What I have seen on most conservative blogs, including ours, is the response from the left to President-Elect Obama’s invitation to Pastor Rick Warren to do the Inauguration Invocation. What I am going to address is the response from the right; mainly the outcry from some pro-lifers in regards to Warren’s acceptance of that invitation.
First of all, let’s take a look at what an invocation actually is. An invocation is a prayer and/or a call on for aid or protection. If there is one incoming president who is in need of a prayer or aid I would have to say Barack Obama wins hands down. Who would these outspoken pro-lifers rather have do the honors? Jeremiah Wright? I know they are up in arms about Obama’s stance on abortion, but that is exactly why he needs the prayer. I know it is also seen as a political move on Obama’s part, but if that is the case he needs that prayer even more. The real question is how is Rick Warren going to handle the task he has accepted.
During the Saddleback Forum this summer with Obama and John McCain, Warren proved to be more of a moderator than a pastor of the Gospel. I know most conservatives were critical of him for not going after Obama’s “above my pay grade” response when asked when life begins, but I believe that Warren lost his purpose when he did not hold our own side accountable on the same question. John McCain answered forcefully, “at conception” when asked the same question, but Rick Warren missed the chance hold that life issue up when McCain stated that he still supported embryonic stem cell research.
Now Rick Warren has another chance. In his book The Purpose Driven Life he states, “You may choose your career, your spouse, your hobbies, and many other parts of your life, but you don’t get to choose your purpose.” He chose to accept Obama’s invitation, but he doesn’t get to choose his purpose. Remember, Jesus invited himself to the house of the tax collector, Zacchaeus, while the people stood in disbelief that he would be the guest of a “sinner” and look how that turned out.
