Actually, this post’s title doesn’t pertain to me but to a popular letter that’s been buzzing around the Internet by a black man named Huntley Brown. In the letter, Huntley thoughtfully explains why he, as an evangelical Christian, cannot cast his ballot for Barack Obama. Since I’m now the reigning expert on all things black and evangelical (just kidding), I received an email the other day from an old Judson College classmate (who is white), asking my opinion of this missive.
I think Huntley Brown’s letter is especially intriguing to those of us who attended Judson in the late ’80s, because Huntley was a celebrated fixture there during that time. In case you haven’t heard him, Huntley is a Judson grad (originally from Jamaica), an incredibly gifted pianist, and a wonderful man of God.
Anyway, when my Judson classmate ran across this letter, he wondered what my response to it might be. He wondered if the letter was causing such a stir because it’s one of those hot items that white conservative Christians can point to and say, “See, there are even some black Christians who aren’t voting for Obama!” Or whether it was something that should seriously challenge Obama-leaning evangelicals to think twice.
Friends, I’m trying to steer clear of getting too political here at Reconciliation Blog (though I know that’s become, more or less, impossible during this historic election year). In any event, I’m going to wimp out on this one and direct you to the blog of a new friend of mine.
Todd Burkes is a missionary to Africa via Paris, France. He wrote one of the first articles to appear at UrbanFaith.com (don’t forget to visit, now), and he personally blogs at Follow Him. Over the last several days (starting with his Oct. 18 post), Todd has been offering a systematic response to each of the points in Huntley’s widely circulated letter. Ultimately, what Todd does is to offer a fresh, holistic ethic of faith and life for contemporary evangelical Christians. You may not agree with everything he says, but I think you’ll find his interaction with Huntley’s letter to be gracious, thought-provoking, and kingdom-minded.
In the end, this is just one Christian brother’s response to another Christian brother. They each love Jesus, and I think there’s much to learn from both of their views.
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Greetings, everyone. Thanks for the excellent dialogue happening regarding that last post about President Obama’s speech to schoolchildren. Just wanted to bring to your attention a postmortem on the event that I posted over at UrbanFaith.com. And while you’re at UrbanFaith, please also check out my friend Todd Burke’s hard-hitting commentary on the political hysteria surrounding the health-care debate—and feel free to chime in with your own opinions, since I’m sure some will take issue with Todd’s perspective. And, if you haven’t seen it yet, you need to read Jeremy Del Rio’s insightful essay on why the call for biblical justice should be a natural part of our worship.
Reconciliation Blog 