April 22, 2008

The Church & Earth Day

Today's Earth Day and Jason Boyett reminds us that the church can still care about creation. He points to Tri Robinson, a pastor who wrote the book Saving God's Green Earth. The book is all about why the church should care about the environment and includes examples of things Robinson's church has done. The book's web site features a number of resources and may give you some ideas for how your church can be more eco-friendly.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:01 PM
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April 17, 2008

Just Ideas: Make That Coffee Fair Trade

This is part four of a four-part series called "Just Ideas," looking at ways your church can commit itself to fighting for justice and righteousness in the society around you.

The Presbyterians like their sweatshop-free shirts, and the Episcopalians have another idea for you to seek justice. Fair trade coffee. Here's how they describe it on their site:

A growing number of congregations and individuals are buying fair-trade, organic, shade-grown coffee. This means coffee growers in developing countries receive a fair wage for their product, which is grown in an environmentally friendly and sustainable fashion.

So when you're hanging out before and after church, drinking coffee and talking with your friends, what's that cup of joe supporting? Heck, maybe when someone is visiting your church, they'll take a sip of that cup, think about what you're doing and decide they want to be part of something like that.

When we support the economics and fairness of coffee growers around the world, we make a statement about Christ's love for those people and our love for those that Christ loves.

A Google search for "Fair trade coffee" will be your best friend as you start your search for a steamy cup of justice.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:18 AM
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April 16, 2008

Just Ideas: Be A Home for the Homeless

This is part three of a four-part series called "Just Ideas," looking at ways your church can commit itself to fighting for justice and righteousness in the society around you.

A while back, we covered a piece of satire discussing churches as a rotating homeless shelter. One of the most encouraging parts of the post (as the original link was a little discouraging) was the response in the comments. So many people have already been part of something like this or heard of something like this.

If you were to join with some other local churches, you could certainly share the burden of this and become a local network in support of local needs. If you could find ten or fifteen churches, you could give the homeless a roof every night in a month by just donating two or three nights yourself.

It puts minimal strain on church resources to be a homeless shelter for two days a month, yet it gets tons of people in your doors (in the shape of those experiencing homelessness and those looking to serve) who wouldn't normally attend. From a marketing standpoint, folks will see that you care about people, and everyone wants to be a part of that. Not to mention Jesus was homeless, so you surely get some extra bling on your heavenly mansion for that.

Check out a story of one church that did this for some inspiration. And in the comments, we'd still love to hear stories of churches doing this or thinking of taking the plunge.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 8:02 AM
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April 14, 2008

Just Ideas: Give Blood, Give Life

This is part two of a four-part series called "Just Ideas," looking at ways your church can commit itself to fighting for justice and righteousness in the society around you.

Tons of churches do blood drives. It's a great idea and a simple way to help out people in need--not to mention free juice and cookies (and Chick-fil-a coupons in my neck of the woods).

Your church is probably just as big a fan of saving lives as the next guy, so if you aren't already sponsoring blood drives or hosting them at your church, then get on it! It's a great way to save lives and let your community know you care. The thing about people is that if they feel like you want them to be alive, they're a lot more likely to listen to you.

The Seventh-Day Adventists of Australia had a marketing campaign this year called "ucan2." The premise is simple: Jesus gave his blood during the Easter season for us, you can too. They encouraged all their members to give blood in the lead-up to Easter to celebrate what Christ did for us. It's a great marketing campaign with a great cause behind it.

If you're interested, the Red Cross is a great place to start, as they provide resources to tell you how to sponsor a blood drive.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:52 AM
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April 10, 2008

Just Ideas: Buying Sweatshop-Free

This is part one of a four-part series called "Just Ideas," looking at ways the church can commit itself to fighting for justice and righteousness in the society around them.

Think sweatshops died out before the turn of the millennium? Think again. Many companies are still producing goods in conditions that are less than fair. The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 helped out some, but then globalization led to a rebirth of sweatshops in the 90s and 00s. So here we are today.

For some, buying sweatshop-free is a matter of conviction; they feel there is no other just alternative. For others, the additional cost of buying sweatshop-free is better used elsewhere. But every single church should at least be opening a dialogue about their clothing and where it's coming from.

The Presbyterian Church takes an official stand on sweatshop-free clothing, helping congregations buy sweatshop-free and offering "hands-on options for congregations to participate in the global economy in faithful, just and responsible ways."

Continue reading "Just Ideas: Buying Sweatshop-Free"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 4:24 PM
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April 9, 2008

Chasing Justice with Mark Van Steenwyk

More and more churches are trying to do the right thing, beyond simple evangelism. They're reimagining everything they do and each step in their processes to see if they're glorifying God.

We're huge advocates of this process, and we want churches to seek integrity in every single thing they do. To celebrate this journey, we're launching a new category today, called simply Social Justice. We've got a few entries coming your way to get our momentum up and running, and we're going to start off by talking with Mark Van Steenwyk. He's a leading face in the "New Monasticism" movement, so check out what he has to say about the church's movement towards justice:

Mark, thanks for doing the interview. Why don't you go ahead and let us know a little bit about who you are.

Mark: I'm 32, married to Amy (coming up on 11 years of marriage) and our first kid is due April 1 [Editor's Note: Their first son was born in late March--Congrats Mark!]. I'm a Mennonite pastor, and my community Missio Dei sorta fits into the "New Monasticism" movement. A handful of us live in a community house together, most of us live within a couple miles of each other. Our rhythm of life together includes a Sunday evening gathering, a Wednesday evening hospitality meal, a urban community garden, and a Saturday afternoon meal in the park (that we call the "hospitality train"--you can find out more on our web site). Some of us also work and volunteer in the neighborhood. We're also exploring prayer rhythms together. We have a book of morning and evening prayers that we published (called the Missio Dei Breviary). The folks in our community house are trying to pray every evening together through our prayer book, and we encourage all folks in Missio Dei to pray the breviary morning and evenings.

Continue reading "Chasing Justice with Mark Van Steenwyk"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 1:45 PM
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