In the news the other day, I read a story about Rev. Joel Hunter, who was to take over the presidency of the Christian Coalition in January. Rev. Hunter is presently a senior pastor at Northland Church in Longwood, Florida.
However, in an organizational board meeting on November 21st, Hunter announced that he would not be assuming this position, after all. He stated that differences of philosophy and focus were behind his decision.
That is, Rev Hunter wanted the organization to focus more on issues concerning poverty and the environment, rather than opposing same sex marriage and abortion. In other words, he wanted this organization's focus to become more positive; to be for something, rather than be defined by what the group is against. "These are issues that Jesus would want us to care about," Hunter said.
Thought Hunter maintains that he was not asked to leave, he said, "They pretty much said, 'These issues are fine, but they're not our issues, that's not our base.' "
I see this as a small positive sign; that there are Christians who want to take a more moderate and centrist approach to religion and politics. I suspect we'll be hearing more voices like Hunter's in the months and years to come.
Thoughts?
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