| Dear Obamas: Some advice to help find a new church home |
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Dear Obamas: Some advice to help find a new church homePosted: Saturday, May. 09, 2009 Send your thoughts on what the Obamas should consider as they look for a church to: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Dear President Obama and Mrs. Obama, I've read in the news that since your recent move your family has been looking for a church home. A lot of people in Given our experience with church-shoppers, here's some advice from pastors and others on what to consider in your spiritual search: “First and foremost, through diligent prayer, seek divine direction for a church that teaches the Bible; has a strong community outreach ministry; a teaching that is a broad-based ministry and affirms all of God's children.” – Rev. Clifford Jones Sr., Friendship Missionary Baptist. ”Please join a church where the leader doesn't desire a close friendship with politically powerful people. When this happens, the leader can't speak prophetically to those listening.” – Rev. David Chadwick, Forest Hill. “You will be going against the grain if you resist the temptation to ‘shop' for a church based on the needs of your family. The church exists to worship God, and if you keep this in mind your selection of a particular church is not so important. The public and the media will not ‘get' this, but that is fine: You are offering something to God.” – Rev. Ken Carter, “Assuming you want your daughters to also be faithful and thoughtful followers of Christ, as a parent, I would choose that church which most inspires and engages my children while also challenging them to be inclusive, welcoming and justice oriented.” – Rev. Nancy EllettAllison, Holy Covenant United “Such a choice must not be the result of political calculus. It must be the result of prayerful consideration. It is a very personal and, yes, private matter. The choice of a church home is the choice of investing the only part of your being that will live forever with a particular congregation and its leadership. Among the areas of prayerful consideration: the degree of alignment between the church's vision with your own, and the sense of that church being family to you.” – Bishop Claude Alexander, The Park Ministries. “1) Find a church that accepts you for who you are as persons, not who you are as the First Family and that will offer you the care of souls. And 2) find a place where your daughters can find a community of young people and adults who will nurture them.” – Bill Leonard, dean of “Go where the Triune God is the focus of worship; where God's word and the Gospel are proclaimed with accuracy and relevance; and where you will grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ within a loving community of believers.” – Rev. John Munro, “Find a church that seeks to develop mind, body and spirit; a church that is sensitive to maintaining tradition, but open to embracing the contemporary culture; and a church where there is something that appeals to every age group, from the child to the senior citizen.” – Rev. Dwayne Walker, “Make sure the church displays, through mission and outreach, a keen sense of its place in the community as servants. And make sure it has a strong sense of what it means to be ‘sacramental'…” – Rev. Lawrence Womack, “The traits you should look for in a congregation are the same traits you are attempting to bring to our government. You should look for a house of worship that is true to its own faith traditions while understanding the value of building bridges with congregations of different traditions. It should be a house of worship that takes its faith out into the world by addressing social issues and respecting the dignity of every person as a child of God. And it should be a house of worship that leads by example, rather than by mandate.” – Maria Hanlin, Mecklenburg Ministries. |