Filtering by Category: Public Square,Immigration
• Public Square •
Dr. Joel C. Hunter, senior pastor of Northland Church, and a spiritual advisor to President Obama, joins author and political historian Stephen Mansfield on CNN American Morning—to debunk the myth that the President is a Muslim.
• Public Square •
• Public Square •
A substantial and growing chunk of the country believes that President Obama, a self-described Christian, is Muslim, while only about a third of Americans are able to correctly identify his religion, according to a survey released Thursday.
Nearly one in five Americans believe Obama is a Muslim, up from around one in 10 Americans who said he was Muslim last year, according to the survey, conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.
While most of those who think Obama is Muslim are Republicans, the number of independents who believe he is Muslim has expanded significantly, from 10 percent last year to 18 percent now.
The number of Americans who express uncertainly about the president's religion, meanwhile, is much larger and has also grown, including among Obama's political base. For instance, fewer than half of Democrats and African-Americans now say that Obama is Christian.
In March 2009, 36 percent of African-Americans said they didn't know what religion Obama practices. Now, 46 percent of African-Americans say they don't know.
"You would think the longer the person is in the White House, the more the 'don't knows' would decline," said Alan Cooperman, the Pew Forum's associate director for research. "But the 'don't knows' are higher now than when he came to office."
The survey was conducted in late July and early August.
Though Obama advertised his Christianity on the campaign trail and early in his administration - including distributing pamphlets about his religion during the 2008 presidential race and inviting the Rev. Rick Warren to his inauguration - he has been less public about his faith since then.
Despite intense media speculation about which Washington church Obama would join, for example, the White House has yet to announce that he has joined any.
"We had eight years of George W. Bush, who was very public about religious debates and high profile about religious practice and that's followed by Barack Obama, who is much lower profile about religious beliefs and practices," Cooperman said.
"It could be that in the relative vacuum of information coming out of the White House about his personal religious beliefs, others step in to feel the breach," Cooperman said. "It allows others who say that 'Oh, he's really this or that' to gain some currency."
Joshua DuBois, executive director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, said Wednesday night that Obama has "expanded in a historic way the engagement of persons of faith by this administration."
The president has given six speeches on faith issues, DuBois said, and has launched the first-ever White House advisory council for the faith-based office, composed largely of religious leaders.
"A lot of these facts are not necessarily what the public and the media are focused on everyday, which is not surprising given the issues we're facing as a country: reforming health care, bringing the troops home from Iraq and the economic recovery," DuBois said in an interview.
False rumors that Obama is Muslim have dogged him since he declared his candidacy for president in 2007. Pew conducted its survey before the president's comments last week about the right of Muslims to proceed with a controversial proposal for an Islamic center and mosque near ground zero.
The Rev. Joel Hunter, a Florida evangelical who is in frequent touch with Obama, says their relationship belies the findings of the new survey.
"He is very definitely a Christian, but a lot of the things he does to work on spiritual formation are simply not public," Hunter said.
Hunter said that he is in weekly contact with the president about his spiritual life, including writing devotionals for Obama and praying with him via telephone. Hunter said he received a call from Air Force One on the president's 49th birthday earlier this month.
"Several of us (Christian pastors) prayed with him over the phone," Hunter said. "We talked about his life and what he wanted us to pray for and it was at his initiative."
Earlier, when the president learned Hunter's grandchild had been stricken with cancer, the Florida preacher said he received a call from the White House.
"He called and told me that he and Michelle were praying for us," Hunter said, referring to the first lady. "I explained that this was an aggressive form of cancer and he pastored me, saying the Lord would be with us through this and that we should trust in God. It was a real reversal of roles."
But Hunter said the administration may want to reconsider its messaging on religion in light of the Pew poll.
"It may be time for them (the White House) to be a little more public about what the president does to be an active Christian," he said.
• Immigration •
Pastor Hunter talks to Fox 35 Orlando.
