A really thoughtful piece on the role of the church in responding to the issue of poverty in our world today...
When it comes to alleviating poverty, it is the best of times. Never in history have so many people so quickly been taken off the poverty rolls.
Poverty in Numbers: The Changing State of Global Poverty from 2005 to 2015, a 2011 Brookings Institution publication, summarizes this stunning development. Researchers Laurence Chandy and Geoffrey Gertz note that as late as the early 1980s, "more than half of all people in developing countries lived in extreme poverty." By 2005, they report, that number was cut in half. By 2010, "less than 16 percent remain in poverty, and fewer than 10 percent will likely be poor by 2015."
In other words, the seemingly audacious UN Millennium Development Goal of reducing poverty by half between 1990 and 2015 was met three years ago.
What's more, apparently no continent is being left behind. In the 1980s, poverty increased in Africa, and, in the 1990s, in Latin America. But, according to Chandy and Gertz, "poverty reduction is currently taking place in all regions of the world." For the first time, the poverty rate of sub-Saharan Africa is below 50 percent. The authors' model predicts that by 2015, poverty will be reduced in 85 of the 119 countries included in their analysis. The sharpest reduction is seen in Asia; given current trends, they predict 430 million people will be taken off the poverty rolls by 2015—a drop of 30 percentage points.
The developments in Asia, in fact, are the reason they say "the bulk of the fall in global poverty can be attributed to the two developing giants, India and China. They alone are responsible for threequarters of the [expected] reduction of the world's poor."
Not large donations, microenterprise programs, or child sponsorship, but rather sheer economic growth, has effected this change. With massive populations, the two nations made a number of interrelated decisions that opened their countries to globalization, which in turn has led to remarkable economic performances, where we've seen GDP growth rates (except for 2009) stay above 6 percent since 2003. The wealth has indeed trickled down to the lowest economic strata of their societies.
Thus the plethora of new and hopeful books: Charles Kenny's Getting Better: Why Global Development Is Succeeding—And How We Can Improve the World Even More, Jeffery Sachs's The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time, and, for Christian activists, Scott Todd's Fast Living: How the Church Will End Extreme Poverty—among many others.
Though economists debate specifics, it's a moment bursting with hope. But these dramatic developments, ironically, present the church with a few serious challenges.
Relative Ineffectiveness
What these latest findings demonstrate is the church's relative ineffectiveness and impotency at helping the poor. Some Christian activists have been trying to motivate us to care for the poor by pointing out how they are neglected by society. The state is a clumsy and arrogant institution, they argue, and not doing its job. So the church must step in to make a difference. That means that (1) churches should create their own anti-poverty initiatives (like microfinance), and (2) churches should lobby governments to do better.
These recent economic developments suggest that both of these strategies are either insignificant or relatively ineffective. It is not Christian activism that has created history's greatest poverty reduction initiatives in India and China. And it is not micro but rather macroeconomics that really makes a difference.
Other activists focus on motivation. Both personal experience and national studies have shown that when it comes to poverty reduction, Christians are discouraged. We tend to believe the world is getting worse, and that our little efforts won't make much difference anyway. So some activists tout these poverty reduction numbers, saying, "See, we can make a difference!" Then they encourage us to get involved in our own small way, because if we do, "We can defeat poverty in this generation" or, "The church can end extreme poverty."
But of course, it is a stretch to suggest we can end any sort of poverty. I asked a number of Christian economists about this, and all agreed: No, we can't. When I asked why, every one of them said, "Original sin." Until the coming of the kingdom of God, greed, sloth, oppression, corruption, and the like—all of which breed poverty—will persist.
Some rightly point to the huge strides made in abolition, prison reform, child labor laws, and so forth due to Christian activism in the 19th century. Take slavery: Indeed, it is much better to live in a time when every nation on the planet has outlawed slavery. But as experts today acknowledge, slavery (defined as people enduring forced labor, including sex) is still endemic worldwide. There are more slaves today (estimates range from 12 million to 27 million) than ever. By contrast, even at the apex of American slavery, the United States counted only 4 million slaves.
So yes, we can indeed improve social conditions in some regards. But the human capacity for sin is relentless and will find ways to subvert even our most stellar progress. As we'll see, however, this is no cause for discouragement—only a realistic picture of what we're up against.
Sometimes our idealism is grounded in what might be called social-improvement math. For Christians, it works like this: "There are nearly 200 million Christians in the United States. If they were able to see that (a) poverty can be defeated, and (b) Jesus calls them to have a heart for the poor, then they could change the political climate. Representatives would have to take this constituency seriously when they started asking for policy changes that would help the poor."
This assumes a number of things that have never materialized in history. We can confidently predict that we will never be able to get 200 million Christians to agree on any priority except, perhaps, that Jesus is Lord. But let's take the best-case scenario: If one could get all 200 million believers to make poverty reduction a top priority (trumping abortion, human rights, and a hundred other causes), there are no uniquely Christian solutions to ending poverty that we all would agree on. What separates Christian Democrats and Christian Republicans is not their concern for the poor but rather their strategies for helping the poor. Political wrangling will be with us always.
But more to the point we began with: When huge poverty reduction strides have been made, it has been due not to every person doing their little part, but to government economists and bureaucrats making top-down macroeconomic decisions. Doing our little part makes very little difference when it comes to large-scale poverty.
So if the church in fact cannot defeat poverty, and if the church's efforts make an insignificant dent in macropoverty, how should we then live toward the poor?
The Church's Unique Calling
It would be foolish to stop caring for the poor. We are not called to obey Jesus only if our efforts are guaranteed to make a difference. As the article "Cost-Effective Compassion" shows, when it comes to poverty, impact is indeed one important criterion for how we invest ourselves. But who and how we love can never finally be decided on effectiveness, for otherwise we would neglect all those for whom we can make little practical difference—those in hospice care and nursing homes, those with mental disabilities, and so forth.
