Justice Part I

Since last November I've had justice on my mind. It's taken different forms - the Caregiver Kit project, researching fair trade with my small group, reading whatever I can get my hands on to get a better grasp on how to balance social justice within all that I've been learning on prayer and holiness, and learning more about Africa and the many layered crisis there.

The first book I read was Pete Greig's "Awakening Cry". The book traces the historical patterns of revival and ties it in with what we know of God's character and intent for our relationship with Him. The book was amazing for that, and then I got to the chapter on social justice. I have always had a heart for social justice, but I never really understood exactly why. Greig ties together revival and social justice as inseparable. He says that if you're praying and preparing for revival, you can't separate that from working for social justice. Revolutionary.

I feel like there's a whole library of materials I still need to read. Where to turn next?

My current crisis is just being overwhelmed. The Caregiver Kit project is a nice start to mobilize and educate the church, but it's a really short term project. The more I read about the crisis in Africa, the more overwhelmed I feel. Like this article. How can I read this stuff without screaming? And watching the movie Amazing Grace didn't help much. How did Wilberforce do it? And I'm no Wilberforce. How do you take on the huge issues of our world?

I'm praying for guidance, vision and next steps. I'm also praying for what I'm going to say to my church on Sunday to build on the momentum on the AIDS/Africa issue.

Any advice?

Quote of the Day

I'm reading a really great book called "Awakening Cry" by Pete Greig (yes, it's the same guy who wrote Red Moon Rising). This book was written before the start of the 24/7 prayer movement and the subtitle pretty much explains it "Once again God is commissioning reivivalists, reformers and rebels for the ultimate cause". It goes through the history of past revivals (including many in New England, which was cool to read) and talks about what needs to be in place for revival. I wouldn't recommend this book to everyone - I think you have to be in the right place to read it.

I was reading the chapter on Radical Holiness and was really challenged by the high standard that we're called to. He talked about experiences of others in this area, his own experiences and the example of Jesus. Out of that comes this fantastic quote:

Holiness, it should be noted, is rarely synonymous with respectability.

Think about that for a few minutes...... What we think of as holy is often not all that holy. Radical holiness may be a call outside what is "church acceptable".

This cuts particularly close to home after the study I did from May to November on the Sermon on the Mount. All that looks holy isn't.

What do you think about the quote? Does it push you? Make you mad? Make you nod in agreement?

Top Twenty Books

A blog I regularly read had a top list of their favorite Christian books. It got me thinking. I don't have the brainpower to completely rank them, but here's a list:

1. Red Moon Rising - Pete Greig
2. The Vision/The Vow - Pete Greig
3. The Divine Conspiracy - Dallas Willard
4. The Cost of Discipleship - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
5. Velvet Elvis - Rob Bell
6. The Barbarian Way - Erwin McManus
7. Captivating - John and Stasi Eldredge
8. Kingdoms in Conflict - Charles Colson
9. Bono: In Conversation with Michka Assayas
10. Life Together - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
11. The Way I Was Made - Chris Tomlin
12. I Am Not but I Know I AM - Louis Giglio
13. Too Busy Not to Pray - Bill Hybels
14. Wild at Heart - John Eldredge
15. Making Life Work - Bill Hybels
16-20. clearly I need to be doing more reading.....

Please note that this list is severely limited because it only contains books that I've read (and would put on a top list of Christian books). I think the next task is the books I still need to read both those staring at me from my bookshelf and those I don't have yet! Making the list definitely made me realize how little I've read and how much I've read that I couldn't recommend.