• Immigration •
***Press and Public Conference Call: Wednesday, July 7 at 2 p.m. EDT***
**Call-in number: 913-643-4201 Conference Code: 7436701**
MIAMI, FLA. — Conservatives for Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CFCIR) will take its national press conference call “on the road” to Miami, Fla. This will be CFCIR’s sixth call with some of the country’s most influential conservative leaders, updating the broader coalition on the ongoing efforts to pass immigration reform.
On July 1, President Obama answered the call of many prominent conservative leaders to address the nation on the need for comprehensive immigration reform. Several of these influential leaders will be on our call and will give their reaction to the President's speech. At the end of the call, press and callers will be able to ask questions from our speakers.
This conference call will feature:
Richard Land, President of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission
Rev. Guillermo Maldonado, Senior Pastor of El Rey Jesus
Dr. Joel Hunter, Senior Pastor, Northland, A Church Distributed
Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, President, The National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC)
Pastor Pablo Lago, Senior Pastor and Founder, La Roca Firme Brethren in Christ Church
Noel Castellanos, CEO, Christian Community Development Association
Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL)
Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL)
Juan Hernandez, Founder of Conservatives for CIR, Moderator of Call
This event will be open to the public and press, with a question and answer session at the end.
If you are in the area, please come to the Miami World Relief Office at 1:30 p.m. EDT for refreshments and fellowship.
WHEN: Wednesday, July 7 at 2 p.m. EDT
WHERE: Miami World Relief Office, 2150 SW 8th St., 2nd Floor, Miami, Fla. 33135
QUESTIONS:
Juan Hernandez
info@ConservativesForCIR.com
817-676-4090
• Public Square •
Over 40 "sages" offered younger leaders some insight as to what they would do differently in ministry if given the chance to do it over.
Some of the pieces of wisdom given Wednesday during a four-hour online event include: get a mentor, hire people who are smarter than you, and don't try to meet everyone's needs.
"If I did this one thing, I think it would have put me years ahead of where I am and the church years ahead," said Cal Jernigan, senior pastor of Central Christian Church in the Phoenix metropolitan area. "I wish I would have gotten a mentor."
Though Jernigan read plenty of books and attended conferences, he realized he was at a huge disadvantage by not having someone regularly speak into his life and even correct him if necessary.
He was fearful that if he approached a seasoned leader to spend time with him and teach him, he would be rejected.
"I made the mistake of assuming the answer would be 'no,'" he said during the "Sage" online event. "It's kind of like the kid at the junior high dance who just stand on the sidelines, just sure if you risk it they'd say 'no.'"
The multi-site church pastor assured younger leaders and those just starting out in ministry that in large part, pastors are more than willing to serve as mentors.
"Sage" was produced by the Leadership Network and was the third event of its kind in a series that began last fall. It featured some well-known and some less familiar pastors and ministry leaders, all of whom submitted brief pre-recorded videos of themselves talking about what they would do differently if they could go back or what they've learned in the decades that they've been serving God. Together, the speakers have more than 1,000 years of ministry experience.
Organizers of the event said they hope the answers given would save younger leaders years of frustration.
"If you've been involved in ministry for more than five minutes, I'm sure that there's something you would have done differently," said "Sage" producer Todd Rhoades. "Ministry is one of the hardest jobs in the world. Because of the extreme demands of ministry, few leaders are able to make it twenty, thirty, or forty-plus years in our vocation. Those who do have an incredible amount of wisdom to share."
Joel Hunter, senior pastor of Northland, A Church Distributed, in Orlando, Fla., offered a few minutes of advice on what could help others at the start of ministry.
"Make sure you always hire people who are smarter than you are because if you don't do that, all the work will come back to you," he said.
The tendency for people who are just starting out in ministry is to feel as if they have to be in control of everything or know everything that's going on, Hunter noted.
