Generous Orthodoxy - Discerning God's Work In The World: Tips From The Times For Preachers: ACTION NEEDED FOR DARFUR

Fleming Rutledge is a preacher and teacher known throughout the mainline Protestant denominations of the US, Canada and parts of the UK. She is the author of seven books and has received a grant from the Louisville Foundation to complete a book about the meaning of the Crucifixion.

One of the first women to be ordained to the priesthood of the Episcopal Church, she served for fourteen years on the clergy staff at Grace Church on Lower Broadway at Tenth Street, New York City.

Fleming and her husband celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2009 and have two daughters and two grandchildren. She is a native of Franklin, Virginia.

More About Fleming >

Thursday, March 03, 2005

ACTION NEEDED FOR DARFUR

Nicholas Kristof, who writes a column in The New York Times twice a week, has been saying complimentary things about evangelical Christian NGOs (non-governmental organizations), even very conservative ones, for several years now—not a popular thing to do at the Times. He makes it clear that he does not share evangelical beliefs, but he praises the work of these organizations around the world on behalf of suffering humanity in regions that few others want to work in.

For the last few months he has been concentrating on the sex trade in Asia and the massacres/genocide in Darfur. He offers specific ways that the average person can help, and he challenges us to redirect our focus. In his column today (March 3) he notes that if the average American spent only a portion of the time devoted to following the Michael Jackson case to writing our Congressional representatives, Senator Sam Brownback could really get something done. Brownback is a conservative evangelical, devoted to humanitarian causes whom Kristof admires in spite of what he considers his retrograde views on many issues.

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The purpose of this feature is to stimulate preachers' thinking about what God is doing to alleviate suffering and overcome oppression, and to illustrate how local congregations might join in that divine work.

Many people have asked me how I keep up with the news. The answer is that I read, read, read. It is not possible to get news in depth from television. Perhaps this running selection of excerpts from various news sources can be a stimulus for pastors. The idea is to use some of these illustrations to show where Christians can align themselves with God's justifying purpose. He is already at work. How can we join him where his purposes are going forward?

Do not fear plagiarism. I will be working much of this material into my own sermons, but I will do it in my own way and readers will do it in theirs.