Bob believed in democracy, and he believed that Christians should fight for the common good. It was devastating to learn of his sudden death this week in a dark time when his prophetic vision has never been more sorely needed.

The cry that "my freedoms are in jeopardy" just sounds like whining to the rest of the world when it comes from people who've historically occupied the cultural driver's seat.

It is our civic and moral duty as Americans, and as people of faith, to reach out to our fellow citizens and to call on our Senators to act. Compassion is not a passive virtue. We are called on by God to give voice to all who have lost loved ones to gun violence. We are called to act.

The Christian tradition has an ambiguous relationship with the problem of violence. It cannot be denied that the worldwide spread of the Christian faith was abetted by the use of violence. In contrast, the position of nonviolence has a long history in Christian teaching.

Lazy religion doesn't think in terms of people; it thinks in terms of abstract theological concepts and issue based stereotypes. It politicizes unique and beautiful individuals made in the image of God.

Here's the problem: whether we are billionaires or just ordinary people, we tend to think that saving the lives of the world's most vulnerable children is somebody else's job -- not ours. And until that changes, children will continue to die.

At this time of year when we look inward and explore ideas of what it means to sacrifice, we are particularly reminded of Isaiah in anticipating Easter and spring rains, reflection and renewal. We find ourselves looking outward at the sacrifices millions of women make for something we take for granted everyday: a safe glass of water and a toilet.

My prayer this Easter season is that the arc of the moral universe continue to bend towards justice in the ruling of the Supreme Court Justices.

We need a seminary student movement that leads the church and the nation into deep engagement that combines service, advocacy and social justice. We seek to create a culture of service whereby everyone is challenged every day to engage in the world.

We need to resurrect the message in MLK's Letter From a Birmingham Jail -- the message that continues to call us to seek justice and to understand that "a threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

Houses of Hospitality will deliver the powerful message of welcome and inclusivity to a generation and it will make churches a central part of the service movement, which is where it needs to be. All it takes is a desire to do it and the decision to follow through. It is called the Gospel.

For God, justice doesn't mean simple fairness, flattening everything out so it's the same. Justice means seeking for everyone what they need to flourish.

Empathy has a central role to play in helping us to be in concert with God's concerns: regardless of our public, political stance on a particular justice issue, our personal attitude toward the people involved must be characterized by godly love and grace.

In order to connect with youth in our communities, we have to walk outside the church doors everyday and let the community know who we are and what we have to offer so they will choose us instead of a gang.

When a church provides the space for showing films discussing the issues, it becomes more relevant by becoming a catalyst for coalition-building.

Traveling with an interfaith fair trade organization, we studied coffee and marketing for churches in the states. While there, I met the families of two young people. They would have been about 19 when I was there. Their parents had been growing corn and beans and coffee in that region for a hundred years. However, in 1989 that changed.

People called the Tenderloin District in San Francisco “the last circle of hell,” because no matter how quickly you drove through it, you couldn...

As you engage this Lent, I would encourage you to pray, to fast, to act in solidarity with those who go without. Learn more, give alms, share what you have. Be conscious about what you eat.

As I took my seat, I felt a strong spirit of anticipation and hope fill the auditorium, as if every heart was saying "The time is now. Our communities yearn for justice. For family unity. For citizenship. For reform."

Globalization, the ease of international travel, and the ubiquity of social media have all helped shape a generation more aware of what is happening in the world than any before it -- a generation some have dubbed "the social justice generation."

That the Occupy movement would embrace the jubilee, a biblical concept, suggests something new and intriguing about the progressive movement, which has in recent decades been more likely to show contempt than respect when it comes to religion.

By creating welcoming threshold places and training members to practice good Christian hospitality, congregations can help people to feel comfortable as they move from the outside world to the inside of the church for the very first time.

While the truths The Rev. Dr. King spoke in 1963 endure, the churches and society are rapidly changing, raising new questions about what it means to uphold a vision for racial equality, equity and justice. There is urgency now, even as there was in 1963, to pray with our feet.

This year on his holiday, with the poverty rate at more than 16 percent, let us not allow the corporate media coverage to yet again ignore the great crusade for economic justice that Dr. King was spearheading by 1968.

The unprecedented grassroots effort includes many channels to keep challenge participants inspired and informed, including a social media campaign that has already reached over hundreds of thousands of people.