Apr 042013
 
JimWallis
Share
Print Friendly

Christian leader calls on US to re-frame goals, re-define 'winning'.

by Jim Wallis

Years ago, I tutored inner-city kids from my Washington, DC, community in Columbia Heights. I would often take them to my favorite monument — the Lincoln Memorial. I would stand with them and help them read Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and his Second Inaugural Address written on the huge walls on either side of Lincoln’s impressive statuary.

We would take the time to sound out each syllable, word, and sentence until they got it right, “With malice toward none, with charity for all …” While they were learning to read, I wanted them to absorb the words of Lincoln.

Jim Wallis describes the inspiration for his new book, On God's Side.

YouTube Preview Image

This, too, was the place Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech before the throngs gathered for the March on Washington — 50 years ago this August. On some anniversaries, my wife Joy and I would go to the Lincoln Memorial with our family and friends, sit in a circle, and together read the speech with our two boys. Other times, when I needed to think, I would just go there alone, sit on the steps, and look over the Reflecting Pool to the Washington Monument.

I recently went back there to tell the story of how and why I wrote my new book, On God’s Side: What Religion Forgets and Politics Hasn’t Learned About Serving the Common Good. And I reflected on my favorite Lincoln quote, displayed on the book’s cover:

“My concern is not whether God is on our side: my greatest concern is to be on God’s side.”

I invite you to watch this short video, and to engage in the discussion as we move forward toward our common good. Blessings.

Jim Wallis is CEO of Sojourners. His forthcoming book, On God's Side: What Religion Forgets and Politics Hasn’t Learned About Serving the Common Good, is now available. Follow Jim on Twitter @JimWallis and find him on Facebook HERE.

About Jim Wallis


Jim Wallis, CEO of Sojourners, is a bestselling author, public theologian, speaker, and international commentator on ethics and public life. He recently served on the President’s Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships and currently serves as the chair of the Global Agenda Council on Faith for the World Economic Forum.

His forthcoming book, On God's Side: What Religion Forgets and Politics Hasn’t Learned About Serving the Common Good, is now available.

Follow Jim Wallis on Twitter

Jim Wallis on Facebook

© Copyright 2013 Jim Wallis, All rights Reserved. Written For: StraightGoods.ca
Share

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.