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Historical night for this election and the Evangelical community

August 16, 2008 at 7:19 pm, by Rich Kirkpatrick

The Saddleback Civil Forum was historical in the fact that it was this election’s first side-by-side peek at both candidates.  The other historical nature of tonight was in my opinion a very public and noteworthy display of the new Evangelicalism.  No longer is there tolerance in the current generation and younger to divide our churches based upon party or to step inline with the Republican party as a group.

In my church and many that I know, Evangelical Christians are
thoughtful people who have differing opinions about public policy.
Rick Warren brilliantly displayed the new Evangelical ethos.  More of
us are independents and more of us no longer listen to James Dobson or
the old guard where protests and harsh speech were the strategy.

I believe this is historical since it allows us as Christians to have
more thoughtful discussion not just about politics but about our personal
faith.  We need to earn that voice of faith and social justice is not
the only avenue for that–social discourse is as well.

Do you think this is historical, or do you think this was terrible for a church to host?

Categories Current Affairs, Leadership | Tags:

  • http://www.zigzagstraight.blogspot.com Jill

    Absolutely historic, Rich–no question. The sheer fact that CNN is reviewing the content and the context of the conversation makes it historic. I heard the anchor ask a panel of experts their responses to hearing McCain and Obama share “what Christ means to them”. The whole post-show coverage has been uniquely postive and admiring of the forum. To me, this is a huge breakthrough and one Warren and his team should receive kudos for.

  • http://www.garydurbin.blogspot.com Gary Durbin

    I blogged on it as well. This was so refreshing for politics, and I felt like God was in it somehow. I hope people had a positive experience seeing the spirit of the church.

  • http://pmanderson.blogspot.com Matt Anderson

    Historic indeed. Our church had the opportunity to host a political debate,for mayer here in Sacramento, but old views that politics and church don’t mix stopped it. I believe we need to be involved and open to the discussion. The danger comes when a church backs one or the other that is not the place of the local church. It will be interesting to see what Rick actually preaches about tomorrows.

  • http://manofdepravity.com Tyler

    As Rick shared his thought process and the coverage became more wide spread I do definitely think it is historical. Even CNN was talking about a shift in evangelicalism towards a concern about global issues and a desire to reach out to lesser peoples. I’m thankful for Rick, that he used his connections and name power to make a statement for Christianity tonight.

  • http://billychia.com Billy Chia

    I can’t imagine any kind of Christian being upset about this. I’m pretty proud that it took a pastor to get the candidates side by side. The whole thing was brilliant.

  • http://blogsology.wordpress.com Jeff T.

    When so many of the most visible Christian “leaders” are doing things to embarrass the faith, Rick Warren is doing this… and I couldn’t be prouder to be associated with him. He came across as incredibly socially aware, politically savvy, and genuinely more committed to the Kingdom than either political party. His manner was confident, yet humble. This was a lesson, on the national stage, of how Christians should engage the political world. It was all-around great and the best debate/conversation/interview I’ve ever seen during an election season.

  • http://www.calacirian.org sonja

    I didn’t have a chance to see it yet … so I’m hoping there’s going to be a video of it available on the web somewhere. However, I do think this is/was a great step in a positive direction.

  • http://markjaffrey.blogspot.com Mark Jaffrey

    As an impartial international observer and peace-keeper between my democrat and republican friends, I tip my hat to Uncle Rick for pulling off such a ground-breaking political event. I have a feeling that the Holy Spirit played a significant role too.

    Nice work guys.

  • http://thewarningknock.blogspot.com Mark Warnock

    I’m proud of Rick for this. It gives us evangelicals a chance to dig in beneath the superficial layers of the media, and ask questions important to us.

    Why shouldn’t the church be hosting these forums and asking these questions?

  • http://www.fredmckinnon.com Fred F. McKinnon

    Fantastic – dvr’d it and watched it Sunday afternoon … I was amazed.

  • http://www.RaisingUpWorshipLeaders.com Peeter Park

    The churches I have been at have always had strong opinions that they weren’t shy about talking about on the pulpit. This could be a good thing. But we must remember the most important thing is to pray for the next president as Billy Graham did.

  • http://www.sinclair-lee.com tim

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