Curt Campbell works for the Men of Valor prison ministry as the Jericho Project Coordinator. He spends his days inside the prison overseeing the other staff members and working with the men themselves. When we did these interviews, I was extremely impressed with Curt’s insightfulness into the way we think about doing work for God and the way it can impact prisons in the US. More importantly, he talked about the idea of doing “just enough” versus really getting seriously involved (and thereby getting seriously inconvenienced) through serving others. It hit me between the eyes and I thought, ‘yep, I’m guilty of that.’ If you’d like to see the entire Seek Social Justice lesson that features Curt and the Men of Valor ministry, watch Working Toward Justice here.
The fifth lesson in the Seek Social Justice series is probably the most sobering. We traveled to Orange County, California to explore the story of Shyima Hall, an Egyptian girl who at age 8 was sold by her parents into slavery. She was brought to the US by her Egyptian owners and kept as a housemaid for almost two years before being rescued. It is a moving story about how our state and federal agencies work with the non-profit and private sectors to ensure that individuals have the chance to live in freedom. This is something that is easy for us to forget: it is only the enforcement of good laws based on Christian principles that enables us to live in a society in which social justice can actually happen. [click to continue…]
Work is an important and sometimes overlooked aspect of social justice. As Genesis 2 tells us, God ordained work as part of the essential makeup of men and women. Work is a good thing; without it, both men and women (and especially men) cannot do what God created them to do. Whether by choice or lack of opportunity, not working is a deficit that wreaks destruction psychologically, spiritually, and economically: our inner cities and the criminal element that emerges has direct connections to issues of work. The fourth lesson in the Seek Social Justice series therefore focuses on work, and particularly at the way Men of Valor prison ministry changes incarcerated men “from takers to givers in society.” [click to continue…]
One of the highlights of producing Seek Social Justice was the opportunity to interview Dr. Albert Mohler, President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Dr. Mohler is one of the great intellects of modern Christendom and consistently pushes against the prevailing culture. In this excerpt from his longer interview, he discusses how we must always look first to God and His revelation in the Bible as we go about seeking social justice. You can see more extended comments from Dr. Mohler about the role of the church in Lesson 3: The Loving Justice of First Baptist Church Leesburg.
It was a listener’s delight to interview Dr. Charles Roesel for the Seek Social Justice series. He is one of the most straight-shooting, call-it-like-it-is, this-is-the-truth-whether-you-like-it-or-not pastors I’ve ever heard. Moreover, almost everything he says is packed down tight with Biblical insight and wisdom. In this selection from his longer interview (which contains countless gems), he [...]
As part of our ongoing introduction to Seek Social Justice (the free small group study that will be released later this month), I’m pleased to show you the full documentary lesson on the role of the church in pursuing social justice. The Heritage Foundation (our partner in producing SSJ) recommended First Baptist Church Leesburg as [...]
I always felt that local sources were a better way to address problems of poverty than long-distance solutions, but Rudy Carrasco really helped me understand the why behind it. He provides the expert commentary for Seek Social Justice: Lesson 2 – “The Power of Family and Friends.” In another part of his interview, he talks [...]
As a followup to our post on Seek Social Justice Lesson 2: “The Power of Family and Friends,” I wanted to include some additional comments by Mike Fechner, the President and Founder of H.I.S. BridgeBuilders. In this segment, Mike talks about the kind of living that God wants from us in terms of building relationships with those who [...]
Here’s a preview of one of my favorite lessons in the new Seek Social Justice series. I think it’s the children that do it for me – they’re very funny. We shot this in Dallas, Texas with a fascinating ministry called H.I.S. BridgeBuilders. Its goal is to link up people from different backgrounds who then [...]
Here’s the teaser for our latest project, Seek Social Justice. This documentary project was produced through a partnership with The Heritage Foundation. Seek Social Justice is a new small group video curriculum on poverty and social breakdown. It provides a framework for exploring the roots of social breakdown and what can be done about it. If [...]
