Faith and Action president Rev. Rob Schenck traveled this week to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to launch the second phase of “Kids for Christ-mas at the Capitol.” Long-time friend and Nevada businessman David Hensey, a member of the Faith and Action board of trustees, accompanied him.

“Kids for Christ-mas at the Capitol” is Faith and Action’s effort to recruit Wyoming school-age children through Sunday schools, youth groups and other ministries to participate in this year’s state-wide “Wyoming: Forever West” U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree.

Each year a Christmas tree is displayed on the famous West Lawn of the US Capitol. A different state is chosen each year to contribute the tree from one of its national forests. This year’s honor was awarded to Wyoming and the tree will come from the Bridger-Teton National Forest near Jackson Hole, where Faith and Action has many supporters.

The Forest Service recommends six to eight trees for selection. However, the Architect of the Capitol makes the final selection and determines which tree will be the official U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree. It is estimated the tree selected will be approximately 60 feet tall, about equal to a six-story building.

An additional 75 companion trees will be delivered to the Capitol and placed in federal offices, congressional and senate offices, as well as the United State Supreme Court.

A second part of the official U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree program is an invitation to school age children to contribute thousands of hand-made ornaments to adorn it and the companion trees. While all decorations must respect the particular state’s overall theme, until recently religious or biblical content was disallowed. After Faith and Action and other groups expressed concern over the policy, Architect of the Capitol Stephen Ayers lifted the restriction.

As a result of the new policy, Faith and Action is encouraging kids in Jackson Hole and surrounding areas to make ornaments reflecting the true meaning of the Christmas season. All the leaders and members of Congress, together with hundreds of thousands of tourists, will view the ornaments on the trees. Ornaments not selected for the main tree on the West Lawn will be placed on trees inside the congressional office buildings.

“Churches and civic leaders in Jackson Hole responded enthusiastically to this challenge,” said Rev. Schenck. “They really got the importance of this unique opportunity. It could be half a century before Wyoming is picked again. This is a rare window in time when children can help restore a Christian witness in the nation’s capital city.”

General information on the criteria for making and submitting ornaments can be found at www.CapitolChristmasTree2010.org.

The question about Barack Obama’s religious identity has been asked and answered before, but not to a lot of people’s satisfaction.

By Rev. Rob Schenck, Missionary to Capitol Hill, Washington, DC

“I am a Christian, and I am a devout Christian. I believe in the redemptive death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I believe that that faith gives me a path to be cleansed of sin and have eternal life. But most importantly, I believe in the example that Jesus set by feeding the hungry and healing the sick and always prioritizing the least of these over the powerful. I didn’t ‘fall out in church’ as they say, but there was a very strong awakening in me of the importance of these issues in my life. I didn’t want to walk alone on this journey. Accepting Jesus Christ in my life has been a powerful guide for my conduct and my values and my ideals.” – Barack Obama

From Q&A: Barack Obama, Christianity Today Online, January 23, 2008

A recent survey by the renowned Pew Research Center published last week re-ignited the public conversation about Barack Obama and his religious beliefs. That report, from as close to a neutral source as I can think of, indicated, “A substantial and growing number of Americans say that Barack Obama is a Muslim.” The controversy over a planned Islamic center and mosque near the Ground Zero site in New York has added considerable interest to the question of Mr. Obama’s religious sensibilities and sensitivities.

As I travel the country speaking in churches, conferences and conventions, I am frequently asked this question. While it’s not really possible for me to answer (because only Mr. Obama truly knows what he believes), I do venture my best opinion based on what I know of him publicly and privately. I’ll reiterate that opinion after I give you some background on how I arrive at it.

First, I took a great interest in Barack Obama’s religious beliefs, opinions and attitudes before he even indicated his interest in running for president. I knew him as a US Senator and had explored his background during his US Senate race. In the interest of full disclosure, I backed Alan Keyes in that contest, so I viewed Obama as I would any challenger to a favored candidate. Still, I found his personal story interesting, complicated and even intriguing.

