First off, let me say this — I acknowledge that there are deep concerns and differences with Barack Obama’s politics. I acknowledge that there are deep doubts of whether speeches given and promises made will actually match existential reality once he is no longer President-Elect but rather the actual 44th President Of The United States Of America. My commentary here does not condone, condemn, or in any way even comment on Barack Obama the politician.

Parts of his acceptance speech last night struck me in one very unique way. They resonated with a powerful Biblical theme and they went to the very core of why I think the church is struggling to stay relevant with younger generations of people.

We hear a lot in the church today about community. People who have no connection with Jesus who long to find a place where they can find acceptance, grace, mercy, forgiveness, love, compassion, empathy, support, encouragement, friendship, and hope. And yet, even as we know this about people, we create an environment in the American church that mirrors the “rugged individualism” of the American spirit. We make God’s saving grace and redemption an almost entirely individual pursuit. Spiritual growth and growing as a Christ follower is almost always couched in terms of the role that “I” play in the process. The focus begins and stays on “me”.

And so last night as I watched Obama give his speech, I was struck by one thing. There was a deep thread of community woven throughout the speech. Once again, I’m going on the face value of the comments and making no commentary about them. Here’s a couple key excerpts:

It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled. Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states. We are, and always will be, the United States of America.

Sounds a lot like “every tribe, every nation, every tongue” doesn’t it? The church isn’t made up of rich, poor, Jew or Gentile. We are the church.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other……In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people……to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.

As you watched last night, and as the American people indicated by their votes (regardless of whether you think rightly or wrongly), that sense of call to community resonated. And I think it’s resonating in a deep way in the hearts of people who are tired of going to church and feeling alone. Who are tired of struggling to be good Christ followers and believing that they have no one they can turn to. Who are ready for the church to be a place where we truly do love, honor, welcome, greet, serve, teach, admonish, sing, support, encourage, forgive, bear the burdens of, and fellowship with one another all unto the Glory of God….

You may or may not like Obama, but we must see an understanding of the deep desire for community that flows out of man and woman being created in the image of God who Himself exists in Trinitarian community become a reality in the American church today. It is no surprise to hear the echoes of what God intended for man to come out of the mouth of the man who will hold the highest elected office in the land. Seeing how God put it there in the first place.