In fact, if this becomes our primary motivation—to change the world—we risk sabotaging the uniquely Christian approach to poverty.
What I mean is this: In pragmatic America, we are often enamored of and motivated by pragmatism rather than simple obedience to Jesus. We are too often tempted to justify our existence on this planet by doing something "significant," by "making a difference in the world," so that we can go to bed at night feeling good about ourselves. But the Christian message is about a God who judges and loves us in our insignificance—that is, when our selfcenteredness has sabotaged our ability to make any fundamentally sound contribution to our lives or to others'. This God speaks to us the frank word that not only do we not make a difference in the world, day to day we threaten to make the world worse by our sin. But in Jesus Christ, he has judged and forgiven us through the Cross, and now he uses even our insignificant efforts to witness to his coming work in Jesus Christ.
What is that coming work? Among other things, it is the end of poverty. No,we cannot end poverty, but God can and will. From this perspective we see that our efforts to stem poverty have significance not because they make us feel better, but because they point to Jesus' final antipoverty program.
With this end in view, when we inevitably enter a period in history when poverty gets worse, either globally or locally, we won't get discouraged. We are involved with the poor not because we're going to make a difference, but primarily because we are gladly responding to the call of a gracious God to show forth the Good News—in deeds of justice and mercy, and more importantly, in gospel words—that he will defeat all forms of poverty, spiritual and material.
And then there is this very practical dimension: The church can never match the sweep of national and global initiatives. But if the poor will be with us always, until the Second Coming, it is also true that bureaucratic and impersonal government will be as well. When it comes to caring for people as individuals in their uniqueness, the government is the clumsiest tool imaginable.
Ah, but people—those precious individuals embedded in a unique family and community—they are right in the church's sweet spot. No government can touch what the church can do here.
Our poverty reduction efforts have significance not because they make us feel better about ourselves, but because they point to Jesus' final antipoverty program.So while the government makes needed sweeping changes, the church is there to pick up the inevitable pieces of people trampled by government regulations, of people who get left behind, of people whom the government treats as mindless sheep, but whom the church knows have a Shepherd.
Thus the church's most characteristic antipoverty efforts are those that are utterly personal. I believe we instinctively understand this. This is why among the many antipoverty interventions offered, we evangelicals are so fond of child sponsorship, for example. It is not only a proven strategy for making a difference—it works—but more importantly, it is very relational and very personal.
If you're concerned about poverty, these are indeed the best of times. But we mustn't be discouraged if it appears that the church has been left on the sidelines in this historical moment. We still have our irreplaceable calling. It begins with responding to the divine and gracious call of Jesus to follow, and ends with loving the unique people, especially the poor, whom he providentially puts in our midst.
http://www.ctlibrary.com/ct/2012/february/best-ways-to-fight-poverty.html
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Friday, February 17, 2012
CREDIBILITY OVER CREDENTIALS IN COLLEGE MINISTRY by Andrew Marin in Youthworker Journal
A great article that causes people like me to consider whether our time is spent in the office or the Student Union...and if we are planning the next great program or sharing experiences with my students...the phrase he offers in this article is truly one that challenges our spiritual formation office world each day...
More than any other type of life and faith in culture, there is no doubt in my mind that college ministry is consistently the most rapidly changing population of believers. I am only 11 years removed from my freshman year in college; looking back over the past decade, my undergraduate experience is nothing like that of the students currently finishing their freshman year.
Though many can look back on a decade once removed and see some extreme generational differences, the postmodern explosion through technology, polarized political cultures, a growing movement of gay rights and a default worldview that inherently questions the validity of everything has irrevocably shifted the trajectory of the role of campus and college ministers.
Ten years from now, the new normal will be a multifaceted set of experiences overwhelmingly based on a series of uncertainties that must connect you with the students' on their turf and filtration system, not yours.
The exciting part, however, is that after another decade of questions surrounding student's interpersonal, sexual, political, and cultural exploration, I see the forthcoming landing point between minister and student centralized around one of the most overlooked principles of Jesus: credibility over credentials.
Credibility over credentials is what I believe will be the future of college ministry—one that focuses heavily on the relational sustainability of the campus/college minister and the student through an incarnational medium of engagement. For a number of years, the engagement between the minster and the student has been more along the relational lines of a psychologist-client, teacher-student, wise sage-naïve searcher. For campus/college ministers to stay relevant and continue to have any ability to speak into their students' lives, that old paradigm must change.
I have been given the opportunity to lecture around the country at a variety of Christian colleges and secular research universities, and the most prevalent theme I continue to see, especially during the past few years, is that students are weary of the current hierarchy and chain of command. Too often they see members of any administrative leadership as "the man" trying to censor or hold down their generation's ideas of love, life, faith and creativity. How much more so will this be in another 10 years?
Therefore, the way forward must be incarnational in its very core. The exploration of incarnational work and life will revolutionize the minister's ability to connect deeply with the students on the most sincere and sacred levels. Go to the students. Be with the students. Stay with the students. This isn't a 9-5 job anymore. In fact, it never should have been in the first place. Noted youth ministry leader and blogger Adam McLane suggests that impact is directly proportionate to the amount of time you don't spend in your office.
The main question that has been asked for decades is what will build the campus/college minister's reputation of trust with the students so much, that will one day they will be able freely and reputably to impart the important lessons learned over a number of years to best influence these impressionable emerging adults the most? A Ph.D.? A position of influence? The number of students per program or gathering? None of those important credentials are going to bring the inherent respect they used to even a few years ago. If anything, my experience has shown me that today those exact variables are outliers to access, clearly cutting a further chasm into the minister's ability to connect and relate to his or her students.
Credibility is the answer to this problem.
Incarnation is the means to get it done.
