Crowds recall the faith that animated MLK’s unfinished dream

WASHINGTON (RNS) Fifty years to the day after Martin Luther King Jr. knocked on the nation’s conscience with his dream, religious leaders gathered in a historic church to remind the nation that he was fueled by faith.

Later, in the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial where King thundered about America’s unmet promises, King’s children joined the likes of President Obama and Oprah Winfrey to rekindle what Obama called a “coalition of conscience.”

At Shiloh Baptist Church, where King preached three years before his 1963 “I Have A Dream” speech, Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh clergy summoned King’s prophetic spirit to help reignite the religious fires of the civil rights movement.

King’s daughter, the Rev. Bernice A. King, said at the service that her father was a freedom fighter and a civil rights leader, but his essence was something else.

“He was a pastor,” said King, who was 5 when her father electrified the nation in front of the Lincoln Memorial. “He was a prophet. He was a faith leader.”

“We can never forget as we celebrate, as we remember . . . that it was that faith and the spirit of God itself that fueled, that infused the movement that led to great change and transformation in the 50’s and 60’s.”

The Rev. Raphael Warnock, senior pastor of Martin Luther King’s own spiritual home, Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, said they had come together to celebrate a servant of God, “whose ministry stretched far beyond the four walls of the church, and whose parish was America and the world itself.”

Other clergy recalled with pride how members of their own faiths joined with King 50 years ago to non-violently challenge racism and demand equal opportunity and jobs.

Rabbi Julie Schonfeld, executive vice president of the Rabbinical Assembly, read from a letter written to King by Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, who walked shoulder-to-shoulder with him during the freedom march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala. in 1965.

“Even without words, our march was worship,” Heschel wrote. “I felt like my legs were praying.”

Schonfeld said that in the years after the Holocaust, King gave Jews in America a spiritual rebirth, a reason to believe that “God had not forsaken all mankind.”

Born in Sudan, Imam Mohamed Magid, president of the Islamic Society of North America, said King’s legacy made it possible for 28 faith communities came to his mosque after 9/11 to pray alongside his congregation.

King taught that “hate cannot drive out hate,” Magid said. “Only love can do that.”

After the morning prayer service, throngs gathered at the site of King’s speech to mark decades of progress but warn that justice remains elusive for some.

“We’re not here to claim any victory. We’re here to say that the struggle continues,” said Andrew Young, a King aide who went on to become mayor of Atlanta, U.N. ambassador and president of the National Council of Churches. “Pray on and stay on and fight on.”

Added King’s eldest son, Martin Luther King III: “No one ever told any of us that our road would be easy. I know that our God, our God, our God would not bring all of us this far to leave us.”

The Rev. Joseph Lowery, one of the last living icons of the civil rights movement, spoke from a wheelchair close to the imposing statue of Abraham Lincoln and challenged the crowd to battle modern-day efforts to deny rights and restrict freedom.

“We come here to Washington to say we ain’t going back,” said Lowery. “We’ve come too far, marched too long, prayed too hard … bled too profusely and died too young to let anybody turn back the clock on our journey to justice.”

By Lauren Markoe and Adelle M. Banks. Source: http://www.religionnews.com/2013/08/28/crowds-recall-the-faith-that-animated-mlks-unfinished-dream/

Can Sanford Pastors' Success Work in Other Cities?

A diverse group of 40 pastors gathered in a Detroit hotel today to hear a remarkable tale: how the pastors of Sanford, Florida, spared their city from the racially charged protests that erupted nationwide last month after a jury acquitted George Zimmerman of murdering Trayvon Martin.

Sanford could have understandably been the epicenter of outrage over the controversial July verdict, which inspired significant protests—some marred by vandalism and violence—from New York to Los Angeles. Instead, this commuter suburb of Orlando weathered the aftermath so successfully that its pastors are now on a mission to spread the progress they've made toward calm and reconciliation to urban centers nationwide.

Already on the list after Detroit: Toledo, Charlotte, New York, Denver, and Minneapolis.

"The timing is absolutely right for this. There is no question about it," said Derrick Gay, pastor of Sanford's Dominion International Church and an organizer of the tour. "We as the church have been given, according to 2 Corinthians 5, the ministry of reconciliation. There's no other institution on earth that has been given this authority—not the government, not the banks, not the education system that we have."