But he reminded young leaders, "This is what Christ said: 'I will build my church.' You don't have to build the church. Christ will build his church. And if you know everything that's going on in your ministry that means your ministry can only grow as large as your brain is."
Dennis Keating, pastor at Emmanuel Faith Community Church in Escondido, Calif., learned during his years in ministry that he can't play father to the world.
Every day, he would try to meet everyone's needs and work himself to exhaustion. He constantly felt guilty and depressed and his gages were soon pegged on empty.
He realized he had to begin to understand his limitations.
Keating now lives on the motto: "Just because the ministry calls doesn't mean that God calls."
Leadership Network, established in 1984, fosters church innovation and growth through strategies, programs, tools and resources consistent with its mission to identify, connect and help high-capacity Christian leaders multiply their impact.
Audrey Barrick, Christian Post Reporter
FIND THE ARTICLE AT: http://www.christianpost.com/article/20100521/seasoned-pastors-reveal-mistakes-regrets-in-ministry/index.html
• Creation Care, Immigration •
By Alexander Bolton - 05/17/10 07:13 PM ET
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.) have turned to evangelical Christians in a last-ditch effort to move immigration reform and climate change legislation.
Democrats are making a direct appeal to the GOP base by turning to evangelical Christian and other religious leaders, and there’s some evidence that the talks could be fruitful.
“We’re encouraging Southern Baptists to reach out to senators and congressmen to encourage Democrats and Republicans to quit playing politics and deal with immigration reform in a fair way,” said Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.
“The political will to deport 12 million people isn’t there,” he said, referring to the estimated number of illegal immigrants in the nation.
The effort comes after Schumer and Kerry spent months negotiating with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) to build GOP support for two of President Barack Obama’s top initiatives.
Despite those talks, both were forced to unveil legislative proposals in the last few weeks without any Republican co-sponsors.
Republican leaders have told their colleagues not to sign on to any Democratic proposals before clearing it with the entire GOP conference, but some of the country’s staunchest conservatives want to see action in Washington on climate change and immigration reform.
Schumer called Land last week to ask if he could join a conference call with evangelical leaders on immigration reform, according to Land.
“He asked if he could have three minutes to be part of the conference call,” Land said, referring to a call leaders held last week to promote a pro-immigration reform newspaper ad taken out by the National Association of Evangelicals.
The ad called on Congress to pass bipartisan immigration reform that included several principles, such as respecting “the God-given dignity of every person”; respecting the rule of law; guaranteeing secure national borders; and establishing a path toward legal status or citizenship for those who qualify and wish to become residents.
White Southern Baptists are considered among the most conservative voters of the electorate. And with more than 16 million members, the Southern Baptist Convention is a powerful force in Republican politics.
Kerry has also reached out to evangelical leaders to spur Republicans to support his 1,000-page climate bill.
“It’s been unusual, but these are what we see as two very moral issues that have a lot of implications for a lot of families and definitely affect the vulnerable,” said Dr. Joel Hunter, pastor of Northland, a mega-church in central Florida.
Hunter, a Republican-turned-independent who delivered the closing prayer at the 2008 Democratic convention, said Kerry approached him to build bipartisan support for the bill.
“They came to me,” said Hunter. “This has been a more recent pattern with the Democrats — they’re really broadening and including the voice of faith communities to build a consensus on these moral and biblical issues.”
Democrats hope evangelicals can persuade Republicans such as Graham and Sens. Richard Lugar (Ind.) and Lamar Alexander (Tenn.) to support an energy and climate bill.
Some evangelicals are more allied with the GOP than others, and some don’t see eye to eye on all the issues.
Land and Hunter, for example, agree on the need to pass immigration reform, but Land does not support a proposal to limit carbon emissions. Still, while Land has not endorsed Schumer’s proposal, political observers are surprised they’re even working together.
“It’s very surprising,” said Hunter. “These are times of interesting coalitions.”
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has made subtle appeals to faith-driven voters by invoking the language of evangelical leaders when calling for passage of climate change legislation.
