Excuse me while I catch my breath. … Whew! It was just Monday that Michelle Obama praised people like, “Hillary Clinton, who put those 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling, so that our daughters, and sons, can dream a little bigger and aim a little higher.”

Well, how many cracks does it take to bring that glass ceiling crashing down? Maybe 18 million and one. And if that is indeed the case, that last crack has a face and a name – Sarah Palin.

It was only Wednesday that I was musing about how the world changed that day with the official nomination of Barack Obama. I don’t want to say I told you so, but you will remember that I said Barack Obama is the future, win or lose and putting aside political views and opinions. Likewise, putting aside politics, Sarah Palin is the future.

Watching John McCain this morning it was hard to know if the expression on his face was satisfaction, admiration, panic or fear as Alaska Governor Palin addressed the faithful in Ohio. I totally get the political realities that resulted in this surprise choice. Give the McCain folks credit for keeping a secret and orchestrating great drama today while stealing the spotlight from Obama and Biden. I suspect that McCain is just about as surprised as most everyone else that Sarah Palin is his running mate. Remember, this is the lady who gained an 80% approval rating in Alaska by taking on and beating back corruption – not among the Democrats, but her own Republican party! Whoops! Sarah busted the Good Ol’ Boys Club and left them bruised and wounded in the street. Wasn’t that what the Republican Party was supposed to be about? Greedy old men in suits huddled in board rooms and holding on to their power and money?

Sarah Palin is not only against abortion, she lives her conviction choosing to give birth this year to her fifth child even though she knew ahead of time that he would be born with Downs Syndrome. She believes in global warming, yet wants to drill for oil in Alaska while we develop all types of alternative energy. She is articulate and fearless. As I learned about her resume today, my reaction was to think that she is so perfect she must be computer-generated. This is the point – it had to happen. A young, smart, attractive woman is now a candidate for Vice President of the United States, only the second female candidate for this office after Geraldine Ferraro’s candidacy in 1984.

Whatever happens, by the second Tuesday in November we will have either the first non-white President or the first woman Vice President. This is the change I am talking about, and it had to happen. I repeatedly remind you that I don’t do political commentary or opinion; I am an observer of cultural change and how that affects our strategy to carry out the Great Commission.

For many in our younger generations (and others, too), this is not as much about political parties and views as it is social change. Many young people are conservative, and many are predominately liberal in their views. Most, however, are a conglomeration of both. This emerging generation refuses to be pushed into our existing categories and angrily repeat our catch phrases. They understand that people can honestly have differing viewpoints and they are fine with that. They are just tired of having only two options and a refusal to be able to even talk reasonably to come to a compromise or agreement. Many see in Barack Obama the hope of something a bit different. Some might find that in Sarah Palin, too. In the end they will be watching for authenticity more than specific policies and promises. Are we listening, church?

Sadly, I fear many are not listening, don’t get it, don’t want to get it. A friend of ours in Denver works for a major corporation that sponsored the recent convention. This friend had the grand experience of getting to work in a hospitality room and witness some of this historic drama. Coming in the other day, she went by a group of Christian protesters brandishing signs and placards proclaiming that “God hates Democrats,” “Christians don’t let Christians vote Democratic” and other such Christ-honoring slogans. Knowing our church and our desire to be a church for all peoples, her comment on this scene was “Apparently these people have a faith for all peoples, just not a faith for both parties.”

Here’s the application. As the church of Jesus Christ are we open to all people regardless of their ethnicity, language, skin color or gender? Really? It’s easy to say but hard to live. It’s not about making sure that all our racial quotas are met, that everyone has equal time, or even about having women pastors. I think what many today are wanting is simply to treat others with the respect and dignity they deserve. Funny. I thought Jesus made that clear two thousand years ago. We must be slow learners.

So, here I am as a mature white male and just arriving at the age when I thought I might find out how to get into that Good Ol’ Boys Club. Suddenly, I discover that I am a member of the most discredited minority group in this country – white, middle age men. Now, if we could only do something to help another seemingly invisible group – African-American females.

Funny how these things work. I knew it was coming, but I wasn’t sure of the time or manner. This afternoon I went to gym, came home and showered. Then, just as I had dried off and put on my shirt, the world changed.

Delegate voices sang from the TV in the background as I walked into the bedroom. The great state of Illinois yielded to New York. Ceremonious oratory and flowery introductions raised emotions and expectations to the very top of the Pepsi Center in Denver and spilled over into the world. Finally, the microphone passed to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton who, amidst more drama, moved that the roll call vote be suspended and that Barack Obama be proclaimed the Presidential candidate of the Democratic Party by acclamation. Speaker Nancy Pelosi put the motion up for a second and was met with united cheers. Then she called for the vote – even louder cheers. Fireworks went off; people screamed and cheered; people wept openly – the world changed, never to return to the way it was. Barack Obama became the first African-American Presidential candidate of a major party in the 232 year history of the United States of America.

This post is not about politics. I want to talk about the world changing. First, a bit of historical perspective.

