Jim Wallis in Oz

Jim Wallis a co-founder of Sojourners, where I'm interning, is coming to Australia for a book launch and speaking series. He'll be speaking at the University of Sydney on Tuesday April 11th at 6:30pm in the Great Hall. The event is sponsored by World Vision, and Tim Costello, their CEO, will also be speaking.

It should be fairly interesting. When Jim launched his book in the UK he caused quite a ruckus because the book criticizes the Iraq war and yet it was endorsed by Gordon Brown, Tony Blair's Treasurer. That was taken by the Brit press as an indirect admission that Brown opposed the war, with his statements supportive of the Iraq effort have simply been towing the line or presenting a united front with Blair. Brown is expected to takeover the reins of power in the UK sometime before their next election.

Jim's book is called "God's Politics: Why the Right gets it wrong and the Left doesn't get it" (reviewed in The Age). In it he argues for a theology that walks the line between theocracy and practical atheism - one that engages the world and responds to people's suffering without being tempted to use political coercion to force Christian practices on those who don't believe in them. More importantly, he's seriously interested in finding common ground on the few hot-button issues that tend to dominate election and media coverage. It was a New York Times best seller, so it can't be all bad.

So if you're interested in hearing something from the organisation I've been working for for the last eight months, get on over to the Great Hall, Tuesday week, 6:30pm.

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