The collaboration, in which pastors across racial, ethnic, and denominational lines meet to eat, pray, and candidly air racial concerns, is even more notable in a city with the historical distinction of being where Jackie Robinson was ousted from minor-league baseball training in 1946.

Leading the charge is Sanford Pastors Connecting (SPC), the interracial, cross-denominational group first organized by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) to help the city of Sanford navigate fallout from the shooting death of unarmed, 17-year-old Martin there in February 2012.

The Department of Justice sent veteran mediator Thomas Battles to Sanford to help keep the peace after Martin's death. He, in turn, organized pastors to form SPC. The pastors were given four reserved seats daily in the local courtroom during Zimmerman's trial. The pastors rotated through to witness the proceedings firsthand and to relay what was going on to courthouse crowds and to their own congregations.

SPC pastors agreed to support the jury's verdict, whatever it was, and keep the peace afterward. When the jury acquitted Zimmerman of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges, it seemed it might be a problematic promise to keep.

But solidarity and prayers played a big part in diffusing any violence that might have broken out in Sanford, either during the initial unrest over Martin's death or when Zimmerman was ultimately acquitted, said Joel Hunter, a SPC member perhaps best known as one of President Barack Obama's spiritual advisors.

"We had already built up a very solid core of people who were committed to not just reacting to a verdict, but sifting through how we could improve the community because of this," said Hunter. His congregation, Northland: A Church Distributed, near Sanford is predominantly white, and is the largest evangelical church in central Florida.

Hunter said that sitting together through the somber, racially charged Zimmerman trial ironically helped to bridge some of the long-entrenched disconnect between Sanford's black and white clergy.

Positioned side by side, chatting before and after court proceedings, and having lunch together during breaks "has built a much closer relationship between many of the African-American pastors and Anglo pastors," said Hunter. "You can say talk is cheap. But when you go through something like this and you have an ongoing dialogue, the closeness of relationships that happens is really remarkable."

Despite their different races, genders, and religious backgrounds, 30 to 40 clergy have continued to meet monthly for breakfast at Sanford's Cracker Barrel restaurant since the start of the trial. That's no small feat, given that getting any group of pastors to work together can be "like herding cats," said Jeffrey Krall. The Assemblies of God pastor chairs SPC alongside pastor Valarie Houston, whose Allen Chapel AME Church is regarded as "Ground Zero" for the public outcry over Martin's death.

Krall, lead pastor of Sanford's mostly white Family Worship Center, said the seeds for this momentum were actually sown 22 years ago.

"It's always been racially divided down here," said Krall of his city's 55,000 residents. (Today, 30 percent are African American, 20 percent are Hispanic, 3 percent are Asian, and the rest are white.) In response, he launched the Sanford Ministers Fellowship in 1991. Though the group has been working to cultivate reconciliation in Sanford a lot longer—and is just as steadfast in praying and interceding toward that end—Krall conceded the fellowship never became as large, high-profile, or diverse as SPC has become over the past year.

"I actually feel like Thomas Battles used his leverage to accomplish what I have been trying to do for more than 20 years," Krall said of the DOJ regional director, who is African American. "I'm rejoicing that he got involved. There's just a great humility and fear of God on everybody."

"That doesn't mean that the issues have all gone away. We have a lot of work cut out for us," said Charles Holt, rector of St. Peter's Episcopal Church and School in neighboring Lake Mary. "But what's changed in Sanford is the communication taking place [between] various churches across the spectrum, and between the church and the community. That's a huge step in the right direction."

Another local Christian leader who has been very ambitious in mobilizing pastors to seek racial reconciliation is Steve Strang, founder and CEO of Charisma Media. From his headquarters in Lake Mary, a city barely more than 2 miles from where Martin died last year, Strang has rallied Sanford-area pastors to hold special prayer meetings and forums in the wake of the shooting.

Last year, his company produced Sanford: The Untold Story, a documentary of Sanford-area church leaders speaking out on race relations. In July, Strang brought together 30 faith leaders from around the country to publicly issue a covenant of racial reconciliation. Called The Sanford Declaration, the July 31 announcement at Charisma Media served as a prelude to the National Reconciliation and Relationship Initiative now being mapped out.

