Could you imagine what the world might be like if some celebrities made this sort of statement about Jesus?

This seems sadly misplaced to me. And yes: more than a little bit creepy.

UPDATE: A reader sent me the following e-mail, which I found both thoughtful and thought-provoking:

While the pledge to serve the President individually may seem misplaced, the sentiment of community service and civility promoted by the video are, for the most part, very much in keeping with our Christian values.

We can point fingers and feel “creeped out,” sure, or we can take this golden opportunity to promote service through our churches and church-sponsored organizations for the betterment of our society. There was a wonderful article in the Washington Post online this weekend about a group of young Catholics who are doing exactly that: (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/16/AR2009011602401.html).

We can accuse, or we can redirect positively towards appropriate devotional service. The meditation on the Call of the King from St. Ignatius’s Spiritual Exercises seems appropriate here: A temporal leader can do a lot of good, and we would be right to support that leader in those endeavors, yet how much more can our devotion to Christ accomplish?

As for any “cult of personality” around the new President, I don’t think it’s a huge leap from the the cult of personality that surrounded Bush for a large part of his presidency, manifested by the attitude that if you don’t support the President, then you’re un-American, and the belief held by some that he was divinely ordained for the post. It’s different, but I don’t think it’s a huge leap.