DALLAS (ABP) — Members of Rick Warren's Saddleback Church in Southern California are hosting a two-day summit on the global AIDS crisis in an effort to “serve the hurting like Jesus did.” But the event is not without critics — among them conservative Christians.
The event, which begins Nov. 30 and concludes on World AIDS Day Dec. 1, will feature Bono, Bill and Melinda Gates, and Barack Obama (D-Ill.), among others. But according to some evangelicals, and Southern Baptists in particular, Warren cannot hope to fight the “evil” of AIDS while “justifying another” evil — abortion. In a Nov. 28 letter, representatives from 18 pro-life groups condemned Warren for inviting Obama, who supports abortion rights.
“In the strongest possible terms, we oppose Rick Warren's decision to ignore Senator Obama's clear pro-death stance and invite him to Saddleback Church anyway,” the letter said. “If Senator Obama cannot defend the most helpless citizens in our country, he has nothing to say to the AIDS crisis. You cannot fight one evil while justifying another. The evangelical church can provide no genuine help for those who suffer from AIDS if those involved do not first have their ethic of life firmly rooted in the Word of God.”
The signatures on the letter included Phyllis Schlafly, president of the Eagle Forum, Judie Brown, president of the American Life League, and Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association.
A Saddleback response said the church is not endorsing any of the summit's 60 diverse speakers, and the printed program includes a disclaimer to that effect. The statement added: “Our goal has been to put people together who normally won't even speak to each other. We do
not expect all participants in the Summit discussion to agree with all of our evangelical beliefs. However, the HIV/AIDS pandemic cannot be fought by evangelicals alone.”
Wiley Drake, second vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention, also voiced his opposition to Obama in a personal e-mail sent to Warren and media outlets Nov. 28. Drake, pastor of First Southern Baptist Church of Buena Park, Calif., just north of the Lake Forest, Calif., megachurch, addressed his note to a “fellow Southern Baptist pastor.”
While not an initial signer to the pro-lifers' letter, Drake repeated the request for Warren to rescind the invitation “to the enemy Senator Obama.” He wrote he was “very disappointed at this move and … this is bad for the Kingdom of God.”
The pro-lifers' letter cited Obama's opposition to a partial-birth abortion bill and support of condom distribution as key reasons for their outrage. “The name of the seminar at which Senator Obama will be appearing is entitled, 'We Must Work Together,'” the letter noted. “No, Mr. Warren, Mr. Obama, we will never work with those who can support the murder of babies in the womb.”
Other special guests for the summit include Richard Stearns, the president of World Vision, Franklin Graham, Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini of the Anglican Church of Rwanda, Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), and Wess Stafford, president of Compassion International.
Statistics from Compassion International report that more than 25 million people have died from AIDS since 1981, when it was first diagnosed. Today, nine out of 10 children with AIDS live in Africa. And by 2010, an additional 25 million children worldwide will lose both parents to AIDS, the organization said.
Southern Baptist-affiliated Saddleback Church, with more than 20,000 worship attendees each weekend, is one of the largest churches in the nation.
-30-