The Muslim part of Mr. Obama’s background was what first grabbed my attention, because even before his senate race, I had already actively engaged Muslims on a religious and cultural level. Just four months after the September 11 attacks, I had hosted a C-SPAN televised panel on Christian Muslim Relations. Three years before Mr. Obama announced his presidential candidacy, I was a delegate to a formal dialogue with Muslim leaders in the North African nation of Morocco. I also hosted a series of reciprocal visits from Moroccan Muslim leaders to the United States. I have traveled to several Islamic countries and I maintain a close friendship with a high-level diplomat from an Islamic Kingdom. Through my work on the board of the Institute on Religion and Public Policy (IRPP), I have met the ambassadors and other diplomats of nearly all the Islamic countries represented in Washington. (On a side note, my identical twin brother, the Reverend Paul Schenck, personally knows the primary organizer of the so-called “Ground Zero Mosque,” Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, and we have talked frequently about the Islamic cleric.) Finally, on a very personal note, I have a Muslim married into my own immediate family. All this is to say that Islam, in its varied forms, is of far more than academic interest to me.

Back to Mr. Obama: Not only was—and is—his Muslim history of interest to me, but his Christian history is even more so. As soon as his presidential candidacy was rumored in the media, I sent a paid research assistant to Chicago to explore Mr. Obama’s then church of membership, The Trinity United Church of Christ, and its pastor at the time, the Reverend Dr. Jeremiah Wright. I would later talk personally with Dr. Wright when he addressed the National Press Club in Washington. While my researcher was doing her work, I read both of Mr. Obama’s books, Dreams of My Father and The Audacity of Hope (the title of which was borrowed from a sermon by Dr. Wright.) What I discovered through all of this was fascinating and helped me to form what I believe is a well-considered opinion on Mr. Obama’s religious identity.

A final note before I tell you what I think. As most of my readers know, I am an Evangelical Christian by personal faith, by training and by my professional credentials as a member of the clergy. I hold degrees in Bible, theology and Christian ministry and I’m currently in a doctoral program in strategic church leadership. I sit on the board of the Evangelical Church Alliance International and serve as chairman of its Committee on Church and Society. All this will factor, too, into my assessment.

Here is my opinion in brief: Mr. Obama is not a Muslim, but he is also not a “devout Christian.”

I’ll explain my assertions more completely.

I don’t think Mr. Obama is a Muslim because a Muslim could never—and would never—make public statements that he is a Christian. Saying so would violate not only cultural practice and / or personal religious compunction, it is forbidden by Islamic tenets of faith and by religious law. For a Muslim to proclaim himself a Christian for political or any other reasons, would not only alienate him from virtually all fellow Muslims, but would likely garner him a death warrant from the tiny minority of violent extremists in the Muslim world. A Muslim of any kind—including the odd notion of a “secret Muslim” –would certainly not speak to the media of accepting “Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior,” as Mr. Obama has done.

There are other good reasons for determining that Mr. Obama is not a Muslim: Neither his mother, who was the dominant biological parent to him, nor her parents, who were his surrogate parents, were ever Muslim. In fact, for the most part, they were completely non-religious and perhaps even anti-religious. (His mother, though baptized as an infant in a Christian church, rejected organized religion as an adult and adhered to an idiosyncratic “New-Age-like” spirituality.) The young Obama’s biological father was, for most of his life, a non-practicing Muslim, and his short-term stepfather was mostly a nominal Muslim whose revolutionary political motivations appear to have been far greater than any religious impulses he may have had.

From everything I can determine, Barack Obama’s young life was shaped inside a mélange of religious beliefs, practices, cultures and opinions, most of them superficial and skeptical. As he matured, he seems to have developed a disinterested “universalism” that allowed for an impersonal God or spiritual force of some kind, but one that didn’t command much need for attention, at least from him. Then, when he entered politics, he discovered the Black Church and its importance in social organization. He was witnessed to by Black preachers, lectured a few times by them and finally adjured by them to join a church if he was going to get anything done in Chicago. This led him to the Trinity United Church of Christ and to his eventual tempestuous relationship to Dr. Wright. In a speech given in Hartford, Connecticut in 2007, Mr. Obama spoke about hearing the pastor preach,

“[H]e introduced me to someone named Jesus Christ. I learned that my sins could be redeemed. I learned that those things I was too weak to accomplish myself, He would accomplish with me if I placed my trust in Him. And in time, I came to see faith as more than just a comfort to the weary or a hedge against death, but rather as an active, palpable agent in the world and in my own life. It was because of these newfound understandings that I was finally able to walk down the aisle of Trinity one day and affirm my Christian faith. It came about as a choice, and not an epiphany. I didn’t fall out in church, as folks sometimes do. The questions I had didn’t magically disappear. The skeptical bent of my mind didn’t suddenly vanish. But kneeling beneath that cross on the South Side, I felt I heard God’s spirit beckoning me. I submitted myself to His will, and dedicated myself to discovering His truth and carrying out His works.”

