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In 1976, Campolo was not only chairing the sociology department at Eastern College, but was also a full-time faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania, where he taught two of the largest classes (Introduction to Sociology and Sociology of the Family, each with about 1,500 students) and a graduate course in Existentialism and Sociologism.

"I was really challenging the students to look at the anti-war movement from a biblical perspective, and was the guy bringing Christianity and the anti-war movement together at Penn," he recalls. "For instance, although [students elsewhere] were burning down their buildings and holding demonstrations where they were burning the flag, I got the Penn students, as their form of protest, to hold an all-day prayer vigil."

But protest wasn't enough. Campolo decided to run for Congress. "At first it was almost tongue-in-cheek," he says. "The idea of winning was ridiculous because the 5th district of Pennsylvania is 7-to-1 Republican. But I had hundreds of Penn students and Eastern students going door-to-door for me. About halfway through, we decided we could win. Then, just as the campaign was coming to an end, the war ended. It kind of took my issue away. I think I ran out of steam, too."

Still, he won 40 percent of the vote in the general election, something no other Democrat has done in the 5th District since.

Campolo says his views on political involvement have changed since his candidacy. In an interview with The Door published just before the general election, he explained his candidacy by saying, "For every casualty that [the church] cures, society turns out ten more to take its place. What we have to do, in fact, is change the society so that it doesn't turn out so many casualties."

There's no problem with that argument, Campolo now says. But he adds, "The political system does not control what happens in society. The structure of society is more controlled by economic forces than by political forces. If you want to change society, don't bother getting elected. Go to the stockholders' meetings."

Still, Campolo says, "I think it's very legitimate for a person to become part of the political process. We need more people with Christian convictions in politics."

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Other articles appearing on our site today include:

The Positive Prophet | Tony Campolo is a ferocious critic of Christians left and right. Why do people still flock to hear him?

Why Clinton Likes Campolo | The President and evangelist talked about sexual ethics long before Monica.

Tony Talks Too Much | Campolo has sworn to cut back many times, but he still couldn't say no to speaking engagements.

TonyCampolo.org is the home of The Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education and has information on Campolo including his weekly broadcasts, monthly newsletters, and recent sermons. On the site you can also see Tony's itinerary and invite him to speak.

"30 Good Minutes" has ten sermons by Campolo. Four have audio, two have video.

Beliefnet.com posted an excerpt by Campolo from the collection of essays, "What's God Got to Do With the American Experiment?" In it, Campolo writes about serving as a presidential counselor for Bill Clinton.

Previous Christianity Today articles on Campolo and his ministry include:

One Lord, One Faith, One Voice? | A forum on the limits of politics and a search for common ground. An interview with Tony Campolo, Ralph Reed, and Chuck Colson. (Oct. 7, 1996)

One-Year Mission Changes Lives | Young graduates from high school and college are giving one year of their time to urban mission through a new program, Kingdomworks. (July 13, 1998)

The President's Small Group | Turning your life around is not a do-it-yourself project. (Oct. 26, 1998)

Books by Tony Campolo are available at Christianbook.com.

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January 2003, Vol. 47, No. 1