Well known author, speaker to visit Portales

Stirring people to action when it comes to social justice issues such as poverty, hunger and disease motivates the Rev. Tony Campolo to speak passionately and unapologetically to audiences around the country.

“Was Jesus kidding when he said to love your enemies, to overcome evil with good?”  said Campolo, in a recent telephone interview. “When Jesus showed compassion, the fact is that is standing up for justice.”

That’s a message which resonates with people such as Kingswood United Methodist Church pastor Brad Reeves, who chairs the local task force that invited Campolo to speak at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Eastern New Mexico University Theater.

Campolo believes young people are yearning to hear a message of greater social responsibility, and he hopes other Christians will heed the call.
“If we lose this generation of young people, we will lose them not because we have made Christianity too hard for them; we will lose them because we have made Christianity too easy for them,” Campolo said. “They’re looking for radical discipleship, not something lukewarm.”

Don Thomas, who directs the Christian Campus House student ministry and leads worship at Central Christian Church, said he was surprised and pleased “that someone of Tony Campolo’s stature and national level of respect” had agreed to speak in Portales.

“He’s a very motivating speaker,” Thomas said. “He’s entertaining, but at the same time, he’ll push your boundaries and make you think. And that’s what a good speaker should do — help you think and grow.”

Shirley Rollinson, who teaches religion and Greek classes and works as chair of the ENMU religion department, said she has been inspired and challenged by Campolo.

“He’s been active for years and he can give one quite a jolt — but we all need a bit of a shake-up from time to time. ‘Social justice’ has become rather a catch-all phrase, but it basically means treating other folk fairly and decently and making sure that they enjoy the same rights and privileges that we claim for ourselves,” said Rollinson, who has served as a lay pastor of the Anglican Church and hospital chaplain in Europe and the United States.

At the same time,  Campolo said his core message is conservative and Bible-based.

“In my theology, I’m very evangelical and very conservative,” Campolo said. “I believe in the Bible as an infallible guide and I believe in having a personal relationship with Jesus.”