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April 11, 2008

Leaving a good church hard for Obama, anyone

News analysis by Teresa Blythe
Special to the Arizona Daily Star
Reprinted with permission

TUCSON — The talk show landscape is filled with political pundits scratching their heads over the question of why Sen. Barack Obama doesn’t simply solve his so-called “Jeremiah Wright problem” by leaving Trinity United Church of Christ.

The question reveals a lack of understanding of the commitment most people have to their faith community. It’s just not that easy to leave a church that brought you to a life of faith, nurtured you and energizes you for service in the world.

Sure for some it’s easy to move on. Every pastor is familiar with the “green veto,” people who leave the church, taking their donations with them, because of an issue that rubs them the wrong way. People who shop for churches the way they do for a watch also find it easy to walk away.

But for a progressive Christian who needs to be part of a community that is alive, energetic and effective in social-justice ministry, it is a difficult matter.

In my work as a spiritual director, consulting with people about issues such as whether to walk away from a church, I firmly believe there is only one good reason to leave your church — when it gets in the way of your relationship with God.

For Sen. Obama, the controversy surrounding Trinity may be politically dicey for his presidential campaign. But there is no indication, from Obama’s responses to the controversy, that the church, or Rev. Wright, has obstructed his relationship with God.

One of the main reasons people consider leaving a church is because the one they are attending is boring, lifeless or uninterested in hearing a diversity of political, social or theological views.

For a liberal Christian, there are only a handful of progressive churches in Tucson with some fire in the belly. When you find one, you are so thankful for it that you find a way to make the relationship work.

At Southside Presbyterian Church in Tucson, the retired Rev. John Fife would occasionally preach a sermon about how he didn’t believe in divorce — not something everyone in the church agreed on. So what did the dissenters do? Instead of walking away, they talked about the issue openly and one of them preached a sermon with a differing viewpoint the next Sunday.

Some commentators may be disturbed by watching Obama stand by his church in the face of controversy. But I’m not. I see Christians every day who know that the value of their church is not measured by what the pastor has to say on any given Sunday.

It’s measured by what they bring to the community as it seeks to live out its sacred call. And when you are part of a community following its call, it is almost impossible to leave your church.