These are not the words of a Muslim—even a duplicitous one. Neither, though, are they necessarily the words of a born-again, Bible-believer—nor even of a convinced and well-initiated convert to another Orthodox expression of Christianity. What this “testimony” is to me is a sincere conveyance of a “spiritual” or perhaps more “emotional” awakening to religious sensibilities, but, very importantly, within a definite “liberal” Christian context. The United Church of Christ is a classically liberal denomination that eschews the idea that the Bible, or indeed any doctrinal or dogmatic authority, is final or absolute in any way. Religious beliefs are never rigid, but are instead fungible; they may be freely questioned, rejected, modified, exchanged or replaced at any time. Of course, no religious group is absolutely without their absolutes, and that’s certainly true of the pastor under whom Barack Obama made his decision to become a Christian and to join a church. Dr. Wright confided in me one of his own apparent absolutes. In doing so, he also indicated Barack Obama had broken this rule, leading to at least the pastor’s exasperation with the President, if not a measure of disdain for him. (Our conversation, which took place in a very public setting, still had a sort of implied confidentiality, so I’ll keep the details to myself!)

All this is to say that while the President continues to self-identify as a Christian, he does so in the loosest way. He retains an air of skepticism about religion; he holds a universalist philosophy (there are many roads to God and to salvation); his church attendance is sporadic (though on Easter Sunday this year he did kneel with his family at the altar of a Bible-preaching church to receive Holy Communion—something a Muslim would never, ever do!); and he still appears ill-at-ease in religious settings, as I witnessed at this year’s National Prayer Breakfast.

What is Barack Obama religiously? The answer is a bit difficult to nail down because, I believe, the President wants it to be somewhat ambiguous. He does have a Muslim history and Muslim family members; he does have a Muslim name and he wants to build strong relationships with the Muslim world. He does not believe that Christianity is the only way to God and to salvation, and he is by nature a religious skeptic. He does not believe America is a “Christian nation,” but instead a religiously neutral country open to all religions and that disfavors none. In a sense, he is keeping all his options open.

Barring a miracle (and I certainly believe in miracles), don’t expect Barack Obama to stand up to the microphone and say, “Jesus Christ is my personal Lord and Savior and is the only way to heaven. I urge every American to repent of your sins, surrender your life to Jesus and put your trust only in Him.” That would not describe the President’s concept of Christianity.

Barring an even more bizarre turn of events, don’t expect him to stand up and declare “Allah akbar” either. Mr. Obama’s embrace of homosexuality as a morally legitimate lifestyle is enough to preclude that, and his advocacy of full and equal rights for women would be a huge problem in most of the Islamic world, to say nothing of the abortion question, which would also be problematic. Islam, and its absolutes, including many moral tenets it shares with much of Christianity and Judaism, are huge problems for the liberal ex-United Church of Christ member.

I don’t believe Mr. Obama is a Muslim, but I don’t think he’s a seriously devout Christian either–in that way, he fits in with so many other world leaders. The rare head of state that stands up and unequivocally declares Jesus Christ as the only hope of humanity and repentance and faith toward Him as the only way to heaven is a rare leader indeed, and remains one of those elusive miracles we all pray will happen—maybe even here in America!

Elena Kagan is sworn-in at Supreme Court by Chief Justice John Roberts (r).

Just as Cheryl and I were packing up to leave our apartment in Washington, DC, to head for the airport to fly to our other apartment in Seattle, Washington, there was commotion across the street. I glanced at my watch and figured out what it was–guests were arriving at the Supreme Court for the private swearing-in of Elena Kagan as the 112th justice. As you know by now, Justice Kagan was confirmed by the US Senate last Thursday by a vote of 63-37.

I get a lot of questions these days about what this means for us–that is, for Faith & Action. What it means is that there is a new person we are now called to minister to. Think of it like a pastor who is asked, “Now that so-and-so has visited your church, what will you do?” The answer should be simple: “Everything we do for everyone else.” In other words, Justice Kagan becomes one of our “spiritual charges.” We will pray for her, seek to reach out to her to build an affable and respectful relationship with her, and stand by to meet whatever other needs we can. That’s our call from God.

