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The Matthew 25 Network is a community of Christians – Catholic, Protestant, Pentecostal, and Evangelical – inspired by the Gospel mandate to put our faith into action to care for our neighbor, especially the most vulnerable. The election of our public officials, and the politics they stand for, are a reflection of our core values. We believe that those elected to public office carry an important trust, as their decisions have a profound impact on our nation and our world. We believe that people of faith should actively participate in the political process as an important avenue for social change....

Yesterday, 29 April 2008, at 3:32 PM, the United Methodist Church formally and explicitely rejected it's long held and Biblically-based mission to make disciples of Christ by saving souls, and declared officially that its mission is to transform the world. This codifies in the Book of Discipline of the UMC, its book of law, what was already the de facto case in practice. Here's the new text: The mission of the Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.Here's the previous text: The mission of the Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ....

Whose 'Evangelical Manifesto'?Warren Smith - Guest Columnist - 4/17/2008 6:00:00 AM If all goes according to plan, on or about May 7, a group of evangelical leaders -- including the Rev. Rick Warren (of Saddleback Church and "Purpose Driven Life" fame) and Leith Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals -- will publish a document to be called "An Evangelical Manifesto: The Washington Declaration of Identity and Public Commitment." Though the document has been circulating around the Internet for a month, it has been "embargoed." For purposes of our discussion here, I will honor the embargo and not delve...

Have evangelicals abandoned the Religious Right for a more moderate center? Some say yes. ... Mr. McLaren says global poverty, destruction of the environment and increasing violence in the world must be addressed and calls for the church to "change its framing story" and to start trying to change public opinion in these areas. He launched a tour called "Everything Must Change" and is currently traveling throughout the country rallying support. ... Well-known liberal evangelical Jim Wallis called evangelicals the swing voters in '08. Not everybody agrees with his statement, but political analysts do a note a shift. Some religious...

The Bible Society has said that on 13 March, Members of Parliament were presented with the first Poverty and Justice Bible to highlight more than 2,000 verses reflecting God’s attitude to poverty and justice. Thirteen MPs were presented with the Bible by David Landrum, Bible Society’s Parliamentary Officer. This comes ahead of the official launch of The Poverty and Justice Bible at the Christian Spring Harvest festival from 25 March – 20 April. Andy Reed, MP for Loughborough, said, “This is the Bible I’ve been wanting for a long time. It highlights God’s heart for tackling poverty and establishing justice....

The following statement is being issued by over a dozen Christian leaders to mark the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war. We invite you to join us in adding your name as a gesture of lamentation and repentance. »See the full statement and signers This season of Lent, we are truly living "in darkness and in the shadow of death" as we mark, on March 19, 2008, the fifth anniversary of the war with Iraq. It is a war that is being waged by our country, financed by our taxes, and fought by our sisters and brothers. As U.S....

The Poverty and Justice Bible, the latest release from Bible Society, has broken new ground as the first ever to literally highlight the more than 2,000 passages that reveal God’s sorrow over poverty and injustice, and His command to believers to act to eradicate them. Sun, Mar. 02, 2008 Posted: 12:41:18 PM EST The Poverty and Justice Bible, the latest release from Bible Society, has broken new ground as the first ever to literally highlight the more than 2,000 passages that reveal God’s sorrow over poverty and injustice, and His command to believers to act to eradicate them. The new...

If Jesus walked the earth today, he'd drink fair-trade coffee and fill his Blackberry with non-church activities. So says Brian McLaren, author of more than a dozen books on modern Christianity - most recently Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crisis, and a Revolution of Hope. In Everything Must Change, McLaren urges an examination of four critical issues: the environment, poverty, world peace and religious understanding. The book is titled Everything Must Change. Do you mean everything? Are we doing anything right?The laws of gravity and the speed of light are just fine. (laughs) But what I'm saying with "everything" is...

Cutting-edge leaders of the emerging, missional, mosaic and monastic streams are convening Thursday evening in Washington state to re-imagine ways to express the Christian faith. Thu, Feb. 28, 2008 Posted: 11:20:04 AM EST Cutting-edge leaders of the emerging, missional, mosaic and monastic streams are convening Thursday evening in Washington state to re-imagine ways to express the Christian faith. Under the banner of “The New Conspirators Conference,” attendees will contemplate what “God is conspiring” through the new generation of Christian leaders to make His kingdom relevant in a rapidly changing world. “As far as we know, this is the first time...

