November 2008

Earlier today, the Office of the Presiding Bishop of the ELCA (The Rev. Mark Hanson) released an "official statement" regarding the 2008 Presidential election -- and I think it's just plain dumb.

Now when I say the official statement is dumb, what I mean is that it's counter-productive. To be clear, I don't think there's necessarily anything wrong with the actual content of the statement -- it's actually pretty good. For example:

Scripture is clear about what should matter to us as Christians in public life: hospitality to strangers, concern for people in poverty, peacemaking and care for creation. From these core biblical values, I appeal to President-elect Obama to establish the following priorities for his administration:

a response to the current economic crisis with special focus on low-income people

a robust diplomatic effort to restore U.S. credibility abroad

a fulfillment of the promised U.S. funding share of the Millennium Development Goals

strong support for alternative energy research to end our dependence on oil and establish a new green economy

fair and humane immigration reform

serious re-engagement with a peace process for Palestinians and Israelis

Most Christians I know are in agreement with what Hanson is saying here; it's nothing to write home about. No, it's not the content that bothers me.

It's the fact that this statement exists at all that makes it counter-productive, in my estimation. And here's why.

First, who is the intended recipient of this letter? Is it President-elect Obama ("I appeal to President-elect Obama...")? Is it members of the ELCA ("I call on all members of this church to join me...")? You can't simultaneously write a personal exhortation to Barack Obama and a call to millions of Lutherans in the same letter -- it's schizophrenic. If Hanson wanted to communicate his feelings to Obama, he probably could have arranged a meeting (or a phone call, at least) like they did in June. And if Hanson wanted to effectively communicate with members of the ELCA, there are more effective means to do so, like his column in The Lutheran magazine.

Here's the (first) problem: There is no intended recipient of this letter. It is a power play meant to reinforce the hierarchical power structure of the ELCA. It's waving a flag and saying "We're here! The ELCA is here! We exist and we believe our power structure is influential in the world! Check out our press releases!" Personally, I don't think it's effective at all. Obama has too much going on, Lutherans are too confused as it is, and -- most importantly -- nobody wakes up in the morning eagerly anticipating the latest official statement from the ELCA to help them digest current events.

Second, there is a fundamental shift happening in our culture from top-down, hierarchical structures to bottom-up, grassroots organizations. The irony is almost blinding. Barack Obama, who successfully ran the most grassroots political campaign in U.S. history -- leveraging the internet and social media, and inspiring millions of young Americans with his open source mentality -- is receiving an appeal from one of the most staunch top-down structures that exists: The ELCA. In this sense, the ELCA would do better to take advice from the Obama campaign than dole it out.

This is why I believe official statements from the ELCA (or any denomination, for that matter) are counter-productive. I could be insane and way off base here, but something tells me I'm not. Also, please keep in mind that I'm not writing this because I hate the ELCA; I'm writing it because I'm increasingly finding myself "at home" in the ELCA and as such, I desire the best for it. Think of it as constructive criticism. That being said, what do you think?

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