Pastor's Backing Brings Trouble for Obama
By Cynthia B. Astle

Gaining the endorsement of one of the most influential African-American pastors in The United Methodist Church has brought little but trouble for Sen. Barack Obama this week.

The Rev. Kirbyjon H. Caldwell, senior pastor of United Methodist megachurch Windsor Village UMC in Houston, announced Jan. 19 that he personally supported the Illinois Democrat's bid to be U.S. president, and that he planned to campaign for Obama. The Houston Chronicle reported that Caldwell, a longtime friend of President George W. Bush, said he's endorsing Obama's presidential campaign because of the senator's "character, confidence and courage."

But it isn't Caldwell's conservative political affiliations that have placed Obama in jeopardy. Rather, gay blogs and news outlets have been outraged over Caldwell's backing of a ministry that uses controversial "conversion" techniques to "cure" LGBT people of homosexual orientation.

UM NeXus placed telephone calls to both Obama's campaign headquarters in Chicago and to Windsor Village UMC in Houston to allow the senator and the pastor, or their representatives, to comment on objections to the endorsement. Neither organization had returned the calls by UM NeXus' deadline.

The furor began Jan. 20 with a blog posted on The Daily Kos by a writer with the screen name "johnnygunn." The blog reads: "We call on Senator Barack Obama to reject cordially, but in the clearest language, the recent endorsement that his campaign has received from Kirbyjon Caldwell, pastor of the Windsor Village United Methodist Church in Texas. Mr. Caldwell is a proponent of 'Metanoia Ministries' -- a dangerous program that claims to convert gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and intersex people to heterosexuality within a so-called Christian framework."

The blog was updated Jan. 21 to note that a link to Metanoia Ministries on the Windsor Village UMC website had been removed. UM NeXus verified that the link went to a page within the Windsor Village web site, which now posts an error message saying the page was removed. Subsequently UM NeXus found no link to Metanoia Ministries from Windsor Village UMC, nor could it locate a reciprocal link to Windsor Village UMC from Metanoia's web site.

By UM NeXus' deadline, more than 600 comments, most opposed to Caldwell's endorsement of Obama because of his support for "ex-gay" ministries, had been posted on the Daily Kos web site.

The following day, another blog from AKATheKorman on the Lavender Newswire wrote:

"Any gay person who votes for Barack Obama after this is, simply, an idiot. . . . In fact, Caldwell has already been on the campaign trail for Obama. His name was overlooked at the time, but a little digging reveals that Caldwell was also part of Obama's S.C. gospel tour [in October, 2007] featuring 'ex-gay' bigot Donnie McClurkin."

McClurkin is a superstar black gospel singer who says he was "cured" of homosexuality through his Christian faith. At the time, Obama refused protesters' calls to cancel McClurkin's participation in the gospel concert, but later "issued a statement saying he strongly disagrees with Mr. McClurkin’s views and that he has tried to address what he called the homophobia among some black voters," according to a New York Times report.

The Lavender Newswire post also referred to Caldwell's backing of Metanoia Ministries, a Boca Raton, FL-based national organization whose web site advertises: "a healing program for those affected by homosexuality and sexual addiction." Metanoia is affiliated with Exodus International, a longtime "ex-gay" organization.

However, Lavender Newswire mistakenly called Metanoia an offshoot of The United Methodist Church. Metanoia is not an official United Methodist association, and The United Methodist Church is not one of the denominations listed as a partner on Metanoia's web site, although individual congregations may have sponsored its programs.

Metanoia, along with Exodus International and similar programs, promote the idea that sexual orientation is a lifestyle choice that can be changed. Many LGBT people, their families, friends and supporters, strongly refute this view. Proponents of programs such as Metanoia contend that while their discipline is strict, their intention is to restore LGBT people to biblically sanctioned heterosexual relationships through Christian love.

In the Houston Chronicle article, Caldwell emphasized that his support is personal and should not be taken as an endorsement of Obama by the entire United Methodist denomination. The UMC, through the General Council on Finance and Administration, specifically instructs congregations to avoid partisan political endorsements, in keeping with Internal Revenue Service rules on non-profit religious organizations. Clergy may personally endorse candidates as long as they make clear that they represent only themselves, not the church.

Known as a dynamic preacher who brings entrepreneurial business principles to ministry, Caldwell has been pastor of Windsor Village UMC since July 1982. His pastorate has been profiled over the years in many secular and church-related publications such as the United Methodist Reporter and Good News magazine. In addition to his church salary and the proceeds from his books, such as "The Gospel of Good Success," Caldwell currently serves as a director of two Houston-based companies, Reliant Energy and Continental Airlines, making him most likely one of the wealthiest clergy in United Methodism. Forbes.com listed Caldwell's financial status as "not available."

Caldwell's most high-profile political affiliation is his longtime friendship with President George W. Bush, also a United Methodist, which began when Bush was governor of Texas. The pastor told the Houston Chronicle that he had informed the president of his choice to back Obama and that Bush is "OK with it."

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