I just returned home from Ohio where I spent three days meeting with pastors, visiting prospective donors and attending the opening night of the Justice Revival. What a week! I drove to Ohio with a coworker and we enjoyed the drive for about the first three hours. Over the years I have beaten my body so badly in myriad ways, that when I make it sit in a car for 10 hours straight it rebels in loud and relentless ways – to the point that I promise myself I will never do long road trips like that again; at least not until the next time.
The Justice Festival was great, I didn’t know what to expect attendance-wise so when I got there and saw a line wrapped halfway around a very large church, I knew something exciting was about to happen. Rich Nathan, who serves as the lead pastor for Vineyard Columbus and Jim Wallis, author, activist and publisher of Sojourners magazine were the opening night’s speakers.
As one would expect both Rich and Jim inspired the audience – their message was simple and clear; basically what they said was this; “if we claim to be followers of Jesus – let’s put down the remote control, empty our closets and garages and act like it.”
I could easily go on a rant at this point – I feel one welling up in me at this very moment – but I am learning that rants are not helpful. What I do know to be helpful is having and living out a genuine love and concern for the well being of our neighbor.
This time away was so good on a number of levels – I met some truly marvelous people who have become new friends – I learned a fair about myself, things that I needed to learn, all of which I will gladly share in future posts – and I learned that it really is all about God.
If you have a chance pop over to this site and you will be able to read a bit more about the Justice Revival and what the organizers are hoping will happen through these gatherings. Enjoy!
