where you go to listen to sermons ... yeah, sure, you should leave every time your pastor is confused, beause your pastor is fumbling the thing that matters.

If church is a thing you do, there may be more going on than just sermons, even if that's what makes it into sound bites.

My father is dying - probably within weeks. He's also a member of my church. People - from retirees to high school students - are praying for us, encouraging us, and visiting my father in the hospital. My pastor asked me if there was anything he could do for us, and until last night, the answer was "gee, just pray for us, because we are swimming in a sea of Methodist hugs from the rest of your congregation".

Last night, we started talking about planning my father's funeral, and I'm punting that to my pastor, but for the biggest issue in my life for the past three years, I wouldn't have left my church home if my pastor had been preaching in a tinfoil hat every week.

If he preaches this coming Sunday in a tinfoil hat, I'll probably still be a member of the same congregation on Monday.

There probably have been some relevant points on each side of the public discussion about Trinity UCC over the past couple of months, but if there's anything about that discussion that I thought was helping to proclaim the good news, I can't think of what it is, right now.

So I am saddened that it might be better for you and for your faith community for you to separate yourself from your faith community when you're running for office.

Thanks,

Spencer