Dear Senator

Dear Senator Obama,

Now that you are back on the market, so to speak, having abandoned your church home of two decades to allow your friends to "worship in peace", I'd like to invite you to consider my church.

Let me tell you a little bit about it.

Senator, in my church we love and worship Jesus. We believe the Bible is the word of God. Our preachers faithfully proclaim the gospel of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone.

Our people live out their faith in a variety of ways. We are committed to the mission of leading others to know Jesus in a life-changing way by turning our neighbors into friends, friends into family, and family into followers. We reach out with love, generosity, and compassion to those who are hurting or in need, whether they live down the street or around the world. We minister to children in our neighborhood, families experiencing a medical or financial crisis, inmates in prison, victims or natural disasters, orphans in Nicaragua, a family from Romania whose 4-year-old daughter is being treated for neuroblastoma, people in Belarus who want to learn English, and many more.

Senator Obama, if you love Jesus, and enjoy the fellowship of others who share your faith in Christ, then you and Michelle and the girls might feel at home here.

Of course, we're not perfect. We lack some of the features to which your family has become accustomed. For example, our pastors never talk about political candidates from the pulpit. There's not a whole lot of angry screaming -- in fact, none. No preacher here has ever called down God's condemnation upon our native land.

In fact, on Memorial Day and Independence Day and Veterans Day, we praise God that we live in a free land, thanks to the willing sacrifice of those who bled and died that this nation might live. We actually sing, from time to time, 'God Bless America', because it's a prayer to the one who has secured our liberty that he might guide us even in dark and troubling times.

We're Republicans. We're Democrats. We're Independents. We're political apathetics. We are people of all types and colors. We are Americans. Above all, we are people who love Jesus. Jesus , not race, is our common bond, the central focus of our church. Through Jesus, we have come to love others, even those with whom we disagree. We're happy that "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death." (Romans 8:1,2)

If you like liberation theology, at our church you get it, but it's not limited to the poor, or to any particular race, because "if the Son (Jesus) sets you free, you will be free indeed" (John 8:36) no matter what you look like or how much you earn.

So, Senator Obama, now that you're church shopping, why not stop by? You are always welcome.

For a man who's all about "change" this one might be refreshing.

Sincerely,

Don Dodson