Category: Podcast

This piece was originally published at Patheos on February 25, 2013.

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Is justice the latest Evangelical church growth technique or tool? Do people find it sexy and cool to be associated with justice issues? Is the justice movement a fad or is it truly long-lasting? We need to guard against cynicism on the one hand and a superficial approach to justice on the other hand. I hold out hope for this new justice movement to the extent that we build on the shoulders of Jesus and righteous elders who have gone before us. Their just lives are not sexy, but they are beautiful.

One of the most memorable moments from The Justice Conference in Portland last year was the opening prayer given by my friend and mentor, African American pastor Dr. LeRoy Haynes, Jr. Dr. Haynes opened the conference with a prayer that opened the heavens and my heart. He has given his life to fighting injustices and for bearing witness to Jesus’ justice revolution, as he untiringly addresses systemic racism and poverty in our society today. His story may not be known in many Evangelical circles, but it is by no means a passing fad. He had marched with Dr. King and had been imprisoned during the civil rights movement. As a youth, he would go to jail for civil rights protests on Fridays and get out in time for classes on Mondays. Now an elderly man, he’s still engaged in the march for justice. It’s not a sprint; it’s a marathon race for him.

Dr. John M. Perkins has also given his life for justice. Years ago, I heard my friend and mentor share a significant snapshot of his life story of struggling for justice in the face of the demonic forces of racism and poverty to a very diverse audience at a secular university. After his talk, as people mingled in the lobby, I heard one young man say to a friend, “When Christianity is lived out that way, it’s better than sex.” A just life isn’t sexy, but it is beautiful.

At the close of this year’s Justice Conference in Philadelphia, Lynn Hybels exhorted all of us gathered for the event to build on the work of those who have gone before us, like Dr. Perkins. She graciously warned us to move forward with humility and fear and trembling, as we spend our lives in identifying with those on the margins. She asked Dr. Perkins to share closing words and then pray for everyone gathered at the conference. As the elderly African American saint prayed, he poured the love and passion of his deep soul into the auditorium. More than mere words, he prayed with his life blood that we would go forward and even lead the way. To do so, we will need to have the same perspective and live the same kind of life that he has lived: walking the talk and speaking and living with the authority of obeying Jesus in caring for those in the margins from the margins over many years. If we do, we can be assured that our just lives and justice movement will endure long after it has lost its seeming sex appeal. Only then will we experience how beautiful justice really is.

I’m at The Justice Conference in Philadelphia this week. I wrote a series of posts several months ago reflecting on themes related to the pre-conference session “Sustaining a Justice Movement: how did John M. Perkins, Mother Teresa, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer do it?” which I will be leading on today at 9am. I’m going to reprint those pieces this week in hopes that we might all be thinking through these matters together. If you will be in Philly, I hope you’ll come to my session! If not, I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments, on Twitter, or on Facebook. Hope to see you at The Justice Conference!

How to Sustain Jesus’ Justice Movement, Part 4

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“We can’t do this alone.” These were the sentiments of my former student and her husband, who moved from Portland to Minneapolis/St. Paul to be involved in a community focused on addressing poverty while taking the vow of simplicty themselves.

How do you sustain a justice movement? Stay crazy. But it’s hard to stay crazy if you don’t live among beautifully crazy people who share the same values and who will inspire you and hold you accountable.

Hopefully, your accountability partners include some people who have been at it a while. My former student would let you know that you need crazy people who are also very wise. She and her husband knew they needed help. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Their justice movement would only last for a few days, if they didn’t connect with people with shared vision who had been at this work a lot longer than they had. Not those shock jocks and celebrities who talk a good talk, but people who had walked the walk a very long time, who had lived it out and had slugged it out with poverty, bearing wounds of loss and grief, while sharing life with and living among the poor.

You and I cannot do it alone. Whatever the justice initiative that we are aligned with, we need to make sure that we are aligned with other like-minded crazy people. Such people will include those who have been at it a good long while and who will help us put down solid foundations so as to build a house of justice that will withstand the storms of life that would beat us down and cause us to abandon the work.

A lot of people start out well and end poorly. They no longer care for the poor, the orphan, the widow, and the stranger in their distress. Disillusionment is one of the worst forms of poverty. People who end poorly often say that they used to be crazy and embraced the ideals my former student now embodies until they got wise and learned to play it safe. They thought they could do it alone. They should have known better. My former student knows better. She and her husband know that to conquer such foolish talk they must invest in a community that is rich in integrity and wisdom. Only then will they remain beautifully crazy through the years. Stay crazy and stay close to those who’ve gone before you. Finish strong.