{"id":11635,"date":"2013-01-12T06:00:42","date_gmt":"2013-01-12T11:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southerngospelyankee.wordpress.com\/?p=11635"},"modified":"2013-01-12T06:00:42","modified_gmt":"2013-01-12T11:00:42","slug":"should-louie-giglio-ever-have-prayed-at-obamas-inauguration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/youngfogey\/2013\/01\/should-louie-giglio-ever-have-prayed-at-obamas-inauguration\/","title":{"rendered":"Should Louie Giglio Ever Have Prayed at Obama's Inauguration?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

[Note: Things moved so quickly on this topic that I wrote the first draft of this piece under the title \u201cShould Louie Giglio Be Praying at Obama\u2019s Inauguration?\u201d Literally hours later, he had withdrawn. This piece will now be a discussion of how the withdrawal was handled on both sides and whether he should ever have accepted the invitation in the first place.]<\/strong>
\nI like Louie Giglio, so I took notice when I first heard he was going to be praying at Obama\u2019s inauguration. It\u2019s been said that Obama likes his work against sex trafficking and knows he has an influential ministry, so he felt like \u201cshowcasing\u201d Giglio for the rest of the country to see. In a classic turn of events, some liberals dug up an old sermon of his against homosexuality and vehemently protested his invitation. The protests were so numerous and urgent that the Obama administration was asked to \u201cfix\u201d this faux pas, and Giglio has now withdrawn his initial acceptance of the invite.
\nMy position may not be popular, but I say this has all worked itself out for the best. I saw a few people expressing concern that Giglio accepted the invitation in the first place, and I felt a bit disappointed myself. One could say, \u201cCome on, if you\u2019re a preacher and you get invited to pray at the inauguration, what are you SUPPOSED to do?\u201d I would reply that in certain cases, you\u2019re supposed to say \u201cNo.\u201d But perhaps I just have steelier nerves than most.
\nWe\u2019ve had ample time to observe Obama in action, and he\u2019s proved again and again that he\u2019s little more than an aspiring dictator whose hands are swift to shed innocent blood. His administration is hateful in the eyes of God. Should a Christian be seen having anything positive to do with it? I don\u2019t think so. I wouldn\u2019t even shake his hand if I got a medal from the man. Giglio would have been doing much more\u2014praying a benediction over his entire presidency. It\u2019s all very well to say, \u201cWell, he could just pray that Obama would know what is right and make good decisions, and there\u2019s nothing wrong with that even though Obama hasn\u2019t so far.\u201d But if we\u2019re all (or mostly) agreed that in the words of Miracle Max, \u201cit would take a miracle\u201d for Obama to do a 180, then what\u2019s the use of blessing the President\u2019s inauguration in such a public fashion?
\nThe problem is that Giglio doesn\u2019t view Obama like another Hitler. Oh, he probably voted against him, but he\u2019s not ready to say that Obama is evil. Psychologically, he hasn\u2019t really taken that step. For that reason, he considered it an honor to get invited at all. And that\u2019s a problem.
\nMuch has been made of the ambiguity regarding who exactly initiated the change of plans. Was Giglio pressured by \u201cthe Committee?\u201d Did he decide to withdraw all on his own? And if in fact he was kicked out, or pressured out, isn\u2019t that big news for religious liberty in America? Personally, I don\u2019t think these details really matter. So what if he was pressured out? \u201cWow, you got invited to speak at Obama\u2019s inauguration, and then you weren\u2019t invited anymore? Well, that\u2019s just terrible\u2026 not.\u201d In other words, whoop-de-doo. What IS of concern to me is how Giglio has responded to the matter. On his website<\/a>, he reproduced his withdrawal letter to the White House. Let\u2019s look at an excerpt. I\u2019ve bolded items of note and added comments:<\/p>\n

I am honored to be invited by the President to give the benediction at the upcoming inaugural on January 21. Though the President and I do not agree on every issue<\/strong><\/em> <\/strong>[There\u2019s that \u201cagree\/disagree\u201d stuff again], we have fashioned a friendship<\/strong><\/em> [a what?] around common goals and ideals, most notably, ending slavery in all its forms<\/em> [Actually, the Obama administration has refused to cooperate with certain Christian organizations in the past on this very issue, so I\u2019m not sure the President\u2019s priorities are as neatly lined up with the Reverend\u2019s as he thinks. But let\u2019s waive that for the nonce.]\nDue to a message of mine that has surfaced from 15-20 years ago, it is likely that my participation, and the prayer I would offer, will be dwarfed by those seeking to make their agenda the focal point of the inauguration. Clearly, speaking on this issue has not been in the range of my priorities in the past fifteen years. Instead, my aim has been to call people to ultimate significance as we make much of Jesus Christ.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Now, I have seen quotes from the message that caused such controversy, and they were really good. So my question to the Reverend Giglio is, what happened in the last 15 years? The issue hasn\u2019t disappeared. It\u2019s become more relevant than ever. But somehow, speaking about it is no longer a priority for him. And frankly, it\u2019s a bit alarming for him to set speaking on this issue in some sense AT ODDS with calling people to \u201cultimate significance\u201d in Jesus Christ. But let\u2019s let him speak for himself in this elaboration on his letter:<\/p>\n

The issue of homosexuality (which a particular message of mine some 20 years ago addressed) is one of the most difficult our nation will navigate. However, individuals\u2019 rights of freedom, and the collective right to hold differing views on any subject is a critical balance we, as a people, must recover and preserve.<\/em>
\nAs a pastor, my mission is to love people, and lead them well, while lifting up the name of Jesus above anything else. I\u2019m confident that anyone who knows me or has listened to the multitude of messages I have given in the last decade would most likely conclude that I am not easily characterized as being opposed to people\u2014any people. Rather, I am constantly seeking to understand where all people are coming from and how to best serve them as I point them to Jesus.<\/em>
\nIn all things, the most helpful thing I can do is to invite each of us to wrestle with scripture and its implications for our lives. God\u2019s words trump all opinions, including mine, and in the end, I believe God\u2019s words lead to life.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Okay, so he\u2019s kinda sorta half-implying that he still thinks homosexuality is a sin, and God\u2019s word on that matter trumps our opinions. But he\u2019s being deliberately coy about it. What he wants first and foremost to communicate is NOT the desperate urgency of calling out this sin and condemning its impact on society and souls. It is instead that he is \u201cnot opposed to any people.\u201d As if that\u2019s going to convince anybody left of center that he\u2019s not a bigot.
\nReverend Giglio, save your breath and use it to speak the truth instead of trying to get people to like you who will never, ever<\/em>, ever<\/strong><\/em> like you. You used to understand that. In fact, in your old sermon you express a clear willingness to be called \u201ca bigot\u201d for speaking \u201cthe truth.\u201d But perhaps, in the words of Gandalf, you have changed, and not entirely for the better.
\nDon\u2019t duck. Don\u2019t dodge. Don\u2019t say, \u201cWell, THEY\u2019RE over there making a big deal about this, but I\u2019m over here not talking about it.\u201d It\u2019s too late to change the subject. Now re-locate your spine and wade back into the conversation.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[Note: Things moved so quickly on this topic that I wrote the first draft of this piece under the title \u201cShould Louie Giglio Be Praying at Obama\u2019s Inauguration?\u201d Literally hours later, he had withdrawn. This piece will now be a discussion of how the withdrawal was handled on both sides and whether he should ever […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3595,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-faith-and-culture"],"yoast_head":"\nShould Louie Giglio Ever Have Prayed at Obama's Inauguration?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I like Louie Giglio, so I took notice when I first heard he was going to be praying at Obama's inauguration. 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