"Wrecked..."

by Barry

If you spend time at Grace Community Church (where Curtis and I attend), you're bound to hear an odd expression thrown around a lot. We talk often about people getting "wrecked." And the weird thing is that we talk about it like it's a good thing.

Why would we want to "wreck" people? Doesn't that seem kind of... well, mean?

Yes, I suppose it does a little. :) But let me explain where this phrase comes from...

In the suburbs, we are constantly bombarded with the idea that the world is about ME! Advertisements, malls, television... even our restaurants and coffee shops. They all feed us this message: "I deserve to have things my way! It's my right!"

And as a result, we all start to believe it. "You know? I do deserve that new TV. It's my right to have an uninterrupted internet connection." Over time, we become little "me-machines," and the outside world gets dimmer and dimmer.

Being "wrecked," however, changes all that. When someone gets "wrecked," the outside world comes into sharp focus. Seeing things like poverty or hunger or injustice messes you up. It wrecks you. Sitting in the home of a slum-dweller, hearing the story of a homeless man, getting a hug from an AIDS orphan... These are all "wrecking-ball" experiences.

Once you've had one, it's impossible to think that the world is all about you. Because it's obviously not.

After being wrecked, the suburbs start to seem a little unreal. Old pleasures don't have the same allure. Getting more "stuff" seems a little pointless. After being wrecked, true fulfillment can only come from pursuing God's dreams for the world... by acting justly, loving mercy and walking humbly with God (Micah 6:8).

So, at GCC, we "wreck" people, and constantly look for ways to get even more wrecked ourselves.

Because until we get wrecked, we can never change the world...

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World On Fire

by Curtis

Many of you have seen Sarah McLachlan's music video for her song "World on Fire", and it gets me every time. If you haven't seen it, watch the video above.

What gets me about this video is how much of the stuff we buy and pay for is completely unnecessary. When you look at your monthly budget, how much of it goes towards things that are superfluous? How much of it goes to help other people?

I don't bring up those questions to guilt anyone, but I think we can all live our lives with fewer things. Barry's most recent post really got me thinking about how much I waste compared to how much I give back. I believe we can live our lives more simply in order to free up resources so we can help others--not to hoard and keep for ourselves.

So think about it. What can be cut from your monthly spending? Do you have a $50/month line-item for Starbucks? Maybe it's time to reconsider a few non-essentials.

What's your footprint?

by Barry

Think for a moment. If every single person on the earth lived the way you did, what would the earth look like? Would it be possible? Imagine if everyone in the world ate as much as you, drove as much as you and threw away as much as you. Yikes!

If you're like me, that isn't exactly a comforting thought. I know for a fact that my lifestyle isn't sustainable. At least, not when put in those terms!

And now I've found an online quiz which quantifies just how many earths it would take if everyone lived the way I live (and does a great job of making me feel lousy about it!). But it's really worth it. Head over to www.ecofoot.org and check it out for yourself!


According to this short, 5 minute quiz (which is, I admit, a little simplistic), it would take 4.4 earths to sustain the entire human population living the way I do! 4.4!!!

So what does this have to do with social justice? Well, lots actually. You see, even if I don't actually see the poor and marginalized of this world, a lifestyle like mine is sure to influence them somehow. Because the truth is, we're all connected.

Well great. Now I feel all cruddy about the way I live. *sigh* Maybe it's time for me to go and do something about it...

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Review: The Twenty-Piece Shuffle: Why the Poor and Rich Need Each Other, by Greg Paul

by Curtis

If you haven't heard about Greg Paul yet, maybe now's the time to go to Amazon and buy his books.

Paul's first book, God in the Alley: Being and Seeing Jesus in a Broken World, was published a few years ago and completely wrecked me...in a good way. In it, he shares some heart-wrenching stories about his community in inner city Toronto. Paul is an author/pastor/local rock star who started a ministry called Sanctuary that reaches out to homeless (they prefer "under-housed") and fully housed people under the same roof. He started the community center/church hybrid out of a rock band called Red Rain.

I am fortunate enough to have visited Sanctuary first hand back in February with my fellow justice-seeker, Barry, and some other friends from our church. We got to spend some time walking the cold winter streets of Toronto and seeing how God can work miraculously in seemingly hopeless situations. The stories shared by Greg and members of Sanctuary's community are humbling (an understatement).


In his latest effort, The Twenty Piece Shuffle: Why the Rich and the Poor Need Each Other, Paul transparently shares the incredible stories of Sanctuary ministries and applies them to the fact that everyone--rich and poor alike--needs intimate relationships and a strong sense of purpose and identity in life. These stories are heartbreaking and often troubling, and I'm so glad Paul shared them with us. This book will change your perspective on rich and poor and how God fits into all the suffering in the mess of the world.

If you haven't read either of Paul's offerings yet, I would start with God in the Alley. It's kind of like the intro-level course to Twenty Piece Shuffle.

These books are a great way to engage your heart and your mind in the causes of justice for the poor.

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Heifer International

by Barry

When I think of cows, I picture huge animals penned up in some stockyard somewhere, waiting around to become a big-mac. I picture rustic cowboys bringing a herd home from pasture. And now, after being in India for 3 months, I picture traffic jams.

But one thing I don't picture is wealth. Cows don't evoke images of prosperity in my mind. But for more than 2 billion people around the world, that is exactly what cows represent. Riches, security, and abundance...

Cows provide nourishing milk and plentiful meat. They give birth to more cows, and can quickly become a herd. In the developing world, once you own a cow, you're set for life.

But who can afford a cow? Making 2 dollars a day, it would take years to save up enough to buy one. And so for most poor people around the world, owning a cow or goat or even a chicken, becomes an impossible dream.

That's why there is an organization called Heifer International. They take sustainability-creating livestock, and give them to people around the world who need them. And the cool part is, these recipients must agree to give the first calf or chick or kid to someone else who needs it, spreading sustainability from one family to another!

And you can be a part of this process! There is a whole online gift catalog that allows you to purchase everything from heifers to chicks to honeybees for a needy family around the world. It couldn't be easier to make a difference in someone's life.

And what an awesome gift idea! "Honey, I bought you a cow." Perfect!

So check it out, and who knows? Maybe you'll start to see cows just a little bit differently...

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