I was recently consulting at a liberal arts university with Christian ties and the university minister, in front of his staff and the top of that university's administration, asked me bluntly: "What do we need to do to create an environment where our students want to engage their faith because most of the time they only come around when credit is involved? And this is a Christian university!"
I responded by telling them a story about a campus minster named Terry at a Big Ten university. Terry was running into some of these same problems. With a heart for those on the outskirts, he left his office behind and started spending the majority of each day at the artsy coffee house right outside campus. You know, the one where the gay, lesbian, bisexual, emo and dark-reserved-misunderstood-artistic-type students go. You know, the place where Jesus went. Literally.
After two years of no successes and a whole lot of heat from his superiors for "slacking off at a coffee shop," the gay, lesbian, bisexual, emo and dark-reserved-misunderstood-artistic-type students slowly started to find Terry as a safe person to talk to. He had been there long enough not judging, not worrying about getting them to come to his programs and gatherings, but just listening to them on their turf day after day after day.
It was actually quite strange for a number of the students' years later to find out he was a campus minister. My friend Jimmy Spencer calls it loving without agenda. The next thing you know, Mondays at the coffee shop with the gay, lesbian, bisexual, emo and dark-reserved-misunderstood-artistic-type students became the largest Bible study on this Big Ten university's campus of 40,000 students. Today, it continues to grow in its campus and community-wide impact.
We have to remember Jesus went to the Pharisees. He went to gather His disciples. Jesus went to the outsiders, to homes, to cities, to sinners; and He went to everyone else, as well. I don't believe that what happened because of His preferred medium of engagement was any coincidence either. Scripture repeatedly tells us how large crowds would come and gather around Him after He went somewhere and started engaging. Jesus didn't wait for anyone to come to Him. He intentionally turned a traditional rabbi's role upside down and went to their temples, forums, meeting places, homes, marketplaces, wells, graveyards and their street corners to listen, learn, teach and build relationships…and to bring healing as it had never been brought before. As theologian and author Scot McKnight suggests, there is a certain type of authority that can only come with sustained proximity.
Jesus knew that many wouldn't listen to Him. He knew that many wouldn't like Him, think He belonged or wanted Him to stay alive. Jesus went anyway—over and over and over and over again—personally engaging each step of the way.
The broader cultural point is that the everyday masses of people were enamored with a man subverting the traditional hierarchy of rabbinical authority. As a campus minister, when you use your position to subvert the traditional medium of engagement with your campus's students, it will, without a shadow of a doubt, bring the masses. The unique twist is that you are not bringing the masses to any one particular place you designated. The masses are going somewhere they already want to be, a place you are already at—building bridges and tearing down old relational paradigms by subverting the system the students are leery about in the first place.
Too often people of rank and in power talk a great game about "meeting their students where they are" and "understanding where their students are coming from." But they don't. They don't because that takes too much time and effort. "There needs to be boundaries." I hear that lie all of the time.
The unfortunate part is that by the time some people are hired into their university minister position, they have enough comprehensive intelligence to be able to watch the news, read the journals and the newspapers and know how to generalize what is going on in the broader culture and supplant it to their campus without ever actually talking to or meeting with or investing into a student who doesn't want to have anything to do with them. Jesus said in Matthew 11 that "wisdom is proved right by her actions." If that is true, it is no wonder why so many university ministry offices are calling, asking the same question.
Do you care about making a lasting, eternal impact on the students who don't seek you out? It never will happen without your incarnational investment over a significant period of time. Actually, even with all of the incarnational time invested, it still might not happen. Just because it's called the Great Commission doesn't mean it will turn into the Great Reality. But does the uncertainty of not knowing the outcome before the beginning threaten the potential of sustained incarnational commitment? I like to think God doesn't only work when we know what the outcome is going to be.
The answer has been in front of you the whole time, in the book you carry around as a badge of honor. It's time to go. It's time to do likewise. Faith intertwined with a variable life of students is all about living in the complex simplicity of the ancient words from a battle-tested Rabbi of no status, with no credentials other than being empowered by the Holy Spirit to change the world.
http://www.youthworker.com/youth-ministry-resources-ideas/youth-culture-news/11652402/
More than any other type of life and faith in culture, there is no doubt in my mind that college ministry is consistently the most rapidly changing population of believers. I am only 11 years removed from my freshman year in college; looking back over the past decade, my undergraduate experience is nothing like that of the students currently finishing their freshman year.
Though many can look back on a decade once removed and see some extreme generational differences, the postmodern explosion through technology, polarized political cultures, a growing movement of gay rights and a default worldview that inherently questions the validity of everything has irrevocably shifted the trajectory of the role of campus and college ministers.
Ten years from now, the new normal will be a multifaceted set of experiences overwhelmingly based on a series of uncertainties that must connect you with the students' on their turf and filtration system, not yours.
The exciting part, however, is that after another decade of questions surrounding student's interpersonal, sexual, political, and cultural exploration, I see the forthcoming landing point between minister and student centralized around one of the most overlooked principles of Jesus: credibility over credentials.
Credibility over credentials is what I believe will be the future of college ministry—one that focuses heavily on the relational sustainability of the campus/college minister and the student through an incarnational medium of engagement. For a number of years, the engagement between the minster and the student has been more along the relational lines of a psychologist-client, teacher-student, wise sage-naïve searcher. For campus/college ministers to stay relevant and continue to have any ability to speak into their students' lives, that old paradigm must change.
I have been given the opportunity to lecture around the country at a variety of Christian colleges and secular research universities, and the most prevalent theme I continue to see, especially during the past few years, is that students are weary of the current hierarchy and chain of command. Too often they see members of any administrative leadership as "the man" trying to censor or hold down their generation's ideas of love, life, faith and creativity. How much more so will this be in another 10 years?
