{"id":3,"date":"2008-08-12T17:02:08","date_gmt":"2008-08-12T17:02:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/lynnvsekulow\/2008\/08\/presidential-politics-the-chur.html"},"modified":"2008-08-12T17:02:08","modified_gmt":"2008-08-12T17:02:08","slug":"presidential-politics-the-chur","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/2008\/08\/presidential-politics-the-chur.html","title":{"rendered":"Presidential Politics & the Church – a Purpose Driven Forum"},"content":{"rendered":"

Let me say at the outset, that I am a fan of Rick Warren, Pastor of Saddleback Church in California.  <\/span>His book, The<\/i> Purpose Driven Life<\/i>, has encouraged tens of thousands of people, and his ministries have had a global impact.  <\/span>I am also pleased to see that Rick Warren is engaging the political process, but I do have a concern.  <\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

On Saturday, presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barak Obama and presumptive Republican nominee for president, Senator John McCain, will participate in a forum at Saddleback Church.  <\/span>Last week the Orange County Register<\/i> ran a headline that said, “Rick Warren hopes to redefine presidential politics.”  <\/span>My concern is that there is much at stake in this election–national security issues, the War on Terror, the environment or poverty–all of these issues should be debated by candidates; but we should not ignore for a moment the impact that the next President of the United States has on the direction of the Supreme Court of the United States.  <\/span>In fact, I will be arguing a case before the Court in November.  <\/span>The next President of the United States may well appoint two Justices to the Supreme Court, which could well determine the direction of the Court for a generation.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

I am concerned that ignoring the significance of Supreme Court appointments will be a real missed opportunity, and both candidates have very differing views on judicial philosophy.  <\/span>The fact of the matter is the Supreme Court of the United States engages in issues that impact religion, abortion, and national security, among others.  <\/span>To ignore the candidates’ views on the Supreme Court of the United States would be unfortunate.  <\/span>Pastor Warren acknowledged that both candidates are “friends of mine that happen to be very different in leadership style, philosophy and background.”  <\/span>I appreciate the fact that Rick Warren has reached out to the presumptive nominees of both parties; but in really trying to understand the leadership style, philosophy and background of the individual, to not discuss the Supreme Court of the United States would be a missed opportunity.  <\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

I know my friend Barry Lynn has concerns about this forum sponsored at Saddleback Church that are different from mine.  <\/span>We will certainly discuss those in the days ahead.  <\/span>I applaud the fact that Rick Warren and the members of Saddleback Church want to engage the political process; but in addition to discussions about the environment, poverty and AIDS, I hope that judicial philosophy will be discussed.  <\/span>Pastor Warren has stated that he wants to ask questions regarding the interpretation of the Constitution.  <\/span>That is one of the questions to ask; but the most important question to ask of the presidential nominees is, “How do you view the role of judges and how do you plan to implement your judicial philosophy through Court appointments?”  <\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

These questions will of course reach highly charged and controversial issues such as abortion, the definition of the family and religion in schools.   <\/span>These are questions that people of faith want the candidates to address.  <\/span>This is the perfect forum to address these issues.  <\/span>Pastor Warren has a great opportunity, let’s not see it squandered by avoiding the obvious questions on the minds of millions of Americans.  <\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

This will be an interesting week, indeed. <\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Let me say at the outset, that I am a fan of Rick Warren, Pastor of Saddleback Church in California.  His book, The Purpose Driven Life, has encouraged tens of thousands of people, and his ministries have had a global impact.  I am also pleased to see that Rick Warren is engaging the political process,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":163,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,2,3,4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-church-politicking","category-courts","category-election-08","category-religious-freedom","category-separation-of-church-and-state"],"yoast_head":"\nPresidential Politics & the Church - a Purpose Driven Forum - Lynn v. 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Jay Sekulow has also served as a faculty member for the Office of Legal Education at the United States Department of Justice.  As a member of the faculty he instructed Assistant United States Attorneys and investigators in the First Amendment issues associated with prosecution of obscenity. An accomplished and respected judicial advocate, Sekulow has presented oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court in numerous cases in defense of constitutional freedoms. Several landmark cases argued by Sekulow before the U.S. Supreme Court have become part of the legal landscape in the area of religious liberty litigation.  In the Mergens case, Sekulow cleared the way for public school students to form Bible clubs and religious organizations on their school campuses.  In the Lamb's Chapel case, Sekulow defended the free speech rights of religious groups, ensuring that they be treated equally with respect to the use of public facilities.  And, most recently, in McConnell v. FEC, Sekulow ensured that the constitutional rights of young people remain protected with a unanimous decision by the high court guaranteeing that minors can participate in political campaigns. A nationally recognized and respected defender of religious freedom, Sekulow has assembled one of the most prestigious law firms in the nation.  Founded in 1990, the American Center for Law and Justice focuses in constitutional law.  The ACLJ, under Sekulow's direction, is involved in public interest and public policy issues working to protect religious and constitutional liberties. In 2007, the Chicago Tribune concluded that the ACLJ has \"led the way\" in Christian legal advocacy.  In 2005, TIME Magazine named Sekulow one of the \"25 Most Influential Evangelicals\" in America and called the ACLJ \"a powerful counterweight\" to the ACLU.  Business Week said the ACLJ is \"the leading advocacy group for religious freedom.\"  Sekulow's work on the issue of judicial nominees - including possible vacancies at the Supreme Court - has received extensive news coverage including a front page story in The Wall Street Journal.  In addition, The National Law Journal has twice named Sekulow one of the \"100 Most Influential Lawyers\" in the United States (1994, 1997).  He is also among a distinguished group of attorneys known as \"The Public Sector 45\" named by The American Lawyer (January\/February 1997).  The magazine said the designation represents \"45 young lawyers outside the private sector whose vision and commitment are changing lives.\" Sekulow brings insight and education to listeners daily with his national call-in radio program, Jay Sekulow Live!, which is broadcast throughout the country on nearly 850 radio stations.  Sekulow also hosts a weekly television program, ACLJ This Week, which tackles the tough issues of the day and is broadcast on a number of networks nationwide including the Trinity Broadcasting Network and FamilyNet.  Sekulow is also a popular guest on nationally televised news programs on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, CNBC, and PBS.  He frequently contributes articles and commentary to national publications and is often quoted in the nation's leading newspapers including USA Today, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and Washington Times. A graduate of Mercer University, Sekulow graduated cum laude receiving both a bachelor's degree and doctor of jurisprudence from Mercer University where he served on the Mercer Law Review as an editorial staff member.  Following graduation, Sekulow served as a tax trial attorney in the Office of Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service.  In that capacity, Sekulow prepared and brought to trial tax cases on behalf of the United States Department of Treasury in United States Tax Court. He also received a Ph.D. from Regent University, with a dissertation on American Legal History, and is the author of numerous publications and law articles. Sekulow serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for The Supreme Court Historical Society in Washington, DC.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/author\/jsekulow"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/163"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}