My Prayer for Traveling Mercies

I don't count myself as oppressed or downtrodden—one of the good things about going to a majority white school in California is that it pretty much correlates to receiving an excellent public education (once you put all the privileged kids in the same institution, their privilege usually follows them). I made it into University of California-Berkeley straight out of high school, so I guess being called a "chink" once a year was totally worth it.

As an associate minister at a church that's a member of both the American Baptist Church and the Progressive National Baptist Convention, I straddle the historic black and predominantly white Baptist worlds. It was significant that this gathering took place in the seat of the South and demonstrated a genuine commitment to uniting across the racial divide. An entire worship service focused on the theme of welcoming the stranger and dealt head-on with the polemical issue of immigration - emphasizing the need for a biblically-based response characterized by compassion, mercy, and justice.

Super Tuesday Liveblog: What Will (or Won't) Dobson Do? (by Ryan Rodrick Beiler)

Back in October, Diana Butler Bass asked on this blog, "What Will Dobson Do?" Back then, Guiliani was the front-runner and Dobson was threatening to bolt the party if he became the nominee. Today, he sent an alert to Focus on the Family Action lamenting: "But what a sad and melancholy decision this is for me and many other conservatives. Should Sen. McCain capture the nomination as many assume, I believe this general election will offer the worst choices for president in my lifetime. I certainly can't vote for Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama based on their virulently anti-family policy positions. If these are the nominees in November, I simply will not cast a ballot for president for the first time in my life."

Super Tuesday Liveblog: They Did It Again (by Duane Shank)

The Democratic exit poll asks the standard questions about church attendance (where Barack Obama swept the board among those who attend more than weekly, weekly, monthly, a few times a year, or never), and about religion (Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, other, or none -- where Obama also won all categories). In the Republican exit poll, they asked the same two questions, but then also asked whether the person was a "born-again or evangelical Christian."

I haven't seen as much interest around a primary election in a long time. Despite the experiences of defeat around issues so important to my low-income community - the fear of recession, the dragged-out Iraq war and the billions of dollars diverted for war that we need spent on improving the health and future of our youth - there is a tangible sense of hope and possibilities. As Caroline Kennedy told of her own experience, youth are speaking out to their parents about the future, about the candidates, and getting involved. There will be change in whoever becomes president, and that gives us hope for a new direction for the country, especially in how we spend our money.

As an evangelical, I occasionally watch late-night religious broadcasting and the word "crazy" comes to mind in a different way. But thankfully, Kristoff is right: there's a new kind of craziness spreading among evangelicals. It's the belief that the impossible can happen – that yes, we can stop global warming, yes, we can redirect the economy to benefit the poor majority, and yes, we can build bridges of peace instead of razor-wire-topped walls of distrust.

Last week we began the national 20-city book tour for The Great Awakening in Portland, Oregon, at a majestic old venue called the Bagdad theater. It's a renovated 1920s era cinema, one part Grand Old Opry and two parts Ali Baba – complete with a retro, neon-lit marquee. Imagine my surprise when I pulled up to the theater to find my name up in lights immediately above the name of the feature film screening later that evening. It read...

The Millennials Are Waking Up (by Cara Boekeloo)

During the 2004 election cycle, I was bombarded repeatedly with messages about how young voters had failed to be involved in the electoral process. My generation—the Millennials—was failing to live up to its potential, it seemed. This time we're starting to shake things up—and people are taking note.

Born-Again Voters Up for Grabs (by Jim Wallis)

A common question over the last few years has been for proof that the movement I describe has a real and measurable constituency. "Give us a sign," they say. The headline from the latest Barna Group report is another such sign: Born-Again Voters No Longer Favor Republican Candidates.

Keeping Up With Our Elders (by Rose Marie Berger)

Because I was born in 1963, I qualify as a bottom-of-the-barrel "baby boomer" (a person born between 1946 and 1964). I'm not ready to make a post-workforce transition or second-half-of-life vocational shift, but I'm watching my elders who are.

A Dose of Inaugurated Eschatology (by Ryan Rodrick Beiler)

Far from advancing a "politics only" solution, because evil and sin are real, and because they are manifest in our worst social problems, it takes a work of the Spirit to really change things.

BUILDING A MOVEMENT

We did it! Thanks so much to everyone who responded to our call to help put Jim’s newest book, The Great Awakening: Reviving Faith and Politics in a Post-Religious Right America, on The New York Times best-seller list.

The Great Awakening is now officially #10 on The New York Times list, which will appear in the paper this Sunday, Feb. 10.

Here at Sojourners, we’ve learned how critical the list is to getting the media attention for our message. Because of thousands of readers like you, a voice for progressive faith is now being heard nationally – from interviews on talk radio shows to local newspaper coverage to national news networks.

Find out more about The Great Awakening at our new book Web site: www.sojo.net/greatawakening. There you can find (or start!) a book group in your area, download a free study guide or screensaver, and watch a video about the book.

SOJOURNERS IN THE NEWS

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Top Stories:

Jim Wallis: Primaries Show Evangelicals Moving in a Different Direction
Christianity Today online
Jim Wallis is still preaching that God is not a Republican or a Democrat. The Sojourners president appeared on the Jon Stewart show January 22, and his book will be announced at #10 on The New York Times best-seller list later this week. He spoke with Christianity Today about the election and his take on the candidates and the evangelical agenda.

Is there a Great Awakening? Q&A with Jim Wallis
Seattle Times
In the Rev. Jim Wallis' previous best-seller, God's Politics, the editor, speaker, and self-described progressive evangelical claimed that the religious right had narrowed discussion of moral issues to a very narrow agenda, while the political left has shown disdain for faith and moral-values talk.

Religious Right and the GOP
The Hill

Editorial: Healing; Harshness Opposed
Charleston Gazette

Putting Jesus back in politics, at last!
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Evangelicals a Liberal Can Love
The New York Times

Politics Watch
Washington Post

Islam and Christianity: changing the subject; Pope Benedict and Muslims
First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life

"Sojourners in the news" articles are the most recent news clippings that mention Sojourners in any way - whether favorably or unfavorably. Though we provide the text on our site for your convenience, we do not necessarily endorse the views of these articles or their source publications.