Therefore, the way forward must be incarnational in its very core. The exploration of incarnational work and life will revolutionize the minister's ability to connect deeply with the students on the most sincere and sacred levels. Go to the students. Be with the students. Stay with the students. This isn't a 9-5 job anymore. In fact, it never should have been in the first place. Noted youth ministry leader and blogger Adam McLane suggests that impact is directly proportionate to the amount of time you don't spend in your office.
The main question that has been asked for decades is what will build the campus/college minister's reputation of trust with the students so much, that will one day they will be able freely and reputably to impart the important lessons learned over a number of years to best influence these impressionable emerging adults the most? A Ph.D.? A position of influence? The number of students per program or gathering? None of those important credentials are going to bring the inherent respect they used to even a few years ago. If anything, my experience has shown me that today those exact variables are outliers to access, clearly cutting a further chasm into the minister's ability to connect and relate to his or her students.
Credibility is the answer to this problem.
Incarnation is the means to get it done.
I was recently consulting at a liberal arts university with Christian ties and the university minister, in front of his staff and the top of that university's administration, asked me bluntly: "What do we need to do to create an environment where our students want to engage their faith because most of the time they only come around when credit is involved? And this is a Christian university!"
I responded by telling them a story about a campus minster named Terry at a Big Ten university. Terry was running into some of these same problems. With a heart for those on the outskirts, he left his office behind and started spending the majority of each day at the artsy coffee house right outside campus. You know, the one where the gay, lesbian, bisexual, emo and dark-reserved-misunderstood-artistic-type students go. You know, the place where Jesus went. Literally.
After two years of no successes and a whole lot of heat from his superiors for "slacking off at a coffee shop," the gay, lesbian, bisexual, emo and dark-reserved-misunderstood-artistic-type students slowly started to find Terry as a safe person to talk to. He had been there long enough not judging, not worrying about getting them to come to his programs and gatherings, but just listening to them on their turf day after day after day.
It was actually quite strange for a number of the students' years later to find out he was a campus minister. My friend Jimmy Spencer calls it loving without agenda. The next thing you know, Mondays at the coffee shop with the gay, lesbian, bisexual, emo and dark-reserved-misunderstood-artistic-type students became the largest Bible study on this Big Ten university's campus of 40,000 students. Today, it continues to grow in its campus and community-wide impact.
We have to remember Jesus went to the Pharisees. He went to gather His disciples. Jesus went to the outsiders, to homes, to cities, to sinners; and He went to everyone else, as well. I don't believe that what happened because of His preferred medium of engagement was any coincidence either. Scripture repeatedly tells us how large crowds would come and gather around Him after He went somewhere and started engaging. Jesus didn't wait for anyone to come to Him. He intentionally turned a traditional rabbi's role upside down and went to their temples, forums, meeting places, homes, marketplaces, wells, graveyards and their street corners to listen, learn, teach and build relationships…and to bring healing as it had never been brought before. As theologian and author Scot McKnight suggests, there is a certain type of authority that can only come with sustained proximity.
Jesus knew that many wouldn't listen to Him. He knew that many wouldn't like Him, think He belonged or wanted Him to stay alive. Jesus went anyway—over and over and over and over again—personally engaging each step of the way.
The broader cultural point is that the everyday masses of people were enamored with a man subverting the traditional hierarchy of rabbinical authority. As a campus minister, when you use your position to subvert the traditional medium of engagement with your campus's students, it will, without a shadow of a doubt, bring the masses. The unique twist is that you are not bringing the masses to any one particular place you designated. The masses are going somewhere they already want to be, a place you are already at—building bridges and tearing down old relational paradigms by subverting the system the students are leery about in the first place.
Too often people of rank and in power talk a great game about "meeting their students where they are" and "understanding where their students are coming from." But they don't. They don't because that takes too much time and effort. "There needs to be boundaries." I hear that lie all of the time.
The unfortunate part is that by the time some people are hired into their university minister position, they have enough comprehensive intelligence to be able to watch the news, read the journals and the newspapers and know how to generalize what is going on in the broader culture and supplant it to their campus without ever actually talking to or meeting with or investing into a student who doesn't want to have anything to do with them. Jesus said in Matthew 11 that "wisdom is proved right by her actions." If that is true, it is no wonder why so many university ministry offices are calling, asking the same question.
Do you care about making a lasting, eternal impact on the students who don't seek you out? It never will happen without your incarnational investment over a significant period of time. Actually, even with all of the incarnational time invested, it still might not happen. Just because it's called the Great Commission doesn't mean it will turn into the Great Reality. But does the uncertainty of not knowing the outcome before the beginning threaten the potential of sustained incarnational commitment? I like to think God doesn't only work when we know what the outcome is going to be.
The answer has been in front of you the whole time, in the book you carry around as a badge of honor. It's time to go. It's time to do likewise. Faith intertwined with a variable life of students is all about living in the complex simplicity of the ancient words from a battle-tested Rabbi of no status, with no credentials other than being empowered by the Holy Spirit to change the world.
http://www.youthworker.com/youth-ministry-resources-ideas/youth-culture-news/11652402/
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Book Cover Reveal!
I have had the privilege for being friends with Jon McGrath for over 15 years now...and he's been an incredible help in my professional work over the last several years. I don't know anyone who comes up with the quality of design work for my style and ministry impact wishes than Jon. And he has been and will be a huge reason that my book sharing the story of our Zambia project will come to life as a book this spring. He has created a cover for the book that I simply love...it is even better than I hoped.
Click on this link to see what it looks like and sign up to get updates on the book's progress as we move toward its release in may...this is a pretty exciting and even a bit overwhelming time...
I am glad for people like Jon and his design team to take the publishing journey with me...
www.zambiaprojectbook.com
Click on this link to see what it looks like and sign up to get updates on the book's progress as we move toward its release in may...this is a pretty exciting and even a bit overwhelming time...