"We invited some pastors from different cities that actually came on their own dime to see what's happening in Sanford," said Gay, who is African American. Attendees included Promise Keepers president Raleigh Washington and such megachurch leaders as Touré Roberts of One Church International in Los Angeles, Dale Bronner of Word of Faith Family Worship Cathedral in greater Atlanta, and Harry Jackson of Hope Christian Church in suburban Washington, D.C. The plan is now for Sanford pastors to visit these urban centers with their message. The first stop: Gay keynoted Promise Keepers' Reviving Detroit Summit today at the struggling city's iconic Hotel St. Regis.

A former star football player at Florida A&M University, Gay has become key among Sanford ministers in pushing for racial reconciliation. In November 2011, he moved his multicultural, nondenominational congregation to the Sanford area from Altamonte Springs.

"It was a tough decision because in the transition, we probably lost a third of our church," said Gay. "However ... as a 34-year-old, for the first time in ministry, I feel like I'm in the right place and God has ordered this thing. ... When everything began to jump off, I really felt strongly that this city needed someone who was not from this city, and could identify with the people there, particularly the young people."

Despite the enthusiasm SPC pastors have for their undertaking, some counter that there's still a long way to go to forge any kind of lasting, substantive advances in race relations in Sanford, let alone nationwide.

There are still "layers and layers of issues" that need to be addressed, said Bridget Watson. Involved with SPC when it first got off the ground but no longer, she and her husband lead Dunamis Community and Outreach Ministries, a small multiracial church near Sanford.

"I have a 17-year-old son and a 14-year-old son, both who are excellent students and very mannerly," said Watson. "We have to teach them to never appear in such a way as to [seem] threatening. I know my white friends don't have to worry about that."

Parris Baker is not a minister, but the charismatic Northland attendee was invited to work with SPC at its onset. However, the 25-year-old African American said he eventually cut ties with the group, frustrated by their steady calls for meetings about reconciliation, healing, and prayer.

"While I appreciated those efforts, they were inadequate," said Baker, a Sanford actor and rap artist who is studying to become a teacher. "As a young man, I am painfully aware of how young people, by and large, are unchurched. Conscious of how deeply I and other young people were affected by Trayvonʼs killing, I knew we needed to be reached, but it could not be accomplished through church or youth conferences."

But SPC wants to go beyond Cracker Barrel meals. After Zimmerman's acquittal, they started prayer meetings at the Sanford police station and issued a joint proclamation for peace. Next they hope to launch a Swap-A-Pulpit Sunday, a monthly youth worship service, and develop sports programs and other after-school activities so that Sanford youth and law enforcement can interact.

Meanwhile, other faith-based groups are also trying to unite the community. Examples include the Love Sanford Project, headed by community activist Paul Benjamin Sr., and a youth mentoring project for inner-city youth that Benjamin's Central Florida Dream Center is developing with St. Peter's.

Krall says he's finally witnessing the manifestation of a breakthrough he got wind of decades years ago. "I was on a fast when the Lord [revealed to] me that he wanted to do something very, very significant in the city of Sanford," he said. The experience led him to create the older Sanford fellowship. "People would actually fly into our little airport to see what God was doing here." He thinks the cooperation could offer a glimpse of heaven a la Revelation 7:9-10, with "a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations and kindreds and people" praising Jesus.

Gay admits that visions differ a bit between members, just as they differ in other areas. "In all honesty, we may [still] be divided on what we feel justice should be in this situation," he said. "But we're not going to allow this thing to have a negative impact on this city.

"Our feelings were put on the back burner for the sake of this community," he said. "This is the way that we believe Christ would operate, and we've seen tremendous things happen. It is essential for us to now move forward."

By Angela G. King. SOURCE: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2013/august-web-only/sanford-florida-pastors-reconciliation-trayvon-zimmerman.html?paging=off

WASHINGTON POST: "Report Argues for Lifting Ban on Politics From the Pulpit"

Even as polls show Americans broadly oppose electioneering from the pulpit, a new report by a group of faith leaders working closely with Capitol Hill argues for ending the decades-old ban on explicit clergy endorsements. The report being given Wednesday to Sen. Charles E. Grassley — the Iowa Republican whose office for years has been probing potential abuses by tax-exempt groups — comes as the ban has become a culture-war flashpoint.

More than 1,100 mostly conservative Christian pastors for the past few springs have been explicitly preaching politics — they call the annual event “Pulpit Freedom Sunday” — in an effort to lure the Internal Revenue Service into a court showdown. Meanwhile, groups that favor a strong church-state separation are going to court to demand that the IRS more aggressively enforce the ban that dates to 1954.

The report by officials of major denominations (including the Southern Baptist Convention and Assemblies of God) and large nonprofit organizations (including the Crusade for Christ and Esperanza, one of the country’s biggest Latino evangelical groups) argues that the ban chills free speech and violates the culture of people who see the weaving of faith and political expression as essential to their religious practice.

Forty-two percent of black Protestants and 37 percent of white evangelical Protestants say houses of worship should endorse candidates, according to the Pew Research Center. Among Americans overall, that figure has been in the 20s for a decade.

The report focuses on faith groups but would apply to secular 501c3 nonprofit organizations as well.

Some members of the Commission on Accountability and Policy for Religious Organizations said lifting the ban was more about principles than pragmatism.

“I think there are some pockets of very conservative folks or very liberal folks who will use this in a partisan way. But when you become more specific [about candidates] you cut off a big portion of your congregation, and not a lot of religious leaders want to do that,” said Joel Hunter, leader of the Florida megachurch Northland and a sometime adviser to President Obama. “The issue is: Do they have the freedom to do it? For me it’s a First Amendment issue, a religious-freedom issue.” Hunter says he preaches on environmental and poverty issues and policies but not specific candidates.

Experts and even leaders of the commission agreed with Hunter that most clergy wouldn’t want to endorse from the pulpit — not because of the IRS but out of fear of alienating members at a time when young Americans in particular are fed up with the merger of partisan politics and religion. But, they say, the IRS’s spotty enforcement — the IRS doesn’t go after the Pulpit Freedom Sunday clergy, for example — and the complex tax language leaves many houses of worship afraid of even legal speech about particular measures or policies.

It’s unclear what will happen to the report, which was compiled by 14 Christian leaders, many of whom have worked in the past with Grassley on financial accountability issues.

The commission was advised by a much more religiously and politically diverse group of 66 faith leaders, a subset of which wrote an opposition paper arguing that the ban “has served to protect houses of worship in America from government regulation and from divisive partisan politics dividing the church communities.”

The group of 66 included leaders from all major branches of Judaism, major Muslim and Hindu groups as well as Methodists and Mormons, among others. It wasn’t clear how many of the 66 backed the proposal, but the commission chairman, Michael Batts, said support was “strong.”

A spokeswoman for Grassley said Tuesday that the senator “is weighing next steps.”

The report follows a controversial blowup over how the IRS chooses which groups to target for enforcement, and many are seeking change at the IRS. It also comes as Congress is seeking new revenue and potential tax code changes that would affect nonprofit organizations.

Efforts to drop the ban have been proposed before and failed.

The report also argues that the ban on the use of ­tax-deductible funds for political purposes — such as church coffers going to a campaign — should be maintained.

“We think this [report] would allow for respect without creating a monster — that churches could become in essence [political action committees],” said Batts, a leading expert on accounting for faith-based nonprofit organizations. “If they had money and could disburse it for political activities, that would be problematic, but this is just speech — saying what you believe.”

The report follows years of work by Grassley’s office and evangelical leaders on the issue of financial accountability.

A decade ago, Grassley began investigating whether several high-profile television ministries were violating the law by using tithes for things such as for-profit businesses, planes and jewelry. His office disappointed the most enthusiastic reformers in 2011 when it found no wrongdoing and asked a well-established council of evangelical oversight experts to make recommendations for self-governance.

That group, the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, created the new commission. In December it made recommendations on the broad topic of financial accountability that Congress has not acted on. Members then turned to the separate issue of religious speech, which is the topic of the new report.

Some critics say it lacks credibility.

“This whole thing has a fox-guarding-the-henhouse feel to it and always has,” said the Rev. Barry Lynn, a United Church of Christ minister who heads the group Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. Lynn said his group has brought multiple examples to the IRS of clergy preaching against votes for President Obama, and he said nothing was ever done.

Experts on religion in the United States say that even as Americans are becoming more turned off by partisan politics in religion, they are becoming more and more likely to see their faith as driving them to policy activism.

But there remains disagreement in the faith community about explicit endorsements. The commission is largely made up of conservative evangelicals, but a more liberal group called the Bright Lines Project also is looking into changes at the IRS and also proposed an exemption for political speech at houses of worship under certain circumstances.

By Michelle Boorstein, Source URL: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/report-argues-for-lifting-ban-on-politics-from-the-pulpit/2013/08/13/57aab53e-0449-11e3-88d6-d5795fab4637_story.html

Sanford Pastors Commit to 'Seize the Moment'

More than 15 months ago, pastors from around the country gathered near Sanford, Fla., for a historic meeting to attack the spiritual darkness of racism exacerbated by the tragic death of Trayvon Martin. Wednesday, pastors and national church leaders returned to the area to continue the battle less than three weeks after the acquittal of George Zimmerman. Several local pastors who have been working behind the scenes to tackle the issue of race relations in Sanford were present in the offices of Charisma Media along with Promise Keepers President and CEO Dr. Raleigh Washington and Bishop Harry Jackson, senior pastor of Hope Christian Church and a leader of the High Impact Coalition. Pastors from Ohio, California and Georgia also attended the meeting to help start a racial reconciliation initiative.

Washington said the task of bringing racial harmony and unity to Sanford has only begun, and he reiterated his challenge to spiritual leaders to continue to “cross racial lines” to make it happen.

“You, as the leaders of the church here in Sanford, have the opportunity to seize the moment—the moment to establish genuine relationships that will bring about racial reconciliation here,” Washington said. “Establishing genuine relationships across racial lines are what’s going to make a difference. You cannot fall asleep at the wheel. Seize the moment.”

Derrick Gay, pastor of Dominion Church International in Sanford, said the historical roots of racism are why the separation of races continues today.

“Why don’t we talk? Why do we still have an issue with each other? Why don’t we like each other?” Gay asked. “Simply because of history. The answer is we need anointed leadership in place, where everyone will submit to that leadership. We need to make this a lifetime effort to link arms with each other.”

Joel Hunter, senior pastor of Northland Church, said that tide could be broken.

“The inertia of history can only be interrupted by relationship,” Hunter said. “There’s a difference between justice and law. ... Justice is something that only happens through relationship."

Ron Johnson, pastor of One Church in Longwood, Fla., said, referring to racism, “To break this, it can’t happen by default. It has to happen by design.”

While riots and violent protests broke out in spots around the country in the days following the July 13 not-guilty verdict for Zimmerman, only peaceful protests were staged in Sanford.

“People are going to point to Sanford one day and say, 'These people have learned to do it right,'” Washington said. “You, the leaders, have stayed on the battlefield and continued the challenge we gave you. Other cities simply don’t know how to deal with this issue.”

Sanford Pastors Connecting, a group of pastors formed after the initial meeting in April 2012, have met on a monthly basis and are building initiatives to bridge the racial gap in the community. Jackson said he hopes other communities follow Sanford’s lead.

“You are an example and a model. What would happen if we could replicate the concepts you have put in place here?” Jackson asked. “We must continue to pray prayers that will touch black, white, Asian and Hispanic kids that are losing their way everywhere.”

SOURCE: http://www.charismanews.com/us/40461-raleigh-washington-sanford-pastors-must-seize-the-moment

CNN: Pastors aim to keep peace at Zimmerman trial

SANFORD, Florida (CNN) – As opening arguments begin, courtroom seats are at a premium at the trial of George Zimmerman, charged with second degree murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager.

But in an unusual arrangement, four seats in the second row, just steps from the jury box, have been assigned to a group called “Sanford Pastors Connecting.”

The multi-racial ministerial association has pledged to bear witness to the high-profile proceedings during the trial and to keep the peace afterward.

