Bono is the lead singer of Irish rock band U2, which has sold more than 140 million albums and won numerous awards, including 22 Grammys. A well-known activist in the fight against AIDS and extreme poverty in Africa, he co-founded DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa) in 2002, The One Campaign in 2004, and Product (RED) in 2006, and was named TIME’s Person of the Year for 2005. Interviewed for the Summit in 2006, he challenged church leaders to mobilize against the ravages of global AIDS and poverty. Be a part of the continuing story, as Bono talks in an exclusive video about the church’s inspiring response and about his continuing life journey as a “single issue protagonist.”
- JFK lead and the world followed.
- Putting the man on the moon proved what American innovation and technology was capable of.
- The problems we can fix, we should.
- What is possible when the church unites to solve a global crisis?
- Only love can leave such a mark.
How is the church doing?
- Since the last time Bill and Bono met, “the church has done incredible things.”
- “I thought the church was ‘the sleeping giant’ but I didn’t know it could run that fast!”
- It’s an offense to Christ or any concept of truth and justice that we aren’t reaching out to help people in need.
- The church is in the lead, not in the rear.
- 41 million bed nets were distributed… malaria deaths are down.
- In some places Rwanda is sending back drugs!
- Had the church not woken up on the issue of AIDS we would not have 2 million Africans on anti-viral drugs.
Loving our (global) Neighbor
- The concept of “our neighbor” has changed.
- It’s not advice, it’s a command.
- In the global community, Africa is just down the street.
- Can we enjoy the benefit of globalization without taking some of the responsibility?
- They are our neighbor.
- Eaglebook Community Church in Minnesota has woken up to the call to do something globally.
- A mark of maturity is when people give out of what they have.
- We’re going to be asked what we did for “the least of these.”
Where the Streets Have No Name
- Bono wrote the lyrics for the song “Where the Streets Have No Name” in Ethiopia about people in Africa.
- He says when he sings it, it changes him and he “feels God walk through the room.”
- Sometimes you don’t know what you’re singing.
- As smart as somebody can be, intuition is greater than intellect.
- Our best work is done when we have no idea what we are doing.
- Whittier Area Community Church got it too, gave $518,000!
- Jesus has created the church to exist for the world.
- Why did it take a rock star to tell us that?
On The Economic Situation
- It’s funny that we can’t find money to save hundreds of thousands of lives in Africa but we can find $700 million to save our economy.
- That says that in a crisis, we can find the money when we need it…
- Doing so shows we believe somebody begging for their lives is not in crisis.
On Church
- On church attendance: I go where the life is.
- “What I find hard to take is lifeless ceremony… and I see that a lot in churches.”
- He wants to go where he finds honesty and humanity.
- A place where everyone is welcome.
- When you make a sermon, people don’t want things to be too complicated, they want you to be honest. They want a spirit of humility.
- We need to stand for poverty.
- It’s not charity… it’s justice and equality.
Grace
- The church tends to separate itself from people and pick the divisive issues.
- That’s not grace.
- We would be much better served if we stood for things instead of against things.
- Grace is defying the thing that is uncommon.
- Whenever I see grace, I am moved.
- When you see the grace of how people behave in dire circumstances you will be moved.
On Giving Up
- He considered giving up.
- We should never think things are dependent on us.
- It’s hard, there will always be resistance.
- There’s resistance on the journey to equality.
- Where have you drawn the line?
- Where does your sphere of empathy end?
- Everyone is created EQUAL in the eyes of God.
- Indifference is an enemy to the greatest of possibilities.
Bill Hybels’ Challenge to Leaders
Jesus spoke with blinding clarity about the issue of our relationship with under-resourced people (Matthew 25).
- He said, “I was hungry… naked… sick… in prison…”
- Some of the people responded by saying, “we never saw you in those situations.”
- He replied, “when you did it to the least of these, you did it to me…”
- Others said, “if we would have seen YOU…”
- He replied, “you wouldn’t have done it for me.”
- There’s a lot of things we’ve got to get better at in leadership.
- If we neglect using our leadership positions to serve the poor in some way, we will stand accountable before Christ some day.
- “I get no joy out of saying this because I feel the weight of it every day…”
What Bono has done is asked everybody of every faith who leads anything to do something.
- I have a deep-seated trust in the sovereign wisdom of the Holy Spirit.
- If people get this on their radar screen, God will show them how to do it and finding out what their part is.
No one is exempt from taking responsibility in this great challenge.
- What is the right thing to do?
- If you’re not engaged, get engaged.
- You will want to stand before the One with nail pierced hands and say, “I made the grace you made available to me available to the poor…”
- Some of us will be called to life-saving acts of compassion.
- Others will create jobs and opportunity for long-term solutions.
- God will guide you.
- This is something that in our lifetime could be ended.
