Why Obama's church choice matters

There are political and spiritual implications

By Henry G. Brinton

Does it really matter whether the president goes to church? The Constitution says there shall be no "religious test," so perhaps Sunday morning should be the one day each week when the president gets to sleep in. He certainly works hard enough. But before he hits the snooze button, President Obama should return to the question of whether he and his family will join a congregation in the Washington area. He recently said that his family had not made a decision about joining a church, and I can respect that. Such a decision takes time. But it is a critical choice, with political and spiritual implications.

via blogs.usatoday.com

Brinton makes some valid and thoughtful observations about a private decision with public implications.

Christians will want to pray for the President as he makes these choices for himself and his family.

Recent reports have suggested that many Sundays will be spent at the Camp David chapel where the pastor is a Southern Baptist chaplain.

Henry G. Brinton is pastor of Fairfax Presbyterian Church in Virginia and author of Balancing Acts: Obligation, Liberation, and Contemporary Christian Conflicts.