Opinion: Why I Joined Glenn Beck's Rally

(Aug. 30) -- The 2010 election cycle is likely to be filled with mystery, wonder and surprise. Both major parties, the tea party movement and myriad other groups will be vying to have their voices heard above the political din. Saturday continued the noise. Two rallies descended upon Washington, D.C., marking the 47th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s March on Washington.

Both conservatives and liberals voiced their opinions this past weekend. Several months ago Glenn Beck's show chose the date for its "Restoring Honor" Rally and secured the Lincoln Memorial location, apparently not even realizing the King tie-in until later. It was originally designed as a spiritually oriented event to show the nation that the community of faith is united behind "our unswerving commitment to be 'One Nation Under God.' "

Then Rev. Al Sharpton decided to develop a competing rally, accusingly titled, "Reclaiming the Dream." Beck's rally originally was cast as spiritual, while Sharpton and his allies characterized his march as a protest to Beck's event.

The question for last weekend is, "What would Martin have done?"

At this critical juncture in history, all Americans need solution-based moral and political leadership. We need to break the historically tainted lenses through which we view our collective moral and political decisions.

African-Americans are at an even more acutely strategic moment. Having slipped to the second most numerous minority, African-American civic and moral leaders must decide to exert their political power and become a conscience to both Democrats and Republicans.

If only 18 to 20 percent of black voters feel at liberty to vote their values, blacks could become the swing vote that changes the destiny of our nation -- race by race, candidate by candidate. The most natural unifying alliance that African-Americans could build is with white and Hispanic evangelicals, who share their core values and worldview. With this kind of radical new alignment, new approaches to our most pressing problems could be developed and tested. Our newly defined "good guys" of whatever party could begin to emerge.

Wishful thinking? Perhaps.

Yet this past weekend we celebrated the legacy of the ultimate dreamer, whose famed words moved him from being seen as a national security threat to center stage of the nation's value system. Forty-seven years after the speech, everyone wants to be identified with the passion, power and purpose of his message. In order to make real moral and political change possible in 2010, once again some black leaders have to wander off the "political plantation" upon which their people currently reside -- the Democratic Party.

Therefore, although I have very close friends and associates on both sides, I chose to participate with Glenn Beck on Saturday and attempt to build the new coalition I have just discussed.

Rallying with Beck may temporarily bring a backlash of ridicule and rebuke to many of the black civic and religious leaders who joined me. Long term, however, the courage of these leaders will point the way and embolden others. Despite any personal discomfort, we believe it is time to make a real change.

My personal reasons for involvement in the Restoring Honor rally were primarily moral, not political. First of all, I believe that there needs to be a spiritual alarm sounded in the nation. I am convinced that the only answer to our country's moral free fall is another great awakening. This means that we preachers must preach to individuals with a desire to see them transformed internally and spiritually.

Second, this critical mass of faithful believers will need to start a grassroots movement to recapture the essentials of "living faith." We then must take responsibility for the disappointing political and cultural leaders we have elected or tolerated.

I would like to encourage everyone to pray for a spiritual awakening in America, which will affect the way we vote and the way we rebuild our most cherished institution. Last weekend, I joined hundreds of thousands of Christians in prayer and reflection. I believe that America can continue to fulfill its call to be an instrument of God -- if the churches return to faithful prayer, practice and preaching of the word of God.

My dream for America is based on the same Bible that inspired Dr. King's dream ... the same Bible from which he preached ... the same Bible that formed the basis of most of our American laws and values. If King were alive today, he would lament the fact that Al Sharpton has become simply a protester and not a dreamer. He would decry the divisive tone of the "Reclaiming the Dream" event fashioned in honor of his vision.

I believe he would applaud the Glenn Beck event with just one word of caution: "Be careful to finish what you start!"

Bishop Jackson is senior pastor of Hope Christian Church in the Washington, D.C., area and is chairman of the High Impact Leadership Coalition.