Becoming Green
Last weekend, I gave a presentation at Vanderbilt titled "The Environment and International Missions." Someone else had created the theme of my session - so I spent a good couple of days CRAMMING for this presentation. I am ashamed to say that I have not spent much time or heart or energy into understanding environmental issues. So I grabbed books, articles, meetings with my pastor and other informational sources to dive into this issue of our ailing earth.
As I started reading, I couldn't help but want to scream, "Oh my God, what are we doing to our world?" It's unbelievably frightening and I am completely and fully a part of the problem. We have dominated creation instead of having dominion over it. We have become exploiters, not stewards. We ruin instead of reign. And it's not like I didn't know this -- but I think what hit me was the lazy and apathetic response from the church about these issues.
Man, I've been awful at this. And you know why? Because I don't truly believe that my actions will make a difference. What change will happen if one little person out of 6 billion starts recycling, consumes less, and walks more? It's hard to imagine that anything would really change. But it doesn't mean that we don't do it.
I was reading the environmental issue of Vanity Fair magazine and they highlighted a handful of environmental activists and leaders in the world. One of the men was a Reverend, and the magazine made it clear that it was strange for this "faith-based" man to be caring about the environment (since it's labeled as a leftist/liberal interest).
Shouldn't this be one of the biggest issues that Christians would care about? Have we not been called, been commanded to care for creation? I love Eugene Peterson's explanation of salvation because it reminds me that it's about ALL of creation. He says:
"Salvation is God's determination to rescue his creation; it is his activity in recovering the world. It is personal and impersonal. It deals with souls and cities. It touches sin and sickness. God takes on the entire catastrophe."
God certainly does take on the entire catastrophe. And I really want to join Him in it too.
posted by Jena at 10:46 PM
2 Comments:
Hi Jena! I made it here via JOC after meeting them at a Austin show and telling them about Water for People.
I've been in your position, talking about environmental education when I wasn't the most qualified in the room. Please know that the enthusiasm and dedication you possess for such a critical cause is invaluable, and never doubt that you can affect a positive change.
Rather than go into a long diatribe, I want to share these words with you for inspiration.
From my mentor, Dr. Riley Nelson:
"You can live in an ivory tower and pretend nothing is wrong; you can throw our hands up in the air and say there is nothing we can do to change things; or you can try to change what you can, however little that may be."
"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." ~ Mahatma Ghandi
"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." ~ Anne Frank
"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not". ~ Dr. Seuss
12:40 AM
Jena
Thought I'd drop by your blog and see what you were up to - saw your little thing about the environment and the lack of concern from the church.
I thought I'd share one piece of hope with you, a little organization that are doing their thing quietly and using science with faith to be the best thay can be for the environment - visit A Rocha's web site on:
http://en.arocha.org/home/
Someone else that always gives me hope is this guy in a short documentary that teaches at Regent College in Vancouver:
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoID=659679351
hope you are well
3:50 PM
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