Bono Wants YOU !!!!!

[fuzzwuzz]

This is about the best interview with Bono I've read yet about his beliefs and vision for changing the world. As I read it I realize he is waking me up to things I myself need to be thinking about. And if I don't, and am found sleeping rather than serving the less fortunate when Jesus returns, I'm up ****'s creek!

At the same time, Bono reminds us of God's grace which none of us deserves but needs in order to get the job done. :)

http://www.odemagazine.com/article.php?aID=4190

[fuzzwuzz]

it gets better!!!


The National Prayer Breakfast is normally a time for reaffirming spiritual truths and testifying to the power of faith in people's individual lives, but not so much a moment for prophetic and controversial social utterances. There have been exceptions - when Sen. Mark Hatfield spoke courageously about the moral "shame" of the Vietnam War in the presence of Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger (I know a lot about that prayer breakfast speech because I helped write it when I was a seminarian in Chicago); when Mother Theresa spoke about the sacredness of life and raised the issue of abortion with the Clintons on hand; and yesterday, when Bono spoke like a modern-day prophet about extreme global poverty and pandemic disease and called upon the American government, with George Bush and Congressional leaders present, to do much more.

The speech, published below, was the most explicit about religion and the role of faith that I had ever heard Bono deliver, and his insistence on the biblical requirements of justice and not just charity was reiterated over and over again. In a small session with religious editors afterward, Bono spoke about how the churches had led on the issue of debt cancellation with the Jubilee 2000 campaign, on HIV/AIDS, and now on global poverty reduction. "You're the bigger crowd," he said, "much more than my stadium audiences." He said the church will just hear "fanfare" from musicians.

But Bono is offering far more than fanfare, as his talk below demonstrates. To the religious editors he stressed how the justice issue is "really it," and said that the churches had to figure out how to make that clear to people and that "movement is the way" we will finally succeed. Bono said he believed that something is moving now and we have to create the momentum to accomplish our goals. On the way to the car afterward, we spoke together about how really crucial that movement building is, how nothing else will suffice to make the changes in our world that are so vitally and morally necessary, and how the strategy in the religious community is so key. We also talked about the Isaiah 58 passage he had quoted in his speech - that when we respond to the poor as the prophet instructs, "God will cover your back." This is one speech you will want to read and pass on to your friends.

- Jim Wallis




The sermon:

http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=sojomail.current_issue



"Particularly conservative Christians, I was very angry
that they were not involved more in the AIDS emergency. I
was saying, 'this is the leprosy that we read about in the
New Testament, you know. Christ hung out with the lepers.
But you're ignoring the AIDS emergency. How can you?' And,
you know, they said, 'Well, you're right, actually. We
have been. And we're sorry. We'll get involved.' And they
did." - U2 lead singer Bono on CBS' "60 Minutes," Nov. 20, 2005

[fuzzwuzz]

CBN.com – WASHINGTON - President Bush's fight against global poverty and aids in Africa is getting a boost from a rock 'n roll superstar.



“I've gotten to know Bono. He's a doer. The thing about this good citizen of the world is, he's used his position to get things done,” the President said.
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/archived-060201/060203d.asp




CBN News Interviews Mike Gerson on Bono
By Melissa Charbonneau
White House Correspondent



CBN.com – Mike Gerson is senior advisor and speech writer to President Bush. CBN News interviewed Gerson after Bono and the President addressed the February 2, 2006 National Prayer Breakfast in Washington.



http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/archived-060201/060203e.asp

[fuzzwuzz]

http://www.stnews.org/subscribe.php

[fuzzwuzz]

U2, who were the night's big winners with five statues for "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb," feel there is rock and roll resurgence afoot. "The Killers, the Arcade Fire, Interpol, Razorlight ... there's something about this bass-drums-guitar format that feels fresh," said Bono. "Rock and roll at its best is four kids who commit to forming a gang and go out west and want to win. Not just robbing the bank, which is nice, but stealing hearts, which is always better. You have this opportunity to make rage into a chorus or hurt into a verse. Sorrow is always so much sweeter when it rhymes."

Drummer Larry Mullen has his own wish: "When [Bono] is finishing dealing with the world's problems, maybe he can do something about the music industry because I think it needs a little bit of help."

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001994614


ok. so what's wrong with the music industry? these guys are doing ok. but, perhaps Bono's got the right idea. The poverty issue is much bigger and needs immediate attention.

By the way, the whole billboard article is very interesting! Many other artists are mentioned.

[fuzzwuzz]

(Be sure to read this whole thing! It is extremely revealing. !!

And now for the recap of this past Thursday morning's events. I won't spend a lot of time addressing the National Prayer Breakfast itself since you've already had an opportunity to read the remarks from both Bono and President Bush (in my previous blog). That said, there are a few things about it I'd like to highlight. First of all, as you may know, this prayer breakfast is organized each year by an evangelical foundation. So when I got the call from DATA a couple weeks ago inviting me to the breakfast and telling me that Bono would be the keynote speaker and would be speaking right before The President spoke for a bit, I was amazed: "Were conservative church leaders finally embracing him? And even more importantly would they embrace what Bono had to say?"

http://www.ccmmagazine.com/weblogs/jay/default.aspx