Tony Campolo (1935-2024): The Red Letter Christian who provoked the Church to action

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…