Tony Campolo - Red Letter Christian
Friday, August 25th, 2006I spent last evening with about 20 Christian leaders from around Brisbane, hosted by World Vision Australia, meeting up with Tony Campolo.
Tony’s been on a tour of Australia, giving World Vision a plug in a number of breakfasts and dinners. Last night, between courses, Tony reminded us of the challenge of taking Jesus seriously, putting into practice Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom of God.
Tony’s now in his seventies but he’s still quite capable of speaking animatedly to a group of colleagues, without the need for a microphone. He’s lost a bit of weight since I saw him last, probably as the result of his battle with diabetes. I appreciated hearing his appeal for an approach to faith and action that holds together personal conversion to Jesus and social action in obedience to Jesus.
We heard about the ‘Red Letter Christian‘ label developed by Tony, Jim Wallis and their colleagues to find an alternative to commitment to social engagement without tying Evangelical faith with a political party. The phrase ‘Red Letter Christian’ was coined by a radio host in reference to the words ascribed to Jesus in the Christian New Testament.
Down under we don’t have the same polarisations found in the United States, in which ‘Evangelical’ and ‘Mainline’ church leaders seem to live in different worlds. However we do face the same temptation of power in the political realm. As Campolo points out, love and power rarely go together.
We heard two of Tony’s classic quotes:
Tony told us about speaking at a conference where everything he said about the poor seemed to have no effect on his audience. They’d heard it all before. He ended up saying, “I have three things I’d like to say today. First, while you were sleeping last night, 30,000 kids died of starvation or diseases related to malnutrition. Second, most of you don’t give a shit. What’s worse is that you’re more upset with the fact that I said shit than the fact that 30,000 kids died last night.” Tony pointed out that younger leaders warmed to the phrasing, older leaders frowned to it.
“There are 2,000 verses of Scripture that tell us we must be committed to protecting the poor and the oppressed…There is no concern of Scripture that is addressed so often and so powerfully as reaching out to the poor.”
Driving home I reflected on my efforts to wipe out my own debt and realised that I’m also called to help wipe out world debt. Not by myself.
Tags: Emerging Church, Politics, Reconciliation, Social Justice, Spirituality, Tony Campolo
