Joel Hunter, Christian evangelical, pastor of a Central Florida megachurch and lifelong Republican, gave the benediction at the Democratic National Convention. On election day he prayed with Barack Obama, and rode to the inauguration with Oprah.

He sat in the 12th row, next to Muhammad Ali, at the swearing in.

'I'm like, `What am I doing here?' '' said Hunter, who recounted his experience before leading his fifth service in three days. ``It's surreal.''

The Midwestern transplant, who voted twice for George W. Bush and backed religious conservative Mike Huckabee in last year's GOP primary, isn't accustomed to overtures from Democratic politicos and the celebrities who come with them. But in keeping with Obama's unprecedented outreach to the religious right during the campaign, the White House plucked Hunter to serve on a 25-member advisory council that also includes a reform rabbi, a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention and the first female bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

The Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships is an extension of Bush's office directing tax dollars to faith-based social service agencies. The difference is that Obama's group will actually weigh in on policy matters.

''President Obama's vision is so much broader. How do you engage churchgoers and people of faith to be part of the solution?'' Hunter asked during a recent interview in his office at Northland Church. ``That's something we never talked about in the Bush era. I think we're at a moment in time when people really want to be inspired and reengaged.''

The mixing of religion and politics has "drawn fire from the left and the right". Groups like Americans United for Separation of Church and State accuse Obama of going back on his word by refusing to scrap a Bush policy allowing federally funded religious groups to discriminate against job candidates who don't share their beliefs.

On the other end of the spectrum, some Christian leaders and members of Hunter's church cringe over his relationship with an administration that favors abortion rights and other liberal causes.

''It's important for spiritual leaders to stand firm on matters of principle,'' said Dennis Baxley, executive director of the Christian Coalition of Florida and a former state legislator. ``He's basically being used by the administration.''

Hunter, 60, is part of a new breed of evangelicals seeking to forge common ground instead of fighting culture wars. He's focused on what he terms ''compassion issues'' -- the environment, poverty, immigration reform and peace -- instead of wedge issues like abortion and gay marriage. His broader agenda prompted his resignation as the incoming president of the Christian Coalition of America in 2006, just two months after the socially conservative organization offered him the job.

Still, Hunter says he hasn't ignored abortion altogether. Just last month, he spoke out before Obama was poised to lift a ban on federal aid to international family planning organizations. Knowing that Democratic presidents have used the Jan. 22 anniversary of Roe v. Wade to make sweeping statements on abortion rights, Hunter helped persuade Obama to wait until a day later to soften the blow to the religious right.

''He has always offered honest advice and guidance to the president, and we know we can always count on him for an independent opinion on the issues that confront our nation today,'' said a statement from Joshua DuBois, Obama's right-hand man on religious affairs.

---

Users' Comments (0)

Add your comment