File under difficult projects I've undertaken: trying to track down a progressive spiritual leader when there is a crisis of Katrina's magnitude putting a visceral face on poverty, race relations and gross administrative negligence.

You see, when Pat Robertson was all over the news a couple of weeks ago, I was one of the Christians sitting up and railing against yet another example of how the religious right hijacks our faith. Which is why it's a good time to talk about Jim Wallis, author of this year's God's Politics: Why the Right Is Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It. Wallis will be the guest of honor at an upcoming Table Talk at the White Dog Cafe this Wednesday. In his book, Wallis explains that the problem with religion is that it's been subverted by right-wing ideology; the problem with progressive politics is that it's got no soul.

Readers of a certain vintage may remember yours truly as the gothpunk chick who used to quick-pick fetish shows for this pub. If you're wondering, "Is this the same Helen H. Thompson?" well, the answer is yes. And no. I had a spiritual crisis of sorts. You know the kind: Boyfriend tells you you have been sucking the life out of him for a couple of years, storms out with half the CD collection and the good Pyrex. After pissing off a number of friends by being, shall we say, extraordinarily needful, I found myself that Christmas Eve fidgeting nervously in the congregation of St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Ardmore with my godmother. Thus I reignited my relationship with God, one that was really uncomfortable after 15 years of Buddhist-friendly atheism. What I discovered there was that the faith I'd rejected out of hand as a teenager was a wellspring of inspiration to change things: first on a personal level, and then, by helping others.

Which brings me back to Jim Wallis, who I finally caught up with this past Saturday. What was to be a 15-minute interview became an hour-long discussion on how people of faith are coming together to work toward common, nonpartisan goals.

"There's this very dramatic image for me of political leaders and congressmen walking around Capitol Hill sticking their wet fingers up in the air to check on the direction of the wind. I think we're stuck on this notion that replacing one wet-fingered politician with another changes the country," Wallis explains. "But all the practitioners of great social movements knew that you need to change the wind — that is, change the way people think, at a very deep level."

Which is what Wallis is attempting to do as editor in chief of Sojourners magazine and head of Call to Renewal, a national network of churches, faith-based organizations and individuals working to overcome poverty. Sojourners was originally a movement as well, one which Wallis cofounded in 1971. So why are many of us just hearing about it now? That infamous Gen-X disconnect may be part of it, not to mention the prevalence of "prosperity gospel" televangelists or the right wing's dominance of the values debate in the media.

"Dan Rather did a piece on Christian activists banning books in Iowa," remembers Wallis. "I'm a Christian activist, and that's not Christian — it's right-wing Christian activism. 'Right-wing' has become synonymous with Christianity and religiousness in general. Having a progressive faith option is a new idea to many people who didn't know you could be a Christian and care about poverty, or Social Security or the effects of war."

Wallis knows that people of faith come from many different walks of life. Faith is personal. God is personal. I asked him a question countless others have posed: When people find themselves wobbling back onto the path of faith to better engage progressive values, what's their first step?

"Find some kindred spirits, people you can talk to who are progressive in their faith. That might mean finding a church — some do and some don't — or finding a group of people — a few friends, a campus group or something you start yourself. But this is not meant to be a solitary journey: It's about the community."

These days he's less focused on his book and more interested in the Republican agenda, addressing the estate tax, Social Security reform and ongoing tax cuts. And even though he doesn't consider himself partisan — he's often as critical of Democrats as he is of Republicans — he delivers blistering condemnations of the current administration's direction in his town meetings.

"It doesn't make sense. America cuts taxes for the rich in the face of social problems, natural disasters, massive deficit escalation, war and budget cuts affecting the poorest of our families. Is that the kind of nation we want to be a part of?"

Amen to that.

Jim Wallis speaks at Table Talk, Wed., Sept. 14, 6 p.m. dinner, 7:30 p.m. discussion, $43 (students can call the day of for $20 standby tickets or to attend just the discussion for free), White Dog Cafe, 3420 Sansom St., 215-386-9224, www.whitedog.com. In related matters, NYU law professor Noah Feldman reads from his book Divided by God: America's Church-State Problem — and What We Should Do About It, Wed., Sept. 14, noon, Free Library of Philadelphia, 1901 Vine St., 215-686-5322, www.library.phila.gov.