I am glad for people like Jon and his design team to take the publishing journey with me...
www.zambiaprojectbook.com
Friday, January 27, 2012
Fighting Social Justice Snobbery By Samantha Bender, ACT:S Fellow
On a day when I am prepping for our clean water event tomorrow and excited to see some cover designs for my book dealing with the topic of social justice, I needed to read this piece of writing from the national ACTS group...in many ways it profoundly exposes the struggle and sin I feel so very often as a self-proclaimed global issues and justice guy...
To whom it may concern,
I’m about to do something I hate doing…I’m going to admit that I was wrong.
I used to pride myself on being the one in my family who “cared about justice”. I was the one demanding my mom buy me fair-trade Christmas presents, or that my aunts gave money to charities instead of birthday presents. I was the girl arguing with anyone who suggested we take a family vacation to a resort on an impoverished island, I was the one who “got it”. Obviously none of those things are evil or wrong. I, however, distorted these good decisions because I felt so superior by ‘caring’ about everything. I knew about every injustice, and I wanted to do something about it. I was the definition of awesome.
While I was a Sophomore in college, strutting around in my “Save Darfur” shirt with my fair-trade coffee, my sister was a junior in high school. Her and her friends began organizing an event called “Mini-Thon”. Mini-Thon was a smaller version of a fundraiser put on every year at Penn State University that raises money for an organization dedicated to fighting and treating childhood cancer. My sister’s heart was broken by a family friend who was suffering from childhood cancer, and she couldn’t rest until she did something about it. They spent the year getting ready for the big event and ended up raising over 75,000 dollars!
Was I ecstatic? Was I so incredibly proud of my sister, or happy that such an awesome organization had been given so much? No. Foolishly, selfishly, I was not. The whole thing felt so “over-done” to me. “Suburban families and housewives raising money for charity… real original,” I remember thinking. My sister told me the amazing news and all I could do was chastise her for wearing a shirt from the Gap, which I added, was inevitably made in sweat-shop. “She just doesn’t care”, I told myself. My Super-Bowl-sized ego could be seen from space.
It’s alright, you’re allowed to hate me.
Eventually, through sheer grace, God was loving enough to kick me in the face. How dare I think that this amazing act of love wasn’t enough? How dare I think I was above it? At the end of the day, how dare I completely slander the name of God?
I’m afraid that more often than not, I’m not alone in this.
I’m afraid that it has been far too easy for us to group ourselves into exclusive clubs, those that “care” about justice, and those that don’t.
All it takes is for a social justice chapter to throw a moderately attended event and suddenly there is an assumption that everyone who wasn’t there could care less about starving children. Frustration from feeling like there isn’t a dent being made transpires into pawning the blame on those who aren’t “trying”. This on-going frustration turns into a strong sense of exclusion, and a belief that we are not only the only ones who care about justice, but the only ones who know how to do it right.
We will become immobile in this fight against injustice the moment we believe we’re better than anyone else. No matter how many campaigns you craft, no matter how many signatures you get, or how many hours you volunteer, Jesus reminds us again and again that we are no better than anyone else. We were all designed to change the world.
You get the picture here.
Today, remember that justice isn’t sexy, it’s not a label, and it’s not some indie band that you “heard of before it was mainstream”, it’s a way of life. Live justly in your actions and you may be shocked by how difficult it is and by how much you can learn from others… even from those who shop at Wal-Mart.
gasp.
With love,
A humbled self-absorbed activist
http://ht.ly/8HE8n
To whom it may concern,
I’m about to do something I hate doing…I’m going to admit that I was wrong.
I used to pride myself on being the one in my family who “cared about justice”. I was the one demanding my mom buy me fair-trade Christmas presents, or that my aunts gave money to charities instead of birthday presents. I was the girl arguing with anyone who suggested we take a family vacation to a resort on an impoverished island, I was the one who “got it”. Obviously none of those things are evil or wrong. I, however, distorted these good decisions because I felt so superior by ‘caring’ about everything. I knew about every injustice, and I wanted to do something about it. I was the definition of awesome.
While I was a Sophomore in college, strutting around in my “Save Darfur” shirt with my fair-trade coffee, my sister was a junior in high school. Her and her friends began organizing an event called “Mini-Thon”. Mini-Thon was a smaller version of a fundraiser put on every year at Penn State University that raises money for an organization dedicated to fighting and treating childhood cancer. My sister’s heart was broken by a family friend who was suffering from childhood cancer, and she couldn’t rest until she did something about it. They spent the year getting ready for the big event and ended up raising over 75,000 dollars!
Was I ecstatic? Was I so incredibly proud of my sister, or happy that such an awesome organization had been given so much? No. Foolishly, selfishly, I was not. The whole thing felt so “over-done” to me. “Suburban families and housewives raising money for charity… real original,” I remember thinking. My sister told me the amazing news and all I could do was chastise her for wearing a shirt from the Gap, which I added, was inevitably made in sweat-shop. “She just doesn’t care”, I told myself. My Super-Bowl-sized ego could be seen from space.
It’s alright, you’re allowed to hate me.
Eventually, through sheer grace, God was loving enough to kick me in the face. How dare I think that this amazing act of love wasn’t enough? How dare I think I was above it? At the end of the day, how dare I completely slander the name of God?
I’m afraid that more often than not, I’m not alone in this.
I’m afraid that it has been far too easy for us to group ourselves into exclusive clubs, those that “care” about justice, and those that don’t.
All it takes is for a social justice chapter to throw a moderately attended event and suddenly there is an assumption that everyone who wasn’t there could care less about starving children. Frustration from feeling like there isn’t a dent being made transpires into pawning the blame on those who aren’t “trying”. This on-going frustration turns into a strong sense of exclusion, and a belief that we are not only the only ones who care about justice, but the only ones who know how to do it right.
