Books

Return to Sender?

Tony Campolo’s Letters to a Young Evangelical

Letters to a Young Evangelical Tony Campolo • Basic Books 280 pages • $23.00

Tony Campolo’s latest book joins other titles in a noble series that invites prominent thinkers (writers Dinesh D’Souza and Christopher Hitchens, therapist Mary Bray Pipher) to offer their expertise.

Campolo is his often irenic self when he celebrates what evangelicals hold in common, and he navigates many of our disagreements (such as over the gifts of the Holy Spirit) with grace.

It’s when Campolo distances himself from the widely derided Religious Right that Letters to a Young Evangelical grows combative and simply inaccurate. To correct some of his mistakes:

  • Tim LaHaye is not a TV evangelist.
  • James Watt did not claim that “there was no need to protect” national parks and forests because of the imminent return of Jesus.
  • Ronald Reagan believed people could be living in the End Times long before he met Jerry Falwell.
  • Many pro-life thinkers, including Christians, advance their case against abortion without appeals to ensoulment.

Campolo writes that evangelical has taken on too much baggage and ought to be replaced with red-letter Christian, especially for believers who call themselves progressives but reject the label of Religious Left. Have fun with that semantic game, brother, but don’t expect the evangelicals you caricature to play it with you.

Copyright © 2007 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Related Elsewhere:

An excerpt, “Why The Church is Important” from the book is available on our site.

Letters to a Young Evangelical is available from ChristianBook.com other retailers.

It is one of the “Letters to a Young ___” book group, a part of the “The Art of Mentoring” series from Basic Books.

The book’s website links to a video of an interview with Campolo on The Hour.

Campolo’s website has an excerpt of chapter three of Letters to a Young Evangelical.

First Things posted “A Letter to Tony Campolo,” a response to the book.

The January 2003 issue of Christianity Today featured a profile of Campolo (one of the top 25 most influential preachers, according to PreachingToday.com), “The Positive Prophet.” Related articles include “Tony Talks Too Much,” “Candidate Campolo,” “Why Clinton Likes Campolo,” “One Lord, One Faith, One Voice?,” “Ethnic Cleansing, Genocide, and Plain Old Murder,” and “Rift Opens Among Evangelicals on AIDS Funding.”

Also in this issue

The CT archives are a rich treasure of biblical wisdom and insight from our past. Some things we would say differently today, and some stances we've changed. But overall, we're amazed at how relevant so much of this content is. We trust that you'll find it a helpful resource.

News

A New Day in Vietnam

Bereavement Work

The Bible's Authority: Faith on Unchanging Terms

News

Christian Colleges' Green Revolution

Francis Schaeffer, the Pastor-Evangelist

Disorderly Disciplines

Redeeming Bitterness

Post-Christendom Christianity

Excerpt

Lite of the World?

Famine Again?

Holy to the Core

News

Graveyards Came First

Chris Seiple on 'Relational Diplomacy'

Edgy Spirituality

The Angel in the Whirlwind

Daily Faith

News

No Malaria Malaise

Christ, My Bodhisattva

No Sick Child Left Behind

The Joy of Policy Manuals

News

Man-Made Disaster

Don't Cede the High Ground

Print Plus

Spring

Editorial

One-Size Politics Doesn't Fit All

50 Family Feuds

News

Go Figure

Jingo Jangle

News

News Briefs: May 01, 2007

News

Quotation Marks

News

Passages

News

Freedom Fighters

Re-engineering Temptation

View issue

Our Latest

Testimony

I Demolished My Faith for ‘My Best Life.’ It Only Led to Despair.

Queer love, polyamory, and drugs ruined me. That’s where Jesus found me.

The Book Screwtape Feared Most

Once a bedrock Christian classic, Boethius’s “Consolation of Philosophy” has been neglected for decades. It’s time for a revival.

Being Human

Airport Anxiety and Purposeful Publishing with Joy Allmond

CT’s executive editor learned to care for people as a 9/11-era flight attendant.

The Song of Mary Still Echoes Today

How the Magnificat speaks to God’s care for the lowly.

The Surprising Arrival of a Servant

Jesus’ introduction of justice through gentleness.

The Unexpected Fruit of Barrenness

How the kingdom of God delights in grand reversals.

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube