The controversy concerning Barack Obama and his church has inspired me to unpack several issues related to politics and religion this week, as I see those issues through the lens of my experience as the pastor of a church. I thought I'd tackle one more today.
One thing I hope progressive people of faith might learn from this whole story is the following:
It's extremely helpful to progressive causes for progressive people to support progressive churches/mosques/synagogues. And if you are a progressive person of faith, consider doing so yourself.
(For the purposes of brevity, I will use the term "church" in parts of this essay. That is my own faith tradition, and a part of why I use it is because I am describing that tradition. But, feel free to substitute "house of worship," or "mosque," or "synagogue" if you so choose...)
I am very, very aware that not all progressive people are people of faith. Some of my best progressive friends are atheists or agnostics of great intellect and heart. (In fact, I have told people for years that I often feel more comfortable in their presence than I do with certain ultraconservative Christians!!!) So, from the start, I realize I am not preaching to the whole progressive choir.
But I might argue that this makes the issue all the more poignant in progressive circles: we start with a much smaller "pool" when it comes to potential congregants, because of the very nature of the progressive movement...thus making the individual decisions of those who are faith-inclined have even more prescient.
In a sense, Obama's situation has stood as an example for this: very few of our most public "progressive" leaders actually support progressive churches. Which is, it seems to me, a part of why everyone is so surprised and interested in this this particular story. Obama's church, the whole world learned this week, is a very unique thing in American life: a mega-sized church with a decidedly progressive theology, social outreach, and witness.
On the whole (I know there are exceptions...) progressive churches tend to be smaller than conservative ones. They tend to be harder to find in many communities. And they don't tend to toot their own horn. (Often feeling downright deadset against it!)
As we have heard Obama say in the past few days, he stayed at Trinity Church for a series of complicated reasons --none having to do with agreeing with his pastor's incendiary rhetoric-- and much of it having to do Trinity Church's progressive vision of what "church" is.
This observation that many progressive leaders do not support progressive churches is not based on any scientific research. So, don't sue me (or, deluge me with evidence to the contrary...I'm sure it's out there) But Obama's situation has drawn our interest, because of how unique it is.
Let me be clear that I am not talking about all rank and file progressive people. I am talking specifically about people in leadership:
-- Party leaders
-- Party activists
-- Elected officials
-- Leaders of causes and interest groups.
My observation is that, in many cases, these persons tend to belong to houses of worship that, by any stretch of the imagination, would be considered "middle-of-the-road," or even "conservative!"
Perhaps this is because this where their family feels comfortable. Perhaps it's because in larger, more middle-of-the-road congregations, they are more likely to find many activities for their kids and youth. (BTW, this is backhanded criticism of many progressive churches: that they don't focus on the "basics" of congregation life enough to attract young families.)
In some case, they have made the decision to attend high profile churches in their communities, so that they can "see and be seen."
But all of these decisions have unfortunate side-efffects. They tend to dilute the power and influence of these folks on those congregations (Small fish. Big sea) and deny progressive faith communities badly needed financial and human resources. (Small sea. Dying coral reef?)
This also allows greater society to develop a skewed view of people of faith. The assumption is that "they're all conservative."
In fact, I hear this over and over...either the traditional assumption that all Christians are Bible-thumping conservatives...or the shock and awe when they find us and exclaim: "I didn't know a church like yours existed!!"
I blame the media for a part of this too, by the way. Far too often, when world-events happen, the media runs to the same mega-churches/conservative-churches, to ask the pastors for comment. Sound byte in hand, they assume that they have heard from the "Christian perspective."
When the war began five years ago, we had many media outlets coming to us for comment, because we were one of the largest churches in town with a significant number of members and staff who supported peace instead. Wednesday, they came back again.
But, know what? We've hardly seen them in between. Very seldom. (I'm talking TV especially. Print journalists have been much better..)
Despite all of the crucial issues moral issues of the day, time and time again, they have only gone back to the well of their old familiar mega-church sources.
This is a major reason why many in our society just assume that all religious folks are conservative religious folks.
Some folks might say, "Well you are suggesting that we must be like the conservatives!!"
And, in a sense? You're right. This is sort of what I'm suggesting. And I get that not everybody will agree with this. (It is the progressive movement, after all. What...uniformity of opinion? Please...)
Conservative people, and politicians have, for decades, understood the unique synergy of the moral voice and social action that can take place by supporting conservative churches. This is not all born out of sinister or crass political calculation. Much of it is born out of understand the common cause that can take place between organized religion and people of similar social outlook.
Despite the clear ties to organized religion in some of the most recognized progressive voices in history (MLK, Desmond Tutu to name just two) the progressive movement has tended to keep religion at arms length; leading Jim Wallis to suggest that "the left doesn't get it."
So, having said all this, let me suggest some things to look for in a good progressive house of worship. I'm going to use examples from our church to illustrate...again, not to imply that we're the only (or best) game in our town, but just to remind folks that there really are alternatives.
Look to connect to a place of worship where:
-- The congregation values education and study is valued, non-literal interpretation of the scriptures is assumed, and you don't have to check your brain at the door.
-- Dissent is valued and appreciated.
-- The congregation has gone on record with a mission statement that reflects progressive values. (You can find ours on the main page of our website...)
-- The congregation openly welcomes a marginalized group. Our congregation, for example, is somewhere between 30-40 percent gay and lesbian. We pride ourselves on being a "blended church," not a gay or straight one.
-- The congregation tackles tough issue of the day, like the war, the environment, and immigration. Our "Church in Society" Commission has written a series of position papers on the issues, to challenge the whole church to get more involved. (If you're interested, you can read them here)
-- The congregation "walks the walk" by supporting progressive causes. They march for immigrants rights. They march against the war. They support things like Earth Day. (Every year, we line up all of our Hybrid cars, and have what we call "The Northaven Car Show.") Perhaps the congregation has direct ministries of social action...food pantries, community centers, etc....
These are just some suggestions of what to look for in a progressive church. And note! None of them had to do with the pastor!
In my first diary this week, I suggested that Obama might have stayed at Trinity Church for a variety of reason, virtually none of which had anything to do with the pastor. In that essay, I suggested that to "church hop" assumes an unfortunate and consumerist view of religion.
I still believe that. I am not suggesting church "hopping" or church "shopping."
But, I do believe that when progressive people first choose the house of worship they will support, they would do well to support progressive ones.
It could make a real difference to us all.