All of the clergy in the courtroom project have agreed to support the jury’s verdict in the racially-charged case, which sparked large rallies and marches led by civil rights figures like the Rev. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson.

As needed, the pastors will report courtroom events to crowds expected to gather outside the courthouse, as well as to their congregations, and have agreed to head off inflammatory rumors.

“Regardless of what the verdict is, we can avoid the violence," said the Rev. Robert K. Gregory Jr., of the Good News Jail & Prison Ministry in Sanford. "If we work together, trust can be built.”

Zimmerman, a member of the Neighborhood Watch in his gated community, is accused of stalking and fatally shooting Martin, who was staying with his father, on February 26, 2012.

The defense claims that Martin, returning from a convenience store, turned on Zimmerman, who then fired in self-defense.

Two dozen media spaces on the courtroom’s polished wooden seats have been assigned by lottery, with an equal amount set aside for the general public. Another twelve spots in the rectangular chamber are reserved for the Zimmerman and Martin families.

The pastoral rotation is the idea of the U.S. Department of Justice's Community Relations Service. A Seminole County Sheriff’s inspector, who is also an ordained minister, handles the scheduling. Among the Christian clergy who have signed up, there are evangelical and mainline congregations; tiny, urban parishes and suburban megachurches.

“We’re looking at providing leadership, to comfort people through the word of God and prayer,” said the Rev. Sharon Patterson, of Getting Your House in Order Ministries, a small African-American congregation.

“We want our presence to encourage them to understand that as long as God is in control, everything will work out all right,” the pastor said.

Patterson brings a particular past to her courtroom witnessing. She once aspired to be a lawyer herself, spending summers when she was first teaching public school, and had no air conditioning at home, going from trial to trial.

While most Sanford-area African-American congregations rallied around the Martin family and their call for justice immediately following the shooting, some predominately white churches and clergy were divided.

The Rev. Alan Brumback, pastor of Sanford’s Central Baptist Church, was one of the first – and few – local white clergy to join the predominately black marches and demonstrations in the wake of the Martin shooting.

However, Brumback, whose congregation is multi-racial, said he would not be a part of the courtroom program.

“I am calling my church to pray for our city and to share the only news that can bring reconciliation,” he said, “the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That is my only agenda.”

Whatever it is, the verdict will be God’s will, said the Rev. Lowman J. Oliver III of St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church in Sanford.

“We pray that the outcome will be just and fair to all parties,” he said. “How will it look? I’m not able to answer that. Our roles are as peacemakers. It’s more important that we send a message that we sustain the peace.”

However, Oliver said, peaceful acceptance of a verdict does not mean people will have to agree with it. They can certainly have “a righteous response,” as long as it is nonviolent.

“There is a history of division in this community, and there is a history involving violence against black youth” that must be addressed, said the Rev. Joel Hunter, of Northland Church in Longwood, Florida. A prominent evangelical, Hunter is also a close confidant of President Obama's.

After a long, tedious day of sitting together during jury selection, Hunter, Oliver and Gregory were finishing each other’s sentences.

Laughing, they admitted that they were unused to sitting still and silent in unpadded pews for so long – while others did the talking.

SOURCE URL: http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/06/24/pastors-aim-to-keep-peace-at-zimmerman-trial/?iref=allsearch

First Baptist Orlando Helps Lead Faith-Based Support for Immigration Reform

Rev. David Uth of First Baptist Orlando is taking the lead among evangelical ministers advocating for immigration reform as faith-based organizations ramp up for the debate in Congress scheduled for next week. The endorsement of evangelicals brings near-unanimity among religious organizations lining up in support of immigration reform, said Sister Simone Campbell, whose Nuns on the Bus tour came through Central Florida this week in support of immigrants seeking citizenship.

"Once the evangelicals came on, it was huge," Campbell said.

Uth, pastor of the 15,000-member First Baptist, is featured in a series of radio ads being broadcast for 92 days in 13 states, including Florida. The ads are sponsored by the Evangelical Immigration Table, a group that includes Lynne Hybels, co-founder of the nondenominational megachurch Willow Creek Church in Illinois.

Uth said his interest in meaningful immigration reform comes from his reading of the Scripture and his personal experience with immigrants seeking citizenship.