Because of the paramount role of the High Court in federal government (as a co-equal branch with the Legislative–Congress–and the Executive–the President), it’s hard to see the actual members of the Court for what they are–fellow human beings. We tend to think of people in high government office as either caricatures portrayed by the media, or as supra-human–or even sub-human automatons that either rescue us or wreak havoc on our lives. In the ten years that I’ve been visiting the Supreme Court, I’ve gotten another perspective on its nine members. They are each surprisingly “normal.” They are real people–with real lives. Now, don’t get me wrong, they are–well–let’s say–unusual people of an unusual accomplishment, but they are none-the-less human. Just about everything you have experienced in your life, they have each experienced in theirs. They’ve known joy and sorrow, achievement and disappointment, love and hatred, pride and embarrassment, gain and loss. In my personal conversations with the justices, I find them in every way like anyone else I’ve dealt with in any other place.

That’s why when people ask what the change in the Court means for me, I often light-heartedly say, “Nothing.” Now, I know people are worried about the direction the Court may take on critically important issues, particularly those having to do with the dignity and value of human life, the sacredness of marriage as between a man and woman, and our paramount First Amendment constitutional rights. These are legitimate and understandable concerns–and ones that I share–but I let our legal scholars comment  on all that. My first responsibility is as “a minister to elected and appointed officials in Washington, DC” and that means if God requires me to speak His Word and communicate His Gospel to the Anti-Christ, I’ll do it with His love as I would for anyone else.

Elena Kagan is a complex person with an interesting history, but what’s most important to me is that she is, indeed, a person. My two favorite verses in the Bible are also two of the most simple: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life,” (John 3:16) and “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (1 John 4:8) My first challenge will be to relate to Elena Kagan through the medium of God’s Love that will become, prayerfully, my own for her as a fellow human being. As an expression of that love, I hope to share with her the Truth that can set her free–along with all those whose lives she will affect in her new role.

If you’re interested in the human side of the justices, I highly recommend the recent autobiography by Justice Clarence Thomas, My Grandfather’s Son: A Memoir. I don’t often cry when I read, but I did reading Justice’s Thomas’s terribly frank, very human story. I also laughed out loud, and even said, “Amen” a few times. It is a deeply moving gut-level-honest story you will want to pass along to others. Of all the experiences I’ve had in Washington–meeting two presidents–praying with leaders of Congress–doing the Larry King show–the most memorable and meaningful was an arm-in-arm walk around the Capitol with Justice Thomas. I saw his truly human side.

Please pray for our fellow human beings on the High Court: Chief Justice John Roberts, newly seated Associate Justice Elena Kagan and her colleagues, Associate Justices Samuel Alito, Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia, Sonia Sotomayor and Clarence Thomas. Your prayers, expressed in love, is the most effective thing you can do.

This morning I was in the prayer garden behind our ministry center praying about yesterday’s ruling by a federal judge redefining marriage in California. I was also interceding for our US senators as they prepare to vote this afternoon on President Obama’s nominee to the US Supreme Court, Elena Kagan. (I’ll be in the Senate chamber this afternoon when they cast their final votes whether to confirm her appointment or not.) I hope you view my video update below.

For now, though, I’d like to share with you what came to me as I read Psalm 75 during my prayer time: Even in what is surely a frustrating and discouraging time for many (maybe even a maddening time), there is still reason to be thankful. Take a minute and read this Psalm with me:

Psalm 75

¹ We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks!
For Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near.

² “When I choose the proper time,
I will judge uprightly.

³ The earth and all its inhabitants are dissolved;
I set up its pillars firmly.  Selah

⁴ “I said to the boastful, ‘Do not deal boastfully,’
And to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up the horn.

⁵ Do not lift up your horn on high;
Do not speak with a stiff neck.’”

⁶ For exaltation comes neither from the east
Nor from the west nor from the south.

⁷ But God is the Judge:
He puts down one,
And exalts another.

⁸ For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup,
And the wine is red;
It is fully mixed, and He pours it out;
Surely its dregs shall all the wicked of the earth
Drain and drink down.

⁹ But I will declare forever,
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.

¹⁰ “All the horns of the wicked I will also cut off,
But the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.”

