NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — The head of a group of young evangelicals seeking to mobilize American Christians against nuclear weapons applauded President Obama's United Nations speech recognizing the need for direct citizen involvement in disarmament efforts.
In his Sept. 23 speech, Obama outlined a comprehensive agenda seeking the goal of a world without nuclear weapons. The president said that cannot come about just by the work of world leaders, but that real change will come only through the people they represent.
"That is why we must do the hard work to lay the groundwork for progress in our own capitals," he said. "That's where we will build the consensus to end conflicts and to harness technology for peaceful purposes, to change the way we use energy, and to promote growth that can be sustained and shared."
Tyler Wigg-Stevenson, founding director of the Two Futures Project, applauded the president's outlook and leadership on the issue.
"The core of our mission here at the Two Futures Project is to bridge the gap between leaders and the citizens they work for — helping individual Christians support a righteous foreign policy and security for future generations," said Wigg-Stevenson, an ordained Baptist minister and member of First Baptist Church in Nashville, Tenn.
In coming months Wigg-Stevenson is scheduled to speak to audiences across the country as part of a speaking tour called "Two Futures, One Choice."
Stops include the Oct. 8-9 National Association of Evangelicals Evangelical Leaders Forum in Landover, Md.; Oct. 29 at Wheaton College; and Oct. 30 at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill.
Launched in April, the Two Futures Project is a movement of American Christians preaching a message that the world faces two futures and one choice — a world without nuclear weapons or a world ruined by them.
The organization has support of conservative Christian leaders including Bill Hybels, Cameron Strang and Chuck Colson, and three members of the President's Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships — Joel Hunter, Noel Castellanos and Jim Wallis.
It also has backing of former Cold War politicians including former Secretaries of State George Shultz and Henry Kissinger, former Secretary of Defense William Perry and former Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.).
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Bob Allen is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.
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