Bentley, Obama and McCain, Oh My!
Well, I took a week off from ChurchWatch, and what a week it was. While I was away (getting married, by the way for those who have not heard), Todd Bentley announced that he and his wife were filing for separation. Last Friday, the board of Fresh Fire Ministries announced that Todd had "an unhealthy relationship" with a female staff member during the revival. At the same time, Senators Obama and McCain decided to meet with Pastor Rick Warren to talk religion. Oh my!
"We have discovered new information revealing that Todd Bentley has entered into an unhealthy relationship on an emotional level with a female member of his staff," the announcement reads.
The letter, posted on the Fresh Fire Web site, followed another online note three days earlier acknowledging the separation. "Todd and Shonnah Bentley are presently experiencing significant friction in their relationship and are currently separated. We want to affirm that there has been no sexual immorality on the part of either Todd or Shonnah, nor has there ever been."
The news has many inside and outside the Church reeling and many are voicing their opinions. Here are a few worth noting:
"The History and Future of the Present Revival" by Rick Joyner of MorningStar Ministries
"Life After Lakeland: Sorting Out the Confusion" by J. Lee Grady of Charisma Magazine
Whether you loved or loathed Todd Bentley and the Lakeland Revival, now is a time to pray for Todd and his wife, Shonnah. Yes, there are questions that need to be answered. Yes, there are lessons that need to be learned. But the Church must walk in grace and truth, just as Jesus did. To walk only in truth without grace and love is to be a clanging symbol or a noisy gong. Let love be our highest goal, for love never fails.
The Summit at Saddleback
Over the weekend, John McCain and Barack Obama, the presumptive presidential nominees of their respective parties appeared together at Saddleback Church in Orange County, California. The forum was hosted by Pastor Rick Warren who asked each of the candidates the same questions in two separate one-hour sessions.
The main thought on the mind of evangelical Christians was the question of salvation. "What does it mean to you to trust in Christ," Warren asked Senator Obama, "and what does it mean on a daily basis? I mean, what does that really look like?"
"As a starting point, it means I believe in that Jesus Christ died for my sins and that I am redeemed through him," Obama said.
According to CBN News political reporter David Brody, faith is a subject Obama brings up often on the campaign trail but McCain doesn't talk publicly about it much at all.
On Saturday night Warren asked McCain, "You publicly say you are a follower of Christ. What does that mean to you and how does faith work out in your life on a daily basis? What does it mean to you?"
McCain responded "It means I'm saved and forgiven."
Faith and religion has played an interesting and different role in this campaign. This is new ground we're treading on, folks, with Obama's presidential campaign aggressively pursuing the religious vote. According to Time magazine, Senator Obama has a larger and more comprehensive religious outreach operation than any Democrat in history. Other than white Evangelicals, according to an August poll from the Barna Group, Obama leads McCain in every religious demographic — mainline Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Muslims.
But according to Time, those white Evangelicals are key, and so far Obama's support among them is not rising above John Kerry's numbers from 2004.
"One major stumbling block appears to be abortion," writes Time's Amy Sullivan. "Nearly two-thirds of white Evangelicals in a recent TIME poll say they could vote for a candidate whose position on abortion differed from theirs. And many Evangelicals have, like Warren, broadened their agenda of concerns to include issues that should favor Obama like global poverty and the environment. But in practice, abortion continues to be a threshold issue for a large number of Evangelical voters."
Obama last visited Saddleback Church in December, 2006, when he and Kansas Senator Sam Brownback spoke at Warren's annual conference on HIV/AIDS. Senator Brownback opened with a story about how the last time he and Obama shared a stage, it was at a meeting of the NAACP and he didn't receive the most rousing of welcomes. Turning to Obama, he said, "Welcome to my house." The crowd laughed, but when it was Obama's turn, the Democrat had a message for his Republican colleague. "With all due respect, Sam," said Obama, "this is my house, too."
Alan Wisdom, Vice President for Research and Programs at the Institute on Religion and Democracy, commented on the forum. "Each of the three men on stage at Saddleback Church succeeded in his distinct objective. "Rick Warren presented a positive image of evangelicals as concerned about a range of issues, willing to listen to candidates from both parties, and able to address tough issues with civility.
"Barack Obama showed himself to be comfortable among evangelicals, able to appeal to them in a language of faith that they understand. Simply appearing at an evangelical megachurch alongside the GOP candidate was a big gain for Obama.
"John McCain effectively reminded the audience that he has clear conservative positions on a range of issues-from abortion and same-sex marriage to school choice, energy policy, and confronting Islamic extremism-that are much closer to where most evangelicals stand. Obama's more equivocal answers on these questions highlighted the substantive contrast between the candidates. Most evangelicals hold to a conservative political philosophy, and they are likely to end up voting for candidates who share that philosophy."
It will be interesting to watch as the election season unfolds. Here's an example of the Democratic initiative to be inclusive to evangelicals. According to a Democratic National Committee press release, Relevant Magazine founder and CEO Cameron Strang and Florida mega-church pastor Joel Hunter will pray at the Democratic National Convention later this month.
Strang will give the benediction on Monday, August 25 and Hunter will give the benediction on Thursday, August 28.
Here are the rest of the convention evening invocations and benedictions:
Monday, August 25
Invocation: Polly Baca, Catholic, Greeley, CO
Benediction: Cameron Strang, Evangelical, Orlando, FL
Tuesday, August 26
Invocation: Dr. Cynthia Hale, Disciples of Christ, Decatur, GA
Benediction: Revs. Jin Ho Kang and Young Sook Kang, Methodist, Aurora, CO
Wednesday, August 27
Invocation: Archbishop Demetrios, Greek Orthodox, New York, NY
Benediction: Sr. Catherine Pinkerton, Catholic, Cleveland, OH
Thursday, August 28
Invocation: Rabbi David Saperstein, Union for Reform Judaism, Washington, DC
Benediction: Pastor Joel Hunter, Evangelical, Northland, FL
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