7 more days...

You might not have noticed, but there's a Presidential election happening. Our family's preferences are well-documented...as you might remember, Sam endorsed Obama before the primary season even started. That's why the campaign keeps sending him e-mails about donating (and ACORN keeps attempting to register him to vote). At any rate, people far older and more experienced than Sam have lined up on different sides of this election. Reasonable minds can disagree, after all. As a person of faith, I often find myself discussing this election within the context of morality and faith. That's not an easy or straightforward conversation, obviously. I don't agree fully with any political candidate in this race or any other race. That's the problem with a two party system that assumes all people who are pro-life also support gun rights and pre-emptive war, that all people who support health care reform are in favor of protectionist pro-union policies. There is no party that perfectly matches me nor is there one party that perfectly matches my faith, but Jim Wallis recently posted this essay on his faith priorities for this year's election and I think it reflects a genuine desire to consider justice, mercy and humility as we enter the polls. I hope that's something everyone can aspire to. Happy reading (and voting):

My Personal 'Faith Priorities' for this Election

In 2004, several conservative Catholic bishops and a few megachurch pastors like Rick Warren issued their list of "non-negotiables," which were intended to be a voter guide for their followers. All of them were relatively the same list of issues: abortion, gay marriage, stem cell research, etc. None of them even included the word "poverty," only one example of the missing issues which are found quite clearly in the Bible. All of them were also relatively the same as official Republican Party Web sites of "non-negotiables." The political connections and commitments of the religious non-negotiable writers were quite clear. I want to suggest a different approach this year and share my personal list of "faith priorities" that will guide me in making the imperfect choices that always confront us in any election year — and suggest that each of you come up with your own list of "faith" or "moral" priorities for this election year and take them into the voting booth with you.

After the last election, I wrote a book titled God’s Politics. I was criticized by some for presuming to speak for God, but that wasn’t the point. I was trying to explore what issues might be closest to the heart of God and how they may be quite different from what many strident religious voices were then saying. I was also saying that "God’s Politics" will often turn our partisan politics upside down, transcend our ideological categories of Left and Right, and challenge the core values and priorities of our political culture. I was also trying to say that there is certainly no easy jump from God’s politics to either the Republicans or Democrats. God is neither. In any election we face imperfect choices, but our choices should reflect the things we believe God cares about if we are people of faith, and our own moral sensibilities if we are not people of faith. Therefore, people of faith, and all of us, should be "values voters" but vote all our values, not just a few that can be easily manipulated for the benefit of one party or another.

In 2008, the kingdom of God is not on the ballot in any of the 50 states as far as I can see. So we can’t vote for that this year. But there are important choices in this year’s election — very important choices — which will dramatically impact what many in the religious community and outside of it call "the common good," and the outcome could be very important, perhaps even more so than in many recent electoral contests. I am in no position to tell anyone what is "non-negotiable," and neither is any bishop or megachurch pastor, but let me tell you the "faith priorities" and values I will be voting on this year:

1. With more than 2,000 verses in the Bible about how we treat the poor and oppressed, I will examine the record, plans, policies, and promises made by the candidates on what they will do to overcome the scandal of extreme global poverty and the shame of such unnecessary domestic poverty in the richest nation in the world. Such a central theme of the Bible simply cannot be ignored at election time, as too many Christians have done for years. And any solution to the economic crisis that simply bails out the rich, and even the middle class, but ignores those at the bottom should simply be unacceptable to people of faith.

2. From the biblical prophets to Jesus, there is, at least, a biblical presumption against war and the hope of beating our swords into instruments of peace. So I will choose the candidates who will be least likely to lead us into more disastrous wars and find better ways to resolve the inevitable conflicts in the world and make us all safer. I will choose the candidates who seem to best understand that our security depends upon other people’s security (everyone having "their own vine and fig tree, so no one can make them afraid," as the prophets say) more than upon how high we can build walls or a stockpile of weapons. Christians should never expect a pacifist president, but we can insist on one who views military force only as a very last resort, when all other diplomatic and economic measures have failed, and never as a preferred or habitual response to conflict.

3. "Choosing life" is a constant biblical theme, so I will choose candidates who have the most consistent ethic of life, addressing all the threats to human life and dignity that we face — not just one. Thirty-thousand children dying globally each day of preventable hunger and disease is a life issue. The genocide in Darfur is a life issue. Health care is a life issue. War is a life issue. The death penalty is a life issue. And on abortion, I will choose candidates who have the best chance to pursue the practical and proven policies which could dramatically reduce the number of abortions in America and therefore save precious unborn lives, rather than those who simply repeat the polarized legal debates and "pro-choice" and "pro-life" mantras from either side.