The Religious Left is successfully redefining what it means to be a conservative evangelical by misrepresenting what it means to be a conservative evangelical. In a recent conference call hosted by Faith in Public Life, one of the emerging voices of the Religious Left, Dr. Joel Hunter, said: There’s also a change in the voices that are defining what is conservative now, and what is evangelical. In the past couple of decades you’ve had some very loud voices on both sides – hard right, hard left – and when those were the only choices, then of course many evangelicals are...

Another category of Christian, however, is rapidly losing its traditional identity in our culture: Evangelical. While it never made distinctions on theological grounds, that term could always be counted upon to identify those Christians who are conservative, Protestant, culturally influential and outspoken about their faith. With recent developments, however, the defining elements of Evangelical may soon go the way of the much-encompassing Christian. Why? Because some who purport to speak for all evangelicals are being sucked into marginal issues that are usually harped on by America-hating liberals. And because conservative Christians are allegedly being divided, the mainstream media is eating...

John 15:18-25 Wednesday, February 13th, in the year of our Lord 2008 First let me say that I am not happy that I have been put in a position where I have to interrupt the series on the Gospel of John. But, what Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and other talking head pundits have done this year is not only beneath contempt and disgust but requires a Scriptural response as well. They have, in my humble opinion, proven who it is that they serve, and it is not the God of truth, but the father of all liars. There was a...

Pastor emphasizes path of good works, not divisive politics Author says Christianity needs 2nd Reformation By MICHELLE BOORSTEIN Washington Post WASHINGTON — Rick Warren, a megachurch pastor and philanthropist who is courted by political leaders worldwide, says he thinks Christianity needs a "second Reformation" that would steer the church away from divisive politics and be "about deeds, not creeds."Speaking Tuesday to a group of Washington Post reporters and editors, the evangelical author said he had an "epiphany" in recent years because of his wife's battle with cancer and the success of his book, The Purpose Driven Life, which has sold...

Despite the fact that Jesus Himself said in words recorded in three different gospels that the poor would always be with us, Warren says he believes the eradication of poverty can be accomplished through the combined efforts of governments, businesses and religious institutions working in harmony with one another. So he has teamed up with ONE. Not the One, mind you, but the well-funded, well-publicized, celebrity-endowed organization known audaciously and only as ONE. And what is ONE all about? .... There's more, but you get the point. ONE is about promoting the forcible confiscation of property by government and redistribution...

“Evangelicals are going to vote this year in part on climate change, on Darfur, on poverty,” said Jim Wallis, the author of a new book, “The Great Awakening,” which argues that the age of the religious right has passed and that issues of social justice are rising to the top of the agenda. Mr. Wallis says that about half of white evangelical votes will be in play this year. ... Look, I don’t agree with evangelicals on theology or on their typically conservative views on taxes, health care or Iraq. Self-righteous zealots like Pat Robertson have been a plague upon...

Rick Warren loves to apologize for things he didn't do, for things other people did that weren't wrong, even for things that occurred hundreds of years before he was born. For instance, he recently apologized to Muslims worldwide for atrocities committed against their ancestors during the Crusades. He also recently apologized for American "excesses in the war on terrorism." And he has apologized for the church because it hasn't done enough about the spread of AIDS and problems like global warming. Yet, I must observe that despite his predilection for apologies, he has a great deal of trouble owning up...

LAKE FOREST, Calif. – Rick Warren says he never wanted fame or celebrity, but when murder, bewilderment and grief engulfed a missionary base and church in Colorado this week, national media looked to the Southern California megachurch pastor to help make sense of it. Whether or not there is such a thing as "America's pastor" or an "evangelical spokesman," the man called by Newsweek one of "15 People Who Make America Great" fits the bill for many mainstream journalists. "I hate fame, but I love making an influence," Warren told WND. "So you put up with some stuff." Some of...

I believe that Dick Cheney is a liar; that Donald Rumsfeld is also a liar; and that George W. Bush was, and is, clueless about how to be the president of the United States. ...They have shamed our beloved nation in the world by this war and the shameful way they have fought it. Almost 4,000 young Americans are dead because of the lies of this administration, tens of thousands more wounded and maimed for life, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis also dead, and 400 billion dollars wasted—because of their lies, incompetence, and corruption. But I don’t favor impeachment, as...

A Different Dialogue for 'Values Voters' (by Jim Wallis) I'm preparing for a dialogue with Richard Land at the FRC Action's Values Voter Summit tomorrow. This has caused me to reflect on how the definition of "moral values" has changed. Evangelical activism to protect God's creation is now publicly visible in a new way, including Christian concern over global warming. A host of other issues are now part of a broadened and deepened evangelical agenda—most connected to poverty, human rights, and social justice. Even American military and foreign policy has begun to come under critique by Christian scholars (including evangelicals),...

