Letters to a Young Evangelical: The Art of Mentoring

Campolo offers a strong enough addition to Basic's Letters to a Young... series that even older readers will learn a thing or two. In letters to two fictional young evangelicals, Campolo endeavors to challenge and encourage young Christians in much the same way Paul did in his epistles. In keeping with this Pauline theme, Campolo addresses his letters to Timothy, but, in keeping with his strong belief that women and men are equally fit for church leadership, also addresses them to Junia, a spiritual leader to whom Paul refers in the book of Romans. As Campolo covers such topics as the religious right, fundamentalism, dispensationalism, homosexuality, abortion and Christian-Muslim relations, he admirably steers clear of telling his readers what to think. Rather, he explains his position on the issue at hand, explains the positions of his detractors and leaves his readers to decide for themselves. Campolo calls himself a "Red Letter Christian," which signifies identification with neither the Right nor the Left, but with Jesus, whose words are rendered in red letters in many editions of the Bible. For Campolo, Red Letter Christianity is about following the radical teachings of Jesus, particularly identification with the poor, compassion for the suffering and the courage to stand against injustice. (Dec.)