IN 2017, on a year-end retreat, the leader asked what descriptive name we might like to claim for the coming year. I thought a bit and said “elder.” When asked why, I smiled: “Because I could share wisdom without taking responsibility.” It was humorous, but serious too.
In my life I’ve had my share of taking responsibility for organizations and movements in ways that have been rare privileges. I was the legislative director for a U.S. senator working against the Vietnam War. I started an institute committed to strengthening churches’ care for the earth. At the World Council of Churches, I directed its work on church and society, including beginning its focus on climate change. Then the Reformed Church in America selected me to be its general secretary. I played a significant role in beginning and directing Christian Churches Together and served as chair of the board of Sojourners and as president of the Global Christian Forum Foundation. All these efforts involved grace and pain. And, at this point in my journey, all have ended.
Now, I wonder where you are in your long journey of soulwork and justice. Maybe you’re in early days, with new roads and big challenges that are so daunting. I want to share that with you because it is your inward journey with God that will sustain you in your outward journey, joining in what God is doing in the world.
The witness of Christian faith in the public square, if done authentically, has always required spiritual alertness. New crises erupt almost daily, tempting us to endless reactivity. You will need inward spiritual grounding that can make a practical difference in political engagement, social action, and outward witness. Your vision, starting point, and disposition will bear the distinctive features of the Christian witness that scripture and prophetic voices have and continue to note. I invite you to tend, sit, read, pray, and act. Let God ground your life. Over many years and many times of chaos, I’ve identified eight elements that contribute to a spiritually alert, faithfully rooted witness.
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