Sponsored by The Renewal Project, this conference provided information and challenges to local churches to get out of the church and into the community. Speakers included Gary Haugen of International Justice Mission and Pastor Mark Labberton of 1st Presbyterian Church of Berkeley. I attended this conference with the goal of learning more about what other churches are doing to promote compassion and justice in their communities. I must admit, I went to the conference full of hope and joy. The week before, New Life had signed contracts to sponsor two new church plants, and we'd approved and committed ourselves to serving refugees here in San Jose through a partnership with Catholic Charities. What a wonderful backdrop to have as I went to Pleasant Hill to learn how to weave these new projects into the fabric of our church community!There were so many ideas and words of encouragement from all of the speakers, but I want to share just a bit from the two keynote speakers, Gary Haugen and Mark Labberton.Gary Haugen started International Justice Mission in 1994. IJM has a four-fold mission:- Victim rescue
- Victim aftercare
- Perpetrator accountability
- Structural prevention
They have been incredibly courageous and successful over the years rescuing individuals and families from unspeakable circumstances. But what they have also done is to raise awareness in the west and in the U.S. in particular to the world that exists outside of the comfortable, affluent circumstances so many of us live in. For those churches that step out and seek to make a difference in the world, Gary finds three lessons that we must keep in mind and follow:- Biblical Conviction - there must be teaching from the pulpit and within the community that brings justice back to its Biblical roots.
- Geography - programs that are successful focus on a specific place of service so that energies can be channeled and congregations get a concrete picture of the needs and how to meet them.
- Community - Compassion and justice must involve everyone to the extent they are able. It cannot be franchised out to just 3 or 4 committed individuals.
Mark Labberton built on Gary's discussion by talking about the absolute need for churches to understand the relationship of worship to justice. Speaking from Isaiah 58, Pastor Labberton explained that justice is the enactment of God's love in the world and that real worship reflects the character of God in the world. For those of us who won the "birth lottery" and find ourselves living in comfort and security in the west, doing justice saves us from our own tiny, myopic world and from the selfishness of "consumer worship".
Expanding on this theme, Pastor Labberton challenged us to consider justice within the long trajectory of worship, that reflecting the reality of God is the long-term purpose of our lives.
I hope to share with you soon the audio recordings from the conference as they are available. If you'd like to learn more about The Renewal Project, please visit http://www.renewalproject.org.
Blessings, Andrea
