The Feed

I believe this groups attention to social justice comes at an amazing time in the history of the church local and the Church global. Rather than continuing to admonish Christians for a lack of attention to social justice issues I have come to see that the driven return to community within Evangelical circles over the last decade or so has created precisely what justice needs — a true community of believers out of which Justice can truly flow. If a small church lives for social justice it will be seen as a model commune, but if a community the size of Willow begins to live for justice it will be seen as a viable socioeconomic model. The time for a striking focus on Christian social justice in the history of the American Evangelical church is right now.

I believe that discussing social justice is not just an interesting offering to church attendees, but that the responsibility and accountability for social justice falls squarely on the shoulders of churches like Willow Creek. We are the part of the body of Christ, the Church global, that is blessed with the resources and opportunity to do something about it (our economic and social wealth as well as our democratic government) — Christian social justice is our burden to bear and I believe it is what God will hold us accountable to.

Willow Creek already does amazing work and is casting a powerful vision for the future. Bill Hybels spoke passionately this past spring about social justice and said:

“…Whose job is it to confront and resolve the injustice we see all around us? …Who more than Christ followers should be concerned — We’re the ones who ought to have the love for compassion and justice as much if not more than anyone — I’ve have never, in a single church, seen a higher concentration of talent, intellectual capital, resources, creativity — I’ve never seen a single local church anywhere in my travels that has as high a concentration of high capacity people in it as our church has, and I believe one of the reasons that God coalesced a congregation like this is that in increasing ways as we walk humbly with God into our future He’s going to increase our sense of compassion and our sense of justice and more and more of us are going to leverage purchasing power and we’re going to let our voice and vote be heard and we’re going to figure out what talent we have, what expertise we have that we could put into play to try to serve the poor — We are the folks who must rise up and find ways, not just to love across racial lines (of course we should love across racial lines), but we have to figure out ways to level the opportunity field across racial lines and as we do this heaven will smile and poor it’s favor — Pray for the day when racial injustice dies the death it should have died centuries ago — pray for the day when Willow Creek will more accurately represent the diversity that exists in our community, pray for that day, that we will increasingly be that kind of church…”

The previous generation used the protest march for social change; in this generation it has become the volunteer march that will change the world. May I be so bold as to believe that radical social volunteerism and corporate commitment to social justice is the future of the church?