Black Church Leaders Mobilize to Combat HIV/AIDS A collective of Black church leaders called upon the U.S. government Tuesday to declare HIV/AIDS crisis in the African American community a “public health emergency” and introduced legislation that would address the epidemic. Wed, Oct. 10, 2007 Posted: 11:48:15 AM EST NEW YORK — A collective of Black church leaders called upon the U.S. government Tuesday to declare HIV/AIDS crisis in the African American community a “public health emergency” and introduced legislation that would address the epidemic. Following a two-day conclave, over 150 African American leaders proposed the National HIV/AIDS Elimination Act, which...

Religious Leaders Fast in Protest of Iraq War A number of religious leaders are participating in an interfaith fast Monday to call for the end of the Iraq war. Mon, Oct. 08, 2007 Posted: 13:28:58 PM EST WASHINGTON – A number of religious leaders are participating in an interfaith fast Monday to call for the end of the Iraq war. From dawn until dusk, leaders and adherents of Christianity, Judaism and Islam across the country will join in the anti-war fasting, which takes place as Muslims celebrate the “Night of Power” – the holiest night in Ramadan. “When you are...

Theologian Says Bible Does Not Condemn Gays An evangelical theologian is visiting several churches this fall refuting the common Christian interpretation of the Bible that Jesus and Scripture opposes homosexuality. Sat, Oct. 06, 2007 Posted: 09:44:38 AM EST An evangelical theologian is visiting several churches this fall refuting the common Christian interpretation of the Bible that Jesus and Scripture opposes homosexuality. Jack Rogers, professor of Theology Emeritus at San Francisco Theological Seminary, is trying to get a positive word out in the Christian churches about the gay and lesbian community and thinks churches should be leading the charge for their...

Young Americans today are more skeptical and resistant to Christianity than were people of the same age just a decade ago, says a new study. Tue, Sep. 25, 2007 Posted: 11:19:17 AM EST Young Americans today are more skeptical and resistant to Christianity than were people of the same age just a decade ago, says a new study. Negative perceptions toward the Christian faith have outweighed the positive as a growing percentage of younger Americans associate with a faith outside Christianity. Only 16 percent of non-Christians aged 16 to 29 years old said they have a "good impression" of Christianity,...

'We've got some people who only focus on moral purity and couldn't care less about the poor, the sick, the uneducated. And they haven't done zip for those people,' said Warren, a mega-church pastor in California and author of the best-selling 'The Purpose-Driven Life.'Warren hastened to say that he also opposed abortion and gay marriage. But too often, he said, Christians these days are defined by their 'big mouth' - what they argue against, not what they embrace. He pointed to a verse from the Book of James that calls caring for orphans an essential element of a 'pure and...

By David Noebel Posted: 03/01/2007 Tony Campolo: The Marxist Delusion and a Christian Evangelist By David A. Noebel           I have just finished reading Tony Campolo’s book Letters to a Young Evangelical.  Published by Basic Books and copyrighted by Campolo in 2006, this work gives the reader an amazing look into the mind and heart of a radical sociologist on a mission—to establish the Kingdom of God on earth.  The cannon fodder for establishing this Kingdom is the poor, the wretched, the oppressed, the naked, the downtrodden, and the proletariat.  The chief tool to bring about this Kingdom is “progressive politics”...

Article from Christian Today: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/reformed.churches.told.to.speak.out.on.economic.injustice/10759.htmCopyright © 2006 Christian Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Reformed Churches Told to Speak out on Economic Injustice The head of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches has told its members not to remain silent on economic injustice but to speak out on behalf of the world's poor. by Maria Mackay Posted: Monday, May 14, 2007, 6:51 (BST) The head of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches has urged its member churches around the world to break their silence on economic and ecological injustice. WARC General...

Within a few years of its publication in 1907, "Christianity and the Social Crisis" swept through America's Protestant churches like a nor'easter, selling more than 50,000 copies to ministers and laypeople alike. In an age of social upheaval, Walter Rauschenbusch's jeremiad was meant to rouse the church from its pietistic slumber. "If society continues to disintegrate and decay, the Church will be carried down with it," he warned. "If the Church can rally such moral forces that injustice will be overcome . . . it will itself rise to higher liberty and life." The summons found many converts. Reflecting on...

