Jesus Camp kids praying for President Obama

Pastor Tim O Brien received a lot of flack when his son Levi O Brien supposedly prayed "to" a cardboard cut-out of President George W. Bush in the film Jesus Camp. Many viewers, including some uniformed people in the media, thought the children at Becky Fisher's camp were worshiping the president, when what they were actually doing was praying for him according to the Scriptural command to "pray for kings and all who are in authority" (I Timothy 2:2).

I've known Tim O Brien, and to a lesser extent his son Levi, since before the release of Jesus Camp. Since then, Pastor Tim and I have had a lot of talks on the role of the Church in society and, although we disagree significantly on many issues, I can say that the portrayal of Tim O Brien and his family as right-wing fundamentalists is off base. The real Tim O Brien, though politically conservative, in no way sees voting Republican as a litmus test for faith. His wife does not consider herself a Republican. And—surprise—his children watch Harry Potter! I've spoken at his church on several occasions, both before and after the release of the film, and each and every time I've found the O Brien family and the church he pastors intelligent and open to new ideas.

Pastor Tim sent me this video this morning of a prayer meeting at his church. I found it inspiring. I hope this breaks some stereotypes.

Nigerian scammers, African American robbers, and racist white cops--the problem with stereotypes

The last day I was in Nigeria, I was riding in the car with my host to the airport, making small conversation, when all of the sudden the conversation took a more serious turn. Seemingly out of nowhere, the man said "It's a shame that the Western media portrays us Nigerians as crooks and robbers. There are many good people here. After all, can you guarantee that if I go to America that I won't be robbed?"

Gulp.

Good point.

I have to admit that I had harbored some pretty negative stereotypes of Nigerians before my trip last week, and I consider myself to be a person that works hard to fight negative stereotypes against entire groups of people. Even so, my impression of Nigeria before actually going there was that it's a nation of corrupt politicians, e-mail scammers, and a church steeped in witchcraft and extreme prosperity teaching. In my defense, some of the stereotypes came from my Nigerian friends and from watching Nigeria movies in the past, but even so, I should have known better.

The problem with stereotypes is they put walls between people, and they allow people to think they know someone without actually taking the time to get to know the person. I have a feeling that the vast majority of people don't fit the stereotypes placed upon them. Whether they be stereotypes of religion, race, or political persuasion.

So let me just say in light of the recent unjust arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates. Not all Nigerians are crooks. Not all African Americans are robbers. And not all white cops are racist. Having said that, I think that racial profiling is a huge problem and needs to be addressed. While we address the problem, let's not forget that unjust stereotypes come in all shapes, sizes, and colors.