“I think it is essential to the health of our children that we reduce emissions in the air,” Pelosi said at a recent press conference. “And for those of us who believe — and I think most of us do — that this is God’s creation, we have a moral responsibility to preserve his creation.”
Land said he has noticed Pelosi invoking God’s name more often.
“I’m all for it,” he said.
The Rev. Jim Ball of the Evangelical Environmental Network said addressing climate change follows the teachings of Jesus to minister to the poor.
“We call being an environmentalist creation care,” said Ball. “God is the creator and we’re called to steward or take care of his creation. When it comes to the issue of climate change, it’s primarily about the poor, because the poor are going to be impacted the hardest.”
Burns Strider, a former aide to Pelosi, has kept in touch with evangelical and Christian groups around the country, such as the Christian Coalition of Alabama.
Randy Brinson, head of Alabama’s Christian Coalition, said he talks regularly with Strider, who is trying to build support for climate legislation.
Brinson said his group does not support the cap-and-trade proposal passed last year by the House but could get behind a modified plan.
“We’re trying to be reasonable arbiters,” he said. “We’re trying to bring the two extremes to a more reasonable position.”
Democrats have made sporadic efforts to reach out to evangelical Christians over the years.
Those efforts became more serious when former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean took over as chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in 2005.
Some skeptics speculate that Democrats turn to evangelical voters when their political fortunes drop, but Dean dismissed that theory.
He said the new efforts by Schumer and Kerry are part of the party’s evolving relationship with Christian voters.
Dean said he was essentially forced to hold clandestine meetings with Land and other evangelical leaders when he first took over at the DNC.
“We would have to meet at hotels and arrive and leave at different times,” Dean said. “It’s not like it was really clandestine, but they wouldn’t come to the DNC. We would have to go to Capitol Hill Suites and did have to agree to come and go five minutes apart from each other.”
FIND THIS ARTICLE AT: http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/98289-dems-put-faith-in-religious-right-to-help-boost-agenda
• Public Square •
Pastor Hunter talks to CNN about Church 2.0, including worship via Facebook.
• Culture Wars, Interfaith Dialogue, Public Square •
By Lisa Miller | Newsweek.com | Mar 10, 2010
There has been some bellyaching in recent months—including by me, and also especially in The Washington Post—over the relevance and influence of the task force of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships (a god-awful mouthful of an administrative tag if ever there was one). This was a committee of about two dozen people, appointed by President Obama just over a year ago, asked to address some of the country's most important values issues and make recommendations to the president. Rumors persisted that relations within the council were acrimonious and, given that council members had such differing views on questions of faith—they were progressive and conservative and were at odds over the best government role inside churches and other faith-based institutions—there was no way to hammer out any but the lowest-common-denominator type of resolution. The most persistent complaint, and the one that I continue to hear, is the worry that their recommendations, which they offered to the president this week, would not get a fair hearing at the highest levels of the administration.
That would be a shame. The report addresses interrreligous dialogue, climate change, fatherhood, and poverty among other things. There are, certainly, some namby-pamby recommendations in the report—upholding fatherhood as a good thing, for example—but elements of the report have heft. Especially serious and provocative are the task force's recommendations on the subject of reforming the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships itself. Though bureaucratic and unsexy, these recommendations essentially demand that the administration clarify the muddy and inconsistent ground rules for religious groups seeking federal funds for charitable work. This has long been a legislative and administrative quagmire, characterized by misunderstandings, favoritism, and legal challenges. At this moment in time, when Boston's Catholic Charities has closed its historic adoption agency rather than take government money and so be required to adopt children to homosexual married couples, such clarification would seem necessary indeed.
Council members were able to agree that the constitutional separation of church and state is foundational and that recipients of government money be more clearly informed about what that means in terms of their activities—at the federal and at the local level. Most interesting, the task force asked the president to revise language that bars religious groups receiving federal aid from "inherently religious activities, such as worship, religious instruction and proselytizing" saying the word "inherently" allowed too much room for misunderstanding. "Explicitly," they said, would be a better word choice.
