My wife and I watched the latter part of the presidential debate last night; and I realized why I have not cared much for either candidate (although I am sure I will be voting for the candidate who is pro-life first). It came after some responses from those analyzing the debate immediately afterwards. The commentators brought attention to McCain’s comment referring to Obama as “that one.” All four of the people said that it was “childish” and “uncalled for.”

Now I am not going to argue whether it was right or not (I’m sure many pundits will be working on that today). What I do want to draw attention to is what has bristled me for some time. McCain’s statement brought in an element of human-ness. That is, he got fired up at that point and was pointing fingers and showed that he was emotionally committed to his position. So much of the irenic debate was merely robotic. The only other time (and again, I am referring to the latter part) the candidates looked like they had emotions was regarding the questions on Pakistan. Obama asked if he could give a response and McCain wanted to give his response.

Other than that I found myself yearning for a candidate that had blood pulsing through their veins, not cold water. I want to see a candidate that has veins popping from his head. I want to see the tension in the room rise. I want to see eyes flare up. In a word, I want to see humans. 

So much of these interactions are plastic rhetoric and a “he said, “she said.” I find it hard to follow these candidates’ jargon that, it seems, only those who have been spending hours studying issues can follow. Even then it is convoluted. Give me a candidate who speaks clearly and wants people to understand him. Don’t give me a politician who tries to flower all his language so as not to be tacked down by the opponent. 

I fear that much of the reaction is due to our cowardly society. We seem to want truth, but when people speak plainly, we call then narrow-minded. I was amazed that one of the undecided folk actually said he had made up his mind from this debate. I don’t see how he could. I would love to see candidates speak candidly – rather than saying they speak candidly. Come on, let’s get some people fired up about issues. Let’s see people care about their positions.

One last comment I want to make about the “that one” statement reflects a good point my wife made. The commentators were chiding McCain for making a statement that was “immature.” They made it sound like they could not accept a candidate who said something like that. My wife drew attention to the fact that we all say hard things. We can’t expect a candidate to be perfect, but human. It must make us feel good inside to be able to point out error in a public figure so long as we don’t have to evaluate what we see in the mirror.

One of the traps I have seen set for me while studying – not that it has not been set before and not that I have not tripped it – is the desire to be a contrarian. You read all these books and you want really bad to make a name for yourself or show that you know the intricacies of an argument so you’ll say something like this: “I liked the book, I think I would have explained things a little differently.” Or, “I can’t stand so-and-so, he doesn’t articulate x as well as he should.” 

This betrays two things (as I see it): 1) my lack of charity; and 2) my laziness.

1) Lack of Charity: If my first inclination is to pick apart someone’s writing and view, then I have not truly listened. Therefore, I am in no position to respond. This is an issue in epistemology where our presuppositions can keep us from gaining knowledge. The wider culture calls it being close-minded. And while most people ruffle at the idea, it is, more often than not, true. Although I may believe what I know to be true, I should bite my tongue and repeat the cpnversant’s argument in my head to make sure I have really listened. My first response should be a question rather than a statement. “Did I hear you right?” “Do you mean this?”

2) Laziness: The times I have quickly responded to someone I have read or listened to with a rebuttal as noted above, I have drifted off into imprecision and laziness myself. That is, I hear so many people say, “Yeah, I heard the speaker but he was a little soft on this.” I have been challenged several times in my short tenure as a theologian by someone when they ask the question: “How would you have said it differently?” So my question to you is: What precisely do you disagree with?

I think many times I have heard someone I respect give such a response to an opponent, but I forget that they backed up the assertion with a list of reasons. My ears keyed in on the “I disagree,” but not on the “why.” So many of us, I fear, want to appear like we know what we are talking about – that we are privy to knowledge unbeknownst to our hearers, when, in fact, we are blowing fluff. May God help us to be quick to listen and slow to speak.

There’s a one day conference in the ATL area for those of you that said “Yes” to the two above questions. Here are the details and website:

$89/person

Tuesday, September 30th – 9:00am – 4:00pm

Led by Bob Franquiz, Lead Pastor, Calvary Fellowship, Miami Lakes, FL 
And Nelson Searcy, Lead Pastor, The Journey, New York City 

Hosted at:
Avalon Church, 1467 HWY 20 West
Mcdonough, GA 30253 
(Greater Atlanta Area)

During this full day event, Bob Franquiz and Nelson Searcy will walk you from scratch to success in launching a new church. Ideal for church planters, pastors and church leaders planning to start a new church or anyone looking for the latest insight into church planting success. 

Here’s what you can expect to learn:

- What the best launch dates are (and the worst!)
- The most critical factor to the success of your church (and it’s not what you think!)
- The most effective ways to raise funds for your church plant
- The biggest mistakes on staffing and how to avoid them
- How your preview services can have the greatest impact in your community
- How to pick the best location for your launch (it’s not as easy as it looks)
- How to maintain momentum between preview services
- How to launch large!
- Plus much, much more!

Questions? Call @ (800) 264-5129 or info@churchleaderinsights.com.