last night went to listen to jim wallis speak at church.co.uk. it was a faithworks gig in conjunction with lion publishing that was part of the roadshow tour promoting the uk launch of jim's book 'god's politics'. click on that link to see where jim is speaking for the rest of his tour.
he began and ended his talk with examples of hope and courage shown through the african american community. he said at the beginning, 'the heirs of slaves taught us democracy and justice through jesus and the prophets', and ended with the example of lisa sullivan as an anti-dote to hopeless cynicism,
"The antidote to cynicism is not optimism but action. And action is finally born out of hope. Try to remember that.
One of the best street organizers I ever met was Lisa Sullivan - a young African-American woman from Washington, D.C., who went to Yale and earned a Ph.D. But Lisa felt called back to the streets and the forgotten children of color who had won her heart. She was in the process of creating a new network and infrastructure of support for the best youth organizing projects up and down the East Coast when, at the age of 40, she died suddenly of a rare heart ailment.
Lisa's legacy is continuing through countless young people she inspired, challenged, and mentored. But there is one thing she often said to them and to all of us that has stayed with me ever since Lisa died. When people would complain, as they often do, that we don't have any leaders today - or ask "where are the Martin Luther Kings now?" - Lisa would get angry. And she would declare these words: "We are the ones we have been waiting for!" Lisa was a person of faith. And hers was a powerful call to leadership and responsibility and a deep affirmation of hope.
Lisa's words are the commission I want to give to you. It's a commission learned by every person of faith and conscience who has been used to build movements of spiritual and social change. It's a commission that is quite consistent with the virtue of humility, because it is not about taking ourselves too seriously, but rather taking the commission seriously. It's a commission that can only be fulfilled by very human beings, but people who, because of faith and hope, believe that the world can be changed. And it is that very belief that only changes the world. And if not us, who will believe? If not you, who? After all, we are the ones that we have been waiting for."
jim was saying that the big choice we face is between listening to the cynics, or engaging with the prophets of hope. cynicism is a buffer against commitment, whereas hope is a decision you make. the world of politics needs to be engaged with social movements fuelled by faith and hope, as they are what change history - note the jubilee 2000 campaign. faith is meant to change the big things.
the fabulous martyn joseph played his guitar like the professional he is, while playing the chords of our hearts with the aching words of his poetry that calls hope to rise above tragedy without sanitising or trivialising the whole of the human condition - god bless you man!
and steve chalke spoke about the need for prophets of hope to be in the presence of the powers of the world without being in their pockets.
i bought jim's book last year. it's a very good read, and deserves the kind of close attention that small groups can give it. then it needs to get out of those small groups into the world of community living and political engagement. after all, we are the ones we've been waiting for.
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