We spent the afternoon wandering about Santa Clara and Gilroy with Erik, then headed back to the hotel for a rest.  No A/C in Erik's car, so we needed to "air out."

Once here, I checked out the LA Times and read an interesting article on Rick Warren, head of one of the largest mega-churches in the U.S. (Saddleback Church).  Warren, who also wrote the best-selling, The Purpose Driven Life, has accomplished the feat of bringing together rival presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain on the same stage (scheduled for this weekend). 

The article focused primarily on the clout Warren has developed, resulting in his ability to pull off this coup.  As a recovering evangelical Christian, I was more encouraged by the hope that Warren's ascendency indicates a fundamental shift in American Christianity.

While Warren's compatriots (Falwell, Robertson and Dobson), have been extremely involved in political campaigns and have succeeded in shifting the Republican party to the extreme right on social issues, Rick Warren takes a different stance.  He is more concerned with issues of social justice than divisive focus on homosexuality or abortion.  He does not endorse political candidates.  He is an activist in the fight against AIDS.

His approach reminds me of what originally drew me to Christianity--a focus on compassion, grace and our obligations to our fellow human beings.  Maybe there's hope for Christianity (and followers of Christ rather than followers of dogma) after all.

Got hope?

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