Though far from voting age, the first Presidential election I remember with clarity was when John Fitzgerald Kennedy became the thirty-fifth President in 1961. He was the first Roman Catholic President. There was no Internet, blogs, or instant global communication, but I still remember the hushed grownup gossip. Some people were convinced that JFK was part of a Catholic conspiracy to take over the country. If elected President, the Pope would take control. Kennedy had already met with him and it was set up, they said. Other religions and denominations would be outlawed or subject to stringent laws. Others were convinced he was a “card-carrying communist.” The real problem, some said, is that he was owned by the Mafia. Those of you who are younger would be surprised to know just how many such rumors were out there. More level-headed people were concerned that he was far too young and inexperienced to be President of the United States. You know the rest.

Now, what’s all this about the world changing? Here are some thoughts running through my mind. Whether Obama wins the Presidency or not, the world has changed.

• The world has changed because non-white Americans can now legitimately dream of growing up to become President. A door has been opened. A threshold has been crossed. This may not seem like a big deal, or you may think that the Presidency has always been available to all – unless you happen to be a non-white American.
• The world has changed because, in the view of many, a legitimate candidate for President finally “gets it” when it comes to change and dealing with the “real issues.” No, this is not about change in health care, foreign policy or taxation. Stop asking for “specifics.” That is so yesterday. This is a change of paradigm, worldview and spirit. Agree or not, Obama has tapped into the imagination of many of the emerging generation of Americans and a great deal of the rest of the world. Read the transcript of his speech in Berlin if you still don’t “get it.” To increasing numbers of youth this is not about choosing between conservative and liberal, but about blazing new trails, even if you don’t agree on all the particulars.
• The world has changed because Obama is neither black or white. You undoubtedly know that Senator Obama is of a white mother and a Kenyan father. Some older African-Americans have complained that he is not “black enough.” Some older Caucasian Americans have complained that he is too black and too connected to that radical black preacher Jeremiah Wright. Precisely. He is neither. Obama is the future. Win or lose, Republican or Democrat, it makes no difference. Read my lips. Obama is the future. Just a couple of weeks ago we learned that according to current trends non-Latino Caucasians in the United States will be a minority by 2043. African-Americans percentages should not change that much. Obama is the future. You may not like it, but you won’t change it. Obama is the future even if he loses by a landslide. To many younger Americans, black or white, this is not an election about race, but ideas. They are looking for someone to crush the “good old boy club” on BOTH sides of the aisle. Whether Obama will or can do that remains to be seen. Whether the way he proposes to do it or not lines up with your thinking is not the issue. Someday soon someone WILL change the way we do many key elements of the political process. We have been put on notice. This is what you must see.
• The world has changed because the rest of the world has hope that there may someday be a President of the United States who is truly global in perspective. Again, I am just reporting, not saying this is right or wrong. Unless you travel extensively, read obsessively or have an incredible network of international friends, it will be difficult to understand just how much many in the rest of the world who love America and Americans genuinely despise the current state of political affairs in this country. To many people, just the fact that someone like Obama has made it far as he has restores their faith in America whether or not they agree with all his policies and ideas. Even genuine born again, evangelical believers in other countries are appalled by what they perceive to the be the arrogance and insensitivity of the current administration. They can’t understand why the current adminstration seems to be clueless to even understand, care about or communicate the “real issues,” as they perceive the world. Many people in other countries are following this election closer than some of you, because they understand that what happens here in the world’s only superpower does affect them in real time. When asked, I have seen true shock on the faces of believers in other countries when I tell them that I think George Bush is a genuine believer and a fundamentally decent individual regardless of what you think of his politics.

On the first Tuesday of November members of our church will go to the polls and they will vote for McCain, Obama or someone else. Some won’t vote at all. This is America. Those are the options available to us. As Christians we can openly disagree about politics. There is no “Christian candidate.” There may be, though, candidates who are Christians. Conceivably, a candidate who is a genuine Christian may not be the best political candidate in your opinion or mine. That’s the American way of life. It’s always been like that. This is the part that hasn’t changed, thank God!

Here’s what I think we should consider – our mission is not to elect a “Christian candidate” as President of the United States. Christians will disagree about partisan politics – always have. Our mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ among all the peoples of the world. Consider, pray and vote your conscience. Then, consider how the world has changed and how that affects our mission.

However you cast your vote, or not, here’s what we should be able to agree upon.

• The world is different now than two decades ago. It’s not going to go back to the way it was. How can we effectively carry out the mission God has entrusted to us? We are not God-appointed custodians of the way it used to be; we are God-appointed agents of transformation.
• What are the issues and questions that are being asked by the emerging generation and by people in other parts of the world? What does the Bible instruct regarding those issues and questions?
• Our country (and much of the world) is becoming increasingly diversified by globalization. How should the church model the world as it should be according to the Bible? At a time when diversity is fast becoming a reality, should the church lead the way in promoting suspicion, distrust, prejudice and segregation, or should the church model Paul’s description of the church in Ephesians 2 as breaking down walls of separation?

I don’t want to spend the rest of my life lamenting how the world is not like it used to be. Regardless of what happens politically, we live in a world that presents opportunities to propagate the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a degree unheard of since the First Century. I want to embrace the reality of God’s world as it stands and the opportunities it affords.