We will become immobile in this fight against injustice the moment we believe we’re better than anyone else. No matter how many campaigns you craft, no matter how many signatures you get, or how many hours you volunteer, Jesus reminds us again and again that we are no better than anyone else. We were all designed to change the world.
You get the picture here.
Today, remember that justice isn’t sexy, it’s not a label, and it’s not some indie band that you “heard of before it was mainstream”, it’s a way of life. Live justly in your actions and you may be shocked by how difficult it is and by how much you can learn from others… even from those who shop at Wal-Mart.
gasp.
With love,
A humbled self-absorbed activist
http://ht.ly/8HE8n
Thursday, January 26, 2012
HOOPS for H2O--Year #2
The loedown on our second annual event using basketball to help raise awareness and provide clean water for those with out it in our world today...I love the intersection of athletics and global engagement and change...
HOOPS FOR H2O Event Fact Sheet…Aquinas Game—JAN 28--3pm
A Basketball Event Where Fans and Players Can Provide Clean Water to the Thirsty in our World
*HOOPS for H2O website…this gives all the info about the event and tells people all they need to know…there’s even a link where people can donate online to the cause on this page as well…
http://hoopsforh2o.com/
*Online donation page where friends and family members and students can made a donation to the project…it is super easy…here’s that link…checks can also be made out to Living Water International and sent or given to Chip Huber at Cornerstone University…
http://www.firstgiving.com/hoops4h2o
THE GOAL: If we are able to raise $5,000 we would be able to fully fund the drilling, building, and community training for a well that will directly and immediately help save and improve the lives and futures of hundreds of children and their families in Guatemala!
WHY THIS EVENT IS HAPPENING:
INFO ABOUT THE GLOBAL WATER CRISIS...
Over 1 billion of the world's most vulnerable people in our world lack daily access to safe and clean water, and water-related diseases cost 443 million school days a year. Clean water is the foundation for other forms of development. Without easy access to water that is safe, countless hours are spent in water collection and household income is spent to purchase water and medical treatment for water-related diseases. Safe, clean water removes the single heaviest burden from the lives of the poorest people in our world. Not having to deal with this daily crisis means time for school and work, life and health, and allows individuals and communities to plan for tomorrow.
*To get yourself educated about the water crisis and believe in it yourself… you can check out some of the videos made by Living Water International, our project partner at the following website:
http://www.water.cc/news/videos/
HOOPS FOR H2O Event Fact Sheet…Aquinas Game—JAN 28--3pm
A Basketball Event Where Fans and Players Can Provide Clean Water to the Thirsty in our World
*HOOPS for H2O website…this gives all the info about the event and tells people all they need to know…there’s even a link where people can donate online to the cause on this page as well…
http://hoopsforh2o.com/
*Online donation page where friends and family members and students can made a donation to the project…it is super easy…here’s that link…checks can also be made out to Living Water International and sent or given to Chip Huber at Cornerstone University…
http://www.firstgiving.com/hoops4h2o
THE GOAL: If we are able to raise $5,000 we would be able to fully fund the drilling, building, and community training for a well that will directly and immediately help save and improve the lives and futures of hundreds of children and their families in Guatemala!
WHY THIS EVENT IS HAPPENING:
INFO ABOUT THE GLOBAL WATER CRISIS...
Over 1 billion of the world's most vulnerable people in our world lack daily access to safe and clean water, and water-related diseases cost 443 million school days a year. Clean water is the foundation for other forms of development. Without easy access to water that is safe, countless hours are spent in water collection and household income is spent to purchase water and medical treatment for water-related diseases. Safe, clean water removes the single heaviest burden from the lives of the poorest people in our world. Not having to deal with this daily crisis means time for school and work, life and health, and allows individuals and communities to plan for tomorrow.
*To get yourself educated about the water crisis and believe in it yourself… you can check out some of the videos made by Living Water International, our project partner at the following website:
http://www.water.cc/news/videos/
Thursday, January 19, 2012
10 Leadership Traits...from LeadershipandInfluenceBlog.com
Here's a list suggesting that effective leaders often possess the following ten traits...interesting stuff as we begin the process of soon hiring our student leadership team for the 2012-13 school year across campus...
1. Focused
To lead a team to success, leaders must possess an extraordinary amount of focus. It’s important to eliminate distractions from the work area and to hone in on the key issues at hand. While leaders are often pulled in numerous directions simultaneously, they must be able to retain clear minds and focus on the things that matter.
2. Passionate
It’s possible to teach someone to be a leader, but truly effective leaders are already passionate about what they do. Your enthusiasm and level of commitment can inspire your team members and motivate them to do better work. Modeling the attitude you want each person to have is one of the most effective ways to lead your team toward a successful destination.
3. Assertive
As a leader, you have requirements for your team and goals that must be fulfilled. When team members aren’t meeting expectations, a leader must feel comfortable being assertive. Assertive leaders are firm and bold, unafraid to go after what they want. Such a level of certainty and confidence will serve both you and your team well as you tackle larger challenges and go after new goals.
4. Decisive
Leaders are often called on to make big decisions, so it’s also important for you to be decisive. Of course, a decisive leader should never be confused with an impulsive one. A decisive leader carefully weighs the potential effects of each option and chooses the opportunity that works best for his or her team. To be decisive, you must also feel comfortable taking responsibility for the results of your choice.
5. Empowering
Supporting your team is one of the best ways to encourage members to perform well. Empower each individual by making it clear that you trust his or her judgment. Give people the authority they need to do their jobs well and show them an appropriate level of respect.
6. Confident
Successful leaders are confident in their own abilities and decisions. If you want other people to believe in your capability as a leader, you must first believe in yourself. While you should make sure your confidence isn’t perceived as arrogance, there’s nothing wrong with feeling a strong sense of certainty about your choices.