Jim Wallis: Polarizer or UnifierBy Janice Shaw CrouseTuesday, April 17, 2007 Jim Wallis has devoted his whole career to trying to force the round peg of leftist ideology into the square hole of biblical orthodoxy. When he wrote his "vision" designed to "transcend" the ideologies of the religious left and right, he ended up further polarizing instead of unifying the two evangelical movements. He rails against the "political language" of the right as well as the tendency of conservative evangelicals, in his opinion, to claim their use of scripture as authoritative. In so doing, Wallis hoists himself on his...

 A columnist for the Religious Left website Sojourners has just determined that "neo-conservatism" is incompatible with Christianity. Chuck Gutenson, a theology professor at Asbury Seminary in Kentucky, wrote:"We, as followers of Jesus, should reflect on the differences between our calling to be imitators of Jesus and that to which the neocons would call us. And, most of all, we need to recognize the incommensurability of the two ways of being in the world."Gutenson, like many others, employs "neo-conservatism" as a broad and perjorative description for all who favor an aggressive U.S. foreign policy. Of course, neo-conservatism actually more narrowly describes...

Whispers about the Council on Foreign Relations By Mark Kelly A couple of times in the past few months, we’ve received inquiries about whether Pastor Rick is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. The letters were sincere questions from friends, the kind of queries we get every day. What was really unusual about them were the Internet rants they pointed us back to. Did you know Rick Warren has for years been a member of a semi-secret cabal the world’s power elites are using to create a One World, New Age government and pave the way for the...

Megapastor Rick Warren's controversial trip to North Korea next month has been postponed. Originally scheduled for March when Warren was expected to preach to some 15,000 people at the first ever outdoor Christian event in the country, the evangelical pastor plans to pursue a later date possibly in the summer when the weather is warmer, according to his public relations team, A. Larry Ross Communications. Details have not been laid out on the reason for the delay, but the communications team says the trip to North Korea is still on. Warren shocked his Saddleback congregation in July of 2006 when...

I guess "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations; baptizing them in the Name of Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember I AM with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19-20) is not as important as "From each according to his ability to each according to his need" (Communist Manifesto) at TUCC.

Integrity It is more than simple honesty. It's the key to success. Do you want to learn how integrity can make you a success? These essays explore the many ways we can find purpose when helping other people on a personal level, nurturing the environment, or when working with others toward a larger goal. Read More... See! Hear! Study! Enjoy! • Bibles • Bibles on CD • Bibles on MP3 • Bible Software • Electronic Bibles.... and more... Read More... See this? Advertise here! Evangelical Christianity, born in England and nurtured in the United States, is leaving home. Most evangelicals...

WASHINGTON -- In an effort to reduce global warming, 86 evangelical Christian leaders are calling for federal action to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Signers of the Evangelical Climate Initiative include the Rev. Rick Warren, Wheaton College President Duane Litfin, and leaders of World Vision and the Salvation Army. All maintain that humans cause global warming and can help stop it, and that doing so is a way to care for God's creation and save the world's poor from an increase in natural disasters. Other evangelical leaders refused to join the campaign, including Southern Baptist leader Richard Land, Focus on the...

'Speeches come and go, but policies continue' by Jim Wallis The president's State of the Union address sounded like it was cut and pasted from so many old speeches. There was nothing new last night. Easily agreed-to rhetoric about freedom, growth, opportunity, and civility hides the facts: 1. George Bush's foreign policy, and the way he fights his war on terrorism, is making our families less safe and secure, not more. His war in Iraq was based on false pretenses and has utterly failed. Yet, the president doesn't seem to have the capacity for self-examination, or the moral sense to...

Weekend Edition - Saturday, December 24, 2005 · The Rev. Jim Wallis is author of God's Politics: Why the Right Gets it Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It and founder of the Christian ministry group Sojurners. He offers his views on politics and religion to Scott Simon.

Civil Disobedience for a Moral Budget »See more photos and read testimonies of participants See video of the event in the following formats »WindowsMedia»RealPlayer»QuickTime »iTunes download 115 religious leaders were arrested in front of the Cannon House Office Building while kneeling in prayer to protest the immoral budget and tax agenda which slashes spending on the poor to finance tax breaks for the rich. Led by Jim Wallis of Call to Renewal, national faith leaders, clergy and faith-based providers of services to the poor held a press conference. Following the press conference the leaders kneeled in prayer blocking the entrance...

This much can be said with some certainty: A 33-year-old Jewish man from a sleepy rural village was tortured to death by government officials in a remote corner of the southern Mediterranean at some time just short of 2000 years ago. For most devoted Christian believers, the story begins and ends there. Whether Christ died for our sins, whether he was literally the son of God, whether he rose from the grave, whether he is destined to return -- these are matters not of history but of faith. But for many people today, faith apparently is not enough. Facts are...