i think it is time to leave the church when a) you are becoming the focus of the sermons or b)people are secretly entering the church with video cameras because they want to do damage to you personally, while trying to destroy the integrity of that church.
if both are happening then you should consider watching church on the Internet.

It's time to leave when it becomes apparent that giving a sermon there requires that one be a total buffoon. I respect BO for leaving - and I think he's handled his church mess relatively well. That church is an embarrassment to me as a believer in Christ.

I realize that will anger some of you.

Sermons like the latest in question or those like Rev. Wright for that matter have been going on in that church for years. None of the congregants were in the pews clutching their pearls.
To me, that indicates that until the media got a wind of the sermons, the Obamas were among the co-signers.
It looks like Obama doesn't have the courage of his convictions to stand by the church that supported his family over the years.
This church thing has been grossly mishandled by the Obama camp. It should have been snuffed the first time and the attention re-directed towards more important issues. The fact that the Obama camp has been unable to do that effectively and found retreating as the only solution is not an attractive trait in a leader.

the sermon given by the catholic priest was more suited to a chris rock comedic routine than a church sermon. and the congregation was whole-heartedly participating in the buffonery. we always tell our kids that who you hang with reflects on you as a person (this works the same for adults) - finally glad obama pulled away from this madness. folks love to point out the lower class black person as 'ghetto' but i guess middle class and upper class can act that way as well.

He should of left that church a long time ago, I have seen a few videos from it, and I get a sense of anger coming from it. Do they even talk about religion?

I also like to note, Hillary is the only candidate with a crazy pastor.

SweetDiva - you're right those sermons have been going on for years, but what logic does it make for the church to let that sermon be given considering recent events? Is the church interested in redeeming or getting on the 10 o'clock news?

I think he did snuff the story, but the church keeps coming back. After the initial story and BO's speech, Wright acts a fool at some convention. So BO has to address it yet again. And, now this.

I was more disturbed by what I saw from the clip of the Sermon. First, how is it a man can claim he's serving God while sounding so hateful towards another living being? Second, and I'm saying this out of a LOT of frustration, how come nobody is addressing the blatantly sexist nature of his words? I'm so sick of this campaign.

@blackmistressdiva - The Obama team snuffed nothing. Just defending himself is not enough when in a tough competition. Where was the offense? Where is the strategy? The hot new superpolicy that cannot be ignored? The test is not the struggle, but how someone bounces back. He has continued to apologize/atone for something that not only was beyond his control, but something that he already addressed. The future president can not martyr himself and still be perceived as strong.
This church situation is nothing in comparison the kind of scrutiny Obama will be under if elected.

As ridiculous as this church thing is, it's gonna come back to haunt him in november.

I think it's counterproductive to be upset with him over this decision. He is already facing a great deal of pressure from multiple sides. Do we really need yet another critical voice adding to the dissension?

I agree that the Obama camp has made numerous gaffes during this campaign and has grossly mishandled this situation. A savvier staff would have squelched this thing weeks after it first broke. However, I don't read this is a sign of his weakness or incompetency as a leader so much as a sign of his inexperience running a large scale, highly completitive campaign. I do feel that they will really need to tighten up the gaps before the presidential race. This Rev. Wright/Trinity Church crap is child's play compared to the mud the Republicans will be slinging come fall.

@SweetDiva - Thanks for the visual of ladies in wide church hats clutching their pearls. That made me laugh!

@jazzymelanin - I wouldn't call Fr. Michael Pfleger's sermon buffoonery. I think he had some very valid points and was pleasantly surprised by the passion he employed to express said points.

While I understand from a political sense WHY Obama left his church…when I heard that he did it and saw his speech on CNN, I briefly thought…'what else will he be willing to give up if under enough pressure?'

I'm weary of the whole thing.

Black people are soooo gonna be disapointed in this dude if he becomes prez.

It was overdue. Lots of non-Biblical stuff goes on in our churches that needs to be sifted out. (I'm sure lots of non-Biblical stuff goes on in mainstream churches that also needs to go, but I don't know about those churches…. but I do know about ours.)

I could go on and on about this, but I am glad he left.

He left the church for the right reasons because he felt that the church could no longer carry on its duties without scrutiny from the media. That is not fair to the church or fair to Obama. That sermon was uncalled for but just this past Sunday at my mom's church, one of the associate pastors went on a rant about black suppression and the White media..blah, blah, blah. My mom said if he keeps it up we will be on CNN soon. My point though is that associate pastor does not define the church I grew up in and still visit today. It doesn't define the people there even though people agreed with what the associate pastor was saying and thats the point that Obama should have made.

Also, I am sick of news commentators and other people saying Obama shouldn't associate himself with radicals and these radical ministers. Phlegar and Wright are ministers at some of the most influential community churches in the southside of Chicago. As a community organizer, you can't simply shun and stay away from leaders in the community that people respect when you are trying to drive down crime, uplift the poor, create jobs, increase education, etc. Thats like saying that Pastors shouldn't associate themselves with ex-cons, or former gang members when they are trying to do reach out to current gang members to get them out of gangs. Obama had to reach out to several people along the way to impact the community he was working in and actually get results. When people don't talk to someone because they have different views, nothing will get accomplished (just look at our foreign policy today.

Why are they making this chruch stuff a bigger issue than Hillary coded call for his assignation.

Michael Pfleger’s sermon had a point.

Obama should have left that Church 20 years ago. I would never attend a divisive Church like that. That white preacher should be ashamed of himself. When he's talking to a bunch of white people he talks a lot different. He reminds me of one of those white kids that listen to rap and when they happen to meet a black person, they start trying to talk the way they preceive that a black person talks. Just pathetic. Obama might have quit the Church, but we are going to be hearing bigger people talking from that Church

SweetDiva…
I do agree with you on this:
"The future president can not martyr himself and still be perceived as strong."

Obama disgusts me. The presidency is job. Would you forsake God's House for a job application. Make it Rain for McCain. I don't want a black Jimmy Carter commanding my son in Iraq. That brother Obama will get everyone killed.

I believe he dropped the church to hopefully secure a win. He caved. I do, however, believe that McCain and Hilary would have done the same if they were in the situation because it's all about the win, all about power. Politicians today are a joke.