7. Communicative
Always keep your team informed about what’s going on. All too often, leaders leave their team members out of important discussions and meetings. A lack of communication promotes the spread of false information and resentment among your team members.
8. Self-Aware
It can be tough to retain a strong sense of yourself and the way you appear to others, but focus on being self-aware. Consider your strengths and weaknesses as objectively as possible and don’t be afraid to ask for feedback on your performance.
9. Humble
Effective leaders are down-to-earth and easy to relate with. People feel more comfortable connecting with a leader who is humble and compassionate. Strive to understand where other people are coming from and keep a healthy, grounded perspective on your own achievements.
10. Honest
Finally, effective leaders are honest. Be upfront with your team members and trust them enough to communicate openly and authentically together. It’s important to build a level of mutual trust within your team so that each person feels comfortable addressing his or her concerns with you.
http://www.leadershipandinfluenceblog.com/10-traits-of-effective-leaders/#more-343
1. Focused
To lead a team to success, leaders must possess an extraordinary amount of focus. It’s important to eliminate distractions from the work area and to hone in on the key issues at hand. While leaders are often pulled in numerous directions simultaneously, they must be able to retain clear minds and focus on the things that matter.
2. Passionate
It’s possible to teach someone to be a leader, but truly effective leaders are already passionate about what they do. Your enthusiasm and level of commitment can inspire your team members and motivate them to do better work. Modeling the attitude you want each person to have is one of the most effective ways to lead your team toward a successful destination.
3. Assertive
As a leader, you have requirements for your team and goals that must be fulfilled. When team members aren’t meeting expectations, a leader must feel comfortable being assertive. Assertive leaders are firm and bold, unafraid to go after what they want. Such a level of certainty and confidence will serve both you and your team well as you tackle larger challenges and go after new goals.
4. Decisive
Leaders are often called on to make big decisions, so it’s also important for you to be decisive. Of course, a decisive leader should never be confused with an impulsive one. A decisive leader carefully weighs the potential effects of each option and chooses the opportunity that works best for his or her team. To be decisive, you must also feel comfortable taking responsibility for the results of your choice.
5. Empowering
Supporting your team is one of the best ways to encourage members to perform well. Empower each individual by making it clear that you trust his or her judgment. Give people the authority they need to do their jobs well and show them an appropriate level of respect.
6. Confident
Successful leaders are confident in their own abilities and decisions. If you want other people to believe in your capability as a leader, you must first believe in yourself. While you should make sure your confidence isn’t perceived as arrogance, there’s nothing wrong with feeling a strong sense of certainty about your choices.
7. Communicative
Always keep your team informed about what’s going on. All too often, leaders leave their team members out of important discussions and meetings. A lack of communication promotes the spread of false information and resentment among your team members.
8. Self-Aware
It can be tough to retain a strong sense of yourself and the way you appear to others, but focus on being self-aware. Consider your strengths and weaknesses as objectively as possible and don’t be afraid to ask for feedback on your performance.
9. Humble
Effective leaders are down-to-earth and easy to relate with. People feel more comfortable connecting with a leader who is humble and compassionate. Strive to understand where other people are coming from and keep a healthy, grounded perspective on your own achievements.
10. Honest
Finally, effective leaders are honest. Be upfront with your team members and trust them enough to communicate openly and authentically together. It’s important to build a level of mutual trust within your team so that each person feels comfortable addressing his or her concerns with you.
http://www.leadershipandinfluenceblog.com/10-traits-of-effective-leaders/#more-343
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Post-Missions Cynicism By Curt Devine—REJECT APATHY MAGAZINE
Here's a great article I gave to my recent team as we just finished our time in the DR this J-Term...great perspective and helpful thoughts in moving us forward from the amazing resource REJECT APATHY magazine's latest edition...
As I step into the church, bass booms against my chest. Neon lights reflect off the worship leader’s guitar as he sings, “There is no one like our God”—with Auto-Tune. As the song builds, my friend turns to me and says: “Doesn’t this sound amazing? They just spent $300,000 on a new sound system.”
I’m in an American megachurch, yet I can’t help but think about the Third World churches I visited this year—the ones with one Bible, no electricity and a lot of passion. Even though I want to worship, I only feel bitterness. This past year, I went on the World Race, an 11-month missions trip to 11 countries in Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe. While I love being home with hot showers and cold air-conditioning, the transition has been rough. I can’t help but judge friends who drop $100 on a night out, thinking, “That could feed the homeless boy I met in Tanzania for a year,” or think I’m better than the Lexus driver because my Grand Am is barely worth $1,000. Coming off the missions field can bring on all sorts of emotions from culture shock to loneliness to helplessness. But one of the most common and potentially insidious post-mission tendencies is to become a bitter, America-hating cynic. My first day home, I went to the grocery store and found myself overwhelmed in the cereal aisle with its endless array of General Mills cartoons. We can choose from more than 50 types of deodorant, 115 kinds of toothpaste and 1,000 channels on TV.
The conflict between excess at home and scarcity abroad is a lot to handle. The temptation can be to hate America’s abundance, or forget the poverty overseas and go back to life the way it was before. The key is living within the tension. As Christy Vidrine says in her book Unearth, “There is a balance between the humility of scarcity and the peace within excess.”
James, the brother of Jesus, writes that every good gift and every perfect gift comes down from above. Therefore, the first response we should have to the excess around us is thankfulness. God has given us food, water, shopping malls and Venti Mocha Frappuccinos, even though we don’t deserve them.
Our second response should be wise stewardship. I once heard a friend say she has a closet overflowing with clothes, yet she complains she has nothing to wear. This reminded me of Jesus’ parable in which a ruler gives varying amounts of money to his servants. Some make wise investments and use the money well, while one hides his share in the ground. The master returns and reprimands the servant for doing nothing. If we have full closets, stocked refrigerators or fat bank accounts, we should look for wise opportunities to give to others and encourage friends and family to do the same.
