Today I received my December issue of Sojourners. When I read Jim Wallis' editorial, The Urgency of Civility, I knew I had to share it with you.

I feel very strongly that our leaders have failed us on the issue of health insurance reform. We have a problem. But instead of watching intelligent people getting in the same room and sitting around the same table searching for solutions, we have watched our legislators treat one another as political enemies. Any leader knows that more can be accomplished when no one cares who gets the credit. But we cannot find a healthy response to the problem because our two major political parties seem to think that it is unthinkable to actually compromise with one another for the good of the people.

But it is not just our politicical leaders. The pundits have enthusiastically chimed in to vilify those with whom they disagree. And it has trickled all the way down to us. Most people I speak to are preoccupied with the politics of it, rather than trying to discover what would be best for every American.

I've hesitated to talk about this because I don't want to come off so negative about our leaders. Too late. So, don't listen to me, but read Wallis' commentary. I love the subtitle -- "Respecting the image of God in one another." For those of us who call ourselves Christians, that seems like a perfect starting point.

“If every person who attended church in this country made just one fair trade purchase, one million families would be lifted out of poverty for one whole year.”

I heard it on the “Trade as One” web site. This video tells you a little bit about “Trade as One” and gives a simple explanation of what fair trade is and why it is so important.

I’m pumped for Christmas. I’ve already placed a wreath on my office door, I've got a Christmas coffee mug on my desk and Christmas music playing while I work. And to top it off I received an email today that really got me excited. Nazarene Compassionate Ministries now offers an NCM Gift Card.

Here’s how it works: You purchase an NCM Gift Card. You give the gift card to someone.

They learn about NCM causes at ncm.org. They donate to a cause using their NCM Gift Card.

The NCM Gift Card can be redeemed toward over 100 projects and causes, ranging from water wells, to supporting unsponsored children, to HIV/AIDS ministries, and more. Through such gifts, NCM partners with congregations worldwide to provide education, prayer, economic partnership, and training for communities in their times of need. Through this we can extend Christ’s love in word and action to those in need.

You can go to ncm.org/giftcard to purchase an NCM Gift Card and give the gift of hope.

Forgiveness is risky business—particularly when we are engaging in that peculiarly Christian practice of forgiving and loving our enemies.  Most of us really don’t want to see our enemies forgiven. We’re afraid that if we forgive, we are somehow minimizing the evil of their deeds. So when someone chooses to forgive an enemy they are often vilified by their friends.

I don’t know if Lisa Gibson will be vilified, but I’m pretty sure she’ll be misunderstood. But it seems to me that she has had the courage to take the Sermon on the Mount seriously. That’s a dangerous thing to do.

Read her story.

Check out the article and video.

By the way, they are really comfortable. I wear mine most of the time.

Our nation was not built on Christian values. Did our forefathers use religious imagery? Yes. Were some of them Christians? Yes. Was the nation built on the values of Jesus Christ as taught in the New Testament—particularly the Sermon on the Mount? Absolutely not.

Why is it so important for us to realize this? Well, most Americans are biblically illiterate. They don’t know what Jesus taught. When they constantly hear that America is a Christian nation and was built on biblical values, they draw conclusions about Christianity that are totally at odds with the biblical account. Christianity does not get a fair hearing because it is being represented as life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. People think Jesus taught that personal liberty was the highest ideal, that the most important thing is to look out for your own people (nation), that military superiority is part of God’s will and that America is the “city on a hill.” These are all gross misrepresentations of the gospel. In fact, the American values that we were taught in school don’t even show up on the New Testament list of values (see 1 Corinthians 13:13).

That is why for the past couple of years I’ve been recommending that people read The Myth of a Christian Nation by Greg Boyd (see my “I Recommend…” page). Add to that Jesus for President: Politics for Ordinary Radicals by Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw.

Prepare to be challenged—even offended. You may not agree with everything Claiborne and Haw say, but that isn’t the point. I think the point of this book is to show us the beauty of the good news of a new kingdom. We always say that Jesus’ message of the Kingdom of Heaven is a radical, counter-cultural message. Claiborne and Haw show just how radical it is.

Don’t put it down (even if it makes you mad). The book concludes with some beautiful expressions of the kingdom in daily life. They are inspiring and challenging.

About ten years ago I read a book by Winifred Gallagher 

Ten years ago that seemed rather strange. No more. I was reminded of this in a short piece by Lisa Miller in this week’s Newsweek called, “We Are All Hindus Now.” It’s a quick read. Take a look at it.