Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Here is a story that inspires me ........

Dear pip,
We inspire millions to faith in action.
I want to share this inspiring story with you. I hope it will have the same effect on you as it has on me.

A few weeks ago, I called Steve Stone, pastor of Heartsong Church in Tennessee and a Sojourners reader, to thank him for his courageous witness of loving his neighbor.

He welcomed an Islamic community center to his neighborhood. The story of his church’s hospitality was aired on CNN. Shortly afterward, he received a call from a group of Muslims in Kashmir who’d seen the segment. They shared with him that after watching it, one of the community’s leaders said to those who were gathered: “God just spoke to us through this man.” One man went straight to the local Christian church and proceeded to clean it, inside and out, because of his desire to be a good neighbor too. They told Pastor Stone that “we’re going to keep taking care of this little church for the rest of our lives.”

When I told Steve how he made me proud to be a Christian, he turned the tables. He wanted to thank Sojourners for all the inspiration we’ve provided for him and his church.

“What do you think has kept us going?” he asked me.

Steve’s affirmation of Sojourners’ work has reminded me of what encourages me most:

It’s not just the work Sojourners does – it’s the work we inspire.

If we have inspired, encouraged, or informed you this year, we need you to make a gift to Sojourners today!

I am convinced that our voice is needed now more than ever. Proverbs 29:18 says, “Without a vision the people perish.” Without a vision, the people who feel like they are perishing are angry and afraid, which we saw reflected in November’s election results.

Sojourners’ role is to offer up a vision for the faith community and for the nation. It’s a vision that neither the right nor the left, Republicans nor Democrats can offer. Only a social movement with a prophetic voice compelled by a biblical call to social justice can offer that vision.

Our work inspires a variety of people on a spectrum of social justice issues – from alleviating poverty to finding solutions for a responsible withdrawal from Afghanistan to advocating for comprehensive immigration reform.

Individual Christians tell me how that inspiration has guided their vocation, ministry, life choices, and family values.
Churches tell me how that inspiration has led them into their communities to do acts of compassion and social justice in Jesus' name.
National church leaders and local pastors have told me for three decades that Sojourners helps teach them how to fulfill the biblical mandate to be "prophetic" in their society. They tell me we have given them the courage to "stand up."
Political leaders call when they want support for “doing the right thing,” and the most courageous young elected officials tell me they want to be a part of a “conviction caucus.”
And now, it’s a whole generation of young people who want their faith and their lives to make a difference, and say they now look to us for mentoring. We have the opportunity to help shape the faith of the next generation.

Your support is critical to the work that we inspire, and we really depend on you. A generous friend of Sojourners has offered to match your donation – up to $50,000! Make your gift have double impact – give today!

Blessings,


Jim Wallis
President and CEO, Sojourners

P.S. 2010 has been a critical year for our prophetic call for moral recovery in this economic crisis. I want to share my most recent book, Rediscovering Values: On Wall Street, Main Street, and Your Street. Send in a gift of $100 or more, and we’ll send this book to you as a special gift.







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