Bono wins friends in church set

His message to religious leaders focused on meeting 'Christ in working with the poor.'

They may not be at the front of the line for U2 concert tickets, but a crowd of mostly evangelical pastors was wowed Friday by the band's frontman and all around do-gooder, Bono.

Just as he had won over former U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms, Bono earned the admiration of 350 Triangle pastors during a teleconference beamed in to Hope Community Church in Raleigh.

Speaking as a preacher, the rock musician struck a chord, declaring that no one can enter God's kingdom if they do not serve the poor.

"The main thrust of the Scriptures is to meet Christ in working with the poor," he said.

His appearance was part of a three-day church conference on leadership held by Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill. As one of the nation's first megachurches, Willow Creek has embarked on a mission to help pastors develop leadership skills. Its annual conference reaches 70,000 pastors and lay leaders across the world -- all connected by satellite and beamed onto giant TV screens.

Bono was interviewed by megachurch pastor Bill Hybels in a Dublin hotel near the singer's home earlier this year. In the interview, he spoke of a trip he made to Ethiopia in 1985 that opened his eyes to hunger and poverty, and eventually to AIDS.

It was a passionate talk on the part of the rock-star-turned-humanitarian, who has championed causes such as poverty, AIDS and debt relief to struggling nations.

"Christ won't let you walk away because it's difficult, expensive and a moral hazard," Bono said, speaking of the AIDS epidemic.

Bono's activism on the world stage earned him the honor of Time magazine's Person of the Year last year. He has rubbed shoulders with heads of state and became the unlikely friend of Helms, changing the conservative North Carolinian's stance on AIDS in Africa.

But the source of his activism lies with his faith. Bono quoted Scripture liberally, especially the passage in the fourth chapter of Luke's Gospel where Jesus preached of freeing the oppressed and reaching out to the poor.

At the same time, Bono made clear he is not just a wide-eyed liberal. He spoke of salvation, redemption and grace -- doctrines beloved of more orthodox Christians. Then he counseled church leaders to think strategically.

"What's in the way of getting things done?" he asked pastors to consider, adding later, "The world is more malleable than you think. You can wrestle it from fools."

The Rev. Erin Currin, the executive pastor at New Horizons Fellowship in Apex, said she feared Bono might push a left-leaning political vision -- something that would have alienated the mostly conservative crowd.

"I was grateful that he expressed himself in a way that transcended politics," Currin said.

Change of heart

Churches have been coming around to Bono's vision. Evangelicals across the spectrum have begun to take on AIDS in ways they may have recoiled from years ago when the disease was considered a gay plague. Megachurch pastors such as Hybels and California's Rick Warren have taken numerous trips to Africa and have begun to agitate the larger Christian community to take action. Many, such as Hybels, the nation's megachurch guru, loudly proclaim AIDS as "the single greatest humanitarian crisis of our day," and add that God will judge them based on how they respond.

Bono, however, told pastors it wasn't God's judgment alone that should motivate them to help ameliorate AIDS or poverty.

"We mustn't describe it as a burden or a duty," Bono said. "It's an opportunity, an adventure."

His message won fans.

"We need more human beings in this world that care about the human race like he does," declared Elizabeth Feliciano, 63, a member of Crossroads Fellowship in Raleigh, who admitted she didn't like rock music.