National Church Leaders Condemn Misrepresentations of President Obama’s Christian Faith

Washington, DC (August 25, 2010)—Over 70 prominent Christian leaders and denominational heads from across the ideological spectrum joined together today to call for a stop to the misrepresentation of President Obama’s Christian faith. In an open letter, these Christian leaders called on the media, public officials, and their fellow Christians to stand with them in opposing those who continue to insinuate that the President is a Muslim, not a Christian. The full text of the letter and a list of signatories is below.

As Christian leaders— whose primary responsibility is sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with our congregations, our communities, and our world— we are deeply troubled by the recent questioning of President Obama’s faith. We understand that these are contentious times, but the personal faith of our leaders should not be up for public debate.

President Obama has been unwavering in confessing Christ as Lord and has spoken often about the importance of his Christian faith. Many of the signees on this letter have prayed and worshipped with this President. We believe that questioning, and especially misrepresenting, the faith of a confessing believer goes too far.

This is not a political issue. The signers of this letter come from different political and ideological backgrounds, but we are unified in our belief in Jesus Christ. As Christian pastors and leaders, we believe that fellow Christians need to be an encouragement to those who call Christ their savior, not question the veracity of their faith.

Therefore, we urge public officials, faith leaders, and the media to offer no further support or airtime to those who misrepresent and call into question the President’s Christian faith. And we join with the President in praying that God will continue to bless the United States of America.

Signed,

Click here to read the full list of signers: http://www.eleisongroup.com/content/faith-not-political-issue

Obama keeping public expressions of religion to a minimum

By Michael D. Shear

Washington Post Staff Writer

Friday, August 20, 2010; A02

As he flew aboard Air Force One to Chicago on his 49th birthday earlier this month, President Obama dialed three Christian pastors to pray with him.

On an airborne conference call, he kidded with the religious leaders about being abandoned by his wife and daughters, who were away on vacation and at camp. As he celebrated his birthday, he was in a reflective mood. He told them he wanted to pray about the year that had passed, what's really important in life and the challenges ahead.

"That was simply something that he wanted to do at his initiative because it was important to him," said Joel Hunter, an evangelical pastor who was on the call and who is part of a small circle of spiritual advisers who frequently talk to Obama by phone.

The prayer session, which was not publicized and which neither the White House nor the ministers sought to bring to light, reflects Obama's decision to keep his public expressions of religious faith to a minimum. Hunter said the president often reaches out to pastors for private spiritual conversation.

Hunter, who is the pastor of Northland Church in Orlando, also advised Obama's predecessor. George W. Bush routinely invoked his own Christian faith in public. Hunter said that Obama's reluctance to do so may help explain the results of a Pew Research Center poll released this week that revealed a sizable increase in the number of people who falsely think that Obama is a Muslim.

Since October 2008, the percentage of Americans who say the president is a Muslim has risen from 12 percent to 18 percent. The percentage of people who think he is a Christian has fallen from 51 percent to 34 percent. The polling data indicated that those who identified themselves as conservative Republicans were most likely to say that he is a Muslim.

"That's the downside of not wanting to expose what is personal to the political arena," Hunter said in an interview. It "leaves all kinds of room for speculation and conspiracy and people who are just not informed."

"You know what happens with a vacuum?" he said."It gets filled."

As the story churned on the Internet and made the rounds of cable news talk shows Thursday, deputy press secretary Bill Burton was left to insist to reporters that the president is indeed a Christian.

"He has spoken about his faith extensively in the past. You can bet that he'll talk about his faith again," Burton said.

Obama's predecessors needed to make no such assurances. Bush made frequent references to his faith. In a Republican debate with John McCain in 2000, Bush was asked what "political philosopher or thinker" he identified with most. He answered: "Christ, because he changed my heart."

Bill Clinton attended church regularly at the Foundry United Methodist Church, a few blocks from the White House.

