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"Every local church should be engaged in the war against AIDS," Hybels said. "Some day, it will become normal." Like the Warrens, Hybels acknowledged that he didn't prioritize the HIV/AIDS pandemic until recently. His wife, Lynne, author of Nice Girls Don't Change the World, was also ahead of her husband on HIV/AIDS activism.

'Our Leadership's Dead'
Even ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) showed up at the event, but not to protest. David Miller, a member of the ACT UP's New York chapter, told Christianity Today that he met Warren for the first time in October at the Time Global Health Conference in New York City.

Miller said he told Warren, "Look, AIDS activists got big problems with the church." ACT UP is infamous for its aggressive civil disobedience campaigns to draw attention to the HIV/AIDS crisis. At times staging protests during church worship services, ACT UP has sharply criticized church leaders who oppose condom distribution as a means to stop the spread of HIV.

Miller, who is HIV positive, told CT his organization today is a shadow of its former self due to AIDS fatalities by the thousands among its supporters. "We were the front line," Miller said. "We were the storm troopers in this fight. We're sick. We're tired. Martin Luther King changed the course of the civil-rights movement. He was a pastor. We took our ideas from Dr. King's work.

"Our leadership's dead. Rick is stepping up, and he could be the next leader in the AIDS crisis. He's the best chance we got at this point. Kay could be the next leader. They've got a lot of work to do. I'm starting to trust them. For me to trust someone from their side of the house, it's taking a lot. But a lot's being given."

Speaking about the conference attendees, many of whom came from prosperous Orange County, Miller said, "I've never seen this many people who are HIV negative listening and talking about AIDS. If [Warren] can do that, that changes the possibilities. Right now, we need to change the possibilities because we're losing." The number of people with HIV has increased yearly for more than 20 years. The global total now exceeds 40 million and may be as high as 80 million.

Abstinence Pride
Many evangelicals are finding new potential for activism is a less-judgmental approach toward homosexuality and condom use. There's new emphasis on both compassionate care for people with HIV/AIDS and also strong endorsement of the so-called A-B-C model (abstain, be faithful, or use a condom.) "It isn't a sin to be sick," Warren said.

Many conference speakers stayed on message that condom use is okay for married couples when one spouse is HIV positive and also permissible for high-risk groups. None of the speakers endorsed the condoms-driven strategy that nations such as Thailand have followed. New field research is further eroding the belief that new HIV infections can most effectively be prevented by making condoms widely available at low cost. Edward Greene, a leading researcher on HIV/AIDS in Uganda, told CT that increased condom use is strongly correlated worldwide with increased rates of HIV infection. He said secular aid agencies typically refuse to fund abstinence and fidelity programs, cornerstone efforts by Christians. But less than 10 percent of people use condoms correctly and consistently in many parts of Africa with high rates of HIV infection, according to his analysis.

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December (Web-only) 2005, Vol. 49