Envision the Future: A Declaration for the Common Good

Envision...Part III of ???

Last week I had the opportunity to help out with Envision '08, a gathering diverse Christ followers (racially, geographically, educationally, theologically) for 3 days of dreaming about how to live out the call God has placed on our lives to be his justice-bearers in the world. Here's the document that was settled upon on our final day...

Envision the Future: A Declaration on the Common Good

I still have more thoughts from the time to process, but I'm the midst of a service trip in North Carolina, so it'll have to wait. I might have some time tomorrow...

interesting

you might want to watch this a couple times...

Flobots - No Handlebars

might makes right?

evangelical justice

more most of the last few decades, mainstream evangelicalism has not been a public friend of justice. we've been for justice in the lives of the unborn, but haven't said or done nearly enough in most of the rest of the ares of life. this isn't to say there haven't been evangelicals who cared about these issues. they were just the rare minority. thankfully, it seems as if that is slowly changing...

Take a look at this article if you have the chance.

what??

Senator Patrick Leahy had this to say the other day, in response to questions about the cut in funds for the Millennium Challenge Corporation's budget, an American run, Africa-based relief organization:

“Do we cut maternal health?” he asked. “AIDS? Malaria? Do we cut refugees? The only thing that’s got a blank check is the war in Iraq.”

It's good to know that we can drop billions into a war we created but can't deem it worthwhile for a world issue.

npr

As a follow up to the last post, Renee Montagne was kind enough to interview John Edwards on NPR's Morning Edition and ask him some of the questions we were considering here. (I didn't realize my readership had expanded so handily ; )

Take a look here for an online version. You can either read or listen to it at the link.

Poverty and Politics

John Edwards has built his presidential campaign on the issue of poverty, publishing books (Ending Poverty in America), centering speeches around the issue as far back as June 2006, making it a main push on his website (www.johnedwards.com), and this week launching three-day whirlwind "Road to One America" tour to "help end poverty in America."

While giving more attention to this issue than any of the other candidates, Edwards has created his own controversy through extravagant spending (whether on haircuts or houses), causing some to question whether the elimination poverty is really his passion or just politics. CNN presented an interesting article on their website yesterday, taking a closer look at his campaign trail this week.

So how do we mix politics and poverty? How do you justify spending millions of dollars on a national preliminary campaign that at the end will lead to an even more expensive national campaign, while famillies are struggling to make it by on several thousand dollars for a year? And what does it mean to "end poverty in 30 years" as Edwards aims to do? I am intrigued by Edwards...by his story, by his passions, by his personality, but am also hesitant.