“People ask me, ‘Rick, are you right wing or left wing?’ I tell them, I’m for the whole bird!”
That statement, one of a plethora of sound bites spoken by pastor and author Rick Warren, embodied both the theme and spirit of “Race Against Time,” the 2006 Global Summit on AIDS at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Cal., this past Nov. 29 — Dec. 1. The conference drew the attention of many, due in part to the invitation Warren extended to potential Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. This act of inclusivity drew both the attention of the secular world and criticism from the religious right.
Criticism or not, Warren’s AIDS Conference still managed to attract more than 2,000 attendees from across the religious and political spectrum to Saddleback’s church campus (all 120 acres of it) for two days of presentations that Warren compared to “drinking from a fire hydrant.”
In addressing those who would be critical of the attempt to include both political parties, more specifically, the inclusion of pro-choice Obama, Warren reasoned, “I have two friends here, a Republican (Senator Sam Brownback) and a Democrat (Senator Barack Obama), because you’ve got to have two wings to fly!”
“It is time,” Warren added, “for us to stop debating and start doing. To stop criticizing and start cooperating.” In what was quickly becoming a sermon rather than a speech, Warren suggested, “If you can only work with people who agree with you, you will never get anything done, because no one in the world agrees with you on everything.”
There appeared to be much more commonality than contention among the speakers. Brownback, having read the story of Lazarus and the rich man, pondered aloud who, in the world today, might Lazarus be and who might be the rich man, with obvious implications. The story “doesn’t have to end that way though,” Brownback entreated. “You can ignore this poor guy who is laying here, or you can engage this poor man, work with him, help him, feed him the crumbs from your table and save your soul.” The question that remains, according to Brownback, is which are we going to do?
Obama picked up the sermon where Brownback left off. “My Bible tells me that when God sent his only Son to earth, it was to heal the sick and comfort the weary, to feed the hungry and clothe the naked, and to befriend the outcast and redeem those who strayed from righteousness,” he said. Admittedly, as Obama confessed, “living His example is the hardest kind of faith–but is surely the most rewarding.”
But Warren’s intent for the conference was not simply to cultivate some “can’t we all just get along” sympathies. “I am tired of the church being known for what it is against,” said Warren. “It is time for the church to start being known for what it is for. … My goal is to move the American church from selfish consumerism to unselfish service.”
The day’s speakers agreed. “The resources of governments may be vast, and the good works of philanthropists may be abundant,” acknowledged Obama, “but we should never underestimate how powerful the passion of people of faith can be.” Wes Stafford, president of Compassion International, echoed this sentiment. “It has taken a long time to find our hearts,” said Stafford, “but we have come so far.” But, Stafford’s commendation came with critique as well. “Compassion’s greatest challenge is not in equipping the church over there,” said Stafford, “It is in waking up the church here.”
Rich Stearns, president of World Vision, also continued the prophetic challenge. “The church,” said Stearns “has resources and reach into the far regions of the world. If we can help mobilize the church to respond, then we will have really done something. … I believe the very heart and soul of the church of Jesus Christ is at stake. My encouragement to you,” he concluded, “is to be the church.”