God’s Word here makes it clear: No matter what happens, it doesn’t escape God’s knowledge or superintendency. God is sovereign over the world He created–and nothing can frustrate Him. The Psalmist can give thanks and praise even when things aren’t going right because He knows God’s will always prevails. “But God is the Judge. He puts down one, And exalts another.” (Verse 7) We get what we deserve; He gets what He wants. No one should be proud or boastful about the ways things turn out, because He’ll change them in a heartbeat! (See verse 10.)

Discouragement, frustration, fear and even anger are natural human responses to things when we don’t understand everything that’s going on, but we can take heart in that God knows everything. As our own American Founders called Him in the Declaration of Independence, He is “the Supreme Judge of the World.” God knows what is happening and why He has allowed it. That should leave us declaring with the Psalmist, “I will declare forever, I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.”

More commentary to follow . . .

Watch my video on this:

Encouragement from God\’s Word on developments in federal courts

Rob +

As an itinerate preacher (without a local church assignment), I have traveled preaching in other ministers’ pulpits for over 25 years. I stopped counting after I had visited over 1000 different congregations–that was a long time ago. These days I’m out about two Sundays a month–sometimes more–bringing a message consistent with our mission here in Washington, DC. During the last six weeks, I spoke in six very different churches, in six very different cities, in four very different states. And that doesn’t count addressing soon-to-be ministers at the commencement of my own alma mater, Faith Seminary, in Tacoma, Washington–and hundreds of pastors, ministry directors and chaplains at the annual conference of the Evangelical Church Alliance in Ft. Mitchell, Kentucky. Our own National Clergy Council, a component of Faith and Action in the Nation’s Capital, includes member clergy from Catholic, Evangelical, Orthodox and Protestant traditions. So, in the course of any year, I’m in churches and with ministers from every denomination and no denomination at all.

This is one of the side benefits of what I do, and it’s a magnificent one. I get to see and experience the Church in all it’s shapes and forms; the Body of Christ “at large” in all of its varied expressions. There was a time when some would not keep company with others. A Baptist minister once told me there was a time in his life when, if he walked into a restaurant and saw a Catholic priest sitting in there, he would walk out. He didn’t even want to be seen in the same place with a “papist.” Today, that same Baptist minister regularly prays with and works alongside one of the most prominent Catholic priests in America. Why? Because he discovered that he needed the priest and the priest needed him. These are terribly challenging days for Christians–as all of time has really been since the Day of Pentecost, when very different kinds of people first discovered something very important:

“Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. Utterly amazed, they asked: ‘Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs-we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!’” (Acts 2:5-11)

When the focus was on God, the cultural and language differences melted away. They heard them “declaring the wonders of God” in their own languages. It was a miracle–and one that taught a lesson. These very different people were united by their acknowledgement of the One, True God. When our focus is in the right place, the differences aren’t so important. In fact, our unlikely unity in “declaring the wonders of God” is a miracle that proves His reality.

When I’m out in the churches–humble little country churches and sophisticated mega-churches–elaborate cathedrals and simple auditoriums–quiet and reserved, loud and raucous–very poor and very wealthy–my faith in the wonder-working power of God is strengthened and my resolve to do His work is reset.

Here’s to ALL our churches–God bless, use and multiply each one!

Rob +

“Jesus wept.” – John 11:35

Last night I watched an Air Force major general with a rack of ribbons on his chest that could be seen from space openly weep in front of a room full of military personnel and church leaders. It was unusual to say the least. I know, military men and women experience the same emotions as any of us–it’s just I’m not used to seeing them exhibit those emotions in public.

What was the occasion? That made it even more unusual . . .

The emoter was Chaplain (Maj.Gen.) Cecil Richardson, and he’s an American hero. Now the Air Force Chief of Chaplains, Chaplain Richardson addressed conferees of our Evangelical Church Alliance meeting in Ft. Mitchell, KY. He spoke about his 33-year career. He told us how he had ministered to the fallen, his own uniform soaked in blood. He described carrying human remains over his shoulder. He recounted the death notice visits to wives, husbands, parents, whole families, but he was rather matter-of-fact about those things. It was when he talked about his own love for God and for the the men and women under his charge that he broke. Several times the otherwise well-presented and extraordinarily articulate, dynamic communicator had to pause to collect himself.

OK, we all know that men have a tougher time emoting than their female counterparts, but a guy an immaculate haircut, in a crisp uniform, patten leather shoes, and that chest-full of extra weight could be given even more space to be stoic.

