Activist Faith

I was honored to find a blogger quoting my book Not in My Town in a recent post on standing against modern slavery. What surprised me was that the part that stood out to this writer were the “What if” questions I posed toward the end of my writing. In challenging Christians to stand up and get involved with this issue, I wrote:

• What if every church in America started a ministry to help stop modern slavery?
• What if every major college had an organization to fight human trafficking?
• What if every major Christian denomination and organization made it a top priority to end global slavery?
• What if in five years, when people ask who are the ones working the hardest to stop slavery, the first answer to come to mind was Christians?

What I realized is that while some people focus on fixing problems, many (myself included) are fueled by the potential of “What if.” What if people of faith rose to the challenges of the times with beliefs and actions that truly altered the future of our world?

In reality, many are. Some are serving in inner city schools to influence children at greatest risk. Others serve in countries where speaking of Jesus has serious personal consequences, including death. Some are digging wells where thousands live without access to clean water. Some pray, others raise funding for those on the front lines. It all matters, both now and eternally.

Ultimately, I believe we all want to live a “no regret” life. What is often lacking is the challenge to go for it. So if you’re reading these words today, whether on a screen, a phone, a tablet, or anywhere else, this is your challenge. What are you passionate about? What problems do you see? What could you do to change what you see?

You can’t do it all, but you can start small. Do something. Change the world. Begin with “What if.”

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DILLON BURROUGHS is an author, activist, and co-founder of Activist Faith. Dillon served in Haiti following the epic 2010 earthquake and has investigated modern slavery in the US and internationally. His books include Thirst No More, Undefending Christianity, and Not in My Town (with Charles J. Powell). Discover more at ActivistFaith.org.

 

Last night I spoke with a group of college students about modern slavery and human trafficking in America. After my presentation, a friend of mine asked how it turned out. I told him, “The women were all ready to start aftercare centers for trafficking victims and the guys were all ready to blow something up!”

The problem with addressing human trafficking is not getting people fired up about it; it’s finding constructive ways to help. The same is often true of other areas where our faith applies. It’s easier to express anger than to create positive change.

My challenge to students last night regarding trafficking is my challenge to you. Find an area that makes you angry and then study it. Discover what is causing the problem and the underlying factors involved. As you do, you’ll find helpful, non-violent ways to change the situation. THEN act. Do something. The world is waiting for you to do as my friend Charles says: “Don’t watch the news. Do something that makes the news.”

Or as Jesus said, “Go and do likewise.”

To learn more about what some Christians are doing to stand against human trafficking and modern slavery in America, see MercyMovement.com.

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DILLON BURROUGHS is an author, activist, and co-founder of Activist Faith. Dillon served in Haiti following the epic 2010 earthquake and has investigated modern slavery in the US and internationally. His books include Thirst No More, Undefending Christianity, and Not in My Town (with Charles J. Powell). Discover more at ActivistFaith.org.

Some time ago, CNN’s Belief Blog noted the rise in older Americans returning to seminary for education. Comparing the trend to Dennis Quaid’s role in “The Rookie,” it questioned the pros and cons of returning to school at an older age, especially in one’s retirement years.

One wonderful aspect of this trend stands out–Christians are called to lifelong learning. There is no point at which a person “graduates” from spirituality. Personally, I see the return to education by Baby Boomers as a wonderful shift from the dated perspective that taught the three phases of life: learning years, earning years, and yearning years.

Instead, we see life is much more interconnected, with earning, learning, and yearning all overlapping in various ways. Teenagers need time to reflect, Boomers need to keep learning, and all of us apparently need to keep earning considering the current state of the economy.

All that to say this: never stop learning. Whether you are pursuing a degree or dream, life is meant to be live as a continual growth process. Go back to school, take a class, attend a workshop, buy a book, join a group. But never, never stop learning.

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DILLON
BURROUGHS is an author, activist, and co-founder of Activist Faith.
Dillon served in Haiti following the epic 2010 earthquake and has
investigated modern slavery in the US and internationally. His books
include Undefending Christianity, Not in My Town (with Charles J.
Powell), and Thirst No More . Discover more at DillonBurroughs.org.

According to a new research project by Baylor researcher Aaron Franzen, those who read the Bible are found to be more concerned about today’s social change issues, including social and economic justice.

As mentioned by David Briggs today at Huffington Post:

In many cases, Franzen found frequency of Bible reading was one of the most powerful predictors of attitudes on moral and political issues. Consider some of the findings:

• The likelihood of Christians saying it is important to actively seek social and economic justice to be a good person increased 39 percent with each jump up the ladder of the frequency of reading Scripture, from reading the Bible less than once a year to no more than once a month to about weekly to several times a week or more.
• Christian respondents overall were 27 percent more likely to say it is important to consume or use fewer goods to be a good person as they became more frequent Bible readers.
• Reading the Bible more often also was linked to improved attitudes toward science. Respondents were 22 percent less likely to view religion and science as incompatible at each step toward more frequent Bible reading.
• The issues seemed to matter more than conservative-liberal tags. In the case of another major public policy debate, same-sex unions, nearly half of respondents who read the Bible less than once a year said homosexuals should be allowed to marry, while only 6 percent of people who read the Bible several times a week or more approved of such marriages.

Among other issues, more frequent Bible readers also were more likely to oppose legalized abortion, the death penalty, harsher punishment of criminals and expanding the federal government’s authority to fight terrorism.

All that to say, the stereotype of Bible readers as uncaring conservatives is not accurate, something I regularly find in my personal experiences with people who love God and live what they believe.

When people feel compelled to help change the world, reading the Bible is usually not the first idea that comes to mind. But for those who desire to create change that impacts both now and eternity, it is essential reading.

In fact, many of today’s hospitals, universities, social service organizations, schools, children’s homes, nursing homes, and facilities for those with disabilities in the U.S. were founded by Christians. Why? In many cases, they were influenced by reading or learning biblical concepts that prompted them to do something to help others.

If you feel you are lacking inspiration or are just seeking a little guidance along the way, take a fresh look at the New Testament Gospels or other portions of Scripture to read how Jesus and other faithful leaders made an impact we can learn from still today.

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DILLON BURROUGHS is an author, activist, and co-founder of Activist Faith. Dillon served in Haiti following the epic 2010 earthquake and has investigated modern slavery in the US and internationally. His books include Undefending Christianity, Not in My Town (with Charles J. Powell), and Thirst No More (November). Discover more at ActivistFaith.org