"What would Jesus cut?"

Progressive Christian activist Jim Wallis will speak about economic disparity in an appearance at Fountain Street Church at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Wallis is the founder of Sojourners, the Washington, D.C.-based social justice organization known for its work in the areas of peace, economics, social welfare, education, and civil rights. He is a best-selling author, commentator, and editor of Sojourners Magazine.

As part of FSC's Duncan Littlefair Great Speakers Series, Wallis' talk is entitled "What Would Jesus Cut?" an examination of what he sees as glaring economic disparity caused by finance capitalism, and the skewed moral priority of social policies that follow. His message comes at a time demonstrators here and abroad blame corporate greed for a wave of wrecked national economies.

In his God's Politics Blog, Wallis writes:

"The only people doing well in this economy are the people at the very top, some of whose selfish behavior caused this recession in the first place. Only they have 'recovered' from the crisis they helped create. The rest of us are still trying to recover. That’s a war being waged by Wall Street against Main Street. And Wall Street is winning that war."

A panel discussion will follow the talk, including Grand Rapids Mayor George Hartwell, Urban League President and CEO Rev. Joe Jones, and Ghazala Muir, a leader in the West Michigan Islamic community. The discussion will be moderated by Douglas Kindschi, Director of the Kaufman Interfaith Institute at Grand Valley State University. 

Tickets are $15, with group discounts available, at Fountain Street Church, Schuler's Books & Music, and Literary Life Bookstore, as well as the Duncan Littlefair Great Speakers Series website.