The task force was also able to agree that protecting the religious identities of religious institutions is crucial. They disagreed over things like whether a religious organization receiving government aid could perform social services in a room containing religious symbols, and whether churches receiving government money should be required to set up a separate corporation for those funds. In a political environment of gridlock and frustration, the clarity of these agreements—and even of the disagreements—is welcome.
The most difficult question, however, was left aside, for the Department of Justice to decide at another time. This is the question of whether faith-based organizations receiving government money should be able to hire and fire based on religion. This fight is a mini culture war in itself, for it goes to the question of religious and civic identity. The left sees it as a question of civil liberties, the right one of unwelcome government intervention in the lives of private institutions. Conservatives and liberals promise that this is a hill upon which they are willing to die.
Now the White House task force has disbanded, and a new one—along with new issues—has not yet been named. Which of the task force recommendations will be adopted, and when, remains the driving question; if the president delays, he will have squandered considerable goodwill. In the meantime, I will make my own recommendation. Please change the name of the faith-based office. Please.
Lisa Miller is NEWSWEEK's religion editor. Her book Heaven: Our Enduring Fascination With the Afterlife is due out from Harper in March.
Find this article at
http://www.newsweek.com/id/234706
© 2010
• Public Square •
Hunter is considered one of the more conservative Evangelical members of President Obama’s Faith Council. He gave the Benediction at the 2008 Democratic Convention and has taken some heat from fellow conservative Evangelicals for partnering with the administration. But sharing the Gospel with the President? (or anyone for that matter) Who can take issue with that?
"I send probably two or three devotionals a week. He gets a devotional everyday on his blackberry and so I'm going through the Gospel of Mark with him and then there are other conversations I can’t tell you how many that have to do with how do you in his position continue your spiritual growth in Christianity.”
"Months and months ago he invited me to do daily devotionals and I just decided it would be more consistent to go through a Gospel with him so that I could talk about Jesus because Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith.
We fix our eyes on Jesus and so I just decided that Mark was the Gospel that I would go to because it was short and to the point and it had all of the essentials.”
FIND THIS ARTICLE AND VIDEO AT: http://blogs.cbn.com/thebrodyfile/
Dr. Joel C. Hunter is the Pastor of Community Benefit at Action Church, a multi-site congregation based in Winter Park and his one-minute daily devotionals can be heard worldwide on Z88 radio. He is the Chairman of the Central Florida Pledge campaign; a call to action for residents of Central Florida who are tired of hateful discourse and want to create a safe and inclusive community for all. The pledge asks residents to commit to treating all people with kindness and respect, especially those with whom they disagree. To learn more: https://www.centralfloridapledge.com/
He is a nationally and internationally known advocate for the poor, the marginalized, and those dealing with disabilities. He served a three-year term as the Chairman of Central Florida’s Commission on Homelessness. And, after 32 years as the senior pastor of Longwood, Florida’s Northland Church’s congregation of 20,000, he spent five years leading a non-profit in networking with churches and local charities to locate available resources and benefit the struggling in our community. Orlando Magazine highlighted his efforts naming him as the #1 most powerful voice for philanthropy and community engagement. And listed him among “Orlando’s 50 Most Powerful” six years in a row.
Approaching today’s challenges in a biblical and balanced manner, Dr. Hunter is neither partisan nor politically oriented, but often relates to public officials in a pastoral role; he served as a spiritual advisor to President Obama during his eight years in office.
Dr. Hunter has served in leadership roles of the World Evangelical Alliance, serving more than 600 million evangelicals, and the National Association of Evangelicals, serving more than 40 denominations and thousands of churches.
Married for 51 years to his wife, Becky, he is the father of three sons, grandfather of seven, and great-grandfather of two.
