Don't tell me about heaven. What about in this life, that there is a better way, that this is not in vain, that it is not Edward Albee or Camus's absurd, the theater of the absurd, it is not Shakespeare - "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing" - that life has meaning and that God is still in control, and that God can, and God will, so people of goodwill, working hard, do something about the situation? We can change.

America is still the No. 1 killer in the world.

We [people] need to stop lumping folks together and start living together. Otherwise, we're going to kill each other off because you don't believe what I believe. That's crazy.

Barack Obama's a politician, I'm a pastor. We speak to two different audiences.

Faith should be pulled into the public arena when it affects how we live. If it doesn't, it does no earthly good. What does my faith say about the fact that a girl can't be a nuclear physicist because she's black and from the inner city? My faith says, no, that's not what God intended. It pulls it back into the public arena the idea that there's got to be something fair for all of us.

Barack Obama says what he has to say as a politician. I say what I have to say as a pastor. But they're two different worlds.

I continue to be a pastor who speaks to the people of God about the things of God.