RICK WARREN FORUM WITH OBAMA AND MCCAIN

Your missionary to Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, Rob Schenck, reporting:

This Saturday, August 16, Pastor Rick Warren of "Purpose Driven" fame, will host Barack Obama and John McCain for a forum at his Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California. Yesterday the religion reporter at the Los Angeles Times called me and for more than an hour asked my opinion on Pastor Warren and his event. I tried to offer a balanced response. I suspect The Times will only use my more critical comments because I seemed to be the "yin" to their "yang." That is, the reporter already had the good, now he wanted the bad. (I've been through this kind of interview before and I can always tell when I've been tagged for the "negatory" voice.) In any case, I did offer some constructive criticism that I'll explore more fully--and in its proper context--here.

Before I get to the critical side, though, I'll offer my support for what Warren and Saddleback intend to do. The concept of an uninterrupted, civil conversation with the candidates is a very good one--especially inside a church. I understand the intention, but the critical elements in their success or failure will be the questions and the questioner.

According to the reports, Rick Warren will be the only questioner. I heard him say recently he will not ask anything directly about the sanctity of life or of marriage, nor will there be any "test" of the candidates' Christianity. Instead, Obama and McCain will be asked about how they view the job of president, their own worldviews and questions on character.

This approach works theoretically, but in the real political world, I guarantee you, Pastor Warren will not get straight answers.  Candidates skillfully exploit platforms like this one. Right now coaches are working with both Obama and McCain, rehearsing the lines each will insert at just the opportune time. 

Sorry if I sound cynical, I don't mean to, but I've been on Capitol Hill for almost 15 years. I've heard and seen it all. Candidates are trained not to pay attention to the particular questions that are asked, but rather to use them cleverly as segues to the messages they want to telegraph to certain  constituencies. This is why I say the questions and the questioner are critical,and why the questioner needs to dig in a little, even if it irritates his guests.

Oddly, on the same day I spoke to the Los Angeles Times, I received an E-mail invitation from Rick Warren to send him ideas about questions he should ask of the candidates. Here's what I sent back:

Dear Rick: (I have met him personally, and he told me to call him "Rick.") 

Here are my suggestions for your questions to the candidates. I'll be praying for you 

this weekend.

1)You have said publicly you are a Christian. (Both candidates are on record.) Tell us about your understanding of God, and more particularly of Jesus Christ. How has this this understanding affected your policies and practices in public office? Give us some real examples.

2) When Jesus was asked what is the greatest of all the commandments, he said the first is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, and the second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. How will the sequence of these two Great Commandments affect your priorities as president?

3) The Declaration of Independence references the "Laws of Nature and of Nature's God," and states that "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights." Do you affirm the Declaration as part of the basis of law for the United States? Please explain your answer and how it affects your view of law.

4) How would you explain "the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God?" and who is the "Creator" spoken of in the Declaration of Independence?

5) Do you agree that all human beings are endowed with the same rights, or are some excluded from those rights? Is the child in the womb a human being? How does your answer affect your public policy decisions?

6) Is the union between a man and woman, that we recognize in marriage, reflective of the "Laws of Nature and of Nature's God?" How does your answer affect your public policy on marriage?

My guess is that my E-mail will never reach Rick Warren, but if it does, I doubt my questions fit the parameters he's set for this forum. This is where I'll offer more constructive criticism. Unless Pastor Warren is prepared to play a little hardball, he'll simply be used as a tool of the campaigns. Behind the scenes, campaign staffers will laugh him off as a "good sport." The candidates will be relieved they weren't button-holed and could get the job done, even if it was at the expense of candor, of the church and of the American people. 

Presidential politics by its very nature is not very "civil." True, it amplifies the very best of human nature, but also the very worst. Candidates will eat each other alive--and anyone else who gets in their way! 

Jesus said we must be as "wise as serpents and harmless as doves." (Matthew 10:16) From what Rick Warren has said, I think he's planning to be the latter without being the former. While I'm sure he'll be good at being "dovish," I can guarantee his two guests will be utterly serpentine. 

Years ago I hosted the infamous former New York City gang leader Nicky Cruz, who was converted to Christ under the ministry of David Wilkerson, author of The Cross and the Switchblade. Nicky told me a story about how after he became a Christian, he had an encounter with a rival gang leader who attacked him. Nicky procured a reversal and pinned his attacker to the floor, putting a knife to his throat demanding the guy praise God out loud. In a panic, the challenger breathlessly shrieked, "Praise God! Praise God!"

"You better praise God," Nicky told him, "because if it weren't for God holding my hand back, this knife would be in your throat!"

It's probably an extreme illustration, but sometimes Christians need to show they have guts. Presidential politics isn't for the faint of heart. "Polite" often translates "sucker" in the world of hardball campaigns. I hope and pray the winsome Warren isn't publicly played by these two highly ambitious and powerful pols. 

A pastor who takes on the world's biggest problems may appear in the Christian community to be a makher (Jewish slang for "bigwig), but not here on Capitol Hill. He's just another naive simpleton to be exploited.

Be wise, Rick--in fact, be downright snakey! We will be praying for you!

Rev. Rob Schenck

Faith and Action

www.faithandaction.org

109 2nd St, NE

Washington, DC 20002

202-546-8329