'Radical truth teller'

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Singer-songwriter Derek Webb, formerly a member of the contemporary Christian band Caedmon's Call, won rave reviews for his 2005 solo album, "Mockingbird," which dealt with themes of war, politics and social justice.

The following are excerpts from an interview with Mr. Webb, whose most recent release is "The Ringing Bell":

Question: What is your relationship with Sojourners, an organization that expresses Christian commentary on faith, politics and culture?

Answer: Sojourners seems to be about people who think spiritually and yet socially. They see the implications of spiritual ideas in terms of social action. I definitely make those connections as an artist. There is a natural connection that has happened between us over the years.

Q: What are the tattoos on your arm?

A: It's 16th-century church history. I didn't go to college, but I've studied a bit of church history over the years. It's kind of fascinating to me. It was a remarkable point in the history of the church ... being called back to standing on the Bible as its rule of faith.

Q: Where do you think the church is now?

A: The world is in such a remarkable moment in terms of wealth, technology and poverty and all these things colliding. In the West, we have a luxury of taking time to respond to our neighbors. There are people whose lives we are tied to in a lot of senses.

The church should be the first in line to go and act and speak on behalf of the world's poor. The church is the only institution on the planet that has the moral imperative, the actual command, to go and love the poor. That this is how we show what we believe to people. And yet the church has been very slow to act. It's been kind of in the back of the line in terms of Africa. It's taken an Irish rock star to rally the church to really want to do anything.

I'm a follower of Jesus and yet when you look at what He said ... there are all these laws and commandments. You keep them or don't keep them. You are either right or wrong. [But] when asked point-blank what are the most important things we are supposed to do, Jesus said: to love God and to love your neighbor.