Mr. Campolo has been appointed to the Democratic Party's platform committee and he says Democratic officials are open to hearing his argument that abortion is a human rights issue. We talk about that and the need for Christians to "speak truth to power" in both the Democratic and Republican parties.

Tony Campolo is a speaker, sociologist, pastor, social activist and author of 35 books, his most recent being Red Letter Christians: A Citizen’s Guide to Faith and Politics.

Friday, 07.25.08 - Guest: Sara Miles - Author of Take This Bread, the story of an unexpected and terribly inconvenient Christian conversion, told by a very unlikely convert.

The nationally syndicated talk show, Steve Brown Etc. streams live during recordings on Fridays from noon - 1 ET. Then, we post it to the site and the show airs on stations across the country that weekend. Join us for the recordings and talk to our guests by calling in on Fridays from noon -1 ET at 1.888.54.STEVE (1.888.547.8383).

Also, feel free to leave any guest suggestions in the comments on this post. (Or if you feel led, have a long discussion that has nothing to do with this post instead of creating a thread in the forums.)

Use one of the options below to listen.

The culture wars have created a lot of confusion and consternation around the term "Evangelical." So, a group of Christian leaders have come together to clear things up with An Evangelical Manifesto. Os Guinness and the other authors of the manifesto hope to, "make clear that we are followers of Jesus Christ and [are] therefore to be defined theologically and not politically or culturally."

Sounds simple enough, doesn't it? Well, it's not.

Some say it's a ploy on the part of the religious left to undermine the religious right. Others say the list of leaders who drafted and signed the manifesto is conspicuously bereft of the most strident right-wing Christian leaders.

Enter Steve Brown Etc. to bring the two sides together to kiss and make nice, nice. Don't miss it.

Bill Bennett once called The Tragedy of American Compassion “the most important book on welfare and social policy in a decade. Period.” It influenced the Clinton Administration’s welfare reform and deeply affected George W. Bush’s policies. But with the war on terror, the ideas in The Tragedy of American Compassion have taken a backseat.

Don't miss this conversation with Steve Brown and one of his heroes as they look at the problem of modern welfare…not its cost but its stinginess in offering the true necessities: challenging, personal, and spiritual aid rather than entitlement and bureaucracy.

Dr. Olasky is editor-in-chief of World magazine, provost of The King's College in New York, and author of a bunch of books.

Kevin and Ted join us on this edition of Steve Brown Etc. to give us the answer. Use one of the options below to listen.

Kevin DeYoung is the senior pastor at University Reformed Church in East Lansing, Michigan. Ted Kluck is a journalist and author. They joined forces to write, Why We're Not Emergent (By Two Guys Who Should Be). It's a fun and thoughtful look at a movement that's all the rage with people that don't care about truth…or…something.

Use one of the options below to listen.

As much as you may not want to admit it, if you're a Christian, you've done your part to support a $7 billion dollar a year industry that pumps out everything from thong panties with stop signs on them (to promote chastity) to Christian music to Bibles.

What does that world look like to a secular New York Jew? Check out the show and buy the book to find out.

No, not Prince Caspian. I'm talking about Obama!

Use one of the options below to join us on this edition of SBE as Steve attempts to straighten out my "spurious" political views.

Then, stick around for a visit from Douglas Gresham, co-producer of the Narnia films and C.S. Lewis' stepson, as he talks about making Prince Caspian, a look ahead at future Narnia films and an update on the movie based on The Screwtape Letters.

Also, a big thanks to Bill Mallonee for providing music for today's show. Get some of his music and support a talented and prolific artist.

Use one of the options below to hear Steve Brown and Tim Keller talk about The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism.

Keller uses literature, philosophy, real-life conversations, and reasoning to explain how faith in the Christian God is a soundly rational belief, held by thoughtful people of intellectual integrity and deep compassion.

Marcia Ford, author of We the Purple: Faith, Politics and the Independent Voter, joins us on this edition of SBE to talk about how rabid partisanship is prompting voters to go independent and how the Republicans & Democrats are reacting.

Use one of the options below to listen.

Click here to visit Marcia's blog. Also, here's a link to the Levote-tra bit we played on this show.

Bella was one of the most honored films of 2007 - including the coveted People's Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival. Eduardo plays the role of Jose in the movie, a man who had money, fame and success, but didn't find what really matters in life until he lost it all. A story not dissimilar to Eduardo's.

Click here to buy Bella on DVD. Also, click here to see Eduardo's appearance on The Today Show that Steve mentioned on the program.

Stories are pouring in about the healing impact of The Shack and, as I write this, the book is #8 on Amazon. Not bad for a book that Young wrote as a gift to his 6 children and was never intended to be published. Join us as we talk about some of the controversy surrounding The Shack, but more importantly, William Paul Young's personal journey and how it shaped the book that is now a phenomenon.

Visit TheShackBook.com for more on the book and visit WindRumors.com for more from Mr. Young.

When homosexuals listen to evangelicals, what do they hear? One friend of mine suggested that we sound like the teacher from the Peanuts cartoons, "Wa wah wa. Wah wa wa wah." But much of the time, our words are far more caustic. Join us as we discuss the subject in the context of Michael's insightful and controversial piece, What do Gays and Lesbians Hear?.

Michael Spencer is a popular blogger, podcaster and self-described post-evangelical. Go to InternetMonk.com for his regular posts and podcasts. Also, visit The Guest Room for his piece, Jesus Watches Your Church Ad.

Michael has been blogging since 2000. He has a master's degree in Theology, is currently a campus minister living in a Christian community in southeastern Kentucky, and has been a teacher in churches and schools for more than 30 years.

Max has a new album out called The Blood that explores his gospel roots and features collaborations with Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Joanne Cash and a dcTalk reunion with Kevin and former band members TobyMac and Michael Tait (they cover the Prince tune The Cross). We talk about that, his upcoming film The Imposter and being honest in art and in life. Don't miss it.

Also, don't forget to join the Steve Brown Etc. Facebook group and connect with other SBE listeners from around the world.

Click here to join the Steve Brown Etc. group.

Click here to join the Key Life Network group.

And for Etcetera listeners, Mark has set up a group for that program as well. Click here to join the Etcetera group too.

Once you join up, invite all your friends! If we can get enough members, I won't have to stop…I mean…you can help spread the good news of God's love and grace!

The national coordinator of Emergent Village, Tony Jones joins us on this edition of SBE to discuss the emergent phenomenon in the context of his new book, The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier. Use one of the options below to listen.

Also, click here if you'd like to view the video with R.C. Sproul and Al Mohler from which we took sound bites for today's program.