By Peter Meadows2024-11-20T09:59:00
Tony Campolo relentlessly challenged the Church to take the words of Jesus seriously and to serve “the least of these”. Peter Meadows says he will be remembered as a preacher who was used by God to make Christians feel uncomfortable
It was the talk’s title that grabbed me.
Something about ‘A Christian Response to Corporate Sin’ but in snazzier language. It came with the invitation to purchase the recording, which featured a Tony Campolo.
For me, sin had always been personal. So this had to be heard. The cassette duly arrived from the US. And a passionate, rasping, torrent of words blasted from the speakers of my Ford Cortina. Such was the force, I had to park to soak in the message.
Assailing me were stories of stolen umbrellas, a lady’s scarf caught in his zipper and a car boot full of canoe paddles and chicken dung. These were infused with swathes of scripture and practical application that brought laughter to my lips, tears to my eyes and hope to my heart.
Such was my introduction to Tony Campolo who, for decades after this moment, deeply influenced the cause of Christ in the UK and across the world. It also led to him speaking at the UK’s annual Spring Harvest festival year after year after year.
A marker of Tony’s influence came at that event years later. I asked 4,000 attendees in its Big Top, “How many of you are…
2024-12-20T14:45:00Z By Joseph D'Souza
We can do better than binary, divisive discussions, says Bishop Joseph D’Souza. Christians in the majority world have long understood that the gospel is good news for mind, body and soul. It’s time Christians in the West woke up to that
2025-06-12T18:28:00Z By George Luke
After being accused of serious sexual misconduct and drug abuse, the former Newsboys singer Michael Tait has issued a full apology. George Luke hopes other Christian leaders caught in sin will take the same approach
2025-06-11T10:47:00Z By John Funnell
A small chapel in the Welsh Valleys has experienced significant growth in recent years, with much of it driven by young men coming to faith. Pastor John Funnell of Noddfa Church shares the story
2025-05-27T11:00:00Z By Jamie Franklin
The philosopher best known for his landmark work After Virtue, exposed the moral fragmentation of the modern West and called for a return to virtue grounded in a shared vision of the good. Jamie Franklin pays tribute to a thinker who reminded us that the world cannot flourish without the Christian faith
2025-05-02T12:57:00Z By Derek Walker
Mike Peters, lead singer of The Alarm, has died of cancer aged 66. Derek Walker reflects on the life of the Welsh punk rocker who was a contemporary of U2’s Bono, an avid campaigner and a creative force to the end
2025-04-21T07:01:00Z By Catherine Pepinster
Pope Francis has died at the age of 88. He was the Bishop of Rome from 2013 to 2025 in a papacy characterised by a dedication to the marginalised and a deep care for God’s creation. Though his time in office was not free from criticism and controversy, it was one that will leave a lasting impact on Catholics around the world, says Catherine Pepinster
Site powered by Webvision Cloud