Follow Jesus; preach justice, author urges

Posted: 3/03/06

Follow Jesus; preach justice, author urges

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

WACO—God calls Christian ministers to follow Jesus’ example and preach social justice, author Tony Campolo said.

“Jesus came preaching the kingdom of God—transformed people living in a transformed social order,” Campolo told a ministerial ethics conference at Baylor University’s Truett Seminary, sponsored by the Christians Ethics Today Founda-tion.

“When you look at the Bible, there’s as much Scripture dealing with justice as there is love. Justice is love translated into social policy. We are called upon to preach justice.”

Before preachers can preach on ethics, they must live ethically, Campolo insisted.

“The integrity of the minister gives legitimacy to the message. You must incarnate the message,” said Campolo, professor emeritus of sociology at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pa.

Integrity involves everything from sexual purity and personal holiness to a rejection of consumerism, he insisted.

“Jesus calls us to live simply that others may simply live,” he said. “What is a reasonable lifestyle in today’s society for those who would be followers of Jesus Christ?”

Concern for social justice starts with charitable acts such as sponsoring a child in a Third World country.

“The problem comes when you begin questioning structures” of governments and economies, he insisted.

A preacher may be safe in promoting grassroots economic development in the Third World, but the sermon gets risky when it includes criticism of United States trade policies, he noted as an example.

Prophetic preaching represents “a struggle against principalities and powers,” which he defined as potentially demonic social institutions including governments, industries and mass media.

“But if you’re going to speak prophetically, first realize you’re not a prophet,” Campolo said, drawing a distinction between biblical prophets who spoke divine revelation and modern preachers who seek to explain and apply that revelation.

“You don’t have a direct word from the Lord. There’s room for dialogue. Entertain the possibility that you could be wrong. You can’t afford to abuse people from the pulpit.”

Ministers struggle with two conflicting roles—the pastor who seeks to unify the congregation and the prophet who speaks troubling words, Campolo acknowledged.

Guest speakers and “unpaid clergy” enjoy a freedom denied to pastors who depend on the support of their congregations, he noted, but someone needs to take up the prophetic mantle.

“We live in perilous times. We need prophets who will speak to principalities and powers,” he concluded.

Speaking at a student chapel service held in conjunction with the ethics conference, Campolo challenged ministerial students to “make a counter-cultural stand against the pressures of society.”

Prophetic preachers who surrender totally to God’s direction cannot fit in—either to a materialistic society or a denominational career ladder, he insisted.

“Be counter-cultural agents for Jesus Christ,” he urged. “You are not called to be custodians of institutions but agents of change.”