Another important fact to remember is the grass is always greener on the other side. When my team did ministry in Iringa, Tanzania, we partnered with a young teacher named Peter who was a little overexcited about America. He told us: “I’m so happy to be with a team from the U.S.A. I love American churches. One day I will go to America and learn so much about God!”
I stared at him in disbelief, thinking, Does he really think America has more of God than Africa? I told him most of my friends couldn’t wait to come to Africa to experience more of God’s presence. He didn’t understand. The truth is, we are all guilty of this way of thinking. The misconception most of us buy into says community, miracles and true passion only exist in the Third World. On the other hand, much of the Third World believes effective ministry only happens with lots of money and high-tech resources. Jesus says something completely different. In Luke 17, He teaches His disciples not to listen to people who say, “Here it is” or, “There it is,” referring to the Kingdom of heaven. Rather, He says, “The Kingdom of God is in your midst.” Experiencing God’s presence has nothing to do with where you are and everything to do with how you live with those around you. Every country poses its unique problems for those seeking God. In Ukraine, alcoholism is rampant. In Thailand, the sex industry plagues hundreds of thousands. In Tanzania, theft and crime create serious problems. Every country uniquely needs God’s grace, but the good news is He faithfully pours it out on those who seek Him, no matter the place or time.
Whether you’ve experienced extreme poverty or you simply want a change in your life, here are a few questions to ask yourself:
If you had all the time and resources to make an impact, what would you do?
Now, with the limited resources you do have, what impact can you have on your local community?
What small steps can you take toward making a global change?
America is not your enemy; it’s another opportunity. You don’t have to wait for a missions trip to experience God and share His love. The adventure isn’t over just because you’re home.
http://rejectapathy.com/magazine/archives/issue-02/statements/26152-post-missions-cynicism
As I step into the church, bass booms against my chest. Neon lights reflect off the worship leader’s guitar as he sings, “There is no one like our God”—with Auto-Tune. As the song builds, my friend turns to me and says: “Doesn’t this sound amazing? They just spent $300,000 on a new sound system.”
I’m in an American megachurch, yet I can’t help but think about the Third World churches I visited this year—the ones with one Bible, no electricity and a lot of passion. Even though I want to worship, I only feel bitterness. This past year, I went on the World Race, an 11-month missions trip to 11 countries in Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe. While I love being home with hot showers and cold air-conditioning, the transition has been rough. I can’t help but judge friends who drop $100 on a night out, thinking, “That could feed the homeless boy I met in Tanzania for a year,” or think I’m better than the Lexus driver because my Grand Am is barely worth $1,000. Coming off the missions field can bring on all sorts of emotions from culture shock to loneliness to helplessness. But one of the most common and potentially insidious post-mission tendencies is to become a bitter, America-hating cynic. My first day home, I went to the grocery store and found myself overwhelmed in the cereal aisle with its endless array of General Mills cartoons. We can choose from more than 50 types of deodorant, 115 kinds of toothpaste and 1,000 channels on TV.
The conflict between excess at home and scarcity abroad is a lot to handle. The temptation can be to hate America’s abundance, or forget the poverty overseas and go back to life the way it was before. The key is living within the tension. As Christy Vidrine says in her book Unearth, “There is a balance between the humility of scarcity and the peace within excess.”
James, the brother of Jesus, writes that every good gift and every perfect gift comes down from above. Therefore, the first response we should have to the excess around us is thankfulness. God has given us food, water, shopping malls and Venti Mocha Frappuccinos, even though we don’t deserve them.
Our second response should be wise stewardship. I once heard a friend say she has a closet overflowing with clothes, yet she complains she has nothing to wear. This reminded me of Jesus’ parable in which a ruler gives varying amounts of money to his servants. Some make wise investments and use the money well, while one hides his share in the ground. The master returns and reprimands the servant for doing nothing. If we have full closets, stocked refrigerators or fat bank accounts, we should look for wise opportunities to give to others and encourage friends and family to do the same.
Another important fact to remember is the grass is always greener on the other side. When my team did ministry in Iringa, Tanzania, we partnered with a young teacher named Peter who was a little overexcited about America. He told us: “I’m so happy to be with a team from the U.S.A. I love American churches. One day I will go to America and learn so much about God!”
I stared at him in disbelief, thinking, Does he really think America has more of God than Africa? I told him most of my friends couldn’t wait to come to Africa to experience more of God’s presence. He didn’t understand. The truth is, we are all guilty of this way of thinking. The misconception most of us buy into says community, miracles and true passion only exist in the Third World. On the other hand, much of the Third World believes effective ministry only happens with lots of money and high-tech resources. Jesus says something completely different. In Luke 17, He teaches His disciples not to listen to people who say, “Here it is” or, “There it is,” referring to the Kingdom of heaven. Rather, He says, “The Kingdom of God is in your midst.” Experiencing God’s presence has nothing to do with where you are and everything to do with how you live with those around you. Every country poses its unique problems for those seeking God. In Ukraine, alcoholism is rampant. In Thailand, the sex industry plagues hundreds of thousands. In Tanzania, theft and crime create serious problems. Every country uniquely needs God’s grace, but the good news is He faithfully pours it out on those who seek Him, no matter the place or time.
Whether you’ve experienced extreme poverty or you simply want a change in your life, here are a few questions to ask yourself:
If you had all the time and resources to make an impact, what would you do?
Now, with the limited resources you do have, what impact can you have on your local community?
What small steps can you take toward making a global change?
America is not your enemy; it’s another opportunity. You don’t have to wait for a missions trip to experience God and share His love. The adventure isn’t over just because you’re home.
http://rejectapathy.com/magazine/archives/issue-02/statements/26152-post-missions-cynicism
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)