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...

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.