When the Obamas moved to Washington, the president said he hoped to find a church to attend. But in an interview this spring, he said he would not join a church in the Washington area. Instead, he said, he would pray privately, read spiritual devotionals on his BlackBerry in the morning and occasionally attend services with his family at the private Camp David chapel.

"What we've decided for now is not to join a single church, and the reason is because Michelle and I have realized we are very disruptive to services," Obama told NBC's Matt Lauer in March.

Joshua DuBois, the president's chief faith adviser in the White House, said Obama and his family have gone to services at several churches.

The president attended the National Prayer Breakfast this year and last, and has given several speeches in which he talked about his faith. At an Easter breakfast this year, Obama talked about his belief in Jesus's resurrection.

"We are awed by the grace he showed even to those who would have killed him," the president told the crowd of Christian leaders. "We are thankful for the sacrifice he gave for the sins of humanity. And we glory in the promise of redemption in the resurrection."

But outside of those formal events, Obama tends to reserve religious expression for private moments.

Hunter recalled one such moment this year, when the president called to ask about Hunter's sick granddaughter. "He said he and Michelle were praying for us," Hunter said. " 'Remember, the Lord is with you on this,' he said. Those things never get publicized."

Dubois said the president does not intend to suddenly practice his faith in public in an effort to counter misperceptions.

"The president's spiritual life, his Christian walk, is something that is important to him not for communications reasons or political reasons," DuBois said. "We're not going to shift course in any way on the basis of a short-term event."

Hunter said the White House is wise to avoid being dragged into an artificial religiosity that would not suit the president.

"The worst thing you can do is overreact to this and get all religious publicly," he said.

But he added that the president should think about ways in which he can appropriately convey the depth of his faith to the portion of the public that wants to hear it.

"He needs to, in the course of normal conversation, and when it's relevant to the conversation, be a little more transparent about his very active engagement in his own spiritual formation," Hunter said. "You don't publicize them artificially. But he can be more transparent about what really is his spiritual life."

FIND THIS ARTICLE AT: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/19/AR2010081906659.html?hpid=topnews&sid=ST2010081906991

Pastor Hunter on CNN American Morning: The Faith of President Obama

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.

Pastor Joel Hunter on Anderson Cooper 360: "President Obama Is Not a Muslim""

Pastor Hunter Talks to CNN About President Obama Religion Survey

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.

CNN: National Association of Evangelicals denounces church's Quran burning event

The National Association of Evangelicals, the nation's largest evangelical umbrella group, is urging a Florida church to call off a planned Quran burning scheduled for September 11. Here's the NAE's statement:

NAE Urges Cancellation of Planned Qu’ran Burning

The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) encourages increased understanding and reconciliation between those of different faiths and backgrounds, and it laments efforts that work against a just and peaceful society. The plans recently announced by a Florida group to burn copies of the Qu’ran on September 11 show disrespect for our Muslim neighbors and would exacerbate tensions between Christians and Muslims throughout the world. The NAE urges the cancellation of the burning.

NAE President Leith Anderson said, “It sounds like the proposed Qu’ran burning is rooted in revenge. Yet the Bible says that Christians should ‘make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else’ (1 Thessalonians 5:15).”

In 1996 the NAE addressed religious persecution saying that “If people are to fulfill the obligations of conscience, history teaches the urgent need to foster respect and protection for the right of all persons to practice their faith.” [i] In the same resolution, the NAE pledged to “address religious persecution carried out by our Christian brothers and sisters whenever this occurs around the world.”

The NAE calls on its members to cultivate relationships of trust and respect with our neighbors of other faiths. God created human beings in his image, and therefore all should be treated with dignity and respect. The proposed burning of Qu’rans would be profoundly offensive to Muslims worldwide, just as Christians would be insulted by the burning of Bibles. Such an act would escalate tensions between members of the two faiths in the United States and around the world.

