James Meeks to Speak at Willow Creek in August
It may not have been planned as part of his gubernatorial campaign, but it certainly will receive full-court media coverage during the second week of August. 
The Rev. and State Senator James Meeks will speak to the Willow Creek Community Church’s Leadership Summit sometime August 10-12th.
Will Meeks bring a religious or a political message to the 70,000 people from all over the world? Or will it be mixed?
Meeks has been touting his pro-life and anti-gay rights votes to conservative Christians, while pushing for huge tax hikes for education to his liberal constituency.
Here’s what he told his congregation:
"Come on with me, white churches ... Call me and tell me to run for governor," Meeks told his Salem Baptist Church congregation Sunday, according to a report from WMAQ-TV Channel 5. "If I do run and there are two people in the race who both are not standing for morality, if I don't have every white Christian vote in the state of Illinois, I will stand on top of the Sears Tower and call every one of y'all racist."If you oppose
abortion andare you a racist?
advancing the homosexual agenda and
increasing taxes,
Meanwhile, Meeks has not yet collected signatures for the Marriage Amendment in his church.
Thanks to Dundeeblogger for this tip:
I just received my mailer for the Willow Creek Association's Leadership Summit, taking place at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington August 10-12. James Meeks is one of the featured speakers at this year's event. His topic at The Leadership Summit, "Enemies of a Growing Church."Additional Illinois locations are at Springfield’s Hope Evangelical Free Church, Northwoods Community Church in Peoria and Naperville’s Community Christian Church.
Here is how Meeks' bio reads in the brochure:"An established leader in civil rights and diplomacy, Rev. (Senator) James Meeks is a powerful visionary with a long and growing list of accomplishments. He is founder and pastor of Salem Baptist Church in Chicago's Roseland Community, one of the nations fastest-growing churches.
"With a strong conviction to serve and help people, Meeks established Salem in 1985 with 200 members. Under his leadership, the church has grown to more than 20,000 members, and in 2005, the church opened House of Hope, a 10,000-seat community and worship center. In 2003, Meeks became an Illinois state senator, representing five of the poorest communities in Illinois.
"Because of his tremendous leadership ability, Meeks and [Willow Creek Senior Pastor] Bill Hybels share a growing friendship and passion for racial reconciliation. His teaching at the Summit will flow out of his experience as a leader in the local church, education, and in socioeconomic and political circles."
During the presidency of Bill Clinton, Hybels counseled him.
(Also posted at McHenry County Blog.)
14 comments:
I thought Meek's Church and Willow Creek had a on going relationship? Members going back and forth... a lot of shared programs.
Blago should dump Sister Muhammed by the way and replace her with Meeks.
That was Brady's suggestions.
I think people are forgeting the Stufflebeam (C) effect in this Meeks situation. If both Meeks in Stufflebeam get on the ballet won't that split the social conservative vote?
Thoughts?
I would think it would unite the social conservative vote.
Bill--yes they do--Hybels visited Meeks church around Christmas.
Better yet Amy, if a lawmaker voted for the Human Rights Amendment, does that make them gay?
Personally, I don't know a gay American whose parents don't support the rather innocuous provisions of SB/HB 101, except for Alan Keyes. That means the number of hetrosexual people supporting the law outnumber the number of gay people 2-1. So isn't it really the heterosexual agenda after all?
How can Meeks reconcile his more conservative credentials with the needs to pursue tax hikes for education? A tax hike is going to be an issue.
Levois, it's called "fiscal responsibility". There's no such thing as a free lunch (or a free education) and since we're all in this together shouldn't we all pay our fair share (we might not like to pay our fair share, but if you don't you're just a freeloader).
As for Cal Skinner, what is "the homosexual agenda?" Everything I've ever heard gay people talk about politically are rights and privileges that all the rest of us Americans in the heterosexual majority already enjoy. Wanting to have the same rights and privileges as everyone else is hardly an "agenda".
George Will is a conservative and I remember him arguing against Reagan's tax cuts... telling us we were undertaxed.
I'm more inclined to be with the no tax folks, but I don't think it's a conservative litmus test.
Meeks ought to be applauded for getting people to think outside the box here. Even if this is a cynical bit of pressure on Blagojevich...
It's just too bad Oberweis didn't consider inviting Meeks to be his Lt Gov partner during the primaries. It's the kind of thing that would have got me thinking seriously about Oberweis.
I think Meeks speaking at this will do him great good. The Society of Conservative Students at the University of Illinois at Springfield has invited Meeks and Stufflebeam to discuss their race (or potential) for Governor of Illinois and focus on Life. Randy Stufflebeam has accepted this and we are waiting to hear from Sen. Meeks.
For more information check out, http://www.scsrightwing.org
Other confirmed speakers include Jill Stanek, Liz Eilers, and Jennifer Tosh. Many members of the general assembly have been invited and this list includes Sen. Rauschenberger, Brady, Bomke, and Lauzen as well as Rep. Poe, Shock, and Stephens (who denied our request).
The Will Meeks Run Blog had something about this almost a month ago.
http://gomeeks.blogspot.com/2006/03/interesting-combo.html
This just in... I am a racist!
Me too, I hate niggers (but I don't mind my black people).
A black activist.
Do you smell that? Nothing like the sweet aroma of mixing religion and politics yet again.
So now if I don't vote for the fundamentalist conservative I am a racist? My head is starting to hurt. Following this story while the New Orleans mayoral fiasco is going on is pure entertainment. Looks like this whitey is a racist no matter who I support.
Ahh, politics. When nothing else works, use religion and race. What a glorious time we live in.
By the way, Meeks should give Charlie Johnston a call. Seems like they both like to blur the lines of theology and ideology. Makes a logical campaign team in my mind.
NW,
There is nothing "fiscally responsible" about giving one more dime to the Education Bureaucracy.
Chicago already spends more/student than the state average, and the idea that we need to bring poorer suburbs up to Deerfield and Lake Forest spending levels is as impossible as it is stupid.
While I respect Meeks' drive to get poorer suburbs and the city to offer a better education, the idea that we give more money to the same incompetent system is a absurd.
His bill (HB 750) is a fake swap that will see all "property tax relief" disappear in the pension/"allkids" hole in the space of 1-2 years while the 67% increases in income and local taxes are shoveled into the maw of the piggish education industry.
Democrats have a real opportunity to do something positive here. Make a "swap" REAL by offering permanent and significant property tax relief for the entire state.
HB750 as it sits, will empty IL of anyone capable of voting with their feet. Should Republicans be smart enough to make sure it doesn't get one Republican vote (smart Rs in IL is a rarity), it will set them up well for 2008 or 10.
Incidentally, HB 750 is just another reason for making sure Topinka doesn't win. She'll sign it in nanosecond while Blago will veto it and let 3-5 stupid Republicans help override it.
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