Not this one. Like the Lord Jesus the Major General serves, he wept.

Thank you Chaplain Major General Cecil Richardson for what you do in service to our God and to our men and women in uniform. And thank you even more for your tears–and for your courage in displaying them to a room full of strangers last night.

Rob +

A general weeps as he talks about the God he loves and the men and women he serves.

There’s a lot of talk about the upcoming wedding of Chelsea Clinton. On July 31, the former First Daughter will marry Marc Mezvinsky, who was raised in Conservative Judaism, the sort of middle branch between the very liberal Reformed and very strict Orthodox. Still, Conservative Jews are serious about their faith and most keep kosher homes. Conservative rabbis are officially forbidden from officiating at mixed-religion marriages, though plenty break the rule without penalty. So, the big questions are: Is Mezvinsky observant? Will a rabbi officiate? Will it be a “Jewish Wedding?” (Though that last question may be self-cancelling, since the conventional definition of a “Jewish Wedding” is that two Jewish people are being married.) And, the big one, of course: Will Chelsea Clinton convert to Judaism to make a Jewish Clinton-Mezvinsky house and home? (Not to mention progeny?)

This is very interesting to me for two reasons: One, what a possible Chelsea Clinton conversion to observant Judaism could portend–and–because this drama factors into my own life story.

First on the portent of a young Clinton conversion: Conservative Judaism, for all its often self-proclaimed and oxymoronic (but always ostensible) “progressivism,” remains at its core a Torah observant (strict Books of Moses-based) brand of the Old Religion. In all but a few Conservative synagogues, a minyan–or group of ten men–must be achieved as a quorum for prayer to take place. Again, in virtually all communities, tallis (prayer shawls) and kippot (skull caps) are still reserved for men. (Although there is a slow change taking place toward full gender integration, even in regalia.) Inter-religious marriages are also (technically) forbidden, although that’s changing, too. In any case, Conservative Judaism is, indeed, at least at its core, conservative. That makes a prospective Conservative Jewish Chelsea–scion of liberal icons Bill and Hillary–a very interesting subject. Would such a conversion indicate a repudiation of her parents’ social, moral and religious “progressivism?”  Hmm . . .

On the personal side, I know what all these questions mean for a couple. It’s part of my family story. My father, who came from all three streams of Judaism–an Orthodox wing, Conservative wing and a Reformed wing–married my mother who was born gentile, baptized Catholic and raised nominal Episcopalian. My father’s family threatened to boycott the wedding unless Mom converted to Judaism–which she did. By the time my brother and I came along, Mom was “kosher” and we were raised with full Jewish identities, including Hebrew names. Then, after my brother and I made public professions of Christian faith in our late teens–and my mother did  the same a short time later–we were tossed back into the maelstrom. Dad was furious and crushed–the first time I saw him cry. Mom was sort of on the outs again–at least temporarily. When I announced my engagement to a gentile (my very non-Jewish, Scandinavian, Protestant-born and baptized Cheryl), questions were raised on whether or not extended family members would attend our wedding. (They did.) Of course, Cheryl and I did what we could to acknowledge the full spectrum of religious sensibilities among our guests: We were married under a chuppa (traditional Jewish canopy) by a Messianic Rabbi and a minister (who was African-American), received Holy Communion–but also shattered the glass with my foot at the pronouncement of the blessing, “L’shana ha-ba-ah b’yerushalayim.” (Next year in Jerusalem!) In the end, everyone seemed happy.

What I like about the buzz surrounding the Clinton-Mezvinsky marriage is the fact that questions of religion are right in the middle of it. In my estimation, that’s a good thing–even if all the wrong answers are eventually given. Bring religion into the conversation and someone’s mind–someone’s conscience–maybe even someone’s soul–will inevitably be awakened.

For the first time, I’d like to be a gawker at this celebrity nuptial day!

Mazel tov Marc and Chelsea!

Rob +

Sorry to see the “Y” change it’s name to, well . . . “The Y.” Sounds insignificant, but it’s not. According to Neil Nicoll, president and CEO of YMCA of the USA, the new single letter brand reflects, among other things, that the Y is “inclusive.” That could be a good thing, but then again . . . could it be a hint the YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association) is distancing itself from its rich religious history?