4. God’s fragile creation is clearly under assault, and I will choose the candidates who will likely be most faithful in our care of the environment. In particular, I will choose the candidates who will most clearly take on the growing threat of climate change, and who have the strongest commitment to the conversion of our economy and way of life to a cleaner, safer, and more renewable energy future. And that choice could accomplish other key moral priorities like the redemption of a dangerous foreign policy built on Middle East oil dependence, and the great prospects of job creation and economic renewal from a new "green" economy built on more spiritual values of conservation, stewardship, sustainability, respect, responsibility, co-dependence, modesty, and even humility.

5. Every human being is made in the image of God, so I will choose the candidates who are most likely to protect human rights and human dignity. Sexual and economic slavery is on the rise around the world, and an end to human trafficking must become a top priority. As many religious leaders have now said, torture is completely morally unacceptable, under any circumstances, and I will choose the candidates who are most committed to reversing American policy on the treatment of prisoners. And I will choose the candidates who understand that the immigration system is totally broken and needs comprehensive reform, but must be changed in ways that are compassionate, fair, just, and consistent with the biblical command to "welcome the stranger."

6. Healthy families are the foundation of our community life, and nothing is more important than how we are raising up the next generation. As the father of two young boys, I am deeply concerned about the values our leaders model in the midst of the cultural degeneracy assaulting our children. Which candidates will best exemplify and articulate strong family values, using the White House and other offices as bully pulpits to speak of sexual restraint and integrity, marital fidelity, strong parenting, and putting family values over economic values? And I will choose the candidates who promise to really deal with the enormous economic and cultural pressures that have made parenting such a "countercultural activity" in America today, rather than those who merely scapegoat gay people for the serious problems of heterosexual family breakdown.

That is my list of personal "faith priorities" for the election year of 2008, but they are not "non-negotiables" for anyone else. It’s time for each of us to make up our own list in these next 12 days. Make your list and send this on to your friends and family members, inviting them to do the same thing.

From Chicago to Kissongo...and back again

A couple years back our Pastor visited a small community in Tanzania named Kissongo and discovered that their school desperately needed teacher housing. Attracting quality teachers to rural school districts is difficult in Eastern Africa (and America, for that matter), so small communities like Kissongo rely on offering teachers decent on-campus housing. When Pastor Laura shared stories from that trip, our church overwhelmingly responded, sponsoring 80 kids from that community through World Vision and in the process paying for new housing at the school. As a result of our two communities crossing paths, LaSalle Street Church just sent a small team of folks to visit Tanzania and bring back some real encounters with our brothers and sisters in East Africa. Amber's a part of the team, so Sam and I have been flying solo since Wednesday. There have been some rought spots, but we're managing just fine on a steady schedule of pizza, football and Elmo. That may be overstating things, actually...there's some Thai food too. Anyway, Amber's been sending an update e-mail once a day, so here are some news flashes from Kissongo:

- There is no shame in publicly picking your nose in Tanzania - even while giving a speech. At least, that's Amber's assessment after this took place three times during their first day there.

- Everyone asks them about Obama. They've even seen several bumperstickers. So, clearly, Tanzania would not vote red. Of course - given the latest polling number - fewer and fewer states here would vote red either.

- Cold showers remain every bit as unpleasant as they were during our time in Tonga. It's good to try this practice every couple years, just in case anything has changed.

- The team met our church's sponsored children. The Masai people tend towards being strong and silent, so this visit consisted of much more bubble-blowing, soccer playing and singing than actual conversation. This reminds me of Tonga...but eating would have to be added to the list.

- The team attended church today. Multiple congregations gathered in a mud-and-dung hut for services. The music was lively, as there were choirs from the Catholic, Lutheran, and Pentecostal churches. Which is definitely a difference from America. Catholics, Lutherans and Pentecostals wouldn't gather together here very often, even if there was a mud-and-dung hut large enough to contain them all.

- Amber has been named and wardrobed as Masai. Since she's not sending pictures, it's hard to say whether this involved neck rings. One can only hope.

You might be wondering what updates Sam and I have from Chicago. Well...the fall petting zoo at our local park had some pretty scary goats, pumpkins look a lot like basketballs, cookies are even better before they're baked and the Bears won today. See? We keep ourselves pretty busy.