Tony Campolo on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos

Here’s a link to a old video I watched late in 2008 that I immediately became a fan of. Tony put together some things I’d been wrestling with at the time. The 1st link is the complete interview on the CBC site. The second link is the same interview, minus the intro (which is a good one), in case you have technical difficulties.


http://www.cbc.ca/thehour/videos.html?id=753884673

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m584z5aE4Uc

I was starting to sense that my faith had ignored much of what Jesus appeared to live out. I had spent a lot of time breaking down (or deconstructing) my faith, trying to weed out that which appeared to me to be out of touch with Jesus. So I was hungry for this, a little nugget that helped me in the early steps of discovering what walking with Christ might look like.

I love how Tony really connects with George, particularly given George’s background and current stance on religious issues. George was raised in the church by his single mom and is currently in the “I don’t know” camp. He gives a fascinating interview with Drew Marshall (more on Drew another time). If you’re interested in adding it to your mp3 player, you’ll find that one at http://drewmarshall.ca/listen2008.html#080126

I’ll let you read up on Tony if you have an interest. He takes some heat (largely because of his political leanings), but he’s got a heart for some really important things. In Chapter 1 of “Red Letter Christians” (available for free online - incidentally the only chapter I’ve read), Tony tells a brief story about a meal in Haiti that I’ll never forget.

And here’s a thought provoking quote of Tony’s that’s garnered some attention over the years:

“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.”

Sad, but so true. Reminds me of: “You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.”