A Radical Truth Teller

July 2, 2007

Here is a short Derek Webb interview found on the Blood:Water Mission blog. It includes his explanation for lining up with Sojourners. Enjoy.

K. J. Schultz

Posted in Faith, Project Management |

6 comments

Nice interview. I think much of what he said has a lot of merit.

Still, I wonder how many of the POLITICOS that align themselves with Sojourners – support a woman’s “right” to murder her child…. hmmmm… I’d like to find out where he stands on that.
by Bulldawgy July 2, 2007 at 9:12 pm

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I figured you would. I just like to egg you on…

You can email him at podcast@derekwebb.com and ask your question. Maybe you’ll get a reply. Or you could send him a message through his myspace site.
by kevinschultz July 2, 2007 at 9:39 pm

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Dead on stuff. I think he spoke well and appeared not to be just a left-wing guy trying to fix the injustices of the world; rather a guy who loves Jesus trying to show His love to those in all different types of need-particularly poor folks.

How is the new album? Heard it yet?
by pdiddy July 4, 2007 at 4:49 am

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It is interesting to me that in an article that is supposed to explain why he linked up with Sojourners, Webb talks about the responsibility of the church for social action. Sojourners is all about government action in solving social problems. I think Derek means well, but hasn’t thought through the implications of the Sojourners approach.
by Eric July 6, 2007 at 10:54 am

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Kevin, I just caught your blog on Derek Webb and the interview on Blood:Water Missions. A few weeks ago I was in Nashville for a conference and we spent the weekend there. On Friday night, we went to a Nashville Sounds minor league baseball game. Before the game, Jars of Clay performed a concert for Blood:Water. Derek opened up for them, and played a 30 minute set. The cool thing is how accessible he was, along with the Jars guys after their sets.

Long story short, I struck up a conversation with Derek. Two things struck me, one he is a very intense and passionate guy. He really believes deeply that the evangelical church has messed up with it’s alignment with politics, specifically the Republican party. He doesn’t necessarily disagree with the issues, but feels the church has prostituted itself to having only political solutions. The alignment with the ‘pubs sends a message that to be a Christian means you have to vote Republican. Which leads to criticism from outside of the Republicans implicitly is criticism of the church. And his point, where is the gospel.

Two, I asked him specifically about abortion. He is pro-life, but his answer is not captured in a one sentence sound bite. It’s a deeper answer that requires critically thinking about solutions. Kind of like discussing Calvinism 🙂 He applauded much of the pro-life movement, including those ministries focused on helping unwed mothers, but had much criticism of the movement when it comes across as focusing more on the child than on the mother.

My point is I appreciate the dialogues you have provided on your blog about Derek. It’s too easy to dismiss his views on the soundbites, and ignore the deeper content of his message. I would disagree with the comment he hasn’t thought through the Sojourners approach having spent some time with him. I think Derek has thought through it deeply, and that is why I respect his decision, even though I would not have made the same decision.

Furthermore, Derek and his wife made a conscious decision to move from suburban Nashville, with its comforts, to live, literally, on the other side of the tracks in Nashville. They are part of a community that many of us would not want to live in. I’m not saying everyone has to do that, but I do admire his honesty and following the courage of his convictions.

Thanks, Tony
by Tony Drake July 9, 2007 at 11:17 am

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Good to have you stop by Tony. Thanks for sharing your encounter with Derek. This is yet another page in the search for context around Derek’s songwriting.
by kevinschultz July 9, 2007 at 11:23 am

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