I don't know that I have sacrificed anything, but I have and will pray for a non-believer. You ask if we were to sacrifice "everything" for the world, though. Does that include our faith? What do you mean by "everything"?

On another note, I will say it before someone else does less generously. There is a difference between "their" and "there". I wouldn't say anything if it was just one occurrence, but it was three times, and the editors should have caught it.

There is a good point behind a lot of this, but your understanding (or at least presentation) of what authority is is misguided and lacking.  Perhaps the word you're looking for is credibility.

It seems that the main thing you're trying to convey is that we can't coerce people into believing; rather, we have to prove our message to them through our actions.  That opens up the audience who can then decide whether or not to jump on board.

That has very little to do with authority.  Authority is the right to call the shots.  Government is a legitimate form (though it is full of fail, it still largely accomplishes God's purpose for it).  Parents have legitimate authority.  Elders in a church are the legitimate authorities (well, some are illegitimate, but that's beside the point).

@oordzofrur@xanga - I was under the impression Jesus wanted his followers to live simple, humble lives, devoted in service to the Father. I think believers are called to do more than just preach the Gospel and believe. 

@stuartandabby@xanga - I don't really see how what you said is going against what crevis_05 said in this post. The point was if you are in a place of authority, you can choose to exercize your authority by the right of your title or by power... and power is bad...
@oordzofrur@xanga - Any time I hear something against Tony Campolo, none of the arguments stand. Have you ever read any of his stuff? Maybe you should because it actually makes sense and ALL OF IT is biblical. Also, maybe one does become less sinful if he decides to give all his money to the poor and live a life of simplicity. Not less sinful in the sense that they are have gotten rid of sin itself, but gotten rid of a sin. And to be clear, the gospel of Christ is a social gospel. If you don't believe me, reread it.
Also, remember James. Faith without works is dead. If you aren't doing good works, you don't have faith. That faith makes you want to do good things. If you aren't doing good things, you may as well not be a Christian... because the idea of being a Christian is to be Christ-like... and that takes works. Now it isn't the works that gets you saved. It's Christ alone... but you still need to show that christ is in you. The only way you can do that is through works. Read James.
@anewbys@xanga - agreed
@computerguyw@xanga - I'll answer that question. It's because it's the government. Not Christianity. It's a worldly system. And if the government perverts the truth, it won't go unchallenged. There will still be Christans that are agianst the principles. And I'm convinved that any kind of government can't possibly practice all of what is "Christian" anyway. Again, the government is a seperate function.
And I also agree- We need to do a lot more praying. We tend to underestimate the power of prayer. 

@oordzofrur@xanga - First of all, I am not a follower of Tony Campolo. I am a follower of Christ... as is he. Secondly, I didn't say being rich is a sin. I said you could get rid of a sin by becoming poor (remember that if you don't act on your spiritual convictions, you are sinning). Anyway, a life of simplicity is good. That is the life that Christ represented- and to be Christlike, we are required to give up everything to follow him. That is biblical.
Also this "social gospel" is no different than the gospel of Christ. And if you actually read Tony Campolo's work, you will see that he doesn't make the social problems his first priority. His first priority is to Love God. His second is loving his neighbors. Then it is social justice... and you can't deny that there are over 2,000 verses in the bible telling it's readers to care for the poor. That sounds like a HUGE priority to me. Anyway, social work is Campolo's gifting by God himself. Naturally, this would be important to him. And there is NOTHING wrong with that. This is why you actually need to read his books. You have the wrong image of him... some how...
Anyway, it what you said isn't backwards... We are only called to tell people about Christ. We are not told to force them to believe in him... and why would a non-believer care about sin? They don't believe in it the way Christians do. So to warn them of their sin seems pretty asinine to me. Now once someone becomes a Christian, we need to warn them of sin. And remember this too, preaching is a gift. We aren't all required to preach. We are only required to tell people about Jesus. Likewise, caring for the poor is a gift too... and nobody makes this their #1 priority. And if they do, it isn't biblical. It is a secondary priority. Campolo totally doesn't make it his #1 priority, but he certainly cares about social justice- as should you. Remember this too: Not caring for the poor and unfortunate IS a sin.
Anyway, a lot of conservative christians hate campolo because his views are a little left... that is why people don't like him... and I'm guessing that is why you don't like him either. but he has some right winged beliefs too... and there  is NOTHING wrong with that at all! And you obviously know nothing about him... so you probably shouldn't bash another believer the way you are. He is acting on his conviction and THIS IS GOOD!

I treat nonbelievers the same way I treat believers. We're all human. 

