Eleven years ago I was part of the largest gathering on the National Mall---the Promise Keepers “Stand in the Gap” event that drew (without a doubt) several hundred thousand men. (As I like to say, this was the “true” Million Man March: dwarfing Louis Farrakhan’s event which, because of its more memorable name and it’s leader’s controversial persona, is probably better remembered by the general populace.) It was the powerful culmination to a movement that called men to be better husbands, fathers, and Christian brothers. Promise Keepers broke through some long standing walls of racism and taboos of sexual sin, but faded after it packed the Mall---despite loud calls on that day in 1997 that “this is just the beginning.”
A few days ago, I learned that Lou Engle was trying to take up the PK mantle with an event called The Call. I go to an evangelical church---we get coverage in Christianity Today for our denominational battles and we attract enough D.C. power players to earn the nickname “West Wing of Prayer”---but I had heard absolutely nothing about this event through the church.
My church (and I go there because it largely matches my own personality) comes from an intellectual stream of evangelicalism that embraces a top-down change model and generally prefers pondering to impulsive action. Though, to be sure, there are lots of good ministries sponsored through the church, the majority of us Sunday attendees do not get our hands dirty in the muck and mire beyond our high income suburbs. When we do make big corporate moves, such as breaking away from the Episcopal Church, the decision is driven by theological concerns (and pre-arranged access to good lawyers) rather than deep empathy for hurting people---as evidenced by a long heralded, but still unrealized, dream of an inner-city community house. In short, we tend to be people of ideas, rather than people of action.
Lou Engle comes from a different stream of evangelicalism. It is a world where there are not just “good ideas” but “divinely initiated” callings; where funding is not tied to budget projections and modest growth expectations, but is driven by miraculous $100,000 gifts that pay for big events proclaimed “without caring about the check book.” Here, failures are attacks of the Devil and successes are anointed blessings. For Lou, abortion is not an uncomfortable subject to be skirted but a national stain demanding loud emotional repentance. And it is a place where people really seem to believe that prayer changes things.
Engle leads a D.C. ministry with a simple mission: to pray for the Supreme Court around the clock. He is also the guy responsible for the red-taped mouths you see with the word “LIFE” displayed. And those red tapes were everywhere at the rally. Lou’s energetic body-rocking presence seemed to be everywhere too, crying out with great emotion (and perhaps theater). I first heard Lou's distinctive voice (then unknown to me) several months ago as a small event was apparently laying the prayer groundwork for The Call. I was frankly embarrassed listening from a distance to someone who sounded like a crack-pot barking out over a loudspeaker as I tried to go to the National Botanic Gardens. Again today, subtlety was not on display.
Raised in the middle of the Baptist Sea, but on a rare island of Methodist and Catholic influences, I have long had a love/hate relationship with this energetic style of faith. Put another way, as a kid I would enthusiastically go to the Christian-rock concert but still feel a little queasy come altar-call time. When I heard about The Call (a 12 hour event of fasting, worship, and prayer) I knew I would go and dip in my toe, but probably not do a cannonball into these waters. I am guessing that I was the only person who came to the event reading "Rapture Ready: Adventures in the Parallel Universe of Christian Pop Culture" on the Metro. (So far I highly recommend Daniel Radosh's largely fair outsider look at "our"---though I do not always want to claim it---religious sub-culture.)
Enough personal navel-gazing, what did I see when I got there?
The event organizers said they were “calling 1,000,000 people to again gather together” but, while the four jumbo-trons and big sound system were nothing to sneeze at, they clearly were not actually planning for that number. They certainly did not get it. CNN reported a claim of 50,000, while I would estimate 10,000 to 20,000.
As I stepped onto the Mall, I saw mostly tourists hitting the museums, but I could hear the gravely voice of Lou in the background. He was growling out some interesting things though about apologizing to Native Americans for the sins that America has perpetrated against them---not your typical Religious Right mantra. I heard some other interesting things once I got closer to the action.
It is not everyday that a Pentecostal will stand up and lead a five minute shout of thanks to God for the leadership of the Catholic Church, but it happened on 8.16.08. Say what? Here's how it happened. Before introducing moving words from the head of Priests for Life, Lou enthusiastically acknowledged what I too believe is true: Catholics have led in the defense of the unborn while evangelicals have served mostly as cheerleaders.
The crowd was young, mostly Caucasian but not a complete white-wash, acting with a mix of enthusiasm and distraction. The picture above perhaps captures the vibe best. Youth, pop-culture, digital connectivity, distraction, devotion, and concern for the unborn; it’s all here. (As a reminder, much of the crowd was fasting for at least 12 hours on a surprisingly pleasant but still warm summer day.)
