Church Leaders Should Meet With President-elect; Offer Agenda

The election that seemed like it might never end has finally concluded with the election of Barack Obama as the president of the United States. This is truly a historical moment. We can be proud of our nation and the progress this represents.

Many of us in the church chose sides and voted for one of the major or minor party candidates. Some of us went further and volunteered for one of the campaigns.

Now that the election is over it is a good moment to reflect on what the role of the church ought to be as a new administration and a new Congress begin to transition into power.

First, we should remember that the church should never act as a partisan advocate for one political candidate or party. As individuals we have that right but the church’s first allegiance is to God and not the state or any one politician. Our churches should support the new president’s agenda when it is appropriate and push and prod when needed. We should be a loving critic of the world around us. No one should hesitate to challenge this president if the occasion calls for it.

My hope is that mainline churches – under the leadership of the National Council of Churches – would shortly issue a document outlining the priorities on which our churches can find common ground and then present those issues to the president-elect and members of Congress directly.

On the foreign policy side, for example, the members of the NCC have consistently spoken in favor of ending America’s involvement in Iraq. We have also addressed issues such as global warming and poverty – both domestic and worldwide. It should be an easy task to develop a white paper or other such document that outlines the Christian principles we see as being most important to articulate in this moment of history.

The outgoing president largely refused to meet with mainline church leaders. President-elect Obama, on the other hand, has made a point of meeting with diverse religious leaders. The president-elect, of course, was a longtime member of a United Church of Christ congregation.

The leadership of NCC should request a meeting now so that our voice is heard in the earliest days of the new administration.