A quick check will show the organization was clearly founded to strengthen the Christian convictions of young men. At the first international convention of independent YMCA’s, held in Paris in 1855, the call for an international association was based on John 17:21, the prayer of Jesus for unity among His people. Years ago when I was in London on a speaking engagement, I ducked into a dusty old bookshop. Sandwiched between two ancient volumes was a slim booklet that caught my eye. It was a very old program for one of the world conventions of the YMCA. I can’t remember what year it took place, but it featured D.L. Moody, the renowned American evangelist of the late 19th century.

The YMCA is known for a lot of good work, but that good work has an origin. Like so many important social institutions–hospitals, orphanages, alcohol rehabilitation programs–the Y’s effectiveness grew out of its Christian mission. It would be a shame if the new “Y” forgets what made the old “Y” so special.

BTW: The first YMCA for back men was established in Washington, DC in 1853. I’m going to look for that original location when I get back home. (The venerable Samuel Cornelius, a mentor of mine who has served in three presidential administrations, led the way in integrating YMCAs in the 1950’s. )

There’s more to the YMCA than a novelty song performed at weddings.

Rob +

For all of us at Faith & Action, it’s literally Christmas in July—or, as we pronounce it, “CHRIST-mas” in July.

This month we began planning “Kids for Christ-mas at the Capitol,” our fall effort to recruit school-aged children in the state of Wyoming to hand-make ornaments for the US Capitol Christmas Tree. Each year a different state is selected to contribute the tree. This year it’s Wyoming. Once the tree has been chosen, a volunteer organization from that state selects a theme. Wyoming’s group settled on “Wyoming: Forever West.”

The next stage of the official program is to invite students in the donor state to make their own ornaments to decorate the tree. A contest ensues and the winners have their ornaments displayed on the giant tree that will stand on the West Lawn of the US Capitol. Runners up will have their ornaments on other smaller size trees in congressional offices and in other locations inside the US Capitol complex.

We thought this was a great opportunity to remind all of our top-level government officials of the true story and meaning of the sacred holiday. Thus, “Kids for Christ-mas at the Capitol!”

At the end of August, I’ll travel to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, the sometimes home to two of our stalwart ministry supporters, Don and Gayle Wright. They’ll sponsor an information meeting for church leaders and prominent residents of this exclusive community to help us get our program off the ground.

If you live in Wyoming and have kids or school-aged kids or grandkids there—or you know families in Wyoming who do—please spread the word! We’ll soon have a kid-friendly page at our website dedicated to this exciting outreach. Stand-by for more information on how the young people in your life can make a real difference by using their creativity to present a strong Christian witness in the heart of our nation’s capital!

Merry Christ-mas five months early!

Rob +

"appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions”

In addition to the backyard BBQ, the touch football game and the
spectacular fireworks show, here’s another way to celebrate the Fourth
of July: Do a reading of the Declaration of Independence. (Reading the
entire Declaration out loud takes less than eight minutes.) More
importantly, join in its prayer at the end.

I’ll get to the prayer part in a minute, but first, let me make a case
for the reading: Not only does the Declaration state clearly the reasons our nation exists, but it also details the philosophy that underlies that existence. Most importantly, the Declaration demonstrates how God and His will are at the center of that philosophy.

For me, the best part of the Declaration is one phrase toward the end,
“appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our
intentions”. This is what I call, The Prayer of the Declaration. According to the
Oxford Dictionary (the best source we have for the meaning of English
words as they were defined when the American Founders employed them),
“to appeal” means, among other things, “a serious or urgent request.”

The Founders were making a serious and urgent request to whom? “The
Supreme Judge of the World.” Is there anything ambiguous about who
this “Supreme Judge” might be? It’s obvious on it’s face; this was a
serious and urgent request to God, and for what? “For the rectitude of
our intentions.” This clause, “rectitude of our intentions” means,
again according to the Oxford, “morally correct behavior or thinking;
righteousness.” In other words, the writers and intended signers of
the instrument that would bring the United States of America into
existence ended their monumental Declaration with a prayer. They asked
God to help them do what was morally correct and righteous.

That’s pretty powerful stuff! When the Signers put pen to paper, they
were saying “Amen” to this prayer. On this July 4th, I hope and pray
all Americans will join in this great foundational prayer of our
Nation. Perhaps we could express it this way: Holy God, may all we do
as a people be morally correct and righteous in Your sight; You who
are the One, Supreme Judge of the World.

“God is a righteous judge” Psalm 7:11a, ESV.