There was some Christian wackiness on display too. One guy was literally "wearing" a tattered Old Glory and enthusiastically waving two lime green praise flags. There were some cheesy t-shirts on display, and I saw one old classic---a baby seal holding a “Save the Baby Humans” sign (that’s worthy of a blog post on its own). The quasi-Jewish call-to-prayer horns were in abundance too.
Bill McCartney of Promise Keeper’s fame was there. (If he had any worries about Lou beating his attendance record those were quickly dispelled.) Beyond the “Coach” (displayed as a title on the screen, see pic above), there were no other “celebrity” Christians present during my two hours on the grounds. Mike Huckabee apparently spoke to an earlier group of pastors, but if he made an appearance today he had already managed to get to Florida by tonight.
So what did Joe Mall Goer think of this? Obviously, it is impossible to read minds, but the amped-up Batman-like voice of Lou Engle is hardly a kinder, gentler invitation to Christianity. I was even rethinking just how close I wanted to get as Lou yelled repeatedly for “end time warriors” to stand up. Knowing the lingo, I surmised he meant devoted pray-ers, but I bet that got lost in translation for most of the thousands within shouting distance. The 30 minute call for an offering probably rubbed a few people the wrong way too. (It certainly gave me a handy exit point.) The sound-truck guy, as as he huffed on a cigarette, seemed to just be counting the minutes until he could go home (see pic above).
A softer approach certainly “seems” like it would be more appealing to non-Christians. Voices like Jim Wallis are content to trumpet a wishy-washy Democratic “abortion reduction plank” and declare that both sides of the issue are “moral” positions. Would they also have supported a “slavery reduction plank” as sufficient? Of course conservative leaders like Tony Perkins of FRC are happy to stay in "a little is enough" mode for global issues like climate change; lest I be seen as picking exclusively on the Religious Left. In the end, I am personally glad that Lou and several thousand youth are fired up enough to call 50,000,000 dead babies a problem that requires more than marginal corrections.
The crowd was young, mostly Caucasian but not a complete white-wash, acting with a mix of enthusiasm and distraction. The picture above perhaps captures the vibe best. Youth, pop-culture, digital connectivity, distraction, devotion, and concern for the unborn; it’s all here. (As a reminder, much of the crowd was fasting for at least 12 hours on a surprisingly pleasant but still warm summer day.)
There was some Christian wackiness on display too. One guy was literally "wearing" a tattered Old Glory and enthusiastically waving two lime green praise flags. There were some cheesy t-shirts on display, and I saw one old classic---a baby seal holding a “Save the Baby Humans” sign (that’s worthy of a blog post on its own). The quasi-Jewish call-to-prayer horns were in abundance too.
Bill McCartney of Promise Keeper’s fame was there. (If he had any worries about Lou beating his attendance record those were quickly dispelled.) Beyond the “Coach” (displayed as a title on the screen, see pic above), there were no other “celebrity” Christians present during my two hours on the grounds. Mike Huckabee apparently spoke to an earlier group of pastors, but if he made an appearance today he had already managed to get to Florida by tonight.
So what did Joe Mall Goer think of this? Obviously, it is impossible to read minds, but the amped-up Batman-like voice of Lou Engle is hardly a kinder, gentler invitation to Christianity. I was even rethinking just how close I wanted to get as Lou yelled repeatedly for “end time warriors” to stand up. Knowing the lingo, I surmised he meant devoted pray-ers, but I bet that got lost in translation for most of the thousands within shouting distance. The 30 minute call for an offering probably rubbed a few people the wrong way too. (It certainly gave me a handy exit point.) The sound-truck guy, as as he huffed on a cigarette, seemed to just be counting the minutes until he could go home (see pic above).
A softer approach certainly “seems” like it would be more appealing to non-Christians. Voices like Jim Wallis are content to trumpet a wishy-washy Democratic “abortion reduction plank” and declare that both sides of the issue are “moral” positions. Would they also have supported a “slavery reduction plank” as sufficient? Of course conservative leaders like Tony Perkins of FRC are happy to stay in "a little is enough" mode for global issues like climate change; lest I be seen as picking exclusively on the Religious Left. In the end, I am personally glad that Lou and several thousand youth are fired up enough to call 50,000,000 dead babies a problem that requires more than marginal corrections.
The large youth presence at an event that highlights prayer and human rights is indeed a sign of hope. Part of me will remain squeemish about anything that is broadcast on a channel audacious enough to call itself God TV, but the rest of me is quite glad that men of action (warts and all) are willing to put themselves out there, as TR would say, "in the arena."
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