"All people matter to God," said Uth, 56. "Our church is a very compassionate church, and it's only natural we would get involved in this."

Pastor Joel Hunter of Longwood's Northland, A Church Distributed said he has seen a transformation take place within the National Association of Evangelicals, which represents 30 million evangelical Christians. Even four years ago, the organization was divided over the issue of immigration.

But that changed with the formation of the Evangelical Immigration Table of leaders, which Uth represents.

There were two main reasons behind the change, Hunter said. One was that just about every evangelical pastor has heard the stories and sorrows of church members seeking citizenship or facing the fear of deportation. The other is the Christian command to love thy neighbor.

"All of us realize this broken system hurts all of us, not just the folks asking for a path to legalization," Hunter said.

There is also a commonality among faiths that emphasizes assisting the less fortunate that has brought about this unusual unity of religions, Hunter said.

"There's a synergy we have not seen in many, many issues," he said.

Along with the Catholics and evangelicals, immigration reform is being pushed by Protestants, Jews, Hindus and Muslims.

"I'm very pleased that all faiths can agree that as long as they are law-abiding, we must be compassionate, we must be welcoming, we must allow immigrants to come," said Atif Fareed, president of the American Muslim Community Centers based in Longwood.

Fareed arrived as an immigrant from India and become a citizen in 1979.

Rabbi David Kay is not far removed from his grandparents who immigrated from Poland and Russia.

American Jews have an affinity for immigrants because immigration is part of the Jewish story, he said. For much of history, they were treated as the strangers, the aliens.

"It's based on a biblical point of not oppressing the stranger, which our tradition recognizes as the resident alien," Kay said.

Uth said the Bible commands Christians to "welcome strangers" and "take care of the alien." But the current system is often dysfunctional, broken and inhumane, he said.

"When I see people abused or treated unfairly by a system that is broken, it's hard for me to look the other way," Uth said. "Here at First Baptist, we have people who are doing everything they can to become part of the system and are being hurt by the system."

Campbell brought her bus of 10 traveling nuns through Florida this the week with stops at the St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church in Winter Park and Hope Community Center in Apopka. The 15-state tour will end in San Francisco on June 18.

The bus made a special stop in Tallahassee for a visit to U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio's office. Rubio is one of the sponsors of the Senate bill that will be debated next week. Campbell said they told Rubio's staff they appreciated his leadership and hoped he would remain steadfast.

"We are encouraging him to be a missionary for his bill," Campbell said.

With faith leaders solidly on one side, the only thing that can derail a clear path to citizenship is fear, she said.

"Fear is driving us apart. That is not good for our economy. It's not good for who we are as a nation," Campbell said. "Immigration is the glory of our past and the hope for our future."

jkunerth@tribune.com or 407-420-5392

By Jeff Kunerth, Orlando Sentinel.

SOURCE URL: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/os-first-baptist-immigration-reform-20130605,0,7313778.story

Orlando Sentinel: Dr. Joel C. Hunter Is a "Different Breed of Evangelical"

The paper reports: "Hunter has established himself as a different breed of evangelical. He works with leaders from other faiths. He advocates for environmental stewardship, help for the poor and assistance during natural disasters rather than focusing on abortion and gay marriage. His church, Northland, a Church Distributed, plays a prominent role in most every issue confronting Central Florida from the shooting of Trayvon Martin to homeless schoolchildren. Hunter gained national prominence by becoming the spiritual adviser to President Barack Obama but asserts his leadership locally by providing a reasoned, compassionate voice that resonates across religious, economic and racial lines." View the Sentinel's complete list of "Orlando's Power Brokers."

Fox News Radio Interview With Alan Colmes

Check this out on Chirbit

Pastor Joel talks with Alan Colmes about the new creation care documentary, Our Father's World (www.ourfathersworldfilm.com).

Is Creativity or Obedience More Important?

Reverend Dr. Joel C. Hunter and Pastor Michael McBride provide differing viewpoints on parenting from an evangelical perspective.

I recently listened to a fascinating conversation about obedience. It began with two provocative questions: Is it more important for a child to be creative or well-behaved? And is self-reliance or obedience more important in a child?