@oordzofrur@xanga - He didn't say anything heretical at all. I didn't hear it anyway. Campolo also did not say that Jesus' central theme was his concern for the poor but to bring us the kingdom of God- as scripture says, the kingdom of God is at hand. Everything that Jesus taught was centered on the Kingdom of God- bringing the kingdom to earth. Everything he did was bringing the kingdom of God to earth. That is why we need to be Christ-like. To bring the kingdom of God to earth.
And No one said serving the needy is the most important part of the bible.... but it IS important. You can't deny that and your lack of compassion for the poor worries me.- By the way, ushering in the New Covenant was bringing the kingdom of heaven to earth... so yes... Campolo has heard of the word, "covenant."
Also, no one said anything about earning the right to preach. Campolo was talking about earning authority... which is something that is earned as opposed to power. I will quote something fromCampolo's book, "Red Letter Christians":
"...power entails the ability to coerce or to impose your will on others. Conversely, authority is having the legitimate right in the eyes of others to expect that proposals will be embraced and followed. If you are followed because others have no choice, you have power. If you are followed because others believe you have a legitimate claim to their allegiance, you have authority." And guess what... there is nothing untrue about this statement. He is absolutely right. That is why he was talking about earning authority. Surely, you wouldn't want a baby Christian teaching the bible. Why? They don't know enough. They don't have authority. So there is nothing wrong when he said that about earning the authority to preach. It's common sense. Again, maybe if you read his book, you would understand instead of jumping to false assumptions of something you know nothing about. Read his work. He has a lot of good to say!
You are right when you say the nonbelievers and the believers need to know about the gospel... and what I said is not a denial of preaching to the godly and ungodly. There is a difference in telling people about Jesus and telling them they are sinners! That is no way to get people to become Christians at all! Why? They don't understand sin like we do... so they don't care about it. Make sense? It would be like telling a nonbeliever that they have to practice communion. You can tell them to, but what does that mean to them? Nothing... to them it is just bread and wine. Telling a nonbelieve about sin does nothing unless they are really interested. To them, itis just another word. And how do we get them interested on the topic of sin? Tell them about Jesus. Say what he did. That is what Christians are called to do, my friend.
I would also like to direct you to the comment a couple comments above yours by underhisbanner.
Again, Tony Campolo is NOT a heretic. Maybe you shoul just read his books and not take him out of context. To deny social justice for those in poverty would make a person a heretic.. not telling people about it... otherwise, Jesus would have been a heretic... 100x over.

@stuartandabby@xanga - Exactly.... coercion is the key word there.... which is the difference between power and authority.-This is what crevis05 was saying. Here is the quote from Campolo's book:
"...power entails the ability to coerce or to impose your will on others. Conversely, authority is having the legitimate right in the eyes of others to expect that proposals will be embraced and followed. If you are followed because others have no choice, you have power. If you are followed because others believe you have a legitimate claim to their allegiance, you have authority."

Jesus said that ALL power and ALL authority were given to Him by His Father.....and yet He was the greatest servant of all!  He was focused on people; their redemption, their understanding of Who He was so that  they could be free.  He demonstrated great compassion towards their suffering time and time again.  He stood against injustice yet He never organized a movement, He did not rise up to overtake a governmental system and never used His power to coerce anyone.  He won the world by laying down His life. 

The power and authority we have been given is to fight FOR one another, not against each other!  That doesn't mean that we don't take stands against sin but it does mean that we always keep in mind WHO our enemy is!  It isn't the people, it is the prince of this world.  We can stand against darkness while holding out our hand to the lost, in whatever way the Spirit leads us to serve them. 

Also, I agree with the many comments about prayer!  Prayer is where the REAL battles are fought and won before we ever see the reality of it in the physical!  THAT's where our authority is crucial!  Thanks everyone for the great posts!

@stuartandabby@xanga - Campolo got his definitions and differentiations of power and authority from a well known sociologist named Max Weber. But all those things you mentioned, Jesus did on authority- not power... because God is a force to be reckoned with.

-Demons fear God and know they have no authority over him- so they tremble at his name
-When Christ comes again, he won't force people on their knees. People will see him in all his glory and want to worship him- that is authority.
- As far as government goes, again, you are using authority according to Campolo's and Weber's definition.

Now God does have power. But God in the flesh practiced authority. He could have used power... and Satan tempted him with that (Matt. 4:8-9). Evidence of him using his authority can be seen when you became a Christian. God didn't force you into it. You recognized something you wanted to be like. Something you know deserves your attention and allegiance.

It would be good to read Campolo's book, "The Power Delusion". Also his book "Red Letter Christians" is good too. I'm sure he can clarify it better than I can.

@jmallory@xanga - This is from your quote of Campolo earlier: "If you are followed because others have
no choice, you have power. If you are followed because others believe
you have a legitimate claim to their allegiance, you have authority."

And you're saying that Jesus cast out demons via his authority, not power?  Jesus gave the demons a choice?

I'll stick with conventional definitions of authority and power.  Redefining the words and saying Jesus used authority instead of authority and power provides no new insight and just repackages the obvious (Jesus didn't twist people's arms to make them believe; such actions would have been counterproductive).

@jmallory@xanga - "They don't understand sin like we do... so they don't care about it."

I think it would be wiser for you to say that non believers do not SEE certain acts the way you do, and that they can have the same values and morals and care just as much as you do without being Christian. Despite how exhausting it may be, at least make an attempt at being politically correct. =)