Pastor Rick Warren's Christmas Eve sermon centers on faith and turmoil
Pastor Rick Warren's Christmas Eve sermon centers on faith and turmoil
Head of Orange County's Saddleback Church is slated to give the
invocation at Barack Obama's inauguration. The pair's connection has
drawn criticism from conservative Christians and gay-rights activists
alike.
By Duke Helfand and Raja Abdulrahim .jpg)
December 25, 2008
President-elect Barack Obama caused an uproar this month when he
picked evangelical mega-church pastor Rick Warren to give the
invocation at his Jan. 20 inauguration.
Both men defended the invitation as a way to build bridges even as
gay-rights activists and some of Warren's fellow evangelicals
condemned the decision.
On Wednesday, as Warren ushered in Christmas Eve at his sprawling
Saddleback Church in Orange County, he joked briefly about the
inauguration fallout in a sermon devoted mostly to another pressing
issue: the importance of faith when plans are upended.
Warren told the 3,100 people who packed the church's cavernous worship
center about some plans that had not turned out as anticipated.
"President-elect Obama's plans for a noncontroversial inauguration --
right out the door," he said, drawing a round of applause from the
congregation.
The prominent minister also delivered a sobering message for
Christmas.
"You may be going through a change in plans right now," he said. "You
hadn't expected to be laid off or to be financially tight right now.
And when that happens, you're asking, 'Why me, why now?'
"Jesus said you don't understand now what I am doing, but you will
understand later. That's the . . . thing you have to learn when God
changes your plan. You have to learn to trust him."
Saddleback Church attracted about 21,000 people to six services on
Christmas Eve and an estimated 50,000 total since Saturday at its four
Southern California campuses.
Warren preached at several of Wednesday's services from a pulpit
surrounded by a band, a string ensemble, six Christmas trees and a
giant wreath with a sign that declared: "The Christmas Connection." At
times, the service had the feel of a concert.
Though Warren kept his Christmas message apolitical, he has spoken
previously about the inauguration.
Addressing the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Long Beach last
weekend, Warren said his decision to deliver the invocation reflected
his mission as a Christian to embrace all comers, including those with
whom he may disagree.
"I happen to love Democrats and Republicans," he told the gathering.
"And for the media's purpose, I happen to love gays and straights. . .
. Who ever came up with the idea that you have to agree with everybody
on everything in order to love them?"
Warren added: "And you know what my attitude is: You don't have to see
eye to eye to walk hand in hand, and you can disagree without being
disagreeable. And this is what Barack Obama and I happen to agree on."
In the same speech, Warren described the United States as a land of
immigrants, telling his audience: "I think it's historic that we have
a first-generation immigrant who's just been elected president."
Warren and Obama have shared a stage on more than one occasion.
In August, Obama, who was then the Democratic nominee, appeared with
his Republican rival, Sen. John McCain, for a candidates’ forum in
which Warren interviewed each man separately. Conservative Christians
criticized Warren for opening his pulpit to Obama.
Warren also faced biting criticism in 2006 when he invited Obama to
speak at his church for a global AIDS summit. Sen. Hillary Rodham
Clinton (D-N.Y.) also appeared at the church for an AIDS conference
last year.
But Warren may be evangelicals' brightest hope for gaining access to
the incoming Obama administration.
One scholar who studies evangelicals called Warren's decision to
appear at the inauguration a smart move. Although he remains firmly
against abortion and gay marriage, Warren is viewed by many Christians
as a moderate. He has spoken about the need to care for the
environment and made the fight against AIDS and other problems in
Africa a chief cause at his church, which attracts 22,000 attendees
each weekend.
His relationship with Obama could secure a voice for evangelical
Christians in the new administration.
"It would be a bad thing for evangelicals for someone like him not to
accept this invitation," said Larry Eskridge, associate director of
the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals at Wheaton
College in suburban Chicago.
"For someone as mainstream and centrist like Warren to rebuff that
would be a bad sign from the evangelical side, [as if] to say, 'We
aren't even going to play ball.' "
At Saddleback Church on Wednesday, several congregants dismissed the
inauguration controversy as political hoopla, saying they were proud
of their minister and Obama for reaching across a potential divide.
"I think it's exciting," said Lindsey Barr, 27, a processing clerk at
a computer software company in nearby Aliso Viejo. "It's time for a
change. This could be his [Obama's] first change."
As the 3 p.m. service drew to a close, Warren thanked his congregation
and sought to put his public life into perspective.
"Some people have said, 'Are you ever going to respond to all this
stuff that's on the news lately?' " he said. "Right now, you're my top
priority."