“We have to recognize that fighting fire with fire only builds a bigger fire,” said Joel Hunter, Senior Pastor of Northland, A Church Distributed, in Orlando, Fla., and member of the NAE Board of Directors. “Love is the water that will eventually quench the destruction.”

Anderson said, “The most powerful statement by the organizers of the planned September 11th bonfire would be to call it off in the name and love of Jesus Christ.”

FIND THIS ARTICLE AT: http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2010/07/30/national-association-of-evangelicals-denounces-churchs-quran-burning-event/

US Evangelical churches pray for Gulf Coast communities

By Michelle A Vu, Christian Post

Evangelical churches across the US, including several megachurches, joined in a national day of prayer for the Gulf Coast community on Sunday.

The National Day of Prayer for the Gulf, sponsored by the National Association of Evangelicals and the Evangelical Environmental Network, brought Christians together in praying for the residents of the Gulf Coast impacted by the BP oil spill.

Organisers had planned to pray for the oil to stop gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, but now that the new containment cap seems to be stopping the oil leak, the prayers focused instead on the long-term recovery process.

“I do think the shift in emphasis will be how do we ask God for His help and the help of the church in the long-term recovery process both in nature and in terms of people’s livelihood,” the Rev Joel Hunter, senior pastor of Northland, A Church Distributed near Orlando, Florida, told The Christian Post on Friday.

Hunter, who is an NAE board member, said he plans to talk to his congregation on Sunday during “family time” about the oil spill and ask them to pray for the affected Gulf Coast communities.

Somewhere between 94 and 184 million gallons of oil have spilled into the Gulf of Mexico since the April 20 drilling rig explosion, according to government estimates. BP was able to stop the oil from gushing into the Gulf for the first time on Thursday after nearly three months.

Experts are still analysing the pressure in the well to determine if there is a leak elsewhere. The pressure as of Friday was 6,700 pounds per square inch, which means there could be a leak or that so much oil has spilled that it will take time to build up pressure, according to CNN. A pressure higher than 7,500 psi would indicate a low chance of a leak.

The Rev Mitch Hescox, president of the Evangelical Environmental Network, was in several Gulf Coast states this weekend to pray with local Christians for their communities.

He recalled memories from his trip to the Gulf Coast in June.

"I think the most poignant was putting my hands in the oil and just seeing how it stains all of creation – the grass, the water, and even the animal – and hearing the people tell their stories how they can no longer shrimp or get oysters out of those waters, and that their whole life was destroyed,” Hescox said.

The evangelical environmentalist said the feeling among the people he met in the Gulf Coast is that it will take decades to clean up the devastation from the oil spill. Yet despite the great obstacles they see ahead, Christians in the area remain hopeful that God will “correct the problem”, he said.

“God is the source of their strength,” said Hescox, who will be in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana this weekend to pray with the Gulf Coast communities. “When someone would start talking negatively, others would jump in and say God will deliver us we have to keep hope and have to trust in God.”

Churches in the Gulf Shores, Alabama-area held an inter-denominational sunrise service Sunday on the beach at Gulf State Park.

The Rev Leith Anderson, president of the NAE and senior pastor of Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, said the leaders of the seven Sunday services at his church would lead congregants in prayer for the Gulf Coast communities.

“America has a long tradition of calling for prayer when we face national challenges,” Anderson told The Christian Post. “The Gulf oil spill is a major national challenge. We are just doing what Americans and evangelicals have been doing throughout our history.”

FIND THIS ARTICLE AT: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/us.evangelical.churches.pray.for.gulf.coast.communities/26307.htm

Oprah.com: Interview With Pastor Joel Hunter

Environmental journalist Simran Sethi interviews Pastor Joel Hunter about the ways the green movement and religion intersect—and why it should be such a natural fit.

A Call for Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Pastor Hunter talks to Fox 35 Orlando.

Conservative National Leaders Urge Action on Comprehensive Immigration Reform, Respond to Presidential Address

***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

***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