Jim Wallis: American Gangster

I had the pleasure of seeing Mr. Jim Wallis speak at Fuller Seminary in Pasadena last night. He just released a new book called “The Great Awakening,” and has just started a book tour to promote it. (I haven’t read it yet, but I will soon!)

I’m a regular reader of Jim’s work, and almost always love what he has to say. But I gotta admit: he’s even cooler in person. Or as my friend Jon said, “He’s pretty badass.”

We sat in the second row, about five feet in front of Brother Jim, amongst probably 150 grad students, and listened intently as he brought hope to an otherwise rather dismal Super Tuesday. As of right now, 7am “the morning after,” we don’t yet know what will shake out from yesterday’s primaries, but priliminary reports are saying that Mr. Hundred Years in Iraq McCain is leading the GOP (seriously, do we have to still call it that? It ain’t so Grand anymore, folks!), and Obama and Hillary are tied on the other side (does anyone else hate that we have sides?).

But Mr. Wallis gave us some hope last night. Hope that despite whatever madness may occur between now and November, the real winner this year is CHANGE. We hear it everywhere, from the mouths of every candidate, from Democrats and Republicans, from reporters and journalists. And the reason they’re saying it is because they heard it from us, the American people, first.

There’s a social movement going on, and no matter what happens on Capitol Hill, it is US, the true grassroots force for change, that will make the difference.

Jim said that he started his book tour last week at the Bagdad Theater in Portland, and they were showing a movie after his talk. Up on the marquee it said:

J I M _ W A L L I S
A M E R I C A N _ G A N G S T E R

Ah yes, I believe so.

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