i managed to track down an mp3 of a sermon he preached at the denver seminary’s chapel service in october. in it, he talked about the difference between power and authority. it’s absolutely brilliant and powerful stuff. every single time i hear him speak—whether it be at a conference or in sermon audio or his podcast or through his books—i’m taken aback by the depth and power of his insights. they never fail to make me examine my heart and my theologies.

i’m including the mp3 here. i sincerely urge you to listen to this. i know…i know…it’s long. but i can assure you that it’s worth your time. (also, you can be entertained with campolo’s over-the-top delivery style and funny stories.)

one note that i’ll make before shutting up so you can listen to it is something that you’ll find just before minute 9 of the sermon. i’ve talked several times here lately about gender equality both within the church and in the home. campolo says something so profound about the way a christian should think about the issue of power and submission and servanthood in the context of marriage. he says that when he does marriage seminars, he always has someone ask a question to the effect of, “who’s supposed to be head of the house?” to which he says he ought to respond, “if you were a christian, you wouldn’t ask such a stupid question as that!” he says he ought to respond that way because a christian should never ask, “who’s the master?,” but instead, “who’s the servant?” when we love, we have little concern with “who’s in charge,” but we are certainly concerned with how we can serve and sacrifice and submit to each other. what a profound truth about jesus and thus, our relationship to our spouse. that’s incredible and deep stuff.

anyway, i’ll shut up now. please take some time to listen to this. you can either listen to it here or you can download the mp3 by clicking here.