I really appreciated this article. IC played a big role in motivating me to spend a semester in Uganda last year. I did so through my school and ended up at Uganda Christian University in Mukono. It did a lot to challenge my western savior complex. Your article deftly navigates a sticky issue. I’ve been invited to work with the IC chapter on campus and I’ve struggled to respond in a nuanced way (that is, balancing my inner Sachs and Easterly).

All this is to say – it is good to know that there are people like you working to elevate the conversation and push past the damaging stereotypes of all things African. There is so much more to East Africa than the war and poverty – or smiling children and grateful recipients of aid.

I also have to point out your comments on trade in the beginning of your article to say that it is SO REFRESHING to hear someone (outside of academia) portray free trade as part of the solution to poverty, rather than the source of all evil. Clearly the issue is more complicated, but I’d love to see an article or two on farm subsidies for readers without an economics background.

Keep up the good work! I look forward to reading your next piece and

Cheers,
Jonathan

In thinking about the debate over whether to encourage taking out Joseph Kony by any means necessary, or to advocate for the non-violent solution of peace talks, it occurs to me that there is a third option: praying that Jesus would personally visit Joseph Kony.

It’s completely impractical and maybe even impossible, but it’s happened before. A man named Saul used to murder Christians. Until he met Jesus.

Yes, that is precisely what I love about the Jesus of the New Testament – he acts, and calls us to act – simply, directly and faithfully.

And yes, our lives, interactions and the consequences of our actions are incredibly complex. For example, who among us does not have a cell phone? A key component of every cell phone is coltan. Every ounce of coltan, that we use every day, has been smuggled out of the Congo. And every dollar, spent on behalf of our cell phone usage has gone to a variety of terrorists, kidnappers, murderers and rapists. (according to Wikipedia, about 5.5 million people have died in the wars in the Congo since 1998).

So I circle back to the nearly eternal question “What would Jesus do?

Would Jesus use – or not use – a cell phone? Would Jesus refuse to wear clothing made in Asian or African sweatshops?

And of course, what would Jesus expect each of us to do?

I firmly do not believe that Jesus would want us to live under a cloud of guilt. In fact, quite the opposite, Jesus calls us to be agents of fully orbed liberation.

Some of us will do that as individuals, some will work with large scale organizations. And I am convinced that it is not the celebrities or the petitions that will manifest the kingdom of God on earth; it will be each transformed life. And yes, it begins with each one of us.

And yes, the harvest, and the need is great; beyond measure in fact, but the New Testament is the blueprint for how a small group with a vision can transform the world.

Consider those few individuals who have refused to leave the world as it was – from St. Francis, to Mother Teresa to M. Ghandi. There is nothing stopping us from initiating our own faith in action – except our own inertia.

The ultimate deception is that we can’t do anything.

Our small individual steps are the best we can do – and they truly are the best we can do.

I also want to thank Invisible Children, and specifically Erica D’Alessandro, for her willingness to spend the time engaging with someone who was questioning her organization. She spent a lot of time developing lengthy and thoroughly responses to my questions and critiques. She is the main reason this article actually has a hope of being accurate and fair. (And I hope she and IC feels that it is – if not, I’d love to hear why.)

Thanks again everyone for taking the time to read 4,000 words about this topic!

Which gives me an idea for an article about beer AND basketball.

First, you have single-handedly elevated Burnside Writers Collective to a status comparable to a serious, credible publication. I’m no longer sure if we will ever be able to see stories about basketball or beer here without thinking, “what happened to BW; they were once writing on the cutting edge of social justice issues?”. I may never have another piece published here for lack of meeting the new quality standard you’ve provided with this article!

Second, you’ve touched on a point I’ve been thinking about for some time. What is our responsibility in Africa when in fact we can’t seem to get Americans to even reach out to our suffering neighbors, literally next door or sleeping in the parking garage where we work. In preparing a sermon on James 1:27 last week, I realized that there was no way I would see success in getting people to answer a call to action when that would require them to think about distant Africa. Instead, I worked very hard to get them, maybe for the first time, to take a much small step. I called them to help our “orphans and widows” in our neighborhoods. It is my hope and prayer that after people have a life-transformation with efforts locally (and invite others to do the same), there will be an army of folks whose hearts are so prepared to help others in the name of Jesus, that we will no longer have to look to secular NGOs, but instead see millions of transformed Christians ready to serve, bless, and help the world (whether from the US, Africa, or anywhere).