Adam Rohler is a good friend of mine and indicated I could edit and use some of his post to get the discussion going. This post on ECC President Glenn Palmberg's participation in the G8 summit generated a comment or two about the role of government in alleviating extreme poverty and how Christians should participate in lobbying government. That said, I let Adam continue...

I received the call in the middle of the Covenant Church’s 2005 annual meeting while they were voting on whether or not my wife should be on the executive board. Jim Stipe, the former New York organizer for Bread for the World, asked if Amy or I would like to go to Scotland—all expenses paid to advocate for poor and hungry people in Africa during the G8 (great eight) summit. My initial response was, “uhh…yeah!” A free trip to Scotland—of course I will go!

It did not take long for the realization to sink in that this was no ordinary trip to Scotland to see Edinburgh castle; this was a trip with weight and responsibility. Jim had told me that they wanted me to go because I represented the “normal” people and that, as a pastor, I represented the faith perspective. I would most likely be interviewed by media, but other than that he had no idea what the itinerary would be. I slowly began to feel much less like Isaiah who, when called by God in chapter 6 says “here I am, send me!!” (like an excited student squirming in his seat with hand raised high in the back of the room). Rather, I began to feel more like Jeremiah, who is much more concerned about the task before him, for he knows what it means to be a prophet, that it is not glamorous, and rarely “fun.” “Ah, Sovereign LORD," he says in 1:6, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child." He protests, and yet still answers the call. I was beginning to feel the same weight that Jeremiah did.

At Heathrow we held a press conference with Sir Bob Geldolf, organizer of the Live8 concerts, and Kumi Naidoo, chair of the Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP). Kumi works closely with Nelson Mandela and told us that he went into exile when Mandela was arrested. After the press conference, we were off to Scotland, to our local hotels and then most went to bed because of jet lag. Mysteriously, I seemed to be someone who did not suffer from this form of exhaustion, and with a double espresso from the Starbucks (I got to use my employee discount!) I went sight-seeing with Michelle Tooley, a professor of religious ethics at Brea college (Kentucky). We went to Edinburgh castle, took a picture with a bagpiper, marveled at how the whole city was promoting the “Make Poverty History” campaign in its storefronts, on the streets, and how almost every church was involved in one way or another.

Wednesday began a prayer service, followed by a press conference featuring Djimon Hounsou (star of Amistad and In America) and George Clooney. It was a time for the celebrities to speak about their involvement and for the delegates to share their stories. The celebrity factor is important for the ONE campaign because we recognize that in the United States our media is celebrity-driven, so we need our celebrities to be good stewards of their influence in order to advocate and make others aware of issues of global importance. It was during this briefing that the moderator made a statement to the effect that many of the ONE delegates had a faith perspective and then said, “I’m wondering if Adam Rohler is here?” I raised my hand. I was sitting right in the front—five feet from George Clooney when she handed me the microphone and I said what I was there to say: “I am Adam Rohler, pastor of a small Evangelical church in Manhattan, New York. I am here because my faith compels me to be here. As Christians it is our responsibility to pursue shalom in this world; Shalom is more than simply peace or the ceasing of violence, but it is really about the flourishing of all of life, a kind of harmony of life together. This is what we long for, this is what I preach about back at home, this is what I would love to preach about if given the opportunity to the G8, and this is what we are here to proclaim.” And George Clooney looked right at me and said, “That’s great.”

The trip was event-full and celebrity driven and an education on what it means to work in advocacy and on political campaigns, but overall I realized that for the most part I was there to be a pastor and to speak about shalom—perhaps not always to the media, but also to the hearts of those who work in advocacy. I had numerous conversations with people who came up to me, impressed that I was willing to talk about faith publicly, and wanting to explore how faith might further sustain them in their work. For me this is the job of a pastor and I was delighted that God used me as such. Moreover, it was also a time of doing what we talk about when it comes to faith, about living into the claim that my faith compels me to go and act, like the wise man who hears the words of Jesus and acts on them—the one who built his house on rock (as opposed to the foolish man who builds on sand, who hears the words of Jesus but does not act on them). I am attempting to be that wise person even if sometimes I feel like Jeremiah, or a holy fool, or a pastor, or an advocate, in the end it is about serving God and attempting to live into a calling that will be for God’s glory and for neighbor’s good.

The entire post can be read here: "My Faith..."