Rohr vs. Campolo


Last week I had the pleasure of hearing to two of my favorite theologians.  One’s a spiritualist and the other’s a social activist. They couldn’t be more different. 

I went to hear on Thursday Fr. Richard Rohr at St. Philips Episcopal Cathedral.  He’s a Franciscan priest.  He spoke about living contemplatively.  On Saturday I went to First Presbyterian Church Atlanta to spend the day with Tony Campolo, a social activists and theologian from Eastern University in Philadelphia. 

I love both these guys.  But they couldn’t be more different. 

Here’s what I gathered from their lectures (I realize these next statements are polarizing and generalizations and do not represent the entire theology of either theologian but they do create enough of a dichotomy to merit this blog post): 

Rohr cares deeply about the spiritual sector.  Campolo cares deeply about the social sector.

Rohr thinks if the world would open itself to the spiritual (to awaken her mind and heart to higher forms of peace) then wars would end.  Campolo thinks wars would end when we overcome evil by sending troops home, adopting children for $38/month through Compassion International, buying mosquito nets for families suffering from malaria or building Habitat for Humanity houses for the homeless.


Rohr desires stillness.  Campolo desires a fury of activism.  Rohr wants prayer, Campolo wants change. Rohr preaches that strength rises when we wait upon the Lord.  Campolo preaches that strength rises when numbers stand up for justice and social reform.  

They both want wholeness.  But Rohr finds it in contemplation; Campolo finds it in action. 

Rohr needs God to come in the quiet, still, dark night of the soul.  Campolo needs God out on the front lines, offering food to the hungry and clothes to the naked.  Rohr meets Jesus in the garden; Campolo meets Jesus in turning over tables in the Temple. Rohr’s Jesus invites harmony.  Campolo’s Jesus invokes social reform. Rohr wants unity.  Campolo wants gospel catalysts.  

So is one better than the other?  Should we be more like Rohr or Campolo?  Should we care more about action or contemplation?  Prayer or petition?  Stillness or justice? 

And this is what I love about scripture . . . these seemingly different approaches; different perspectives, different attempts at reaching and connecting with the divine . . . are both valid.  These two ways of being aren't an either/or they’re a both/and. 

We need to be a people who listen for Spirit of the living God as well as people who stand up for peace, justice and righteousness.  We need to do both.  We must care about both. The world needs us doing both.   

This can’t be understated.  God’s love is on the move; it’s present in our waiting and in our doing.  God’s love is calling for us to respond, to give, to enjoy, to participate, to sit down together, to live within, to embrace, to follow and to dwell.  It’s calling us out of our darkness, out of our slumber, out of our small-mindedness, squabbles, frustration and deep sadness.  And when we seek this divine love, through both action and contemplation, we hear Jesus saying what he said to Nathanael in John 1:51, "Then follow me, for there are even greater things ahead.”

My prayer is that the church will become (or continue to be) a place that truly believes there are greater things ahead; and we find them through action and contemplation.  

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