In Canada, about 23 million people consider themselves 'Christian,' in one way or another. But for the most part, religion and politics are separate.
Different story in the U.S., especially, when it comes to the Christian right. Religion and politics get mixed up together.
Tonight, we've got a guy who knows all about it.
His name is Tony Campolo, one of America's most influential preachers. He does charity work, he's written dozens of books, and, he was Bill Clinton's spritual advisor during the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
These days, he has a new book out, it's called 'Letters to a Young Evangelical.'
But Tony is a different kind of Evangelical.
Karim Council Interviews Diane Sawyer
Violence at the door
By MARIANNE MEED WARD
November 27, 2005
The murder of 18-year-old Amon Beckles on the steps of a church, while attending a 17-year-old friend's funeral, was a sacrilege. But it was also a wake up call to churches -- to the faithful of all religions, really -- to do something. Violence isn't out there. It's at our door. So what are we doing?
<p>It's not often someone can make me feel hopeful about solving gun violence in Toronto, but Colin McCartney can. He's the head of Urban Promise, a Christian outreach in four of Toronto's most troubled neighbourhoods -- including the one where Beckles was shot. </p> <p>Youth programs </p> <p>McCartney's solutions knock conventional wisdom. A strong law and order approach won't work. ("If you have no hope, you don't care if you get arrested.") Investing in youth programs won't work. ("It's not enough. In some cases, if you get a 17- or 18-year-old who's messed up, it's too late.") And he has harsh words for church leaders who parachute into a community, host a BBQ, do a "prayer walk" to places where violence has occurred, then leave. All that does is further stigmatize and stereotype the community as a "bad" place, says McCartney. Even worse, the Christians aren't there to help the rest of the time. </p> <p>His solution is two-fold: Focus on children. Be there. </p> <p>McCartney talks about Rev. Euguene Rivers in Boston, who wondered why youth weren't coming to church but flocked to the local drug dealer. Rivers asked the dealer his secret. </p> <p>"When Johnny goes to school in the morning, I'm there. You're not. When he comes home from school, I'm there. You're not. When he goes to the corner store at night, I'm there. You're not," said the dealer. So Rivers decided to "be there." </p> <p>He founded the 10 Point Coalition to end gang violence after a youth being chased by gang members sought refuge in church -- during a funeral. Like Beckles, the boy was shot. But he survived. The Coalition provides gang counselling, works with police, and is a national model for reducing gang violence. </p> <p>McCartney hopes "being there" will reduce violence here, too. </p> <p>"I'm amazed at how many social programs for kids are one day a week. You need to be there six days a week." So McCartney is. Urban Promise runs after-school programs, sports and art events, summer camps, workshops for moms, counselling, and a Streetleader program that employs teens to mentor their peers. The group just received a three-year $225,000 Trillium Foundation grant, and is hosting fundraising events in Toronto this week featuring Tony Campolo, founder of Urban Promise in the U.S. </p> <p>Though McCartney is white, and the neighbourhoods he's in are predominantly black, he believes the daily presence gives him needed street credibility. "We are working with their children. When you love someone's kids, they end up loving you." </p> <p>And that love starts very early, age four or five. At a recent Urban Promise summer camp kids were asked to draw their superheroes. The young kids drew Batman and Superman. The 8- and 9-year-olds drew gang members with guns. Their hope was in a hopeless, violent future. "There is nothing scarier than looking into the eyes of an 8-year-old and seeing no hope. I see that all the time," says McCartney. </p> <p>'Hope-brokers' </p> <p>"If someone can go to a church, and shoot another person on the steps, that's pretty cold-blooded. Something happened to them, and it didn't happen when they were 18. It happened when they were children." </p> <p>McCartney sees himself and his staff as "hope-brokers" giving young children and youth positive role models, help and hope for a better future outside the violence they see. </p> <p>I think he's onto something. In past weeks, I've been articulating signposts on the road to a world living in harmony. McCartney's work gives us Signpost No. 5: Invest in your children. Neil Postman, in his book The Disappearance of Childhood, says "children are the messages we send to a future we will not see." In a few troubled pockets of Toronto, the messages are good. </p>
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