Joseph Lowery // A benediction with Racism?

Overall I was very impressed by Barak Obama and his inauguration. Despite the Justice fumbling in the actual swearing in. Barak, er Mr. President, was flawless. Fun to listen to. Very ambitious.

But there was a part of the inauguration that made me feel unsettled. It came during the benediction when Joseph Lowery said:

"Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get back, when brown can stick around -- (laughter) -- when yellow will be mellow -- (laughter) -- when the red man can get ahead, man -- (laughter) -- and when white will embrace what is right."

I thought this was supposed to be a celebration of how race now that we have a black President. Not a bashing of races by using slanderous terms of color. Look at what he says:

"Black will not be asked to get back" - Inferring to the times when segregation ran rampant and black men and women had to sit in the back of the bus.

"When brown can stick around" - Stick around? Not be returned to their home country?

"When yellow will mellow" - Just going for the rhyme.

"When red man can get ahead" - Indians would just get ahead.

Here's the one that ticks my clock:
"when white will embrace what is right" - So what have I been embracing my whole life if it is not "right"!?! What Mr. Joseph Lowery do I need to get right? What are my friends and family doing that causes you to plead to our Heavenly Father asking for us to get it right?

All Americans, myself included, celebrate the inauguration of the first non-white President. It is a sign of our times and evidence that many racial boundaries and hurts of the last century have been overcome. But using his platform at a Presidential inauguration to call white people racist was uncalled for and very disrespectful to people of all races who came behind Barak Obama in his race to the White House.

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After talking with my wife a bit about this last night and at lunch, I did some research. Turns out I am not the only one who is upset about this.

Chicago Sun Times
Preach it Glenn Beck.
Try Googling see what you come up with.

Presidential Candidates on Orphan Crisis

I don't know how many of you caught the presidential candidates being interviewed by Rick Warren. I personally didn't have the time to sit down and watch it for two hours (I was watching the Olympics).

But I heard afterwards that Rick Warren asked both of them to consider making the orphan crisis their big social contribution to the world, Like Bush made AIDS in Africa his.

Rick Warren states that there are 148 orphaned children in the world and asks what their solutions might be.

McCain (who has an adopted daughter) says he'd like to make adoptions more possible for Americans. While this is a great solution for the individual children being adopted there are 148 million children in need and only 110 million households in America! Adoption cannot be the only solution.

Rick Warren correctly states that orphanages and institutions are not the best place for orphans to be raised that families are. Orphanages cannot be the only solution.

Casa Viva is creating an alternative solution to orphanages and institutions that empowers national churches to be a solution for orphans in their own country. I am excited to be a part of this alternative solution to the 148 million orphans in the world.

Warren asks Obama and McCain about the Orphans of the World