The questioner was Simon Greer, head of the Nathan Cummings Foundation and host of a new Internet video series, “Summits on Tenth,” which the foundation launched to “provoke and disrupt conventional thinking on pressing contemporary issues.” The first episode focused on “evangelicals building a just America” and featured Rev. Joel C. Hunter and Pastor Michael McBride.

In posing his questions, Greer noted that in a recent poll evangelicals were 14 percent more likely than other respondents to value obedience over self-reliance and good behavior over creativity in their children. Both Hunter and McBride are evangelicals. Hunter is white and in his sixties, while McBride is African American and a generation younger.

Greer asked both men why evangelicals place so much importance on obedience. Hunter answered with an example: Learning something new—such as ice skating—takes discipline. You have to practice many times over before you can develop the freedom to be creative.

It was a smart response—not “either-or” but “both-and.” First comes discipline, structure, and practice. That grounding is essential in developing the tools to be creative and the self-confidence and skills needed to be self-reliant. This is true for ice skating and just about any creative endeavor. If you want to be a novelist, for instance, you first need to master dialogue, setting, plot, character development, and more. You must do the necessary preliminary work before you can take off and soar.

Rev. Hunter resisted a forced choice. He praised self-confidence and good decision-making skills and also emphasized the importance of obedience. It is “a big deal” for evangelicals, he said, because there’s a connection between a child obeying her parents and learning to obey God.

Greer then turned to Pastor McBride and asked: “If you had to choose—creativity or obedience?”

McBride thought for a moment. Then he said, “In March of 1999 I was beat up by two white police officers because they felt I was not being ‘obedient’ enough. Now, I felt like I was being obedient. But the way they saw the world, and me in their world, created a fear and reaction to my actions that caused me harm.”

McBride said he has lived with that experience ever since, as do many people of color who have been victims of police violence. That attack affects how he responds to a question about obedience or creativity, and it makes him think of his four-year-old daughter, who is “super-creative, bold, and audacious.” McBride said he worries that when his little girl goes to school, her creativity and audacity might be seen as disruptive and a threat to the learning environment. The teacher might not see a curious bubbly child but instead a girl who is not “obedient” enough.

McBride leaned forward in his chair and said the question reminded him of conversations he had growing up when his father would instruct him how to act around certain types of people. Those carefully taught behaviors were very different from how he acted when he was with people who loved and cared for him and meant him no harm.

Greer responded, “So obedience might actually be a valuable survival strategy—not against creativity but essential or you don’t get a chance.”

McBride nodded in agreement. He then expanded beyond himself and his family to advise all of us to engage in conversations that go deeper than polling questions and to get out of our own parochial views. McBride urged us to understand the differences that surround us in this world and to get to know those whose realities are unlike our own. He pressed us to be allies of people who are under-represented in the political process and are objects, rather than co-creators, of policies that affect them. McBride argued that we need to make sure that all God’s children can engage and participate in the issues that affect them and can make their voices heard.

It was a memorable discussion. I was grateful for Rev. Hunter’s “both-and” response and was profoundly moved by Pastor McBride’s life story. Good conversations are like that: They prod deep places in our heart, evoke insight and self-understanding, and connect us with lives unlike our own.

Sally Steenland is Director of the Faith and Progressive Policy Initiative at the Center for American Progress. Steenland, a best-selling author, former newspaper columnist, and teacher, explores the role of religion and values in the public sphere.

SOURCE URL: http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/religion/news/2013/04/17/60750/is-creativity-or-obedience-more-important/

Evangelicals Building a Just America

"Evangelicals Building a Just America" is the premier episode of Summits on Tenth, a new Internet video series featuring conversations that provoke and disrupt conventional thinking on a wide variety of contemporary issues. The episode explores the role of evangelicals in creating social change and features two dynamic church leaders who defy the public image of evangelicals: Reverend Dr. Joel C. Hunter, Senior Pastor at Northland Church and Pastor Michael McBride, Director of PICO National Network's Lifelines to Healing Campaign. The conversation was moderated by Simon Greer, president and CEO of the Nathan Cummings Foundation, and Lynn Parramore, senior editor at AlterNet.

More videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/SummitsOn10th